The Manchurian Approach DVD - my review
If you've been interested in hypnosis as part of your magic act, you've likely heard of "Reality is Plastic" book and e-book by Anthony Jacquin. It's an in depth guide to "impromptu hypnosis" or street hypnosis, which is different than stage or therapeutic hypnosis and can be done at your local bar, pub, restaurant, Starbucks or just standing randomly on the sidewalk.
A couple of YouTube videos to get the general idea:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkHw_UmS1Ko
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiWIe2DGJl4
And the subsequent review links for that e-book:
http://www.hypnosisproductreviews.com/reviews/reality_plastic_review.htm
http://www.nlpconnections.com/reviews/5530-reality-plastic-anthony-jaquin.html
http://darrylslibrary.wordpress.com/2009/06/01/reality-is-plastic-by-anthony-jacquin/
And finally Anthony's homepage for more info:
http://www.anthonyjacquin.com/
And from this explosion of interest in impromptu hypnosis and Anthony's style erupts a 4-DVD set by Alakazam, showing how and demonstrating with various victims they meet on the street or in bars. Seriously, if you've ever been tickled when watching stage hypnosis and always wanted to perform it yourself for random audiences, prepare yourself for one of the coolest mentalism DVD's you'll watch this year.
Enter The Manchurian Approach DVD...
Buy it: http://www.penguinmagic.com/specialorderproduct.php?ID=11664
Price: $67 after discount
Demo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4SYMubNGA4
What you get:
- A four DVD set in folded plastic casing
The DVDs:
As to be expected with any Alakazam release, the DVD packaging, production, menus and overall quality are top notch. The case contains contents listing of what's inside on the back, along with a nice outer sleeve. The music is eerie along with modern, flashy transitions and titles between chapters. The sounds quality is fantastic, voices are easily heard and understood and the images are crisp and easy to watch.
DVD 1:
Titles (2 mins)
This is the demo available here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4SYMubNGA4
Introduction and Structure (2 mins)
The Opener (15 mins)
Anthony reviews how to approach people and introduce yourself without freaking them out (hint: "Yo homes, wanna be's hypnotizedz?!" doesn't work). Interestingly enough, he borrowed several ideas from the Pickup Artist community in formulating his master plan on how to get into the topic without scaring people off. Anthony also discusses the various reactions you receive when bringing up hypnosis to a crowd, and how to use these to your advantage.
He also tells you what hypnosis is, and is not. For example, you won't magically become The Pusher from X-Files Season 3, or convince some hot chick to visit the club bathroom with you.
The Set-Up (16 mins)
Here you prep the group for who can be hypnotized (or will allow themselves to be) and who cannot, and why. You give these guys various instructions on what to do, then search for distinct clues on which will be good candidates. He does emphasize not to lurch at the first great spectator that you believe can be your hypno-victim, but instead to scan as a group for more than one. Very detailed wording and body language strategies are utilized for maximum effect.
The Set-Piece (9 mins)
You instruct people to perform an easy hand exercise (as seen on the demo) and again scan the room for real participants vs guys that are just screwing with you. Anthony has some real insight on exactly what you're looking for.
Magnetic ________ (20 mins)
The final waving hands exercise your audience performs before receiving the hypno-grenades. He covers every subtlety you can possibly imagine, including what to do with weirdos who aren't cooperating, how to proceed if nobody is doing it correctly (hint: card trick!), and worst of all, what happens if your magical hypno dealio just ain't going well.
Pacing and Leading (11 mins)
Your leadership, confidence, strength and conviction all play into your hypno fun.
Eye to Hand Fixation (21 mins)
Here's where you lay down the whammy and either amaze yourself with your super hypno abilities, or epic fail and quickly exit through the back door. According to Anthony, there are five trillion different inductions available for knockout delivery but he only really uses two. It's not a card force after all, two should be sufficient.
Along with your fancy DVD, you receive three PDF files to read on your computer...
PDF files:
The first two files are examples of hypnosis using Anthony's method, and are 20'ish pages each:
Reality is Plastic - Proper Mental01.pdf (122k, 22 pages)
The Set Up: Creating a context for hypnosis
The Set Piece: Using Mentalism
Induction: The Eyelock
Technique: The Perception Peek
Effect: 9 Bar Perception
References
Reality is Plastic - Proper Mental02.pdf (114k, 21 pages)
The Set Up: Pre-show Hypnosis
The Set Piece: Freddy Jacquin Finger Lock
Induction: Invisible Induction
Effect: Reverse Mind Reading
References
The third file is first few chapters of Anthony's Reality is Plastic e-book:
RealityIsPlastic-Extract.pdf (572k, 34 pages)
1.0 What is impromptu hypnosis
2.0 Hypnosis: No introduction necessary
2.1 Being the hypnotist
2.2 Setting things up
2.3 How to tell if someone is hypnotized
2.4 Hypnotic phenomena
DVD 2:
The Handshake Induction (15 mins)
This is taught differently than the actual video performances, but whatever. Anthony's second favorite induction method. No, you don't yank them to the ground and yell SLEEP, it's actually very gentle and soothing. Again, you can select your own personal favorite, just get on the web and dig up a new one. The basic idea is to interrupt.
