On 2013-03-14 19:19, Adam Hince wrote:

Quote:

On 2013-03-14 02:00, Mike Ince wrote:
I received mine in the mail today. Paul explains lots of subtleties that show he's performed this many times. It's easy to understand and very good in that Berglasian way. I love doing the chair test part without using a NW. I also love using "Berglasian" in a sentence.

My only qualm has to do with the condition of the book when it arrived. It was shipped from the UK to my mailbox here in Texas, not in a protective box but in a bubble-pack airmail envelope. Along the way it must have been dropped and dinged at least once if not taken out and read in the toilet by a postal worker. This book had a hard journey overseas and needed better protection from haphazard handling. After paying $160 it was disappointing opening the envelope to find my brand new book in less than pristine condition.

All that aside, NIX4 is every bit as good as reviewers have written here and if you order it new from Paul he'll receive his deserved support. If you live outside the UK I advise that you ask Paul to ship your copy in a box instead of an envelope to protect the investment. If you live in the UK your postal workers are nicer and you shouldn't see any damage when your book arrives.

I agree with everything you said, Mike.

NIX4 is an extremely well thought out routine and extremely economical. With so little "dirty work", you get a ton of mileage.

While my book doesn't sound as banged up as yours, all 4 corners of my book were dinged. For the hefty price tag, I wish Paul had packaged the goods better.

Regards,
-AH

On 2013-03-19 05:10, phillsmiff wrote:
New downloadable supplement:
Page to be inserted between pages 72 and 73 in NIX4
I hope this clarifies things.

Phill

On 2013-03-18 22:42, Mind Guerrilla wrote:
“NIX4” promises that you “get to have a running joke/theme through your show that can help bring disassociated effects together... The fact that disparate effects can be bound together to form a more cohesive performance is, in my opinion, worth the price of this book alone.”

Except the “running theme” relies on your making no mistakes in any of your earlier effects. If you mess up early on, you now have to deal with an elephant-in-the-room which takes the form of "2nd Chance" envelope staring down at the audience from an easel. The book does not address this scenario, despite the author's claim “I give you everything and leave out nothing.” So, unless you can guarantee the rest of your act will come off flawlessly, I'd say you're asking for trouble if you attempt to use this running gag idea. As a practical matter then, NIX4 is reduced to a standalone effect.

Although described as “virtually self-working” with a skill level of “easy,” the effect relies on five spectators following your instructions. What could possibly go wrong? You remember what a spectator is, right? It's the type of creature who occasionally give a glassy-eyed look of confusion when asked to cut a deck of cards (or to say their own name). In my opinion, the possibility of a screw-up is directly proportional to the number of volunteers you rely on to follow instructions. The author does discuss how to deal with certain screw-ups but, still, so much for "easy" and "self-working."

The ad says the effect is suitable for parlor or stage. Because of the method employed, I would think you would want to limit performance to one before a very large crowd- to minimize the possible harm of volunteers discussing their experience after the show. Even better if you can select audience members who came alone/purchased a single ticket (to cut down on the number of people they might blab to). So much for the parlor.

The key to the effect- what's written on the cards inside the envelopes- is clever. If this idea is the author's creation, he's to be lauded. I assume it is his own, since no credit to any predecessor is given. The effect is as good as any that may have been featured in Bascom Jones' MAGICK back in the day. It might even have had an entire issue devoted to it. But a copy of MAGICK never cost $150. The way “NIX4” has been fluffed up to a 226 page hardcover limited edition business is worth discussing.

What do I mean by “fluffed up?” Well, it's a 226 page book only technically. Books traditionally start numbering their pages after the foreword and introduction. Here the numbering starts from the first page. The book proper actually starts on page 19. Also, books traditionally don't continue their page count for the back page advertisements. This one does- 24 pages worth.

The book also has many blank pages. Purely for aesthetics, I'm sure. Each chapter title gets a page all its own and this is followed by a blank page. In total there are 40 blank pages. That's almost enough to turn me into an environmentalist.

