Derren Brown Trick or treat

skipjack said:
You've given no good reason why it was a good idea to allow the gun to go completely out of view of the camera at the key moment when Derren was supposed to fire it.
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Some people here have already explained that it might have been just a filming mistake, not some " good idea" that they thought of.


And more important, it happened 4 years ago. GET OVER IT ALREADY.
 
BPScooter said:
Maybe a good disclaimer for a professional magician would be something like: "I am going to fool you. I am not above using misdirection, suggestion, props, gimmicks, informants, stooges, assistants, or any other technique. I will not use psychic powers, spirits, or quantum uncertainties. However, you will find my presentation of these demonstrations to be clear and compelling, such that you will have no idea how I fooled you." Maybe that would take the wind out of some of the mystery and fun of some types of magic presentations, but for something like a "straight and serious" delivery, might also really get the audience hyper-alert and ready for some big foolitude.
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Disclaimers depend on the type of show- 'magic' or mentalism/mental magic, the performer, the venue and other factors. For most magic shows, using a disclaimer like that could be compared to having every movie shown in a theater preceded by "this movie is going to use actors, film editing, special effects crews, computer images and other techniques. No real bullets are used and actors that die in the movie are not really dead".

Mentalists such as Kreskin, Banachek, Marc Salem, Darren Brown, etc often use a disclaimer that informs the audience that they're not claiming any supernatural powers, but the audience can decide for themselves. The experience of many is that the disclaimer is irreverent- people who want to believe, will.

BPScooter said:
From looking at the Favorite Magicians thread, I was able to look a little at the Eugene Burger and Jeff McBride sites--they seem like guys that might have thought or written about this aspect of the philosophy. Max Maven, too. If anybody has any suggestions of a good book or 2 that follow this angle (the overall psychology of conjuring in the modern era), or maybe a DVD or something
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Unfortunately, while Burger, McBride, Maven and many others have written about that aspect of the philosophy, there's very little written in concise sources. Generally the information is spread out among dozens of books and articles. Most of Eugene Burgers books have more than the average magic book on his philosophy, but even then it's scattered throughout the book with tricks and explanations.

Two of the better books available on magic theory are Darwin Ortiz Strong Magic and Designing Miracles- they probably have a lot of what you seem to be looking for, but even there it's mixed in with a lot of other general theory that strays from what you want. So you really have to be ready to plow through a lot of material to dig out the bits that cover your interest.
 
Psychological Subtelties or even Derren's Absolute Magic touch on what you require,although not exclusively.
 
Thanks, gents, as always for the help. Now I know what I'll be doing on some upcoming long winter nights!
 
DJM said:
Some people here have already explained that it might have been just a filming mistake, not some " good idea" that they thought of.
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There's no excuse for a mistake at the key moment of an effect which puts the key event out of view. The fact that the performance can still be viewed years later is all the more reason to get it right in the first place.
 
skipjack said:
There's no excuse for a mistake at the key moment of an effect which puts the key event out of view. The fact that the performance can still be viewed years later is all the more reason to get it right in the first place.
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Not really.There is only you in the entire world who is bothered by this.
Get a life.:rolleyes:
 
skipjack said:
There's no excuse for a mistake at the key moment of an effect which puts the key event out of view. The fact that the performance can still be viewed years later is all the more reason to get it right in the first place.
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Oh, there's an excuse. Derren and his crew are human, and so they make mistakes. Just like professional movie directors and editors sometimes make mistakes, TV hosts, actors, authors, reporters or anyone else.

I know it's hard to believe most people can't be as perfect as you, but it's a fact. If you can't deal with it, "their" are shrinks who would be glad to help you.
 
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Off the thread but back on topic - Asda are currently selling the "Trick of the Mind" book for half the RRP - a princely £3.50! :)
 
Just about a quarter of the way through. So thats how he does the Russian Roulette trick.:) I am enjoying it up to now.
 
AgeGap said:
Just about a quarter of the way through. So thats how he does the Russian Roulette trick.:) I am enjoying it up to now.
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Don't give skipjack an excuse to come back!
I love the floating table photo in the centre.If it isn't doctored(which it doesn't appear to be)it's a great illusion.
 
Azrael 5 said:
I love the floating table photo in the centre.If it isn't doctored(which it doesn't appear to be)it's a great illusion.
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That's got me puzzled. I wonder if any setting up is used and how heavy the table is.
 
Looks like Skippy's psychiatrist only lets him use the internet every few weeks now. That's a good decision. :o
 
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Am I the only one who hates this guy?

He's a major league woo promoter. It seems all his tricks anymore are about using "embedded triggers" and "psychological powers" and all sorts of other pseudo-science nonsense. The camera work on his show is atrocious and doesn't even make a half assed effort to make some of his tricks seem in any way genuine (The "subliminal advertising" trick is a good example of this)

The few that aren't are lazy renditions of tricks that you could learn in the 13 steps to mentalism.

Sorry, but it really seems to me the only reason anyone likes this guy is because he's pretty.
 
Yes, I'm sure guys are watching his shows because he's pretty. WTF?

You can learn most of the mentalism effects in 13 Steps, it's a major book. So obviously Derren does the same, so do most of the other mentalists. I have no idea what your point is. Show me one mentalist who doesn't perform things written in that book.

Derren can't promote Woo because he admits being a magician and that he creates illusions. But I guess he's so pretty that it went over your head.

The real question should be: Skippy, is that you? :boxedin:
 
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