Prophet by Tom Isaacson Review

[Jack The Magician]

Prophet by Tom Isaacson

One word -- wow. Without exaggeration, it is the best, most visually stunning bill change I have ever seen -- bar none. The routine is brilliant; and the effect is just as sick. And, as always, the Download is immaculately produced and shot in high-caliber, slick High Definition. Simply a knockout.

The Introduction:

Tom Isaacson explores the origins of Prophet -- from Patrick Page's "Easy Money" in 1960 to how Prophet came to fruition today -- while periodically inserting some welcomed and engaging humor that both relaxes the mood, and sets the foundation for an immensely entertaining and knowledge-laden video.

The Performances:

This section features complete performance footage, parts of which can be seen in the preview video. I was blown away by the priceless reactions, as Tom utilizes both the Snap and One-Handed Change, respectively, to change five $1 dollar bills to five $100 dollar bills and then instantaneously back. Simply captivating -- "If we really could do magic, this is what it would look like." Indeed.

The Gimmick:

Once again, Tom discusses the history of the bill change and the foundations thereof. Thereafter, he goes on to introduce the gimmick, and step-by-step precisely constructs it. Nothing regarding the construction is rushed, but rather is fluidly taught in-depth. The gimmick, itself, is neither too difficult nor complicated, and all necessary components thereof are easily accessible. Moreover, Tom continuously interjects priceless tips and advice on how to ensure the gimmick is perfect and ready for performance use, covering all possible facets.

The Handling:

Tom discusses handling the bills, and provides keen advice on how to be as natural as possible with them. In addition, he explores numerous ways to fairly and cleanly display the bills front and back, and casually hand them out to spectators.

Tom teaches how to get in position to change the bills via the killer Snap Changes, where one's finger positions should be, and how to implement said change. Subsequently, Tom discusses how one can go about turning the bills back, and, additionally, teaches the One-Handed Change, which is simply beautiful. Furthermore, Tom explores essential advice on how to make the effect appear as real as possible, how to handle and present the bills, and, importantly, how to handle spectators. Poetry in motion.

While the method behind Prophet is quite simple, it, nevertheless, will take time to perfect. However, all one needs is the drive to practice (and, perhaps, a mirror in front of which to practice).

The Final Thoughts:

In this final section, Tom explores the many applications of Prophet. One is not restricted to just changing five $1 dollar bills to five $100 dollar bills, but can also use other denominations, as well as turn pieces of paper into real money -- all of which Tom discusses, among other intriguing applications. Further, Tom explores additional points and aspects of psychology -- as he does throughout the video -- for performing Prophet, in addition to providing practical details, tips, and advice. Each nuance is worth its weight in gold.

Conclusion:

Amazing. Miraculous. Impeccable. Fantabulous. Omni-fantabulous (not sure that's even a word). There are no camera tricks. There is no editing, or the such. The visually astonishing, jaw-dropping effect that you see in the preview is what you get with Prophet -- and much, much more.

In short, my highest recommendation: Prophet is worth every penny that it is selling for, times twenty -- literally and figuratively.

 

[Jakeh]

Great review. I can't wait to pick this up.

 

[Addy]

Thanks Jack. Your review is very informative.

I have two questions though.

As I live in Hong Kong where all the bills are different sized, I must only perform the paper to money change if I ever perform Prophet. However, I've read from other posts that it's really easy to flash when doing the paper to money change and makes the moves unnatural and so on. Is that so?

Also, are the bills examinable? I know people usually won't ask for inspection but i just want to know, just to be safe.

 

[iq92]

The size is not the problem in my case, it's the color. Our bills have distinct colors that people can easily distinguish the bill's denomination with just a look. Luckily for me though, the sizes are all the same.

I was also wondering if you could borrow the bills from the spectators. And here, can you hand the bills out to them afterwards, as in to give them the bills? Aside from just changing the bills all of a sudden, I plan to use it in casual situations, like to pay for something that I "don't have enough money for".

 

[Cyrus]

You could probably borrow a few bills from the spectators but it would be awkward and wouldn't work very well. But its good to use the patter that Tom does or something similar, "If I asked you for your money, you probably wouldn't trust me right?"

You can hand out most of the bills before and after the trick. Thats probably as far as I can go without some exposure.

 

[Sam Hardy]

Yeah, in theory, you could borrow a few bills from your spectator, but like Cyrus said, it'd be awkward. It's best to use your own - like stated before, use Tom's patter - "You probably wouldn't trust me with your money...", or whatever he says.

I'm dying to try Prophet out, but I don't have 5 £5 notes at the minute.

