|
|
Go to page [Previous] 1~2~3~4 [Next] | ||||||||||
Joshua Quinn Inner circle with an outer triangle 2054 Posts |
Yes, got them today.
Quinn
Every problem contains the seeds of its own solution. Unfortunately every problem also contains the seeds of an infinite number of non-solutions, so that first part really isn't super helpful.
|
|||||||||
FrankStone New user South Africa/Taiwan 74 Posts |
Quinn
Have you had time to give them a listen yet? What is your opinion about them? I know we all would like to know. |
|||||||||
Joshua Quinn Inner circle with an outer triangle 2054 Posts |
No, haven't had a chance to check them out yet, but I plan to start tonight.
Quinn
Every problem contains the seeds of its own solution. Unfortunately every problem also contains the seeds of an infinite number of non-solutions, so that first part really isn't super helpful.
|
|||||||||
owenscott Regular user 168 Posts |
For me it is not the cash outlay (not much of a problem as long as the wife doesn't find out) but I know I am not anywhere near this level.
I like to have the info so I can develop along that way. If the reveiws are good around then I'm interested, simple as that. P.S. 500 sets of volume 1 will be sold and only 250 sets of volume 2. On the honor system on this one. I'd rather think they wouldn't limit them. Then I know that I wont be lied to on something that's almost impossible to verify. (cynical) ad hype? |
|||||||||
Mark Strivings V.I.P. 290 Posts |
Quote:
On 2003-10-13 18:56, truthteller wrote: Quote:
On 2003-10-13 18:56, truthteller wrote: Let's try this again... Amen brother! Amen! Mark Strivings
Mark Strivings is the owner of the largest all-mentalism mail order supply business in the world, "Mental Connections", carrying materials not available anywhere else. For complete info, drop Mark a line at MarkyApril@aol.com
|
|||||||||
Scott Xavier Inner circle 3672 Posts |
Lets face it, any info from these greats has the potential of being profound. I am in awe of the secret knowledge that is truly out there still undiscovered. I can tell you one thing, you'll never get the greats of these cd's to start talking openly on a public board like this, so maybe it is worth it.
|
|||||||||
Socrates Regular user 197 Posts |
Sounds like typical advertising hype to me and still proves that the greatest trick in the world of magic is making peoples money transpose itself from one mans pocket to another.
Just read some of the seminal works on the subject and get out there in the real world as experience is the greatest teacher. Oh yeah one more thing! Make sure you read 'Influence: Science and Practice' by Robert B. Cialdini and you'll be a whole lot better off financially. Socrates |
|||||||||
truthteller Inner circle 2584 Posts |
So, why would anyone feel the need to arbitrarily knock a product, particularly one they don't own and cannot possibly comment upon intelligently?
Now, I'll admit, I'm one of the harshest, most critical reviewers I know of. But in those cases, my negativity is earned. Socrates, until you listen to the product, your remarks are unfounded. (Though I second your recommendation on the Cialdini book. Further, experience is a great teacher, but do we all need to taste the poisionous plant on our own in order to learn for ourselves it is indeed poisonous? Why reinvent the wheel when there are engineers willing to show you the blueprints? Is there not value in comparing your experiences and interpretations of those experiences with others who might have MORE experiences and different ones? By reading the classics are you not standing on the shoulders of those who came before any less heavily than one would with this set?) I see so much of this uninformed product bashing on the board that it makes me wonder if these naysayers might possibly benefit from one producer loosing sales, or if they are just bitter and need to spread their vitrol around for all to see. These are the only two explanations for this type of behavior that I can fathom. If you buy the product, and don't care for it, fine. But these disparaging comments that have no basis in fact or experience really hold no water. May I suggest in the future that we limit our comments to something we might possibly know? |
|||||||||
Gregg Tobo New user Denver 64 Posts |
Frankly, I am a little reluctant to post my review here (I received my CDs on Friday and have listened to about 16 hours worth of material).
