Price$30.00
Media TypeBook
CategoryMentalism
Date AddedSep 15, 2014
Conversation as Mentalism Volume 2
Elsdon, Mark
(Based on 2 reviews)
- Sir William Temple
"Three out of four ain't bad!" - Mark Elsdon
Would you like to have in your repertoire some killer mentalism effects that you can perform anytime, any place and without any props?
Well, good news! Mark Elsdon's new Conversation As Mentalism Volume 2 contains more of the tried and tested* material that made the original volume so popular.
The participant's experience of what occurs during these casual performance pieces is this: During the course of an interesting conversation, things take an odd turn and something strange and completely inexplicable happens.
You will learn a fantastic impromptu prediction using any three borrowed objects, an incredible mind-game using just your fingers, the worlds best linguistic bar bet, how to travel a few minutes into the future, the secret of the invisible red envelope and much more!
All of the effects have been designed with one outcome in mind - To amaze whoever you are talking to without the aid of any Gadgets, Gizmos or Gimmicks.
Conversation As Mentalism 2 once again teaches pure, prop less mentalism at its most organic.
*No 'suggestion' techniques are used in these effects. They all actually work all the time
Contents:
Introduction Shmagnetless Tri-mpromptu Bet On L.A. Animal Magnetism Wanted: Ad Pre-fingered (Back) To The Future Bookless Booktest Know-How The Red Envelope
Praise for Conversation As Mentalism :
"It is my firm belief that the title of this book should be changed to The Essential Handbook of Impromptu Mentalism. The routines taught are all very simple, direct and deeply fooling. This material should be in the arsenal of every modern mentalist! I give it my highest recommendation."
- Michael Murray
"This is Mark's other great release up there with the Meridian Technique. As well as the clever effects and probably more importantly, you're going to learn an attitude which can be used to approach performing in all real world situations."
- Colin McLeod
"Conversations as Mentalism is a collection of impromptu gems that can be used at the drop of a hat. Just the piece with the invisible dice alone is worth the cost of the entire booklet! With just what you carry in your pockets and the knowledge in this booklet, you will be able to perform a whole host of practical material anywhere."
- John Carey
Reviews
(Top ▲)
Random I-Tunes Song of The Moment: Yoda by "Weird Al" Yankovic
Conversation as Mentalism Volume 2 by Mark Elsdon Reviewed
One booklet, 10 impromptu mentalism effects, $30 bucks and Mark Elsdon. Is it gem or is it rubble? Stay tuned to find out.
Effect
You get ten effects that are all impromptu and require no props. The only exception is that in some cases you'll need a pen and paper handy, and in one case you'll need your smart phone. The plots range everywhere from time travel to word puzzles. There is stuff with your spectator's fingers, a "book test" without a book, an effect where you influence the compass on your spectator's smart phone, basic prediction effects, and much more. There's likely something for everyone here.
Method
The methods, for the most part, employ pretty standard mentalism techniques and principles. There's nothing that is extremely difficult or unrealistic. Things like equivoque, time misdirection and audience management and simple word play. It's all easy stuff with very little practice.
Ad Copy Integrity
The ad copy is pretty good, but there are a couple of things that need mentioning. First, the claim of "prop less" mentalism is not 100% accurate. There are cases where you'll need to have access to a pen and paper. I can probably "let that slide" since you're not needing to carry that around with you.
However, with the Bookless Booktest, you need to make up a sheet of paper with a list of words on it that you'll have to carry around. That is in contradiction to the ad copy in my opinion. Another effect requires that you have your smart phone with you. Again, one I can probably "let slide" because you, likely, always have it (if you own one) on you.
The time travel effect sort of requires some extra props. At the end of the effect, you "prove" that you've traveled into the future by showing, for example, that your hot tea is now cold and a few other things like this. Of course, the requires some prep work on your part. You don't have to use the hot tea as a convincer — though that is what Elsdon uses in the book — but whatever your convincer, it will take a little bit of prep work.
The idea of the content (according to the ad copy) is that during a non-performance situation where you and some friends are just hanging out and talking, the conversation turns (i.e., you direct it) to bizarre things . . . you take advantage of the moment and do a strange experiment or performance. Some of the effects mentioned do require a bit more prep work (as mentioned above) than you might assume after reading the ad copy.