 

[Jack The Magician]

As I live in Hong Kong where all the bills are different sized, I must only perform the paper to money change if I ever perform Prophet. However, I've read from other posts that it's really easy to flash when doing the paper to money change and makes the moves unnatural and so on. Is that so?

As I am in the United States, I actually practiced changing five pieces of green art paper -- that reflected the size and color of US dollars -- into five $1 bills. It worked well -- no issues whatsoever -- and, for me, it almost tantamount to and as visually stunning as simply changing bills to bills.

In addition, it was an interesting dynamic with an art to reality motif, as I quickly sketched the face of a USD onto the five pieces of green paper, which is also a great way to involve your spectators, and, with a snap of the fingers, instantly changed them all into real money.

In theory, I believe a similar type of paper to money application should be workable and applicable for any type of currency.

Cheers,

 

[ninja]

yeah the size does kind of matter but you could do it where you turn paper into real money and that is still pretty damn amazing as for the color that doesn't matter at all it actually makes it better and more visual so yeah. the only problem i had was that he really didn't explain a clean up but seriously are you going to hand out your money? besides it is not difficult to make a clean up i have thought of 3 and i can't wait to preform.


and this trick is so easy he says it will take some practice but a half and hour of practice you will look like a criss angel! (camera editing)

 

[iq92]

Well yeah, I'd still want to be able to hand it out to them right after if that's possible. I'm thinking of a situation where I seem to have no money to pay for something, and then perform Prophet, then you simply hand them the extra money that you just produced. The cashier-turned-spectator goes . Quick and unexpected. Instances like that.

Sometimes I'd like to be able to give them the something rather than just keep the something back. It adds to the transparency of the effect. I don't know, sometimes it just has a better impact for me. Not that I have to give them something for the trick to be effective but you know; you're going about your usual stuff, buying something, then suddenly you do Prophet. Feels good for me

 

[TomIsaacson]

Well yeah, I'd still want to be able to hand it out to them right after if that's possible. I'm thinking of a situation where I seem to have no money to pay for something, and then perform Prophet, then you simply hand them the extra money that you just produced. The cashier-turned-spectator goes . Quick and unexpected. Instances like that.

Sometimes I'd like to be able to give them the something rather than just keep the something back. It adds to the transparency of the effect. I don't know, sometimes it just has a better impact for me. Not that I have to give them something for the trick to be effective but you know; you're going about your usual stuff, buying something, then suddenly you do Prophet. Feels good for me

Yeah, that is an advantage of making it with $1's and 5's, you can "practice" it every time you buy something for a couple bucks. You just have to "sell" the acting, another cool thing is that if you can gain FIRM eye contact with them, do the change without the bills moving, so they don't catch anything peripherally, but when they look down, the "$1" is now changed into a $5. That will catch anyone off guard, and the more you play it off like nothing happened, the more they will think they just lost their mind.

 

[Cyrus]

Yeah, that is an advantage of making it with $1's and 5's, you can "practice" it every time you buy something for a couple bucks. You just have to "sell" the acting, another cool thing is that if you can gain FIRM eye contact with them, do the change without the bills moving, so they don't catch anything peripherally, but when they look down, the "$1" is now changed into a $5. That will catch anyone off guard, and the more you play it off like nothing happened, the more they will think they just lost their mind.

Haha, I like that idea.

 

[hijackedmagic]

Yeah, that is an advantage of making it with $1's and 5's, you can "practice" it every time you buy something for a couple bucks. You just have to "sell" the acting, another cool thing is that if you can gain FIRM eye contact with them, do the change without the bills moving, so they don't catch anything peripherally, but when they look down, the "$1" is now changed into a $5. That will catch anyone off guard, and the more you play it off like nothing happened, the more they will think they just lost their mind.

yeah, i use 1's and 5's. i got it yesterday and i have to say, i love it. this is what magic looks like

 

[Sergey]

How are the angles?

 

[mattjones]

Sorry, I didn't catch that...
Is it being said that it IS possible to perform Prophet and hand the bills out immediately after? If so, is it practical? How difficult is the clean-up?

Thanks.

 

[Jack The Magician]

Immediately after performing one of the changes in Prophet (e.g., the Snap Change or the One-Handed Change), you hand out a majority of the bills. I usually only allow a few -- one, two, or sometimes three -- bills to be examined. This makes it easier to keep an eye on the bills, and ensure that no one runs away with them, which would thereby make the bills disappear... forever.

The clean-up is easy; simply put the bills in your wallet or pocket, and you are instantly reset to do Prophet all over again.

