Price$19.95
Media TypeTrick
CategoryGeneral, Close Up
Date AddedOct 01, 2015
Red Pill
Ramsey, Chris
Murphy's Magic Supplies, Inc.
(Based on 3 reviews)
Two effects straight from Chris Ramsay's personal working repertoire, this is something he's been using to book himself countless corporate/private events. An interactive routine which guarantees a personal connection with your audience.
RED PILL:
Two decks are presented to two spectators. One open pack of blue cards and one sealed deck of red ones. The sealed deck is placed within one of the spectators hands, the other spectator selects a card from the open pack, moments later the selected card has now vanished from the open pack and impossibly appears inside the cellophane of the sealed deck!
SECRET:
Imagine showing a spectator a sealed deck of cards, placing it between their hands and having them think of a playing card. Now imagine that the card they just thought of is now impossibly trapped and sealed inside the cellophane which has never left their hands! The best part is, everything is fully examinable and they can decide to tear it open to find out how it was done, or keep it sealed as an impossible souvenir! Full length performances and instruction Bonus (visual) handling Gimmick included (some assembly required) Bonus: cold read ScriptFollow me down the rabbit hole...
Reviews
(Top ▲)
Overview
You are actually going to learn 2 different versions each quite unique but with the same ending. You will want to perform Red Pill for special events/groups, corporate shows when you want to make an impact or a TV interview. There is a lot of work to do everything considered but well worth the investment to make it and learn it. Your spectator will have the option to keep the unopened deck as a souvenir or unwrapping it to remove their card and break the seal to open the deck and find that it is missing and or to be replaced with ‘something’ else.Effect
Two separate effects straight from Chris Ramsay's personal working repertoire, this is something he's been using to book himself countless corporate/private events. An interactive routine which guarantees a personal connection with your audience.1. Two decks are presented to two spectators. One open pack of blue cards and one sealed deck of red ones. The sealed deck is placed within one of the spectators hands, the other spectator selects a card from the open pack, moments later the selected card has now vanished from the open pack and impossibly appears inside the cellophane of the sealed deck! The best part is, everything is fully examinable. They can decide to tear it open to find the selected card inside the sealed cellophane is not in the sealed deck or keep it sealed as an impossible souvenir!
2. Another routine is to show a spectator a sealed deck of cards, placing it between their hands and having them think of a playing card. Now imagine that the card they just thought of is now impossibly trapped and sealed inside the cellophane which has never left their hands!
Method
Yes, there are 2 different effect that you can do ‘once’ you construct the gimmick utilized in either effect. Please note that the construction will take you some time and it will have to be precise (perfect). It will last for a long time but things do happen so when you are making one you may want to spend some extra time making a few. You will have to purchase some new unopened decks if you don’t already have some laying around.To accomplish effect #1, there is some sleight of hand involved which will be obvious once to get into learning the routine. You will probably already know how to do it (you will be taught in the DVD) or know other variations to accomplish it. I and you may already know a non-sleight way of doing it using tape - enough said about that. Also know that there is a force involved as many card effects do.
To accomplish effect #2 with just the sealed deck, there is a very minor slight - more a move needed that is not difficult at all but will have some angle restrictions.
Product Quality
So as far as quality is concerned, the DVD you get is 1 hour and 30 minutes long and as is great. You have to supply the deck and make the gimmick so the quality of those if up to you.Ad Copy Integrity
There is a lot going on in the description and you will be able to replicate exactly what is promoted in the ad but yes, all it true! The ad also says “Gimmick included (some assembly required)” which is valid in that what you get is just a ‘part’ of what you will need, you still have to do some further construction as mentioned in the Method above.The DVD is excellently produced and very clean sound. Chris does an amazing teaching job or covering everything you will need to know and then some. You will also learn a couple of different forces including psychological forcing and a different equivoque that you may not already know that can be used in any other effect you want to do. There is also an alternate handling you can use. Needless to say, this DVD is jam packed with lots of information, explanations, tips, sleights, presentation ideas and extra tips. There are no live performances shown but really don’t think you need that.
Final Thoughts
This is not something you are going to do all the time for any and every show you do. You will want to save this for special events/groups, corporate shows when you want to make a very special impact or a TV interview. There is a lot of work to do everything considered but well worth the investment to make it and learn it. As mentioned, your spectator will have the option of unwrapping the deck to remove their card and break the seal to open the deck to find that it is missing and or to be replaced with ‘something’ else (your business card, the original instruction card with a personal note from you, the spectators name, …) all is explained in the DVD. I recommend this to anyone looking to put in the time to make a major affect on their audience.(Top ▲)
PROS
First, let me say that Chris Ramsay is becoming one of my new favorite performers! I think there is as much to learn about how to interact in an entertaining way as the effect itself. Chris has a very entertaining way about him, I wish he would release a DVD on how to develop your entertainment potential. Perhaps that will be another project for him.