As a first-time-poster (although, I've been lurking for several months), I have no history on this board that would give my words any credibility. So I am sure many will question my authority. Also, from the tone of this topic, I sense that many people want to express their opinion, but few are interested in listening to what others have to say. But for those who want to know what "Conversations with Mentalists" is about, here are my thoughts: First, (please remember, I've only listened to half of the interviews), "Conversations" is an EXTREMELY valuable contribution to the field of mentalism for those who work in this field (or those, like myself, who would LIKE to work in this field). "Conversations" is NOT for beginners. "Conversations" is NOT for anyone who needs more tricks (there are some tricks and subtleties, but if that is what you are looking for, you will be disappointed). "Conversations" is for anyone who wants to know what the top-thinkers in our field are thinking. Ben Cummings is an excellent interviewer; he did his homework and was well prepared for each of the interviews. His line of questioning gave the interviewees a great open-ended starting point to discuss the deeper issues of mentalism. Highlights for me include: the interview with Anton Zellman where he discusses how he went from earning $75 a show to earning $30,000 a show, listening to John Riggs's passionate talk about helping people with his gift (and juxtaposing that with Steve Shaw's sense of performance ethics), also, hearing Richard Osterlind insights taken from film, theatre, and Harry Potter, and how he applies it to his work. Many interviewees discuss who influenced them, and how they got started. On a more technical level, a discussion of pre-show work (why Mark Strivings thinks it will make you a God, and why Richard Osterlind NEVER uses it). Or hearing the "real" reasons you should (or should not) use playing cards in Mentalism. A few subtleties sprinkled here and there on the use of the Peek Wallet, Pocket Writing, Clipboards, and Center Tears. As well as the pros/cons of Branching Anagrams and Instant Stooges. Someone else had compared this to the Martin Breese series of Magicassette, and I would agree, except to add that "Conversations" is obviously more timely and, because its focused solely on the art of Mentalism, Ben is able to ask specific questions that are integral to our art. Yes, the cost is high (about what I spent to go to my last magic convention), but there's wealth of information being offered (many times more than I received at my last convention (no offense to MITR...)). I hope this helps anyone who's trying to decide whether or not to buy. Again, DON'T buy if you're looking for tricks. DON'T buy if your just a beginner. But I highly recommend "Conversations" if you want to hear the best-in-the-business discuss what they do best. Gregg Tobo |
|||||||||
cgscpa Elite user Ashton, MD 447 Posts |
Gregg -
Thank you for a real review and your opinions on this. I think the conversations on areas where mentalists have different opinions (such as pre-show work and playing cards, as you mentioned) would be extremely interesting to listen to. Your review of what is offered on the CDs will help those still in the undecided stage or wanting more information stage. You certainly have answered some questions I had in my mind. Finally, welcome to the Café. Hope to see you post on a regular basis. |
|||||||||
RudolfRassen New user 81 Posts |
Quote:
On 2003-10-28 13:15, Gregg Tobo wrote: Sounds like a reasonable, well-balanced review to me. Welcome to the board! Gary |
|||||||||
shrink Inner circle 2609 Posts |
Cds sound worthwhile too.
|
|||||||||
D J Hawkins Veteran user Reading, UK 351 Posts |
Thank you for the reviews posted here. After several weeks I've finally decided to invest. Will post my comments when I get them.
|
|||||||||
Yaniv Deautsch Special user Israel 529 Posts |
[quote]On 2003-10-28 13:15, Gregg Tobo wrote:
Highlights for me include: the interview with Anton Zellman where he discusses how he went from earning $75 a show to earning $30,000 a show. [quote] A year ago or so I asked about mentalists's fee. Didn't got any numbers but Ian Rowland wrote: "more than a rose seller but less than Madona". I guess he was talking about Anton Zellman ... Yaniv Deautsch |
|||||||||
Craig Chamberlain New user Michigan, USA 49 Posts |
When I received the interviews I initially had some doubts because in his cover letter, Ben says that he is a "rather poor interviewer" and that the interviews were conducted by phone.
