Mentalism Effects

Feb 1, 2008
9
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I have some money now and am looking to buy some STRONG mentalism tricks that are relatively easy to do. Also, if anyone has Banachek's dvd's did you think they were any good? Please give me some suggestions.
 
Jul 26, 2008
470
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NJ
You should take a look at Luke Jermay's work and IMO every mentalist should own a copy of Derren Brown's Pure Effect.
 
Banachek's psi series 1 and 2 are in my opinion full of easy to do strong mentalism.
He gives some examples of how to use the out to lunch principle.
If you want to do metal bending and PK stuff get dvd number 3 or for exclusive metal bending get psychokinetic silverware. Now also look into some of the marc spelman dvds.
Kenton Kneeper is a good source. The cloak by Docc Hillford might be something you would want to look into. Also look up books about cold reading. Psychological subtleties is a great series of books to get.

Hope this helps peace,
Nexus

P.s
I forgot to mention get 13 steps if you haven't already done so.
 
Apr 27, 2008
184
1
Kind of depends on how well you are familiar with mentalism. I like E.I. by Luke Jermay, Liquid Metal by Morgan Strebler, and the Mind power Deck by Kennedy Magic.

I use all of these as much as possible especially the mind power deck and while the invisible deck is cool i like excalibur a bit better. Devin Knights.
 
If you're relatively new to mentalism and are interested in reading some quality work, I recommend getting 13 Steps to Mentalism by Tony Corinda. It's a definitive source on mentalism with a lot of simple, practical material common to the mentalism community. You'll learn about predictions, mindreading, second-sight... everything you can ask for.

A decent stepping stone from that would be the Barrie Richardson books, Theatre of the Mind and Act II. These books build off the principles established in the Corinda book really well. Again, they are filled with quality material for the close-up performer as well as the parlour and stage performer in mentalism. There's some awesome, awesome work on the Any Card at Any Number plot. I fully recommend these books for anyone interested in learning more about that.

Further learning can be found in Mind, Myth, and Magick by TA Waters. This book is pretty dry, but filled with awesome material for the bizarre magician and hardcore mentalist. Some of the effects are more difficult to pull off, but I think are very well structured for the mature mentalist.

Another favorite book of mine is the Artful Mentalism of Bob Cassidy. If you're interested in billet work, this is an awesome resource to have. The Name/Place routine is so hard-hitting and plays really well close-up. It's relatively easy to do and also acts as a great reputation maker. In effect, one spectator is asked to write down the name of a famous person on a scrap of paper. The other writes down the name of a city. One of these scraps is eliminated by burning it in an ashtray. Without ever looking at either scrap, the mentalist accurately divines the famous person's name written on the remaining scrap. As a kicker, he reads the mind of the other spectator and divines the city written on the burned scrap. When performed well, this gives audiences goosebumps. So nicely structured that it's impossible to backtrack the method.

If you're more into visual learning, get your hands on Derren Brown's The Devil's Picturebook. I have the old VHS casette, but I hear he offers DVDs on his site now. It's well worth its steep price. Also look for his lecture DVD from International Magic. It's entertaining and really informative. There's some awesome play on dual reality displayed on it that you'll learn a lot from. Agin, it's more advanced material, but if you give it the attention it deserves, you'll benefit from it immensely.

I admittedly have a newfound passion for mentalism. I'm incorporating it into my work a lot these days, and I think people are responding to it better than magic on most occasions. If you've any questions about any of the resources I listed here or just want to talk about mentalism more thoroughly, don't hesitate to get in touch. I'd love to talk shop.

RS.


 
Apr 27, 2008
184
1
Also btw most mentalism effects are very simple to do imo. It's actually performing them is the hard part, just to clarify on that,.
 
Also btw most mentalism effects are very simple to do imo. It's actually performing them is the hard part, just to clarify on that,.

