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The effect:

Stigmata (http://www.ellusionist.com/order/Stigmata-by-Wayne-Houchin.php)
A selected card, a name or a number appear "in" the arm of the performer in front of the spectators.

Cost:
29.99$ (download or DVD)

Difficulty
(1=easy to do, 2=No sleights, but not so easy, 3=Some sleights used,
4=Advanced sleights used, 5=Suitable for experienced magicians only)
3 - easy sleights

What they say:
From Ellusionist and acclaimed performer Wayne Houchin (creator of Sinful, the signed coin through soda can) comes Stigmata.

The spectator thinks of anything. A name. A number. A memory. With the thought in mind, the spectator squeezes your wrist. Tightly.

When the spectator releases, red marks appear on your arm where they were squeezing. These marks of blood under the skin then slowly, visually, clearly re-arrange themselves into the shape of the spectator's selection. Seeing is believing.

What I say:

This highly hyped new effect on ellusionist is really worth the money. This entire DVD consist of a bit more than an hour of Wayne Houchin's explanation, demonstration and tips on his new effect, Stigmata. While the trick itself is pretty easy, the most of it rely on the presentation (as for "Mindbender". Wayne shows three way to do Stigmata (a selected card, a name or a number) and detailed them on 3 easy steps supported by effective tips and examples.
This dvd really explains it all and more (you will see ).

Final
10/10

(** First review ever, feedback would be appreciate !)

Im curious do you own banachek's PSi series. Stigmata is one of the effects on the cd, its a great effect im just wondering if E's DVD adds anything more to the effect, im sure it will have alot of great performances but does it have something groundbreaking that would make a person who knows the secret and seen banachek pay extra for it.
I agree the method is bril and the effect is gread, thats why if there is something special to E's dvd i wouldnt mind paying extra for it

Sorry, I didn't own banachek's PSi series. Therefore I don't know if Houchin goes anywhere further. Still you can always PM me and we could talk about it more exlicitely (spell? damned english !)

This trick looks fun! Very nice review by the way. Mr. Houchin does a good job with his tricks. I enjoy them. I'm considering buying this...hmmm.

Oh, I almost forgot:
Wayne Houchin present this DVD with a touch of delicious humor that create a great "human" bond between the learner and the master, unlike some presenters i've seen that were way too deep into their thing

I was also waundering if this was like Banacheks. I beleive that Banachek appears on the DVD. I'm also glad that he didn't sell the rights to Chriss Angel. I waunder how much he made off of the coin in soda can.

i assume that they do tell you what they are thinking of yes? or no? I haven't heard a straight answer to this question yet

Durto,
are you saying that you liked MINDBENDER as well? How would you rate that one?

I am not too happy with magic from Ellusionist, and are wondering if this is yet another hype from E.

Banachek's DVDs go for 119 99 for the four set, thats $30 for each, it cost a fraction more if you want to order them seperetaly. $30 for one effect seems like such a rip off to me (i just cheked the price)

Havent ordered anything from E since i got suckered into mindbender and infusion, shame tho E is where i started in magic with the beginer pack, i guess that how they hook people in. Plus theres the whole shiping price things...

lets not turn this into an E bashing thread but

rcarlsen:
I like the effect of mindbender so I bought it. It was in fact another 16$ for only one effect but I really like the idea of bending a card so I gave it a try. Of course, as many of you know, it is an extremely simple effect but the biggest part of it rest in its presentation. So, the make an analogy with Stigmata, it is again a on effect DVD (altough Wayne suggest 3 different presentation...) based on a simple effect but once again, the biggest challenge is to perform it with the right presentation.
The biggest difference between Mindbender and Stigmata is the "learning" part. Wayne teachs an effect waaaaay better then that guy in Minbender. He gives plenty of hints, advice and tips (synonyms!) and the DVD is packed with demonstration of Stigmata. I agree that 30$ is a bit expensive for only one effect (especially if you already know it! don't buy it in this case) but if you like this effect and doesn't know how to perform it yet, you might definitely consider give a try to Stigmata

P.S : I fully aggree that E hype way too much their products. Stigmata is no exception but the product itself is still excellent, maybe just a bit overpriced.

I never really got that excited about this one but I bought it anyway, and I think it's ok. The method is not surprising at all but then I wasn't sure what the effect looked like untill I got it. This trick is the sort of thing that should have been included in a book with lots of other little tricks. The simplicity of the method is such that an hour of DVD is probably pretty excessive. Someone could have just said in a sentence how to do it. There are some other little sleights that are needed for some of the tricks that are taught also, giving the DVD a bit more value.

Something that no one has mentioned, is that you have to recover for quite a bit, before doing it again in the same place. While this is frustrating when you're practicing, it's not really a big issue. You could use different parts of your forearm, so that's 4 times one after the other (once high on forearm and once on wrist, of both arms) then you have to 'recover' a bit. You can actually use any body part you want. Wayne actually shows that you can do it on the palm of your hand also, although it doesn't look as good.

This is the kind of trick I would save for when someone asks me to show them something. It's easy and gets great reactions (I've only performed it a couple of times so far though). This trick does exactly what it says on the tin, and the principle could be worked into all sorts of routines with a little imagination. All you need to do is build a bit of misdirection into the routine at the right moment.


Difficulty
(1=easy to do, 2=No sleights, but not so easy, 3=Some sleights used,
4=Advanced sleights used, 5=Suitable for experienced magicians only)
I would give a difficulty of 3 as well, because some moves are used at parts (some harder than others), and one routine needs a card force. But I think it's very easy really.


Review
See all that writing I did earlier


Overall
8/10
It's an easy to pull off, completely impromptu, stunning effect. Loses a couple of marks because of the recovery time, and because it doesn't always come up well on my arm.

Blapsing_Beard wrote:i assume that they do tell you what they are thinking of yes? or no? I haven't heard a straight answer to this question yet

No they never have to say what they are thinking of, in any of the 3 routines explained. That's what makes it quite strong.

i ordered my dvd yesterday and it should be here in a couple days. cant wait for it!

For some reason, this trick doesn't apply to me. I have a strong feeling that it is, as mentioned earlier in this thread, a hype. It's like taking one of those old Donald Duck tricks, and hype it and woho, it's awesome as a marketing trick, but when you get to the real stuff, it's all about a hype. Am I wrong ? I would like to be, but I know Ellusionist too well....

partezan wrote:Banachek's DVD

Hi all !

I have all the banana-shake video but .. I don't see where there is a similar stuff on his video .. except one where he .. ah ! the blood comes to the arm !?! is that it ?

cause the trailer does not show the effect (it's mad ! they sell a product by showing some yelling guys 'Oh my gooood ! it's maaagic', yeah ! but what is it ??? I'll never buy something not knowing what it is, unless I'm sure of the brand .. and in case of ellusionnist .. mm .. can not forget 'Melt' or'Gone' !)

Cheers,
Pierre