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Max Maven's VideoMind Phase One: Parlour Mentalism

Available From MagicTricks.co.uk

Price/Costs £19.99

Product Description

"It's done under what can be the most difficult conditions: performing for a medium - sized audience with no formal stage setting to focus attention. Sightlines are often poor, and people must be drawn into the experience even if they can't see everything clearly. Too, you may be working surrounded, so you'd better be sure there are no angle problems. And, as it's likely to be a social occasion filled with potential distractions, your material needs to be compelling from the very first moment: intriguing presentations that build to powerful conclusions. This video features a range of commercial Parlor Mentalism. No pre-show work, no secret assistance; this is practical material for the solo performer, using subtle and unusual methods that are as fascinating as the effects they produce."

The Review

The Mockingbird

"The Mockingbird - A sampling from the fabled "Birds of Prey" series. At its core, an inexplicable demonstration of playing card telepathy - but you'll discover how audience participation and an unfolding plot structure can transform an already strong effect into a full - fledged routine."

Maven always fries me with his card mentalism. This one was no exception. Put simply, it is a classic - someone picks a card and the mentalist tells them what it is. There is something different about this version though - something so fair. THEY shuffle the UNGIMMICKED deck - not you. AUDIENCE MEMBERS them shuffle the deck in parts. Someone takes a card from one of the piles on the table whilst you look away - and yet incredibly, through apparent mind-reading you whittle them down until you are left with one card, which is the mate of their selection.

Trust me, no-one will figure this one out. There are one or two small moments whereby you could be tripped up if you're not careful, but these are minor points. I think it will fool you badly the first time you see it - your audience stand no chance, and this does look very impressive, however it looses a few marks due to the fact that there is nothing too original in the PRESENTATION - it is a classic, albeit very fairly done indeed.

8.5/10 ~ Cards: Revelation

"Autome - An extraordinary book test using plain, ungimmicked props under the fairest conditions. This is a remarkable routine in and of itself, but it also introduces principles for which you'll find a host of other uses."

Another stunner. Combines two principles, both of which were new to me. Ingenious. Only problem with it I had is it's quite hard to track down the necessary bit, but I found an online store in America which should be fine for it. Super easy to do too, throw in some acting and you have a pretty fair and hands-off booktest.

9/10 ~ Book: Phrase Revelation through a representative picture

"Divine Write - (Previously Unrevealed): Mutual mentalism with built - in appeal. The performer tries an imposing experiment in clairvoyance, working simultaneously with a member of the audience. Despite the overwhelming odds, the outcome is successful for both!"

I wasn't as keen on this one. Everything is motivated well, and it combines a few old principles to good effect - you find the card a spectator was thinking of with half of the deck behind your back and they find the one you were thinking of. Impressive, but it was the set-up that was a bit of a turnoff. That said, seeing as this is a Parlour mentalism DVD I can't really fault it for that, and certainly it is a strong effect but you have to be careful that you are working with a careful spectator otherwise the whole thing could be blown for you.

7.5 - 8/10 ~ Cards: Dual demonstration in telepathy and 'tactile' intuition

"Zenvelopes: - A test of intuition using several participants and a number of ESP symbol cards hidden inside opaque envelopes. These are thoroughly mixed by the spectators, who then pair them off by playing their hunches. When the contents are examined, all the symbols have matched perfectly."

This was the only one I caught the method too, and that's down to a display which while I'm sure your audience won't catch on to, they might find something a little bit suspect about it. As well as this the pairing options are somewhat limited, though there is some nice built-in indirection and could play well. Certainly makes a nice change from the revelation effects.

7/10 ~ Cards: Dual demonstration in telepathy and 'tactile' intuition

"Kurotsuke - (Previously Unrevealed) An ancient game from the imperial court of Japan is turned into a delightful routine of stand - up mentalism that lets several people get involved. And, best of all, it can be done entirely impromptu using only borrowed materials."

Beautiful! I had some inkling as to the method, and probably so will you (as Max says) when you watch it, but he has come up with a wonderful solution to a big flaw in the method I was thinking of. This is the method for the performer on a budget, or one who needs to improvise items, and you will use this in such instances.