This is very, very true. If you're into finger-flicking, you may not find mentalism methods to be very satisfying. It requires you to be a showman and engaging performer on a very demanding level. Think about this: the majority of Derren Brown's material can be duplicated with a simple peek. It's how he structures his act and peppers it with several red herrings to make everything so deceptive and jawdropping. It's not what he does that's amazing, but rather how he does it. Very admirable.

RS.
 
Oct 28, 2007
453
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Sydney Australia
Mentalism unlike magic is IMO 95% presentation and 5% sleights.
Try reading some theory on performing and presentation.

*Pure Effect by Derren Brown is a great book
*Stuff by Luke Jermay, Kenton Kepper , Max Maven and Banachek is also great.
*Mentalism Style card effects? Get 'Devil's picturebook by Derren Brown'
*+Buy yourself an invisible deck (or make one) as it is a very very important resource, in case of one your tricks fail.
 
Jan 16, 2008
82
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Wroking Overseas
I agree with everyone. All of those sources are very good. And I also agree that presentation is key to pulling off any mentalism routine. I think you should look at www.alakazammagic.co.uk. They have some really good stuff. I just got LOOCH and I really thought it has some good stuff in it.
 
Feb 1, 2008
9
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Thanks for the information. I like the looks of Looch's dvds. If any of you own them could you tell me what you thought?
 
Sep 1, 2007
1,572
2
34
Leicester, UK
www.youtube.com
You should take a look at Luke Jermay's work and IMO every mentalist should own a copy of Derren Brown's Pure Effect.

Yeah 'cause that book is easy to get hold of :rolleyes::p

A very strong thing that is relatively easy to do is Richard Osterlind's Radar Deck. You might want to take a look at that, I imagine it's the kind of thing you're after.

That being said however, I must agree with most of what everyone has suggested, particularly what Romeo Sierra said; I don't know him well but from his posts he sounds like he knows what he's talking about. :)

- Sean
 
May 8, 2008
1,081
0
Cumbria, UK
I would by no means class myself as a mentalist, however the reactions I have got from a simple force and reveal or from a centre (I refuse to use the American spelling, despite my spell-check) tear are brilliant. Learn a couple of psychological forces and Derren Brown's Invisible Deal, taught on the Devil's Picturebook and you're set. If you want a nice addition to a standard force, use Angle Zero. Vanish the corner and make it look like a trick in itself. Force a card and reveal dramatically. Tell them you predicted what card they'd pick earlier. Point out an envelope containing a dupe or written prediction...and the corner. Mentalism needs to be played big, however. Very big. Think Empire State scale. Massive. And get the Devil's Picturebook. And donate to charity. Don't do drugs. Did I mention the Devil's Picturebook?

PS. I recommend running whilst you have the chance. I mean it. There's no hope left now. It's just a matter of time. He's coming. Some say he's a genetic experiment gone wrong, and that he eats only cheese. All we know is that he's called the Praetoritevong...
 
Sep 1, 2007
1,572
2
34
Leicester, UK
www.youtube.com
im already screaming like a girl. :<

And derrens' books aint exactly cheap now are they!

And rightly so, considering the wealth of the content that's in them. I don't own them but every one I know (for the absolute most part anyway, sometimes people just don't get it) who owns them has had nothing but good things to say.

I hope to someday own them myself, but the more I realise how hard it is to get them, the more that dream seems somewhat unrealistic unfortunately.

Still, if you bought them, guaranteed they'd be one of your best investments for magical reasons or otherwise I guess.

- Sean
 
Oct 2, 2008
336
0
UK
Jinai.deviantart.com
Think Empire State scale. Massive. And get the Devil's Picturebook. And donate to charity. Don't do drugs. Did I mention the Devil's Picturebook?

PS. I recommend running whilst you have the chance. I mean it. There's no hope left now. It's just a matter of time. He's coming. Some say he's a genetic experiment gone wrong, and that he eats only cheese. All we know is that he's called the Praetoritevong...

lulz. Seriously good.
 
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