Now, back to the ranch and the effect at hand. Before receiving this, I thought I was going to be disappointed. I thought the method was going to be way too much work, in both preparation and performance. Upon seeing the method, I was floored by how simple the gimmick is. It is going to take some work, but really far less than I had envisioned.
The explanation for how to create the gimmicks is very thorough. It should take around ten to fifteen minutes to create the gimmicks. One gimmick you will use over and over, and the other is the deck that you will hand out or could hand out at the end.
The DVD covers two main routines, both of which are REALLY strong!
One is “Secret”. In this routine, you show a sealed box of cards, front and back. The box is handed to the participant. You then have them think of a card and they then open their hands. Their thought of card is sealed in under the cellophane!
The method is very good. He credits others for their work in the various elements of the routine, but I really like the equivoque that he uses in this routine. In fact, it is more than just very carefully crafted words. It is words combined with body movements and gestures that, in my opinion, makes this a real miracle of a routine.
The moves are relatively simple, and he covers both more advanced moves as well as easier moves. He also provides some subtleties that could help you perform some particular moves that you may have thought you couldn’t get away with, and with his teaching, you should be able to get away with them. For example, he teaches how to really do the gamblers cop in a way that allows you to get away with the move without fear of being caught.
The second routine is Red Pill. Wow! Another amazing routine! In this routine, he talks about the movie Matrix and how the main character had to choose to swallow the red pill or the blue pill. The blue pill left him in his current reality, the red pill allowed him into a world of altered reality. In this altered reality, a single card is selected from the blue deck. That card vanishes from the blue deck and appears inside the cellophane of the red deck.
The same basic moves are used, with one additional move.
The project comes with something that you will need to make one of the gimmicks. Not difficult to make using common tools and materials.
He also covers many bonus ideas for how and when to use either of the two routines. For example, there is some discussion about how to incorporate these routines into a corporate situation.
The routines are very true to the ad copy. What you see is what you get.
CONS
I don’t see either of the following as serious “cons”, but a couple things to be aware of:
He covered the handling of the routine for all possible scenarios very well. However, he didn’t cover what to do if such a powerful routine falls flat because the participant turns out to be a very poor sport. One of the things about this routine, as he teaches in the DVD, is it is important to pick the right person to perform this routine. He talks about how to approach a group, what to say, and how to identify if someone is likely to be the right person to perform this for. However, he didn’t talk about what he would do if after all that, it falls flat. Maybe there isn’t much to say. Maybe that is a good time to take a breath and insert some comedy.
As he says in the DVD, this is not a routine that you are going to want to do seven times a day, for a couple reasons: First, it takes a bit of time to prepare the gimmicked deck for a one time performance. Second, you will want to carefully select the person for whom you are going to perform this. However, this is a very strong piece to have a single one or perhaps two prepared for a gig. Pick one or two people max to perform this with.
VERDICT
A simply amazing piece of magic! Very well taught.
Another note is the above routine would work well in conjunction with the Wonder Sealer by Ryota. This is a device that is used to re-seal a deck of cards. Using this device and the effect above, you could take the deck back and re-seal the deck for another performance another day.
First, let me say that Chris Ramsay is becoming one of my new favorite performers! I think there is as much to learn about how to interact in an entertaining way as the effect itself. Chris has a very entertaining way about him, I wish he would release a DVD on how to develop your entertainment potential. Perhaps that will be another project for him.
Now, back to the ranch and the effect at hand. Before receiving this, I thought I was going to be disappointed. I thought the method was going to be way too much work, in both preparation and performance. Upon seeing the method, I was floored by how simple the gimmick is. It is going to take some work, but really far less than I had envisioned.
The explanation for how to create the gimmicks is very thorough. It should take around ten to fifteen minutes to create the gimmicks. One gimmick you will use over and over, and the other is the deck that you will hand out or could hand out at the end.
The DVD covers two main routines, both of which are REALLY strong!
One is “Secret”. In this routine, you show a sealed box of cards, front and back. The box is handed to the participant. You then have them think of a card and they then open their hands. Their thought of card is sealed in under the cellophane!
The method is very good. He credits others for their work in the various elements of the routine, but I really like the equivoque that he uses in this routine. In fact, it is more than just very carefully crafted words. It is words combined with body movements and gestures that, in my opinion, makes this a real miracle of a routine.
The moves are relatively simple, and he covers both more advanced moves as well as easier moves. He also provides some subtleties that could help you perform some particular moves that you may have thought you couldn’t get away with, and with his teaching, you should be able to get away with them. For example, he teaches how to really do the gamblers cop in a way that allows you to get away with the move without fear of being caught.