The Set-Piece as the induction (4 mins)
Sometimes you get lucky, and the guy's really sleepy to begin with. Maybe he was watching the news too late last night, or is all excited about having a whammy slapped on him, who knows. Amit Badiani uses this extensively with the college kids at their local pub, and about half fall into induction using immediately, which is cool.
Deepening, Fractionation & The Wake Up (30 mins)
Now that your spectator's head fell over, and you're able to move their arm around like a Gumby, what's next? Anthony details techniques for deepening the trance, bringing positive messages into the interaction, and proper wake-up methods.
Performance 1
Anthony works with two students at a local pub's outdoor patio. About halfway through, he starts to sweat profusely and removes his jacket, then someone yells at him that his microphone is attached so put it back on. The college student with a sweater wrapped around his neck (circa 1980 movies) gets the whammy, although both guys looked really sleepy. Good performance, since it shows from start to finish what to do.
Performance 2
On the same patio, Anthony switches his attention to sweater guy's Asian friend Dave, who gets the whammy next.
Performance 3
Amit Badiani (who was Anthony's student? I got confused) grabs a big chunk of college kids from the inside of a pub, and lets loose his hypno abilities. This is my favorite performance, because it demos:
a) The entire process, front to back
b) What to do with people who just aren't feeling it
c) What to do with fakers
d) How to handle a large group at one time, instead of one or two individuals
The spectators include a hot blonde and the spectator from Alakazam's LOOCH DVD set (you remember the dude with the greased short hair? "That couldn't have been a magic trick .. wow"). The guy at 0:58 here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1R1G9SAgW0c or either his twin brother. Am I the only one who notices these things?
Anyhoo, Amit tosses money on the ground and dares them to fetch it. But of course they can't, cause they're hypno-glued to the floor. Take that, BAM!
Performance 4
Anthony hypnotizes a big guy, and makes him play with his phone, along with a lot of other commands. This only shows the process from after the whammy is in place.
If you've been interested in hypnosis as part of your magic act, you've likely heard of "Reality is Plastic" book and e-book by Anthony Jacquin. It's an in depth guide to "impromptu hypnosis" or street hypnosis, which is different than stage or therapeutic hypnosis and can be done at your local bar, pub, restaurant, Starbucks or just standing randomly on the sidewalk.
A couple of YouTube videos to get the general idea:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkHw_UmS1Ko
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiWIe2DGJl4
And the subsequent review links for that e-book:
http://www.hypnosisproductreviews.com/reviews/reality_plastic_review.htm
http://www.nlpconnections.com/reviews/5530-reality-plastic-anthony-jaquin.html
http://darrylslibrary.wordpress.com/2009/06/01/reality-is-plastic-by-anthony-jacquin/
And finally Anthony's homepage for more info:
http://www.anthonyjacquin.com/
And from this explosion of interest in impromptu hypnosis and Anthony's style erupts a 4-DVD set by Alakazam, showing how and demonstrating with various victims they meet on the street or in bars. Seriously, if you've ever been tickled when watching stage hypnosis and always wanted to perform it yourself for random audiences, prepare yourself for one of the coolest mentalism DVD's you'll watch this year.
Enter The Manchurian Approach DVD...
Buy it: http://www.penguinmagic.com/specialorderproduct.php?ID=11664
Price: $67 after discount
Demo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4SYMubNGA4
What you get:
- A four DVD set in folded plastic casing
The DVDs:
As to be expected with any Alakazam release, the DVD packaging, production, menus and overall quality are top notch. The case contains contents listing of what's inside on the back, along with a nice outer sleeve. The music is eerie along with modern, flashy transitions and titles between chapters. The sounds quality is fantastic, voices are easily heard and understood and the images are crisp and easy to watch.
DVD 1:
Titles (2 mins)
This is the demo available here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4SYMubNGA4
Introduction and Structure (2 mins)
The Opener (15 mins)
Anthony reviews how to approach people and introduce yourself without freaking them out (hint: "Yo homes, wanna be's hypnotizedz?!" doesn't work). Interestingly enough, he borrowed several ideas from the Pickup Artist community in formulating his master plan on how to get into the topic without scaring people off. Anthony also discusses the various reactions you receive when bringing up hypnosis to a crowd, and how to use these to your advantage.