In the at least one effect, a possible billet switch is needed which means that in advance you have to create the second hidden billet. This, of course, is standard mentalism stuff, but in the context of a book that is meant to give effects where no props are needed to be carried around, this causes a small conflict in my mind. The choices are that you create the extra billet in advance and carry it around in your wallet (going against the claims of the ad copy) or you create it on the spot when the moment seems right. I have no problem with either method. However, the former violates the ad claims, and the latter may be difficult depending on the circumstances.
Lastly, the ad mentions that there are no "gadgets, gizmos or gimmicks." As mentioned, one of the effects requires the use of a smart phone and a particular app in order to perform the effect. That is a either a gadget, gizmo or a gimmick; I'm not sure which, but it's definitely one of them.
I mention all this, not to be nit-picky, but to clarify for you, the person who may be spending a hard earn $30 bucks, what you are getting. In my mind, none of the above mentioned things diminish the do-abilty and value of the effects, but they do to some degree (however small) violate the claims of the advertisement.
Product Quality
The book is relatively well written. However, it does feel kind of "rushed" in quite a few places. It feels like he was quickly rushing through the explanation with the assumption that you are already familiar 100% with the effect and its workins, and he's just kind of re-hashing it for you.
One in particular that comes to mind is the Bookless Booktest. It basically refers to the first book (volume 1) and assumes that you're entirely familiar with a particular effect from that book. It then continues on in volume 2. Not having read the first book myself, this led to some confusion on my part.
Yet other times, the explanations were extremely thorough and detailed.
Final Thoughts
This is one of those odd cases where I have to be careful with my review. The material is all stuff that I liked, but as you know, the effects are not what I judge a product on. Just because I like the effects and would do (some of) them, that does not mean that you'll like any of them. If you liked the basic plots that I mentioned, then you'll likely be happy with the effect, and you'll certainly be happy with the methods . . . easy . . .
But, my reviews are based on product quality, methods and ad copy. I'd say that on Methods, we're solid. On product quality we're like an A- or B+. On ad copy integrity we're like a B+ to a B. I don't feel the ad copy was a lie, but I feel that it was not as clear as it could have been and it might lead you to believe that you're getting something different from what you're actually getting.
However, for the most part, it's true; you're getting effects that can just be done off the top of your head when the moment is right.
Final Verdict:
3.5 Stars with a Stone Status of Gem.
(Top ▲)
Mark Elsdon is a clever guy that doesn’t get a lot of credit. I am always surprised by his cleverness and this booklet is no exception. It is 36 pages long, but each trick packs a punch and this book has the unique distinction that everything that is taught is almost completely impromptu.
Shmagnetless: Wow this is clever! You will have the ability to move the needle on a borrowed cell phone compass with the power of your mind. The method is outstandingly clever for this. In application it might not work as expected but it does work. You will need to be seated, the movement will be small and subtle but it does work. I don’t think you will be able to use this to make the compass point in a certain direction. The type of table you sit at may help or hinder the effect as well.
Tri-mpromptu: A prediction is made. Three objects are placed on the table the spectator takes one, one is taken by the magician and the last is left in the middle. The prediction is revealed and it clearly states who has which object. This is very similar in effect to the recent Paul Harris release Fair Play. the difference here is that there are no gimmicks involved. I have changed the method just a bit to facilitate my performance style, the method lends itself easily to alteration of that nature.
Bet On L.A: An advanced word puzzle is introduced and an unsuspecting participant correctly guesses the answer. This is a beautiful piece that combines a few well known principles into a new piece of magic. I have performed this for an audience of 1-30 with great results. This like the magic square only is limited by the size of your writing surface and could easily be converted to a projected image without ruining the effect. This could easily become an effect for an arena of people.
Animal Magnetism: A strong young man is called up from the audience and his strength is taken away from him. He tries to perform several simple tasks and is unable to do so because of his lack of strength. This is a combination of classic strength tests with a new simple presentation. This could play big as well.
Wanted: Ad.: This is a fun powerful piece that you can do with most magazines or newspapers. A page is ripped up and the spectator removes a random piece selecting a word or image and the magician divines what it is. This is a powerful piece, the method seems complex but once you get a page in your hands and test the tearing process you will get the hang out of it. Don’t be afraid of the his use of math, the method can be intuited fairly easily without math. This is an old method that Mark has breathed new life into.
