Prevaricator - Patrick Redford
What They Say
Patrick Redford’s “Prevaricator” is more than a mentalism effect—it’s a concept that uses no gimmicks or props. Redford shares his diabolical method for detecting a lie, and discovering who is hiding a borrowed object and which hand they are hiding it in.
Two spectators are handed an object (say, a crumpled bill) and invited to play a game: one spectator will be the liar and one will tell the truth. While your head is turned, one of the two spectators takes the object. You, the mentalist, always know who the liar is, and which hand they are hiding the bill in. You can repeat the game indefinitely, and close by divining the serial number on the borrowed bill.
Prevaricator is unlike any DVD you have seen. Because the system involved requires a spectator, you are given a performance practice session, so you can practice along with Patrick Redford, in the comfort of your own home. This skill-building feature will allow you to perform “Prevaricator” with confidence, the first time you try it.
With a running time of 112 minutes and an ebook (included on the DVD) tipping 100 pages (with contributions from Barrie Richardson, Gregory Wilson, Banachek, Ben Blau, Garrett Thomas, Paul Vigil and more), this is a package and a principle of enormous value.
What I Say
Whilst this might sound like some pipe dream of an effect it is not. Everything thing that has been said in the product description is 100% accurate. There is nothing that can be misquoted or cleverly worded this is the real deal. The effect is as simple as it sounds you ask people to lie or tell the truth to you and finally hand them a coin or something of that nature. You turn around and you know who is lying and who has the coin.
There are several menus options on the menu that are easy to navigate and are fairly straight forward they are as follows; Performance, Explanation, Practice and Patrick Explains Tells. When you open up any of these the setup is the same the first option is to play all and then it gives the individual sections of whatever section you are in. This is fairly simple and is easy to navigate. The only problem is found in the explanation section as there several screens of explanations which can cause some confussion if you are looking for a specific section.
In the perfromance section you get to watch George (Patrick in a sense) perform the effect in several different ways. These include the standard method, using some of the fail safes that he talks about, also using the additional 'kicker' effects, he even goes onto using the Prevaricator method without the liar truth teller premise and on multiple spectators. This last for about 20 minutes and is quite entertaining as you can see how he does multiple times to make it into a great routine.
The explanation section is huge it is a shade under 45 minutes long and is very well thought out. It starts with the history of the Liar / Truth teller logic puzzle and quickly moves on to the history of Prevaricator, this is actually quite interesting and lets your truly appreciate the method. Patrick then gives a brief explanation of the method before moving on to more detail about the tells you should look for. After detailing the Prevaricator tells he moves on to a few different which hand tells. The Nose Knows is detailed and so are many interesting new ones (to my knowledge never been published before) from the mind of Ben Blau. I personally added one straight into my little check list of things to look for in which hand games. Patrick proceeds to talk about the Ben Blau method of not asking either spectator to lie or tell the truth just a completely silent method. I am quite fond of this method and it works exactly the same it makes it easier on the spectators but is also loses a little bit of that 'useful tool' that the spectators may find interesting. The last part of the first half of the explanations is about using 3 spectators and the advantages of doing so. This should have been left of the DVD!!!!! Not because it does not work but because it works too well. The effect gets more impressive but also easier and Patrick is a fool for letting this secret out.
The second half of the explanation section talks about kicker endings and fail safes. There are many ideas that are on this section some of which are; a serial number on a bill, using an IP to not only find the opject but what it is, Multiple outs, adding the which hand game to add the logic puzzle back in and using bold ideas from Rick Maue, Max Maven and Bryn Reynolds. I found that all of these could be quite useful in the right circumstance however the ones that are most useful are the serial number and the which hand logic puzzle. I know what you are thinking isn't Prevaricator suppose to eliminate the logic puzzle? Well yes it is and yes it does, but on stage if you are going to miss and really don't want to you can use this to save your backside.