He also tells you what hypnosis is, and is not. For example, you won't magically become The Pusher from X-Files Season 3, or convince some hot chick to visit the club bathroom with you.
The Set-Up (16 mins)
Here you prep the group for who can be hypnotized (or will allow themselves to be) and who cannot, and why. You give these guys various instructions on what to do, then search for distinct clues on which will be good candidates. He does emphasize not to lurch at the first great spectator that you believe can be your hypno-victim, but instead to scan as a group for more than one. Very detailed wording and body language strategies are utilized for maximum effect.
The Set-Piece (9 mins)
You instruct people to perform an easy hand exercise (as seen on the demo) and again scan the room for real participants vs guys that are just screwing with you. Anthony has some real insight on exactly what you're looking for.
Magnetic ________ (20 mins)
The final waving hands exercise your audience performs before receiving the hypno-grenades. He covers every subtlety you can possibly imagine, including what to do with weirdos who aren't cooperating, how to proceed if nobody is doing it correctly (hint: card trick!), and worst of all, what happens if your magical hypno dealio just ain't going well.
Pacing and Leading (11 mins)
Your leadership, confidence, strength and conviction all play into your hypno fun.
Eye to Hand Fixation (21 mins)
Here's where you lay down the whammy and either amaze yourself with your super hypno abilities, or epic fail and quickly exit through the back door. According to Anthony, there are five trillion different inductions available for knockout delivery but he only really uses two. It's not a card force after all, two should be sufficient.
Along with your fancy DVD, you receive three PDF files to read on your computer...
PDF files:
The first two files are examples of hypnosis using Anthony's method, and are 20'ish pages each:
Reality is Plastic - Proper Mental01.pdf (122k, 22 pages)
The Set Up: Creating a context for hypnosis
The Set Piece: Using Mentalism
Induction: The Eyelock
Technique: The Perception Peek
Effect: 9 Bar Perception
References
Reality is Plastic - Proper Mental02.pdf (114k, 21 pages)
The Set Up: Pre-show Hypnosis
The Set Piece: Freddy Jacquin Finger Lock
Induction: Invisible Induction
Effect: Reverse Mind Reading
References
The third file is first few chapters of Anthony's Reality is Plastic e-book:
RealityIsPlastic-Extract.pdf (572k, 34 pages)
1.0 What is impromptu hypnosis
2.0 Hypnosis: No introduction necessary
2.1 Being the hypnotist
2.2 Setting things up
2.3 How to tell if someone is hypnotized
2.4 Hypnotic phenomena
DVD 2:
The Handshake Induction (15 mins)
This is taught differently than the actual video performances, but whatever. Anthony's second favorite induction method. No, you don't yank them to the ground and yell SLEEP, it's actually very gentle and soothing. Again, you can select your own personal favorite, just get on the web and dig up a new one. The basic idea is to interrupt.
The Set-Piece as the induction (4 mins)
Sometimes you get lucky, and the guy's really sleepy to begin with. Maybe he was watching the news too late last night, or is all excited about having a whammy slapped on him, who knows. Amit Badiani uses this extensively with the college kids at their local pub, and about half fall into induction using immediately, which is cool.
Deepening, Fractionation & The Wake Up (30 mins)
Now that your spectator's head fell over, and you're able to move their arm around like a Gumby, what's next? Anthony details techniques for deepening the trance, bringing positive messages into the interaction, and proper wake-up methods.
Performance 1
Anthony works with two students at a local pub's outdoor patio. About halfway through, he starts to sweat profusely and removes his jacket, then someone yells at him that his microphone is attached so put it back on. The college student with a sweater wrapped around his neck (circa 1980 movies) gets the whammy, although both guys looked really sleepy. Good performance, since it shows from start to finish what to do.
Performance 2
On the same patio, Anthony switches his attention to sweater guy's Asian friend Dave, who gets the whammy next.
Performance 3
Amit Badiani (who was Anthony's student? I got confused) grabs a big chunk of college kids from the inside of a pub, and lets loose his hypno abilities. This is my favorite performance, because it demos:
a) The entire process, front to back
b) What to do with people who just aren't feeling it
c) What to do with fakers
d) How to handle a large group at one time, instead of one or two individuals
The spectators include a hot blonde and the spectator from Alakazam's LOOCH DVD set (you remember the dude with the greased short hair? "That couldn't have been a magic trick .. wow"). The guy at 0:58 here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1R1G9SAgW0c or either his twin brother. Am I the only one who notices these things?
Anyhoo, Amit tosses money on the ground and dares them to fetch it. But of course they can't, cause they're hypno-glued to the floor. Take that, BAM!
Performance 4
Anthony hypnotizes a big guy, and makes him play with his phone, along with a lot of other commands. This only shows the process from after the whammy is in place.