Let's look at some of the other artistic choices that were made to contribute to the 226 page count. Entire sections are devoted to material another author may have been able to present as a single sentence or paragraph. For example, by listing 8 required items as bullet points, three sentences become an entire section called “Preparation.” Of course, the very next page is blank (presumably to allow the reader to catch their breath after reading a Staples shopping list). This is followed by a section called “Preparation: Envelope Words,” in which the reader is essentially told to write 5 words on 5 envelopes. In case the reader is unclear as to what a word looks like, there are five separate illustrations: each individual word in block letters inside a rectangle. Taken together with the preceding section, that makes 6 pages dedicated to, essentially, 4 or 5 paragraphs of material.

After seeing how careful the author is, going so far as to remind us what words look like, the reader might feel confident that he/she will be taken by the hand and will have every step exhaustively illustrated. However, while there are many illustrations (including pictures of chairs, in case the reader has never encountered such a sophisticated apparatus), there are none devoted to the one piece of “tomfoolery” in the effect. That's right- the number of illustrations for the “one deceptive move” “at the very heart of NIX4” is zero.

One section is dedicated to describing the construction of a thick card- due to concerns over strong stage lighting and chairs “that have holes in the lumbar section of the back rest.” Are there pictures of these types of chairs, which so vex the author? You're way ahead of me. No, there are not. All the chairs illustrated are of the non-lumbar-hole variety. Speaking of chairs, no concern is shown for one of the more common types you're liable to run into- the folding chair whose backrest has a curved or rounded top. Why should this be an issue? Because the instructions call for placing a rubber band around the backrest. With a rounded top, there's more of a chance of the rubber band sliding up and popping off (I think a lot of time and effort would have been spared by eliminating the chairs altogether or by instructing the reader to just tape the cards to the underside of the seats.).

I'll also mention that there are four pages devoted to explaining how to rip a sheet of paper off a pad (fully illustrated, of course). We have clearly entered You-Have-Got-To-Be-Pulling-My-Leg territory at this point.

Until now, I had avoided hopping on the “limited edition” bandwagon. Because of the positive reviews on this thread, I decided to take the plunge with this book. Thanks, guys. I passed on “Whisper” and “This Way Up” for fear that they would turn out to be pretty much what “NIX4” turned out to be. If anyone owns either of those other volumes, maybe you could you confirm or deny this. Also...would you care to swap for a copy of “NIX4?”

On 2013-03-23 16:12, parmenion wrote:
Mine is not arrived!
Ok, in the same time, it's logical as I don't buy it.

On 2013-03-14 04:47, kinesis wrote:

Quote:

On 2013-03-13 21:37, nique wrote:
Hey Derek!

What I mean is, it's mentioned that after you know the first 4 roles, then the 5th (by the time you get to him) is obvious through a process of elimination because you have to have known how many of each role there are to begin with (they're your envelopes after all). This is why the 5th spectator is handled through the use of a prediction. Page 34 will be the point in the routine I'm referring to here.

Think of it as already correctly returning 4 out of 5 drawings in a Sneak Thief type of routine; obviously the last drawing is the last spectator's.

My question is, do you tell the audience from the start that there are 3 truth tellers and 2 liars, before you distribute the envelopes? It should be obvious that you know, but should we openly state it as well?

~ Nique

Your answer is No, Why would it be obvious? What is on the cards is never rvealed to the audience. Check the full script and subtlties sections. What would it achieve but to take away from the effect.

On 2013-03-19 05:22, kinesis wrote:
I've read Mind Guerrilla's post and take on-board what he is saying but have to disagree with most of it.

Just in case Mind Geurrilla's post put's you off NIX4, I'd like to reply to many of his issues

The running gag - If you screw up elsewhere during the show you should have already considered potential 'outs' so that your screw-up is invisible or appear intentional. Or introduce the card specifically for the routine explaining that there is great potential for things going wrong during this segment and that you have brought in an escape clause. Or just don't use the running gag at all. ADAPT the routine to suit your style which is what you should do with all routines.

Working with people - The routine, like any chair routine, requires that participants are involved. If you are performing on stage you should have good audience management skills and script the routine so that you have several checks in place to ensure that every participant FULLY understands what is required of them. I think Paul does a good job in covering many possible scenarios

The Deceptive move - It's not even a move! It's explained and doesn't require any further explanation.

This is an expensive book that is priced for experienced performers. If you are struggling with this then rethink your occupation.

Tearing paper from a pad, chairs and card construction - Mind Guerrilla, really, is this a point of contention you find worthy to include in your review.

I like NIX4, so does Bob Cassidy but what would he know