8/10 ~ Stones: Performer deduces who holds the black stone

"The Mind's Eye Deck - A pack of some 40 design cards is used. Each one is different, and the deck is shuffled. While the performer's back is turned, a spectator removes a card. Without turning around, the mentalist starts describing the thought - of design, eventually drawing it on a pad of paper. It's as straightforward as that."

Another devillish method which will fool you rotten too, of that I am fairly certain. There is some moderate work needed to be smooth at this, but once you've got that the performance should be a breeze. I say 'should' as I haven't been able to try this out yet, due to the fact that you need a special deck of cards which is available from here - but the price! A whopping £40! Which is a bit too much especially when you only want the deck and have already paid for the method.

Maven does state that you can make your own deck up, but if you want the quality of the printed cards you will probably end up buying one of these decks.

That said, an excellent routine. The price of the deck to buy and the fact that it is another revelation piece is my only qualm. This is similar to the first effect The Mockingbird, though the methodology is totally different. If I had to choose between the two, it would be this one I would put in to my set.

Further discussion on this effect can be found here.

9/10 ~ Symbol Cards: Revelation

Closing Comments
Some really great material on here. Everything is properly credited (as far as I am aware and can tell) with some brilliant methods you won't have seen elsewhere. Don't go expecting impromptu stuff, obviously, as this is the Parlour Mentalism DVD, but do expect some hard-hitting mentalism pieces. Mix these in with some others to add a bit of variety and you would do well.

Recommended.

9/10.

Great review - thanks.

I bought this DVD a while back, and love it.

Excellent effects and real food for thought!

Piers.

Just to add have watched all the Max Maven DVDs & they are very good, definatly worth the money & thats a great review above Cardza.

Thanks These are some tapes that are just fun to watch too, Maven is so great at what he does - and can make even quite specific instructions sound very general and slip them past you unnoticed.

all three of these videos are worth their weight in gold. his prism series of books are great reading also.

i got this over the weekend, very good indeed...thanks for the review...

Kurotsuke is genius, and has given me an idea for something similar...

Just thought I would bring this one back from the ashes because a) I'm considering getting volumes one and two of Videomind, and b) it's an excellent review, so perhaps someone else will benefit from it.

You won't be disappointed in the purchase. This is a wonderful series and volume one is my favorite.

I do Kurotsuke with small Buddha stautes I picked up in Cambodia. I also bought some small brass elephants that work but I think the contrasting black and white color makes the revelation really pop.

I was able to get the Autome book at a used bookstore here in Seoul and have been searching for other suitable books. They're out there, but it's a chore to find them.

I made my own Mind's Eye Deck with business cards and it works fine, but I went ahead and bought the real thing. I'm still torn over which I prefer. I'm not much of an artist and the real deck looks good, but I still get some satisfaction using the ones I made myself.

Ditto what magic8697 said about Prism. Quite good.

I got all three recently and it is excellent material. Mockingbird is a good bit mental card magic that seems really fair to the spectator. Autome; the book test I don't care for much, but that's obviously an effect where there are so many options for methods. Zenvelopes is pretty obvious and there are a lot of other routines creating the same effect of matching esp cards. Kurotsuke is excellent. Combing the method for that with oddball has worked nicely so far. The minds eye deck I haven't really given much thought to as it requires either buying a rather pricey minds eye deck or making your own. However the method could be changed for other things. But Kurotsuke and the mockingbird I really like, which makes up for the ones I won't be using.

Volume two I enjoyed but haven't tried any of the routines out yet, so don't want to comment too much on them yet.

I'm getting them primarily for the ESP effects but obviously I'm pretty keen to learn about the other effects, too. And it goes without saying (I'll say it anyway) that watching Max Maven perform is pretty priceless. Incidentally, I have yet to find an ESP effect that tops Doug Dyment's Bob's Your Uncle. Looch's Wake Up Dr. Rhine is very good, but BYU just beats it I think.

The find the black stone game is one of the best "hey do a trick" tricks ever. It can be done at a moments notice with borrowed objects and it is presented in a way where it could be viewed as really happening. The whole 3 disc series is great.

You cant go wrong with Mr. Maven material. EVEN if you dont use any effect, his thinking and his charisma is a pure lesson.

You won't ever lose by watching (and reading) people like Max Maven (Bob Cassidy, Richard Osterlind, Bannacek as well as Annemann and Corinda). Unless you are hard up for cash then buy these videos is a no-brainer.