I am with Deadmanwalking (and Iago) on this one.

Spells have two natures in this game, Rule and Manifestation. The rules by which the spell was created define its direct and intended effect. The way in which the spell manifests tells us its secondary effects, and in most cases these secondary effects have no specific rules associated with them and so common sense and player/GM agreement must be used. For instance a water, fire, force, air, or earth attack spell are all exactly the same in this game in terms of how you cast them and the damage they do (Rules). However, they all manifest in completely different manners and so have different side effects, or act differently based on the enemies resistances.

In this case the rules say that the spell creates a zone border that then makes movement between zones more difficult. That is the RULES portion, and the RULES portion only. The way in which it manifests varies based on element. (One idea for each, there are many ways to represent each element though).

Fire = a (spell power*3') wide patch of fire that one must jump over to get safely to the other side. A failed roll lands you in the fire and you take damage and back out, stuck still on the wrong side. This may give the scene an "On fire" aspect, and the player may invoke this aspect to use the smoke as a chance to increase their defense roll against ranged attacks.
Force = a thin force barrier that pretty much uses the same rules wards use for bouncing people who aren't strong enough to get through, except it uses a movement roll, not an attack roll, to see if the person gets through. People trying to pass it casually will always fail their first attempt, bumping their nose most likely. No matter what the power level this probably also acts as a Block: 1 against ranged attacks, as such attacks will pass through, but are slowed and possibly deflected a little so their accuracy is effectively decreased.
Air = A bunch of miniature tornadoes that move around randomly, forcing the person passing through to dodge them or be knocked back and onto the ground. The dust and debris kicked up could be invoked to help avoid being shot.
Water = A series of waves that crash down towards the enemy, each (spell power*1.5') tall. Pushes back on those crossing the border if they fail their roll to do so. Also acts like force, providing a Block:1 most likely, as it will affect targeting and the attacks trajectory.
Earth = A wall of height equal to (spell power*1.5'), so a 4 power wall will be 6' tall. The wall has all the effects of a normal wall of that height and so can make targeting, and therefore ranged attacks, impossible. However, if the wall can be shot over or around then the player must get up close to it for a "Behind Cover" aspect to use it as a defense. There is no need for Block or armor unless the attacker tries to shoot directly through the wall. Then I would say the wall would act as Armor:1. If the PC wants it to be stronger, just suggest it is not that thick of a wall so the armor protection is minimal.

However, if the PC wanted a guaranteed block he would just have to build it into the spell by putting some points to each affect. Then perhaps it would be a small wall of earth that shifts and grows to intercept anything crossing its designated line of protection, including ranged attacks.

Don't get Hollywood stupid

Repeated for emphasis since everyone apparently missed it last time. 

City aspects can be compelled or used for declarations just like any other aspect, as long as you are in the city. Same thing with locations if you are in them.

For instance, lets say you have an aspect like "Urban decay is running rampant" for the city. A PC is chasing and NPC down a street, and the NPC turns to run down an alley. The PC could declare "The alley he ran down is blocked by debris from the partially collapsed abandoned building that is next to the alley.", thus giving him a chance to catch up to the NPC who is now backed into a corner.

Where is this revised PDF you speak of?

NM, actually looked for it and there it was!

Evo veils last one exchange. You can push more shifts of power into it to make it last longer though. If you do so when you first create it you will have to make a weaker veil though. However, you can cast a strong veil on the first exchange, then extend it for multiple exchanges on the next exchange, then do other things on the subsequent exchanges until it runs out of power, then you could still take an exchange to re-power it for more exchanges again if you liked.

I would imagine that if the veil, evo or thaum, has duration left then it does not break when you attack someone. However, they may have other ways to find you once they know you are present (the sight for instance), or they may be able to attempt to defend or attack still if you are nearby, but have -2 shifts to everything they do because of the veil aspect on you. This game leaves a lot of such things up to the players and GMs, so if you think such a thing is too overpowered in your campaign then just make it drop. If not, keep it in. If uncertain, then make the veil drop until the start of the players next exchange, so the person attacked could just delay his action until you attack, then retaliate before you veil up again.

I was actually originally going to say that this would be a maneuver with lots of shifts to increase the time factor, but then I read pages 264 and 265 closely I changed my mind as it seemed that if you want to do a curse with a serious effect you probably need to use a consequence.

I guess though I was right the first time (in my mind), since he said he just wanted to apply a "secret aspect". However, it just seems to me that whatever that aspect is it shouldn't really be that bad since it is actually easier to cast than even a mild consequence.

A few modifications and you could run some wicked Harry Potter games. 

That one rule there makes an enchanted item superior to a rote. You get the guaranteed control of the rote and power equal to Lore + Strength and a minimum of 1 free use per session.

True, but your stress gets reset per scene unless you have to take a consequence, whereas your enchanted item is useless for the rest of the session.

Also you can prolong attack spells if needed, which might not be that great for a direct attack but could be really useful on a zone-wide attack (Like windstorm or earthquake type attack that also puts an aspect on the scene making it hard for the enemy to leave the zone). Although with any form of attack it might also be possible to do something like this:

Turn 1: Cast Water attack to try to damage some wierd dude that is running towards you looking very angry.
Turn 2: Prolong attack for 4 exchanges because it seems like it might be working.
Turn 3: Realize the enemy is a Master BCV, redirect spell into a stream of running water between you and him.
Turns 4 and 5: Run like a little girl.