I loved white star and til death, and I can see how I'd want to present this...however, my main stumbling block is the cards with the details on them...

if they were index-card style things with the details of the soldiers on them (like they would be in reality) then I'd be at it like a dog eating hot chips... but cos of the orientation they're a bit too top trumps for me...

and yes, I know I'm being picky...

If the method is what I think it is, that is very clever.


David, do you mean Vets from world war 1? I believe the last male vet died last year.

Andy

I said above that I like this very much. Why? I saw it at Doomsday. And it is a deck version of Luna, modified to war.

Now, our method was kindly given to us by Larry Becker who is cited in each Luna booklet...but the parallels are there for sure...I would not say it is a breakthrough but a nice lateral application of known principles. Whitestar is the same.
This is not to say that such effects do not hit hard. Whitestar is one of the best things I so, either on stage or in the parlour.

I just think some of the hyperbole could be toned down a touch...

I am certain this will sell well and play well...

Just...well, ya know...

Dr Todd

Hi, Andy...

I'm not talking about WWI vets necessarily. I am talking about vets in general. Having done a lot of shows for them, I know vets are touchy about ALL vets -- not just the ones from their war. And I'm not trying to cast a negative light on the effect necessarily. I think it promises to be quite wonderful. But if they ARE pictures of soldiers who really WERE killed in battle...it seems to me that it pushes the line. Using images of men who actually died in battle for a MAGIC trick? Hmmm.

Personally, I have no problem with it. But I'm just sayin'...

David

Hi David,

Got you, I see where your coming from now.

Thanks for clarifying.

Andy

I remember when I first settled on how to present whitestar... I did it for my dad (who was a royal navy man for about 15 years)...he got quite teary eyed over it all... but interestingly because he was imagining the poor cabin boys and people like that, rather than the rich folk...

so as I blew the whistle I had as one of the markers to signify the end of the routine, which I also started it with too (i changed it to two old pennies, one was a s***l so I could have one dissapear) - I could see my dad welling up...

one of the many reasons why I love my dad that he was thinking of the people he did...

so anyway - yeah, It can hit anyone who's spent anytime under those circumstances harder than the rest of us...the difficulty is judging whether that would be a good or a bad thing...

Please please Stop bringing things like this out......
My wife's gonna kill me when she sees how much I spend!!
Lol
;-)

I don't have the effect, but it sounds and looks intriguing. David, as to using photos of real soldiers that died, well, I like that idea. I agree with you that it is pushing things a bit, but my bizarre stuff is deliberately edgy. Anyway, in either case, this looks like a fine, fine effect.

I saw the video and for me it looked like a puzzle but not for a strong emotional effect.
What happens there?
You have 50 or 60 pictures of soldiers who died in the WW1 and you have ca. 10 personal objects. The spectator choose one picture and takes the personal objects specified on that card. Now the "wonderman" is able to tell informations about that person like name, birth date, etc. The explanation for that is psychometry. That´s it.
No matter how strong or clever the method is, if the story has no real emotional hook it leaves the spectator cold as the soldiers on these photos.
The "wonderman" tells the spectator to choose a picture, at least that´s all what the spectator really does. The "wonderman" tells something about psychometry but not even touch the objects "to build up a connection", instead of this the spectator takes 2 objects written down on the back of that picture. 2 from 10 objects (or maybe 12 objects) but with a chance of 60 soldiers...
So, where are the other 100 personal objects? Or did all these poor souls also share their personal objects with each other?
Sorry, but just "the tragedy of war and death" dead soldierpictures shaped is not enough for me for a strong story.

"White star" works because the spectator do "everything" and the story of the titanic is well known, since the movie als o a little bit romantic. It´s "easy" to "weave" an emotional connection to the spectator.

"Til death" may be also. I´m not a big fan of that effect also, but this is another story and nevertheless better than "the fallen" because again the spectator does all the work and there is a traceable story with love and murder.

But to tell something about 1 of 60 soldiers who died in WW1 (like millions of other people too and much more in WW2)and 2 of 10 personal objects looks a little bit unattributed for me. I don´t like the slim storyline.

"The fallen" seems to me in contrast like a puzzle with the touch of card trick and the stale aftertaste of spirit of morbid curiosity.

Not my cup of tea. But of course this is just my personal opinion after seeing the video.

You raise a good point, Thorsten. Any effect that does not have the proper presentation will not go over all that well and will look like , as you say, a puzzle. But with a good presentation, many "puzzling" effects can be killers (no pun intended).

For example, EvilDan, George Colavito and I all came up with presentations for the Geneva prediction Watch. For most guys, this effect is, hey look, I predicted the time! TA DAAAAAA! Well Evildan, George and I have routines for this watch that leave people shaking, crying or both.

