I know I just made a post with this same question and I figured editing it wouldn't do much good. So now my question is what to get. I either want to get Mystique by Daniel Madison, Andthensome by Dan and Dave, or The Devil's Picturebook by Derren Brown. The Devil's Picturebook interests me a lot because I am into hypnosis and like mentalist type effects. Any thoughts?
Mystique, Andthensome, or Devil's Picturebook
- Thread starter penguincdude
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Dude, I really hate threads like this. Listen, NODODY besides YOU knows what you should get. Buy whatever seems interesting/appealing to you.
It is 3 VERY different items, so nobody will be able to tell you what you should get. Mystique has really great effects in it, andthensome has great sleights/details that most people somehow work into their tricks to make them fit better, the devils picturebook has some cool card effects in it also I think, so you have to figure out what to get by yourself.
Read some indepth reviews of the 3 items, and buy what you find the most interesting.
If you buy something, based on the opinions of the users here, then maybe you end up with a product you won't get any use of. So figure out for yourself, that's the best thing to do in my opinion.
It is 3 VERY different items, so nobody will be able to tell you what you should get. Mystique has really great effects in it, andthensome has great sleights/details that most people somehow work into their tricks to make them fit better, the devils picturebook has some cool card effects in it also I think, so you have to figure out what to get by yourself.
Read some indepth reviews of the 3 items, and buy what you find the most interesting.
If you buy something, based on the opinions of the users here, then maybe you end up with a product you won't get any use of. So figure out for yourself, that's the best thing to do in my opinion.
Geez. I really didn't mean to offend anyone. I just wanted to know if anyone completely hated one of them or vice versa. I don't see whats wrong with asking people opinions on a few tricks.
Yeah sorry I came off a little harsh there, but there's just so many of these threads, and nobody can give a good answer.
There will allways be some people hating a specific product, but don't let that bother you. Just because some people hate a DVD, doesn't mean that you will hate it.
But really, no one really knows what's best for you to get, but you. It all depends on what you like.. As I said, Mystique has some really great effects, and they are pretty easy I think, andthensome has great sleights and flourishes, and the devils picturebook has some great card effects also, in a mentalist-style as you said.
So I hope that you got a little help from that.
There will allways be some people hating a specific product, but don't let that bother you. Just because some people hate a DVD, doesn't mean that you will hate it.
But really, no one really knows what's best for you to get, but you. It all depends on what you like.. As I said, Mystique has some really great effects, and they are pretty easy I think, andthensome has great sleights and flourishes, and the devils picturebook has some great card effects also, in a mentalist-style as you said.
So I hope that you got a little help from that.
I'm not very fond of all these threads. Look, they're three different things. Which one suits you? Which one do you like? Go do some research.
I'll give you some personal thoughts. The others are right though, there's no right answer, it's up to you to research and decide.
Mystique: A solid set of card magic with a lot of impromptu work. The occasional filler (Catch, for example), but a lot of it is great stuff. Not technically difficult, but requires a lot of audience management; that's what will make these effects shine. I'd rate it second best out of the three.
Andthensome: I will say first off that I do have a personal bias against this, so please take that into account. I would nonetheless unequivocally rate this as the worst of the three products. Many have complained about the lack of practical effects. It teaches 15 gazillion double lifts with triple revolution twists in them (obvious exaggeration, but you get the point). There are a few nice little items, a nice move or two and an update of the Trilogy tricks (which weren't impressive to begin with for me, so very welcome), but overall I feel this just loses out in terms of amount of material, quality, and usefulness/practicality.
The Devil's Picturebook: Oooook. Firstly, I would say that this is my recommendation. Secondly, though, I have to warn you: This will not teach you hypnosis. More importantly, it is very likely that it will not teach you the sort of magic you might think Derren performs. By this I mean, for magicians, Derren's magic is coated with a lot of presentation - stuff like hypnosis, NLP, suggestion, etc. In reality, very little magic, including on this DVD, is like that. The majority of times you see Derren performing this sort of thing, it is a presentation wrapped around a clever piece of obscure mentalism. What this means is that, very often, magicians perceive Derren inaccurately, and what we think he's doing is quite different from the reality. The set consists of two DVDs, one on card conjuring, which is just generally of a very high quality, with a lot of interesting material, Smoke and Zamiel's Rose being clear standouts, and a second, on mentalism. Yes, there are some purely suggestion-related effects. It is possible that you may be disappointed with some of the methods, and with the reality of the effects. Don't be. I feel this is far and away the best purchase of the three; but it is very important you don't buy it with misguided expectations, as many magicians do with Derren's magic. Derren's magic is completely brilliant on so many different levels - just don't expect miracles, or a Godlike status that will bestow upon you the ability to read someone's mind and tell them what they're thinking of at whim.
praetoritevong is dead on with what he said Devil's Picture book is far and away the best of the three however it is probably not what you will expect. So my recommendation is Mystique