Regarding angles, you can perform Prophet almost surrounded -- though it is best if all spectators are in front of you or to your sides (so the changes can be seen). The angles are fantastic. Of course, they vary a bit, depending on which change is being used -- which is thoroughly covered on the DVD.

On Friday, I performed Prophet for about 30 people, all of whom, as well as I, were in a circle, albeit a crooked one (not a perfect elliptical circle, like that of the planets in our solar system). I digress. Nevertheless, Prophet brought the proverbial house down. It killed. I performed it towards the end of the night, and when I tried to leave the backyard -- my backyard -- they would not let me until I showed them some more tricks. Essentially, I was held captive in my own home, but it was all good.

Cheers,
JTM

 

[mattjones]

Immediately after performing one of the changes in Prophet (e.g., the Snap Change or the One-Handed Change), you hand out a majority of the bills. I usually only allow a few -- one, two, or sometimes three -- bills to be examined. This makes it easier to keep an eye on the bills, and ensure that no one runs away with them, which would thereby make the bills disappear... forever.

The clean-up is easy; simply put the bills in your wallet or pocket, and you are instantly reset to do Prophet all over again.

Regarding angles, you can perform Prophet almost surrounded -- though it is best if all spectators are in front of you or to your sides (so the changes can be seen). The angles are fantastic. Of course, they vary a bit, depending on which change is being used -- which is thoroughly covered on the DVD.

On Friday, I performed Prophet for about 30 people, all of whom, as well as I, were in a circle, albeit a crooked one (not a perfect elliptical circle, like that of the planets in our solar system). I digress. Nevertheless, Prophet brought the proverbial house down. It killed. I performed it towards the end of the night, and when I tried to leave the backyard -- my backyard -- they would not let me until I showed them some more tricks. Essentially, I was held captive in my own home, but it was all good.

Cheers,
JTM

Cool. Thanks for the insight, JTM! Prophet may very well be my next purchase...

 

[Randomwrath]

Immediately after performing one of the changes in Prophet (e.g., the Snap Change or the One-Handed Change), you hand out a majority of the bills. I usually only allow a few -- one, two, or sometimes three -- bills to be examined. This makes it easier to keep an eye on the bills, and ensure that no one runs away with them, which would thereby make the bills disappear... forever.

The clean-up is easy; simply put the bills in your wallet or pocket, and you are instantly reset to do Prophet all over again.

Regarding angles, you can perform Prophet almost surrounded -- though it is best if all spectators are in front of you or to your sides (so the changes can be seen). The angles are fantastic. Of course, they vary a bit, depending on which change is being used -- which is thoroughly covered on the DVD.

On Friday, I performed Prophet for about 30 people, all of whom, as well as I, were in a circle, albeit a crooked one (not a perfect elliptical circle, like that of the planets in our solar system). I digress. Nevertheless, Prophet brought the proverbial house down. It killed. I performed it towards the end of the night, and when I tried to leave the backyard -- my backyard -- they would not let me until I showed them some more tricks. Essentially, I was held captive in my own home, but it was all good.

Cheers,
JTM

Must be nice to be wanted (-_-)

 

[magic_slave]

i got some question here..

can the bills be in different sizes?
is the gimmick easy to make?

 

[Jack The Magician]

i got some question here..

can the bills be in different sizes?
is the gimmick easy to make?

As mentioned in the Prophet FAQ, both bill denominations - the one you start with and the one you change them into - should be of the same size.

Regarding the gimmick, it will likely take some time to construct at first, but once you get it down, it should not take too long. Tom Isaacson goes over the construction really well - and, for me, the effect is well worth it. I've only had to build two gimmicks in a year span - so I could change the bills into two different denominations - and they've lasted me a long time.

Cheers,
JTM

 

[romeo sierra]

I'm a fan of Patrick Page's Easy Money and all its modern variants. Here's an idea you can use in a grocery market or convenience stores:

Buy something small like a pack of gum and show a wallet full of Benjamins. Don't actually count them or anything, just show them in your hands. I don't know about you, but I always get the feeling that cashiers hate having to give up their entire register just to break a hundred-dollar bill. Offer to make things more convenient by instantly changing the wad of hundreds into five-dollar bills. Pay for the gum using one of the fives. When you get the change back, pocket the coins and add the singles to the gimmick. You're in position to execute the move again to apparently multiply your change 100X over! This hits especially hard because the cashier gave you one of the bills that transformed into a hundred. Timed right, you can walk out with your purchase and leave the cashier and others standing in line in absolute awe.

I prefer doing this entire thing silently and letting facial expressions tell the story. It's so casual. It's organic. It's motivated... and so, so good.

RS.