I just posted this on my private Facebook groups.

Okay, folks. I'm about to share a video of my first public performance of one version of my new routine, "Philter". Before you watch this, I have some comments and requests. One: I already know that the routine is way too long. The number one complaint I get about my magic is that it isn't quick enough. HOWEVER, I do not share the opinion that everything needs to be "quick and snappy". Ultimately, I just want people to think of me as an interesting person. If I can sustain the interest of a group of people for hours just based on my personality alone while NOT performing a mentalism routine, I see no reason why I shouldn't be able to sustain their interest similarly while performing a ten minute mentalism routine. A routine such as this is going to require a strong sense of character and a magnetic personality. However, in its present form, I do acknowledge that it's longer than it should be, and I have some additional work to do to tighten it up. Either way, this is going to end up being on the long side. If you don't have the patience to watch the whole thing (about 15:30 presently), I'd like to request that you just don't watch it at all. If you have the discipline to understand that this is not designed for the video medium, and that it is a COMPLETELY different dynamic to be directly involved with the routine, right there in the moment with me, perhaps you will appreciate this. The routine is going to be released as soon as I feel it is perfected, along with several variations. To those of you who choose to watch, I sincerely hope you enjoy it. Comments are welcome, as long as they're not complaints about duration. Thanks!

https://youtu.be/N9IB9ReX_2M

Haven't watched yet. But from Ben I expect just another gem...

Phedon

It IS a gem!!!!

Shooting a shorter, somewhat more compact version tomorrow. I'll post that too.

Ben, your mind must work on a different level than the average mortal when it comes to certain behaviors of a pack of cards. I could never create such on my own. Looking forward to seeing the next vid!

Hey, Ben...As an fyi...This post helped me enter the Café "Inner Circle." Thank you for this life-changing honor!

Glad I could be of service, RedDevil!

Ben is such a tallented creator & thinker. I've been fortunate enough to witness some of bens work as it's taken shape and his creative mind just blows mine!! All of Bens pieces are workable even by the most modest a performer in terms of technicality. The true genius is the clever use of multiple principles and great scripting which makes his work stand out.
I truly believe Ben is one of the top creators of this generation, and that's saying something.
I can't wait for this effect to be released.

Just watched it. It's fantastic. Such a good combination of multiple principles and well justified presentation. Looking forward to the release. Great job Ben!

Very nice

I've been eagerly awaiting the appearance of Philter, but based on this video, I see that this particular effect is not for me. Ben, do you anticipate that the other effects in Philter will have as much procedure as this one?

It was very nice indeed but a 3-4 minute version would be better IMHO.

Either you connect with my material or you don't. There will be much more compact versions of this taught in the download, but if you're looking for quick material, I'm not your guy.

Tomorrow I'm filming a more compact version of the routine. If you want to see it, PM me for the footage or join one of my private Facebook groups.

As Eugene Burger liked to say, "There are many rooms in the house of magic."

I'm actually happy about the fact that not everyone can relate to my approach and style. There are styles that I personally don't feel connected to, and yet still love and appreciate. I don't blame anyone if my style isn't for you. The last thing in the world I'd want is homogenous mentalism.

Whether you liked it or not, I deeply appreciate you taking the time to watch.

❤️❤️❤️

Thanks for sharing your performance-- some cool syntheses of methods. Sounds like you're already working to tighten this up, but thought I'd toss out a few constructive ideas based on what you've posted here.

A lot of the "downtime" is due to the fact that you choose to get into the trick from a borrowed deck situation. This is a nice option to have, but it might also be worth thinking about doing a little work ahead of time, and then using something like Jordan's riffle-shuffle subtlety. What's nice, is that this would seemingly preclude the use of certain methods, which puts you way ahead. You'd get something like this:

1. Magician presents a deck of cards, briefly spreads through to show they are in no particular order, but then insists that the spectator riffle shuffle anyway. Twice if he wants to!
2. Spectator freely(?) chooses a red suit and black suit, which the magician openly removes from the deck; emphasizing that he will not change their order after the spectator's shuffle.
3. Spectator divides these cards into two piles.
4. Each pile is then shuffled by the spectators again.
5. Then instruct one spectator to be even, the other to be odd, select a card accordingly, exchange, etc.

You should be able to get to the lie detector bit (the real meat of the effect) in 2-3 minutes tops. Plus I really feel like the whole thing would be more deceptive due to the early shuffles, which makes backtracking pretty darn hard.

Anyway, just thoughts to take or leave at your leisure. Thanks again for taking the time to develop and show the effect!

Cheers,
A

AJ,

Believe me, I've already thought of every possible way to get into this, including your suggestion. I've kept a developmental video diary of every developmental step, with all the alternate ways of getting started. Some of the methods are procedural, and some of them are instantaneous.

The video I posted is merely one way of doing it. In my instructional video, I'll present a ton of other ways, many of which are much faster than this.

Today I will be filming an alternate, more compact presentation. I'll be posting the footage on my private Facebook groups. If you want to see it done faster, come seek me out there. My main group is called "Ben Blau Mentalism". The other group is called "Mentalism Performance Space (Private)".

Thanks for watching,

Ben

It's worth pointing out, by the way, that I deliberately take my time in my performances. There are lots of things that I do as presentation choices that can easily be omitted. As an example, when I perform "Unfazed", it usually takes ten minutes. The late master Eugene Burger performed it in five. He was able to see the value in what he liked about the routine, and skillfully adapt it to his performance needs. I think the same applies to "Philter".

Ben

Video is shot, and uploading right now. Will post as soon as it's done.

Hi Ben. That was a really good watch. Looking forward to the next video.
Thanks a lot.

Joel

"Philter".

More compact version. I didn't go out of my way to shorten this as much as possible. My point here was simply to demonstrate that many of the steps are optional, and there are lots of ways of doing this (even more compactly than you see here) if you so desire.

I hope this brings some clarity to the issue.

https://youtu.be/T8Nml-cf9g0

This second video is much more of the pace I was hoeing for in the routine. I think the second version is even more fooling.

Great work Ben. It looks fantastic. Such a great combination of methods to create a beautiful mind reading effect.

Super clever. I love it