I've listened to seven interviews so far and believe that this is an excellent and valuable production. Ben is familiar with the literature and has performing experience and does a fine job with the interviews. He keeps the focus on the interviewee instead of himself, listens to the person he is interviewing, and lets the person take the discussion in their own interesting directions without straying too far. The participants had some advance awareness of the topics to be discussed and had given them some thought, which helped promote good discussion. Ben repeats many questions from one interview to the next (with this number of subjects, one would have to) and part of the value of the interviews is to compare and contrast opinions from all of these respected individuals. Occasionally the phone conversations are difficult to hear but by turning up the volume I was able to catch everything, and that was while riding in a car. The price is high relative to other products, but the amount of information presented is substantial. It would be a logistical nightmare for Ben to stock and sell individual interviews, and as suggested above, the value is from the whole as well as the parts. In other fields the cost for professional development materials, conventions, workshops etc. is much higher than we are used to in magic and mentalism. If you just want more "tricks," this will not be a good value for you. But if it is your desire to know what the top creators and performers in our field think and you want to develop yourself and improve your performances, this is a rare opportunity and absolutely worth the money. Here is one technical note regarding the option to get the interviews in MP3 format. If you intend to burn the MP3 files to your own audio CD's for playback on a CD player that can't read MP3 files (such as a car CD player), be aware that the MP3 files are recorded with a 22050Hz sampling rate. I had to use a .wav file editing program to up-sample them to 44100Hz in order for my burner software to accept them and write them to audio discs. |
|||||||||
Banachek V.I.P. Houston 1086 Posts |
I just recieved my set of tapes yesteday, so far I have listened to Richard Osterlind and Ted K and from those two interviews alone I have learn't a few things, and this is from two people I consider to be good, if not a couple of my best freinds in the business.
Gregg Tobo has it right on. These tapes are brilliant. And yes, for those who may not get it, there are wonderful ideas and effects on these tapes as well, but that is not where the value is. And yes, I did one of the tapes too. And yes I did get some brownies but that is not why I did the tapes. I did them because I thought it a worthwhile project and to help those who really could learn from this project. As I think most involved would agree, we wanted to give something back to the art. All I can say, is get this set while you can. So far, I know of no-one who has been dissapointed in any way at all.
In thoughts and Friendship
Banachek Campus Performer of the Year two years in a row Year 2000 Campus Novelty Act PEA Creativity Award Recipient http://www.banachek.com |
|||||||||
Ben Cummings New user 66 Posts |
Bnachek,
Thank you very much for the compliment! And your interview was very good! Banachek is a superb performer with tons of real-world experience, and he shared generously his insights during our interview. We all appreciate your work. Best, Ben Cummings http://www.MindThievery.com/mentalism
Author of "Conversations With Mind Readers"
Over 40 hours of interviews with thirty-two Top Mentalists & Mind Readers. For more info email me at bencummings1@yahoo.com and I will email you a detailed Prospectus. |
|||||||||
Adam Regular user UK 103 Posts |
[quote]On 2003-10-28 05:31, truthteller wrote:
