Hi all. It’s that time of year and I’m looking at purchasing one of a couple of videos. Unfortunately, I have to choose.



So I’m looking at the Max Maven Videos, but then someone recommended the Bob Cassidy video. I’m uncertain. Pros? Cons? Professional help? (Probably)

:dance:



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It’s All In Your Mind...

Both are excellent. If you live in an area with a lot of other magicians, get the Cassidy video. It’s not as common, and you’ll be doing stuff most of the others don’t have. Otherwise, take your pick! You can’t go wrong! The nice thing about the Maven videos is that they are divied up into venues: Close-up, parlor, platform. So if you perform at a particular venue more often than others, that would be the way to go. But again, all are excellent, so you can’t lose!



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Scott F. Guinn

Great Scott! It’s Magic!

Thanks! I am leaning toward the Cassidy videos, because the ads say that he discusses routining, performance technique, etc. I'm not that interested in learning new effects.

BTW. Scott, I loved your series on Banquet gigs. Very informative!

Thanks a lot! It’s nice to know someone is finding it valuable--glad to hear that you’re the one!

Rob: May I recommend some other mentalism video tapes that you may find rewarding:



1. Desert Brainstorm Series, 6 1/2.

This is today’s mentalism with performers such as Mark Strivings, Lee Earle, Kenton Knepper, Larry Becker (for those Mental Magic Fans) and others of the famous 6 1/2.



2. Lee Earle’s Syzgy’s Best- Vol 1,2,7,

If you are not familiar with Syzygy, trust me on these videos.



3. Patrik Kuffs’ Metal Bending.

Everything you wanted to know but were afraid to ask about spoon and other bending.



There are quite a few more out there but those I just mentioned will keep you busy and give you plenty of "food for thought.’ DO NOT FORGET BOOKS. That’s where the real work is. I sensed you knew that.



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For those who believe, no explanation is needed. For those who do not believe, no explanation is necessary. Dunninger

As a mentalist I can definitely recommend the Bob Cassidy video... see if you can spot top mindreader Marc Salem in there, by the way!

I’ll second the recommendation for the SYZYGY videos, with a somewhat biased recommendation for Volume 3, since the opening effect on it is mine

I would suggest holding off on the Kuffs video, however -- Banachek’s Psychokinetic Silverware will be out soon, and it is much better than the Kuffs one -- being the guy who actually created this stuff, Banachek goes into great detail on the fine points and psychological twists to really make it all work. I was privileged enough to be at the reshoot for it last month, and I was blown away with what he taught.


--A

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Andy Leviss

Check out my new book for mentalists, Ramblings and Revelations (and other products for magicians and mentalists) at:

http://www.asquaredproductions.com

I recieved the Guy Bavli mentalism video recently. I was disappointed, it seemed to me to be mostly card tricks.

I realize the video is almost 10 years old, is his newer stuff any better? I found it odd that he was not mentioned in this thread.

Mental Videos.... hmmm, let’s see... how about

"One Flew Over The Coo Coo’s Nest"?

Hey, I love that movie!



Happy Holidays!





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Thank you,

John Zander

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The Award Winning

Comedy Magic of

John Zander

http://www.ZanderMagic.com

http://www.AllMagic.net

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Ichazod: No. Put your money elsewhere.

I concur. I’ve seen the videos and I’ve seen Bavli in person. Shania Twain best describes my opinion of "Israel’s Greatest Mentalist" - "That don’t impress me much!"

Thank you, I thought perhaps I was missing something with Mr. Bavli.

Apparently not



I received my Desert Brainstorm volume 2 video yesterday, I was quite impressed. Everything on the tape was excellent & usable. I would recommend this to anyone, I can’t wait to get the others in the series.

Some people complain about the presentation on the Syzygy videos, but you shouldn’t be watching videos for the presentation, you should be watching them for:



(A) the methodology and other non-personal aspects of the effects on them,



(B) the other ideas and effects that you’ll come up with based on what’s on the video.



If you don’t like Lee’s presentation, don’t use it. Don’t let a presentation you don’t like keep you from finding valuable material, though.



The other complaint is that the material is "too proppy." I’m not sure what you consider "too proppy". Yes, there is stuff on there that I would consider "proppy" enough to be mental magic instead of mentalism ("Midway Dream" comes to mind off the top of my head), but a prop alone does not make something proppy. If the prop is a normal everyday object that makes sense in the routine, I don’t see a problem with it.



I’ve explained my thoughts on the subject in a lot more detail in a couple articles over in "Shared Thoughts" at Visions and in my book Ramblings & Revelations. You can find one of the original articles at

http://www.online-visions.com/sharedthoughts/0205andy.html,

and both (actually, technically there are three that touch on this) in the book, available from the link in my signature.



Best,

Andy



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Andy Leviss

Check out my new book for mentalists, Ramblings and Revelations (and other products for magicians and mentalists) at:

http://www.asquaredproductions.com

I don't think I fully agree with Andy, after all, most of the methods are old anyway. I am constantly seeking good presentation angles. A great, and different presentation is the most valuable thing for me. Which doesn't mean I would take it and perform as is, but for me good presentations are definitely of more importance than methods.

This is one of the few times that I, too, would disagree (at least partially) with Andy. I typically watch the performance segments of the tricks first--sometimes thats ALL I watch! Whether it has a presentational angle I can use or not, there is much to be learned regarding timing, delivery, misdirection etc by watching a real pro in action. All of these are more important to me than the methods, for methods, I prefer books, for presentation--to see how an effect "plays"--THAT’S where I find the real value in videos.

And, as Ortiz says in Strong Magic, at conventions, you will find amateurs and hobbyists gathered around a guy with a new move, but you’ll find working pros excitedly huddled around the guy with a new presentation.

Very true points, and I agree that presentation is valuable, but I should probably explain what I meant better. I didn't mean that you should only watch the tapes for method. What I meant was that you shouldn't watch the tapes for Lee's personal presentation. You should watch them for what you can get from it to improve your presentation, be that an idea for an effect, a premise for a routine, etc. Lee's specific word for word presentation is the last thing you should get from it.



And there is something to be learned from bad presentation--it can be a great example of what NOT to do. Instead of saying, "He sucked," you can sit down and say, "Okay, he sucked, but WHY did he suck? How can I avoid making those mistakes in my own work?"



And yes, the methods aren't earth-shatteringly new, but they do show you great new ways to apply old ideas, which is really all that creating is most of the time.



--Andy

Both Max's and the 6 1/2 viedo's are very good. Remember your learning the idea. You must always use your own personality for it to work. Do you have 13 Steps?

Yes, thanks, as well as Anneman, Banachek, Hoy, and Anderson. What's hard to find is what a mental routine looks like. This is what I enjoy about videos. And, like Scott, I often watch just the performance sections, as I am not all that interested in learning the secrets (at least not at first)

I got Maven’s video’s 1 & 2 and they are really good, I highly reccomend them, No. 3 is on order.

Larry Beckers Videos; MENTAL MASTERPIECES have many super mental effects.
I like the effects Casino Royal and Kollosal Killer plus more...

http://www.mymagic.com/becker.htm