Pre-fingered: A spectator selects a finger and the magician has predicted which they would choose. I have performed this one as well and for the right audience you can get great reactions with very little work. This is also not completely original but it completely fits the minimalist prop idea of the book.
(Back) To the Future: This is a high concept piece involving time travel. The magician seemingly makes a single spectator travel forward in time with them, their watches have changed and their drinks are no longer hot. This is one of my least favorite effects in the book. You will need to be familiar with PK Time by Banachek and will need to have a fairly specific performing condition. This is a Malini type trick where you orchestrate all of the conditions and wait for the right time to do it. You really can’t do this for more than one person.
Bookless Book Test Know-How; This is a continuation of an idea from his first book conversation. The idea here is that you can ask a spectator to think of a character from a popular movie or book and the magician is able to name the thought of character. He gives a few tools here to create your own routines. The tools aren’t extremely user friendly but the idea is very interesting and if you are committed you can figure out how to apply this to any performance style.
The Red Envelope: A spectator freely selects an imaginary envelope and an imaginary letter opener. The magician has predicted this outcome from the beginning. This is a fairly straightforward piece. If you like this effect you won't be too surprised by the method.
Overall this is a great collection of magic. For the most part where the method is not unique it is clear that it is in the public domain. There isn’t a whole lot of new material here but the goal of a book with minimum props has been achieved.
Shmagnetless: Wow this is clever! You will have the ability to move the needle on a borrowed cell phone compass with the power of your mind. The method is outstandingly clever for this. In application it might not work as expected but it does work. You will need to be seated, the movement will be small and subtle but it does work. I don’t think you will be able to use this to make the compass point in a certain direction. The type of table you sit at may help or hinder the effect as well.
Tri-mpromptu: A prediction is made. Three objects are placed on the table the spectator takes one, one is taken by the magician and the last is left in the middle. The prediction is revealed and it clearly states who has which object. This is very similar in effect to the recent Paul Harris release Fair Play. the difference here is that there are no gimmicks involved. I have changed the method just a bit to facilitate my performance style, the method lends itself easily to alteration of that nature.
Bet On L.A: An advanced word puzzle is introduced and an unsuspecting participant correctly guesses the answer. This is a beautiful piece that combines a few well known principles into a new piece of magic. I have performed this for an audience of 1-30 with great results. This like the magic square only is limited by the size of your writing surface and could easily be converted to a projected image without ruining the effect. This could easily become an effect for an arena of people.
Animal Magnetism: A strong young man is called up from the audience and his strength is taken away from him. He tries to perform several simple tasks and is unable to do so because of his lack of strength. This is a combination of classic strength tests with a new simple presentation. This could play big as well.
Wanted: Ad.: This is a fun powerful piece that you can do with most magazines or newspapers. A page is ripped up and the spectator removes a random piece selecting a word or image and the magician divines what it is. This is a powerful piece, the method seems complex but once you get a page in your hands and test the tearing process you will get the hang out of it. Don’t be afraid of the his use of math, the method can be intuited fairly easily without math. This is an old method that Mark has breathed new life into.
Pre-fingered: A spectator selects a finger and the magician has predicted which they would choose. I have performed this one as well and for the right audience you can get great reactions with very little work. This is also not completely original but it completely fits the minimalist prop idea of the book.
(Back) To the Future: This is a high concept piece involving time travel. The magician seemingly makes a single spectator travel forward in time with them, their watches have changed and their drinks are no longer hot. This is one of my least favorite effects in the book. You will need to be familiar with PK Time by Banachek and will need to have a fairly specific performing condition. This is a Malini type trick where you orchestrate all of the conditions and wait for the right time to do it. You really can’t do this for more than one person.
Bookless Book Test Know-How; This is a continuation of an idea from his first book conversation. The idea here is that you can ask a spectator to think of a character from a popular movie or book and the magician is able to name the thought of character. He gives a few tools here to create your own routines. The tools aren’t extremely user friendly but the idea is very interesting and if you are committed you can figure out how to apply this to any performance style.
The Red Envelope: A spectator freely selects an imaginary envelope and an imaginary letter opener. The magician has predicted this outcome from the beginning. This is a fairly straightforward piece. If you like this effect you won't be too surprised by the method.
Overall this is a great collection of magic. For the most part where the method is not unique it is clear that it is in the public domain. There isn’t a whole lot of new material here but the goal of a book with minimum props has been achieved.