So, why would anyone feel the need to arbitrarily knock a product, particularly one they don't own and cannot possibly comment upon intelligently? I see so much of this uninformed product bashing on the board that it makes me wonder if these naysayers might possibly benefit from one producer loosing sales, or if they are just bitter and need to spread their vitrol around for all to see. These are the only two explanations for this type of behavior that I can fathom. Yes, this makes sense in a vaccuum, but not in the context of magic sales, where the holy dollar (I'm not talking about "misled"...) takes preference over ethics, morals, and 'brotherhood' (sorry 'IBM'). The dealer who doesn't hype his products and say just about anything to get your money is the exception. 'Reviews' by people directly involved in a product are meaningless (unless you're conducting research on the subject of biased reviews) and the fact that a product is being sold as an expensive 'set' (all 22 cds, rather than individual ones - if this stuff is so great and noone will ever be disappointed then why not sell them one-by-one? surely we won't be able to resist the others having purchased them individually?....) with only vague description of the contents sends the red-lights flashing. So, no, it's usually not all sour-grapes, paranoia, or anything of the sort. Magic dealers have made their bed and now they have to sleep in it. |
|||||||||
Sir T Special user 535 Posts |
Ok, I could not help myself: here is the play list of these cd's:
Vol 1 Disk 1 1. Anton Zillman part 1 2. Anton Zillman part 2 3. Allen Zingg 4. Bruce Bernstein 5. Barrie Richardson 6. Banachek 7. Craig Karges 8. Chuck Hickok 9. Doug Dyment part 1 10. Doug Dyment part 2 11. E. Raymon Carlyle part 1 12. E. Raymon Caryle part 2 13. Gerard Senehi 14. Gregory Edmonds 15. John Riggs part 1 16. John Riggs part 2 17. Kenton Knepper part 1 18. Kenton Knepper part 2 19. Marc Salem part 1 20. Marc Salem part 2 21. Paul Alberstat 22. Richard Busch Part 1 23. Richard Bush part 2 24. Richard osterlind part 1 25. Richard osterlind part 2 Vol. 2 Disk 2 1. Rex Sikes part 1 2. Rex Sikes part 2 3. Ted Lesley 4. Ted Karmilovich 5. Tony Razzano part 1 6. Tony Razzno part 2 Vol 2 Disk 1 1. Alain Bellon part 1 2. Alain Bellon part2 3. Andy Nyman part 1 4. Andy Nyman part 2 5. Joe Atmore 6. Brad Henderson 7. Guy Bavli 8. Lee Earle 9. Lars Peter-Loeld part 1 10. Lars Peter-Loeld part 2 11. Mark Strivings part 1 12. Mark Strivings part 2 13. PJ 14. Steven Cohen I have not had a chance to listien to them all, as each interview unless it has a part2 runs over an hour long!! What is it worth to to know what the top-thinkers in our field are thinking? I don't know, but for me it was a good deal! Take a minute to have another look at the list of those interviewed......there is a lot of information in those interviews, so much so I will have to make a note book for each person, with the highlights. I will never be able to see all of them in person or here them lecture, this is as close, as I will get, if you can get these get them! |
|||||||||
Greg Arce Inner circle 6732 Posts |
Got my set and I've gone through the first six or so conversations. Wow! Such great stuff! So far Banachek and Riggs have been worth the price of admission. I particularly loved what Riggs said about not worrying when things are exposed on TV... You're the man, John! And Anton Zellman's marketing ideas were also very valuable.
Of course, Marc Salem's take on the whole business was interesting, too. I was very taken when he mentioned getting personal with your effects by adding stuff that has to do with your own life. In my past show I did a routine that, although funny, included a bit of my past and not a good part. I had several friends say I should take it out because it was bit too personal... now I'm starting to wonder if it was the right thing to keep it in. I'm sure there's more awaiting me in the other volumes so I'll get back to them. Thank you, Ben, for putting this out. Greg
One of my favorite quotes: "A critic is a legless man who teaches running."
|
|||||||||
The Magic Cafe Forum Index » » Dvd, Video tape, Audio tape & Compact discs. » » Conversations with Mind Readers (0 Likes) | ||||||||||
Go to page [Previous] 1~2~3~4 [Next] |
[ Top of Page ] |
All content & postings Copyright © 2001-2024 Steve Brooks. All Rights Reserved. This page was created in 0.08 seconds requiring 5 database queries. |
The views and comments expressed on The Magic Café are not necessarily those of The Magic Café, Steve Brooks, or Steve Brooks Magic. > Privacy Statement < |