David Paar has a cool little effect called "A Game of Life and Death". In my hands, it is no longer a cool or comedy effect. It is an engaging piece of theater that grabs the audience by the throat (metaphorically of course) and leaves some spectators afraid to go to sleep that night.

In the case of The Fallen, the possibilities for routining and revising the method are several.

My bizarre routines are just that...bizarre. They are edgy and spooky and the audiences feel that some of this might be real. They attribute it to voodoo, Santeria, occult influences and in some cases, darned good magick.

In my opinion, Mr. Critchlow has provided us with the idea and some props for a wonderfully eerie effect...or a cool psychic effect, depending on which way you want to go.

Glad to see Game of Life and Death is being used that way - I do it in a similar veing using tarot cards... and an appointment in Samara

Sounds very interesting, Dr. S! I like the direction you take it in.

I picked this up at the weekend, as someone who does not normally perform this type of effect although I do perform till death when the time suits, I think this is an excellent effect. I will probably change the way I perfrom it from the trailor and I am sure that whoever buys this will easily come up with their own presentation. I know some people are worried about using world war photos but if performed correctly I cannot see any problems. I think with the right story this will have a very strong effect on your audiance.
The props that come with it are adequate for the effect although would benefit from showing some signs of age, something which is not too difficult to achieve. The cards themselves are well made and should last a long time. One thing about this type of effect is that the more you perform it the better the cards will look.
The best thing about this is the method, their are two ways of performing explained on the dvd and let me say now Jim's explanation is ideal, he is very patient in his teaching of it so that you don't have to keep flicking back to watch something again . The first requires no fi****g at all, but does need the spectator to handle the props. The second requires no props at all and a very small amount of fi****g. I will probably use the latter with a twist of my own which I think will disguise the fi****g. I am not aware of any effect where you can reveal so much information with so little starting information it is truly amazing, I suspect the method is a combination of several methods, if that is the case the way it has been put together is pure genius. The fact that you reveal so much information and they can examine the cards to their hearts content leaves them with no explanation as to how the effect was done,there is just too much information revealed for them to believe that anyone could remember it all, at least that's how it will seem. Obviously there is some memorisation to do but with Jim's method it is so easy that I was able to work the effect without any errors within one hour of putting the dvd on.
All in all I think this is an excellent effect one which if performed at the right time will leave the audiance speechless.

I thought it wasn't out until the 11th of November.

Steve

Alakazam had some pre-release at the magic circle dealer day on Saturday, I believe they sold out but if you want one it might be worth a phone call.

Thanks Rowland.
I put my order in last week so maybe one of the early ones is on its way over to me.

Steve

Hi Steve I hope you like it as much as I do, if you have any questions feel free to pm me.
Rowland

I would suggest that there is an effect that does just that Rowland

Todd

Tony, I´m in complete agreement with you that a really good "presenter" with the right showmanship is able to pull nearly any mediocre effect to a higher level. A good storyteller not even needs an effect to make his audience cry, but this is another story.
I´m sure if I would see your presentation of that effect (but please with a different storyline) I would like it much more.
But what would I expect when I buy an "bizarre" or "storytelling" effect?
Getting inspired by the idea or/and
a good story and/or
very interesting, special props
and a consistent emotional and logical connection between the effect, the story and my motivation.
Of course I can create a complete different story "around" these cards and objects but is this the best way to create new own acts? We have some props and a method, now we are looking for a story - a story from the WW1. To be homest, I have no clue how to present it with a better storyline that fits to the props - missing inspiration.

In magic it´s not so strange to begin with the effect and then the story, motivation, etc. You have an effect and now you look for a story. But in mentalism, bizarre or storytelling it´s often not the best way to begin with the effect if you want to create something own.

The other way is to begin with the story, motivation and then the effect, last but not least the props (sometimes the props are the first and gives you the inspiration for the story). I prefer this way.

So for me "the fallen" is just a collection of some props and a method but the "putty" is missing-where is the story?
For these props I miss, I wish a book with the best 10 stories, ideas and upgrades from different creative minds like you or Dr. Spector and others. With such book for the same price I would buy it.

I expected to have some comments regarding my post, which is good. Everyone has their own opinions which of course they are entitled to.Todd, I would love to know the name of the effect you are talking about, if it is indeed better I am sure I and others would be interested in buying it. The fallen like any effect is only as good as the reaction you receive from your spectators. It doesn't matter how much we like it,if it doesn't provoke the kind of reaction we are looking for then we won't use it. This is why, again and it justin my opinion the reviews I trust the most are from people that have the effect and use it. The fallen gets the right reaction for me. This will not sit in a drawer it is a worker.