Max Maven gives endorsement to this one.

Should be pretty good.

Add from Hocus pocus :

Precognition: Clairvoyance relating to an event or state not yet experienced. In this case to foretell a video event before it occurs.

A spectator chooses one of six discs and places it into a DVD player. They then choose an episode on that disc, then a chapter from that episode. Before they hit the play button you describe a scene in detail. They then play their selection and it matches your description perfectly.

The discs can be checked both before and after, all the episodes and chapters are different. The effect plays in almost any venue, from a TV set in a living room to a full size auditorium. If the theater has multimedia capabilities the effect plays huge.

"The roots of this idea go back 400 years - but Martin Lewis has yanked it into the 21st century. It was worth the wait." -- Max Maven

PLEASE NOTE: This product is compatible with most DVD players, however there may be some off brand, or older machines, with which it is not compatible. Please check first.

I don't see how it's a precognition/clairvoyance/prediction effect if they have to make all the decisions before you can reveal anything.

Yea ... What he said!

I suppose that it's because reel magic does not exist!!!

It's all in the wording and presentation I guess.

Do they openly say the selections out loud or can they write them down? Whats the point if they have to tell you. You may as well just use a crib sheet and your own DVD collection surely? Mmmmm wait a second.....

If it's from Martin Lewis, it's bound to be good.

Robert

Daniel I think the way it goes is they choose a dvd, put it in the dvd player, then use the dvd remote to select a certain episode and then a certain chapter. He's basically getting it ready to watch. He's doing it all on the tv. It's like a digital book test.

That's right. The spectator selects the episode and chapter from 6 different DVDs. The prediction is made before the DVD is inserted in the player.

My only gripe about this is... Bonanza. I used to watch it when I was a kid. But, I wish Martin would have picked some other series that's in the public domain. I guess Twilight Zone wasn't available.

Robert

You need no prior information from the spectator for Precognition. If you wish you can send them a sealed letter with your precognitive knowledge written inside a week ahead.

Bonanza is the best series that I can find, in the public domain, that fulfills the requirements for my effect. Most people have seen or heard of Bonanza - it is still being shown on TVLand, but nobody recalls actual episode titles and events. A key ingredient in the method. I would love to use Twilight Zone or Star Trek but they are not available without paying huge fees and royalities.

I also like Bonanza because it looks really innocent, like something you will find in a megamart discount bin, I even have a flourecent Walmart price sticker on mine.

Use presentation to get around having to use this specific set, for example as you hand them the disk set say, "I had a precognition that I would be handing you a collection of Bonanza episodes tonight." Gets a chuckle and sets things up...

Or have a stack of different series and equivoke this one, whatever...

Hope that clears some questions up.

Martin

I know this is an old thread but I am planning a vist to Alakasam wk end and I am getting a list together of what I might purchase and this looks good,anymore upto date reveiw's?

I think things have moved on within the last 5 Years

Fact that we have not got one review posted says a lot !

Arh make you right there,lol,think I will leave this one.

In a quick email, a friend told me he got this and he said it's actually pretty good, which makes sense because Martin Lewis has an exemplary track record of inventions and routining. I hope to get more info on it this weekend.

A lack of reviews isn't always a defining moment. I think the issue is one of opportunity: Most performers don't have a DVD player and monitor/TV at their venue, so there probably weren't hundreds of these sold.

Maybe this would be something you'd present for friends/family at home. And you could always ask Mr. Lewis about it via the email address at his site.

I see it's still available at:

http://www.magikraft.com/category/Stage-Magic-2

- Steve H

Penguin Magic now has it for about $10

http://www.penguinmagic.com/p/S10705

I just picked this up. It is very clever! I can see a lot of applications for stage or close-up. I would love to incorporate this same idea into other DVDs. Reminds me of a trick in the old Penn and Teller game : Smoke and Mirrors.

Does the spectator just name the selections out loud or are they written down. If they just say out loud a DVD a chapter etc it would not be so good imo

They can literally pick any disk and any chapter, whether you see it or not. It always ends up being a scene that matches the prediction. You don't even have to be anywhere near the DVD player. You could just give someone the remote and let them click what they want. You can use the dialogue in the scene as your prediction.

The nice part is that anybody can pick a DVD to test out beforehand and it will all test out as legitimate, no matter what chapter they click. Then, the participant can pick a disk and scene, match up with the prediction and then still click on other scenes to prove they are different.

Martin has covered pretty much any hole that the audience might question.

Thanks for taking the time to reply.

Can this be done over the phone?

Regards,
Mike

Yes. You wouldn't want to mail someone the DVD though as they would find something fishy with it if they were allowed to poke around much on their own. if you had a volunteer on stage call someone it would work .