The DVD also includes a practice section that is quite short, clocking in at about 15 minutes over several different performances. These are different to the ones in the performance section and can sometimes be a little hard to follow due to the dual camera angles at the same time. I would have much rather see one shot of both spectators from the performers view point. With that being said it is still fairly easy to pick most of them. However what the DVD does is very well is give you a huge range of spectators to try it on some who telegraph the tells very well and some who do it oh so slightly. There is an other option in this menu called practice with Patrick where you see the exact same footage but with Patrick doing the commentary as to what to look for and why.
The final section is called Patrick Explains Tells this is essentially the performances from the first part of the DVD with Patrick telling you what to look for and why. Much the same as the previous section just the other performances.
The PDF that comes with the DVD (by inserting it into your computer) is basically all the material that was covered by the DVD. There are however a few things added. These are interesting but not really required for learning the effect.
In conclusion the effect is a very well thought out one which works almost 100% of the time. The method is a lot easier than traditional which hand tells but however this should not mean that it is a beginners effect. You need very strong audience management to get the most out of this effect. I do not mean management as for angles and things of that nature, this kind of management is to build rapport and interest in you and your performance.
There are many similar things on the market from gimmicked coins all the way to a routine that is very very similar. I have used the coins before and they work quite well however with this method you do not need them as the method has such a high success rate as is. The routine is very similar both in presentation and method, however there are slight differences. Personally I prefer the Prevaricator method as to me it is more reliable.
On aside note there are many reasons why this effect is so strong even though mathematically it is not as impressive if you were to find someones card. The reason is because this is real, layman know about being good with cards and as soon as you take out a deck you have to get past that to prove to them that this is a real experience for them. Another aspect that may not appeal to people is this effect can fail and that is actually a good thing. Failing in mentalism creates believability. The audience knows there may be a trick behind it but if there was why would you get it wrong. This idea in does go through their mind and helps cement that you posses a genuine skill more so than a simple talent based on subterfuge.
I will happily answer any questions either on here or by PM if you don't want them on public forum.
What They Say
Patrick Redford’s “Prevaricator” is more than a mentalism effect—it’s a concept that uses no gimmicks or props. Redford shares his diabolical method for detecting a lie, and discovering who is hiding a borrowed object and which hand they are hiding it in.
Two spectators are handed an object (say, a crumpled bill) and invited to play a game: one spectator will be the liar and one will tell the truth. While your head is turned, one of the two spectators takes the object. You, the mentalist, always know who the liar is, and which hand they are hiding the bill in. You can repeat the game indefinitely, and close by divining the serial number on the borrowed bill.
Prevaricator is unlike any DVD you have seen. Because the system involved requires a spectator, you are given a performance practice session, so you can practice along with Patrick Redford, in the comfort of your own home. This skill-building feature will allow you to perform “Prevaricator” with confidence, the first time you try it.
With a running time of 112 minutes and an ebook (included on the DVD) tipping 100 pages (with contributions from Barrie Richardson, Gregory Wilson, Banachek, Ben Blau, Garrett Thomas, Paul Vigil and more), this is a package and a principle of enormous value.
What I Say
Whilst this might sound like some pipe dream of an effect it is not. Everything thing that has been said in the product description is 100% accurate. There is nothing that can be misquoted or cleverly worded this is the real deal. The effect is as simple as it sounds you ask people to lie or tell the truth to you and finally hand them a coin or something of that nature. You turn around and you know who is lying and who has the coin.
There are several menus options on the menu that are easy to navigate and are fairly straight forward they are as follows; Performance, Explanation, Practice and Patrick Explains Tells. When you open up any of these the setup is the same the first option is to play all and then it gives the individual sections of whatever section you are in. This is fairly simple and is easy to navigate. The only problem is found in the explanation section as there several screens of explanations which can cause some confussion if you are looking for a specific section.