The second routine is Red Pill. Wow! Another amazing routine! In this routine, he talks about the movie Matrix and how the main character had to choose to swallow the red pill or the blue pill. The blue pill left him in his current reality, the red pill allowed him into a world of altered reality. In this altered reality, a single card is selected from the blue deck. That card vanishes from the blue deck and appears inside the cellophane of the red deck.
The same basic moves are used, with one additional move.
The project comes with something that you will need to make one of the gimmicks. Not difficult to make using common tools and materials.
He also covers many bonus ideas for how and when to use either of the two routines. For example, there is some discussion about how to incorporate these routines into a corporate situation.
The routines are very true to the ad copy. What you see is what you get.
CONS
I don’t see either of the following as serious “cons”, but a couple things to be aware of:
He covered the handling of the routine for all possible scenarios very well. However, he didn’t cover what to do if such a powerful routine falls flat because the participant turns out to be a very poor sport. One of the things about this routine, as he teaches in the DVD, is it is important to pick the right person to perform this routine. He talks about how to approach a group, what to say, and how to identify if someone is likely to be the right person to perform this for. However, he didn’t talk about what he would do if after all that, it falls flat. Maybe there isn’t much to say. Maybe that is a good time to take a breath and insert some comedy.
As he says in the DVD, this is not a routine that you are going to want to do seven times a day, for a couple reasons: First, it takes a bit of time to prepare the gimmicked deck for a one time performance. Second, you will want to carefully select the person for whom you are going to perform this. However, this is a very strong piece to have a single one or perhaps two prepared for a gig. Pick one or two people max to perform this with.
VERDICT
A simply amazing piece of magic! Very well taught.
Suggestions
His performances were so strong! However, I do have an idea that I used with this and the reaction was also very strong. I like to think of a magic performance much like a movie. One of the keys to a successful movie is a creating a rollercoaster of emotions. If you watch a movie and it is non-stop edge of death action from beginning to end, that is not as powerful as if there are moments of drama, suspense, intrigue, romance, and action. So, in performing something powerful and somewhat serious like this, I like to have moments of levity so the suspense rises, falls, and then rises again. So, I tried a version where the card from one color deck ends up in a sealed deck of another color, in the middle of the deck, not right under the cellophane. I then painted the image of the card in the middle of the deck and said: “Take this deck home and let it sit on your counter for a year. After a year, open up the deck and look for the blue card in the middle of the red deck.” That gets a laugh. I wait for someone to say they want to see it now and I then remind them that that would be impossible, but ask them to go ahead and open up the box and I’ll show them another trick using two decks. They open the deck and discover the miracle.Another note is the above routine would work well in conjunction with the Wonder Sealer by Ryota. This is a device that is used to re-seal a deck of cards. Using this device and the effect above, you could take the deck back and re-seal the deck for another performance another day.
(Top ▲)
Chris Ramsay and Murphy’s Magic present the DVD Red Pill. It is a sealed deck effect with a new twist that makes this trick powerfully strong. This trick solidly falls into “reputation maker” territory.
Ramsay teaches two main effects; Secret and the title trick, Red Pill. In Secret the spectator feels that they select a card by orally picking and eliminating certain cards. The selected card then appears under the cellophane of a sealed deck of cards which the spectator is holding. Ramsay suggest gifting the deck for the spectator to decide if they will keep it sealed or open it to investigate how the trick was done.
In Red Pill, the spectator is apparently shown both sides of a sealed blue-backed deck of cards. The two seals are pointed out and then the deck is placed in the palm of a spectator and covered by the spectator’s other hand. Then, another spectator picks a card from a red-backed deck, which is already open. The second spectator then holds the red-backed deck. After explaining a Matrix story line patter, the chosen red-backed card is found to be missing from the red deck. The spectator holding the blue deck opens his hands and the chosen card is face up, staring you in the face, under the cellophane of the sealed deck on top of the box. Once the deck is opened, the chosen card that was under the cellophane and outside of the box, is revealed to have a blue back. That means that it is not actually the chosen red-backed card. However, it is explained that the chosen red-backed card took the place of the similar blue-backed card thereby pushing the blue-backed card outside the box. The box is opened and the red-backed chosen card is in the correct spot in the deck, which is in new deck order. Awe inspiring is an understatement.
This trick is also taught by Ramsay with an instant visual change in the magician’s hands, using a sleight that will require some practice.
