Ben Harris' Silent Running - An in-depth Review

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Postby Ted » Jun 15th, '10, 19:26



I think it's hilarious that some people think effects need to stand up to forensic scrutiny.

Ted
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Postby CalebWiles » Oct 18th, '10, 19:03

I just thought I'd add my two cents to the conversation.

If you’ve read the hype for Silent Running by Ben Harris, there’s no way you couldn’t be curious about what the book contains. Some of magic’s biggest names stand behind it. Here are just a few quotes from the Lybrary.com website.

“This is so much more than just an effect. It is a powerful subtlety that is a must have for your mentalist toolbox.” – Banachek

“Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant!” – Marc Spelmann

“Silent Running describes a very clever principle that enables the performer to almost instantly ascertain the identity of a card merely thought of. The Card Stabbing routine made possible by the principle is the most powerful I have ever seen. I highly recommend Silent Running to serious students of the art as well as to professional workers.” – Bob Cassidy

“F*#%ing Brilliant!” – Nathan Kranzo

“If you are seeking the holy grail of truly prop-less mentalism then you NEED to get this routine. Ben’s thinking has always been unique and here he excels himself!” – Marc Paul

So what is Silent Running all about? What is the effect? Well, here’s the dealer ad.

Briefly, it’s a “Think Of A Card” concept that requires no props at all. You don’t even need a deck of cards. A spectator is asked to merely THINK of a number from 1-10 and to NOT TELL YOU. Once she has done this, she is asked to think of a suit and again to NOT TELL YOU. Then, ENTIRELY IN HER MIND she adds the suit to the number to create a visual image of a playing card. Again, SHE SAYS NOTHING! Once she has confirmed that she is thinking of a card that NO ONE CAN KNOW, you then proceed to reveal the card in any number of ways.

    -Nothing is EVER written down — this is strictly a verbal procedure
    -There is NO dual reality. The spectator and audience of ANY SIZE experience the same effect
    -There are NO GIMMICKS used at all, no nail writers, electronics — NOTHING
    -No muscle-reading is used. The effect is EASILY learned
    -Perform for a single spectator or a thousand

As you can see from the description, this isn’t as direct as simply having a spectator think of a card and then revealing it. This isn’t a negative; it’s just something you need to consider before you get swept up in all of the hype. The technique used to have a card “thought of” is clever, but some may consider it to be too procedural. However, I can see many performers really getting a lot of mileage out of the main idea.

Like many things in magic, it’s not so much about the core secret; it’s about the subtleties used to build the effect to a powerful showpiece. Plenty of these small additions to the main technique are shared in the 80 or so pages of this book. With so many variations offered, you are likely to find something that suits you perfectly.

The procedure is based on Bill Goldman’s marketed effect Mental Yarn although Ben admits that he wasn’t aware of it at the time of creating the routines in Silent Running. If you’re not familiar with Mr. Goldman’s effect, here’s a clip of Chris Angel performing it on YouTube. This should give you a good idea of the kind of method we’re talking about with Silent Running.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3qHeNZ0E5E

To be fair, the procedure used in Silent Running occurs much more quickly, which is a plus. The spectator doesn’t have to link from a number to a description to a word; it’s more direct than that. A lot of thought has gone into how to milk the most out of the principles used.

I don’t think I’m revealing anything to mention that once the spectator thinks of a card, you don’t immediately have all of the information you need to complete the effect. After all, it’s not real mind reading. However, the author and contributors provide many methods for obtaining the necessary information. Some are standard, but a couple were new to me. Whenever I read a method that I didn’t like, an alternative was provided within the next few pages.

Because the core of Silent Running is a principle and not a specific trick, there are many applications for what you will learn here. Still, Ben Harris offers three routines that you can use right away.

The Dissolving Card- This is Ben’s take on Bill McCaffrey’s venerable “Prize Winner” effect (also regularly attributed to Eddie Joseph at “Premonition”). The spectator holds onto a cased deck of cards. He thinks of a card (using the Silent Running procedure) and imagines his card fading away. He opens the box he’s been holding and counts the cards inside; there are only 51. His card is gone. My only reservations with this trick have to do with the plot itself. I’ve never cared for the fact that you have to count 51 cards in the middle of the performance. Sure this builds suspense, and I’m sure some performers can pull it off, but to me this feels like it throws off the pacing of the show. If this effect intrigues you, however, you will find Ben’s method to be very practical.

Direct Mind Reading- This was my least favorite approach to using the Silent Running principle. On the plus side, the trick requires no props; not even a deck of cards. The downside is that you must resort to fishing for a few pieces of needed information. In my experience, it takes a very special kind of performer to pull this off without it being obvious. Later in the book, Devin Knight shares some tips to try cover the procedure. These are good ideas, but ones I’m sure you’ve all heard before.

Spirited Card Stab- This is a really clever version of the classic card stab routine. A spectator thinks of a card (using the Silent Running procedure). The cards are then shuffled face up into face down and spread all over the table. A sheet of newspaper is laid over the cards to hide them from the magician’s view. He moves the knife over the paper and suddenly slams the knife into the table. The spectator announces his thought of card. The newspaper is ripped away to reveal the spectator’s mental selection impaled on the end of the knife. Ben has come up with a clean routine that should baffle even magicians. It has a few of the same issues as discussed in the previous effect, but Bob Cassidy suggests a simple alternative that eliminates these weaknesses. This is my favorite routine in the book.

Besides Ben’s routines, there are guest contributions from Bob Cassidy, Paolo Cavalli, Devin Knight, Jason Messina, and Steve Shufton. The book concludes with comments excerpted from a special internet forum devoted to the book. No doubt, you will also come up with a few of your own uses for this principle.

Overall, I think there are plenty of good ideas contained in this eBook. Having said that, I still don’t see where all of the hype is coming from on this. It’s an interesting principle with some really good applications, but I would hardly call it a revolutionary technique. Some will surely be disappointed with its simplicity. This is unavoidable with an offering like this. However, those who are willing to put in the work necessary to elevate these effects to miracle status will be very happy with their purchase.

Recommended.

- Available from http://www.lybrary.com

For more reviews, please visit my blog at www.CalebWilesMagic.com and click on the "magicians only" section.

CalebWiles
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