In the perfromance section you get to watch George (Patrick in a sense) perform the effect in several different ways. These include the standard method, using some of the fail safes that he talks about, also using the additional 'kicker' effects, he even goes onto using the Prevaricator method without the liar truth teller premise and on multiple spectators. This last for about 20 minutes and is quite entertaining as you can see how he does multiple times to make it into a great routine.
The explanation section is huge it is a shade under 45 minutes long and is very well thought out. It starts with the history of the Liar / Truth teller logic puzzle and quickly moves on to the history of Prevaricator, this is actually quite interesting and lets your truly appreciate the method. Patrick then gives a brief explanation of the method before moving on to more detail about the tells you should look for. After detailing the Prevaricator tells he moves on to a few different which hand tells. The Nose Knows is detailed and so are many interesting new ones (to my knowledge never been published before) from the mind of Ben Blau. I personally added one straight into my little check list of things to look for in which hand games. Patrick proceeds to talk about the Ben Blau method of not asking either spectator to lie or tell the truth just a completely silent method. I am quite fond of this method and it works exactly the same it makes it easier on the spectators but is also loses a little bit of that 'useful tool' that the spectators may find interesting. The last part of the first half of the explanations is about using 3 spectators and the advantages of doing so. This should have been left of the DVD!!!!! Not because it does not work but because it works too well. The effect gets more impressive but also easier and Patrick is a fool for letting this secret out.
The second half of the explanation section talks about kicker endings and fail safes. There are many ideas that are on this section some of which are; a serial number on a bill, using an IP to not only find the opject but what it is, Multiple outs, adding the which hand game to add the logic puzzle back in and using bold ideas from Rick Maue, Max Maven and Bryn Reynolds. I found that all of these could be quite useful in the right circumstance however the ones that are most useful are the serial number and the which hand logic puzzle. I know what you are thinking isn't Prevaricator suppose to eliminate the logic puzzle? Well yes it is and yes it does, but on stage if you are going to miss and really don't want to you can use this to save your backside.
The DVD also includes a practice section that is quite short, clocking in at about 15 minutes over several different performances. These are different to the ones in the performance section and can sometimes be a little hard to follow due to the dual camera angles at the same time. I would have much rather see one shot of both spectators from the performers view point. With that being said it is still fairly easy to pick most of them. However what the DVD does is very well is give you a huge range of spectators to try it on some who telegraph the tells very well and some who do it oh so slightly. There is an other option in this menu called practice with Patrick where you see the exact same footage but with Patrick doing the commentary as to what to look for and why.
The final section is called Patrick Explains Tells this is essentially the performances from the first part of the DVD with Patrick telling you what to look for and why. Much the same as the previous section just the other performances.
The PDF that comes with the DVD (by inserting it into your computer) is basically all the material that was covered by the DVD. There are however a few things added. These are interesting but not really required for learning the effect.
In conclusion the effect is a very well thought out one which works almost 100% of the time. The method is a lot easier than traditional which hand tells but however this should not mean that it is a beginners effect. You need very strong audience management to get the most out of this effect. I do not mean management as for angles and things of that nature, this kind of management is to build rapport and interest in you and your performance.
There are many similar things on the market from gimmicked coins all the way to a routine that is very very similar. I have used the coins before and they work quite well however with this method you do not need them as the method has such a high success rate as is. The routine is very similar both in presentation and method, however there are slight differences. Personally I prefer the Prevaricator method as to me it is more reliable.
On aside note there are many reasons why this effect is so strong even though mathematically it is not as impressive if you were to find someones card. The reason is because this is real, layman know about being good with cards and as soon as you take out a deck you have to get past that to prove to them that this is a real experience for them. Another aspect that may not appeal to people is this effect can fail and that is actually a good thing. Failing in mentalism creates believability. The audience knows there may be a trick behind it but if there was why would you get it wrong. This idea in does go through their mind and helps cement that you posses a genuine skill more so than a simple talent based on subterfuge.
I will happily answer any questions either on here or by PM if you don't want them on public forum.
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