The DVD is narrated and taught by Ramsay is an hour and a half long. The camera work, angles, explanation and quality of the video is top notch. The DVD comes with gimmick material which will need a few minutes of arts-and-crafts and some tape and a razor. Nothing too difficult. Once this is done, you will likely have this gimmick for a very, very long time without needing to make another one. This first gimmick is used during every performance. There is a second gimmick that will need to be made as well. For every time you perform Red Pill or Secret, you will need to make a new second gimmick. This second gimmick will take anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes to make. It is not hard, to make but will require, some patience, good vision or bifocals (and also a razor and glue). Ramsay builds the gimmick on video in real time, which is adds to his excellent tutorial.
Ramsay’s presentation is very detailed and easy to understand. He is entertaining and funny and if you don’t watch his (somewhat) weekly magic review show, The Shift on YouTube, I recommend checking it out.
The tricks will require some basic sleights and misdirection and the Secret trick uses a very strong equivoque, which is taught. Ramsey borrows from other magicians and credits and thanks them all during the DVD.
Ramsay also suggest doing this trick only once a night and that is sound advice. It is such a strong routine that you don't want to dilute its impact by repetition.
The biggest negative to this DVD is that there are no performances of the routines whatsoever. Since the promotional video shows Ramsay performing the tricks, I don’t understand why this was so conspicuously missing. It would have been worthwhile to see Ramsay perform his own trick to live spectators, or even in a studio performance. Since this DVD was filmed a year before it was released, there is no excuse for not providing full performances of both tricks. It is a shame because Ramsay is a very compelling performer and the inclusion would have made the project even stronger than it is…and it is kick-ass strong. The ad-copy inaccurately says that there are full length performances included on the DVD. Someone is gonna catch some heat for that as the omission of the performances is clearly an error.
This is a great sealed deck trick and well worth the purchase price. Go and get it!
Ramsay teaches two main effects; Secret and the title trick, Red Pill. In Secret the spectator feels that they select a card by orally picking and eliminating certain cards. The selected card then appears under the cellophane of a sealed deck of cards which the spectator is holding. Ramsay suggest gifting the deck for the spectator to decide if they will keep it sealed or open it to investigate how the trick was done.
In Red Pill, the spectator is apparently shown both sides of a sealed blue-backed deck of cards. The two seals are pointed out and then the deck is placed in the palm of a spectator and covered by the spectator’s other hand. Then, another spectator picks a card from a red-backed deck, which is already open. The second spectator then holds the red-backed deck. After explaining a Matrix story line patter, the chosen red-backed card is found to be missing from the red deck. The spectator holding the blue deck opens his hands and the chosen card is face up, staring you in the face, under the cellophane of the sealed deck on top of the box. Once the deck is opened, the chosen card that was under the cellophane and outside of the box, is revealed to have a blue back. That means that it is not actually the chosen red-backed card. However, it is explained that the chosen red-backed card took the place of the similar blue-backed card thereby pushing the blue-backed card outside the box. The box is opened and the red-backed chosen card is in the correct spot in the deck, which is in new deck order. Awe inspiring is an understatement.
This trick is also taught by Ramsay with an instant visual change in the magician’s hands, using a sleight that will require some practice.
The DVD is narrated and taught by Ramsay is an hour and a half long. The camera work, angles, explanation and quality of the video is top notch. The DVD comes with gimmick material which will need a few minutes of arts-and-crafts and some tape and a razor. Nothing too difficult. Once this is done, you will likely have this gimmick for a very, very long time without needing to make another one. This first gimmick is used during every performance. There is a second gimmick that will need to be made as well. For every time you perform Red Pill or Secret, you will need to make a new second gimmick. This second gimmick will take anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes to make. It is not hard, to make but will require, some patience, good vision or bifocals (and also a razor and glue). Ramsay builds the gimmick on video in real time, which is adds to his excellent tutorial.
Ramsay’s presentation is very detailed and easy to understand. He is entertaining and funny and if you don’t watch his (somewhat) weekly magic review show, The Shift on YouTube, I recommend checking it out.
The tricks will require some basic sleights and misdirection and the Secret trick uses a very strong equivoque, which is taught. Ramsey borrows from other magicians and credits and thanks them all during the DVD.
Ramsay also suggest doing this trick only once a night and that is sound advice. It is such a strong routine that you don't want to dilute its impact by repetition.
The biggest negative to this DVD is that there are no performances of the routines whatsoever. Since the promotional video shows Ramsay performing the tricks, I don’t understand why this was so conspicuously missing. It would have been worthwhile to see Ramsay perform his own trick to live spectators, or even in a studio performance. Since this DVD was filmed a year before it was released, there is no excuse for not providing full performances of both tricks. It is a shame because Ramsay is a very compelling performer and the inclusion would have made the project even stronger than it is…and it is kick-ass strong. The ad-copy inaccurately says that there are full length performances included on the DVD. Someone is gonna catch some heat for that as the omission of the performances is clearly an error.
This is a great sealed deck trick and well worth the purchase price. Go and get it!