What does everyone think about Oserlind's Mind Mysteries 4 DVD set? Do you think a relative beginner in mentalism would benefit from them? (please do not forward me to the search option)

Se other posts! but, they are great

Though I've only seen two of the dvds I think richard is awesome! You might not be able to pull some of the things off because you'll need some experience in presenting mentalism for that, presentation is very important in most of the stuff! But from what I've seen, there are great tips in there for everyone seriously interest in mentalism! As far as it being good for beginners, I think you should read and watch as much as possible, then figure out what your style might be or what you want to do, practice your routines and presentation and go for it! To be good in mentalism I really think you need to forever be a student of the art, in general!

Anabelle

Get them, they are an absolute gem!!!

It is a great way to see a master in action..

RIchard Osterlind is a master in this art.
Get his dvd's now, because this is - in my humble opinion - as good as it gets.
There are no better DVD's.
But I recommend to get some books on mentalism as well. Just do as search in here (the older threads) and you'll find more titles than you need.
Good luck !

I agree the Osterlind dvds are the BEST out there...watching this pro in action is really awe inspiring and he makes you want to be a better performer. If you don't own them....BUY THEM NOW!

If you really could read minds this is what it would look like.Excellent insight behind the effects and ease of performance.You have to buy this,it's that good.
Andre

I suggest that you do a search, there are some thousands posts in this forum telling you exactly the same as what the guys above did.

If you really are interested in Osterlind's work, you will also find pretty many in depth posts as well, not only the "get them", "buy them", "Osterlind is the greatest! etc.
Statements like that are great and convincing, but they don't give you very much meat to the bones, so to speak.

Again, do a search, and avoid "the greatest/the best" stuff.
Read the posts that really describe and discuss Osterlind's work. After having done so, you should have enough luggage to make up your own mind about what all this is about.
Compare YOUR impression with YOUR goals and what YOU want to accomplish.
If your impression of Osterlind's material and your Goals match, - just get whatever you cand of material with Osterlind's name on.

Why I come up with all this, is because I feel that it is incredibly important that we do stuff that are right for us as performers and routines that suit our styles - not because of that the perfoprmer or his material is the latest trend.

We would bore our audiences to death, if they only found a bunch of David Blaine, Derren Browns,Andy Nymans, Richard Osterlinds etc etc clones around.

Read whatever you come across. You will pretty soon find out what suits you and what doesn't.
But don't get anything because every one else say that this or that material is "must have".
Maybe that is right for many, but again it might be pretty wrong for others of us.

Just my two cents.

Sven.

And if you really wanna know,
YES, I love Osterlind's work, - every bit of what I have come across.
But that's me!

Best money ever spent on a single mentalism product. No matter what level you are at these DVDs are phenomenal value..

I don't agree with sven! I say these dvds are the best buy I have made in years... go ahead and buy them.. everyone loves them...! you cant go wrong... I havent actually read one post that said.. "mmm well they are ok but not for me"

so unless you are that unique ... buy them...

m I c

MIC
I Did NOT say, that I don't think that the DVDs are great, on the contrary, they (and the rest of Osterlind's work I have come across)are the best material I ever have had in my whoe life

What I did say, was that it is important that people here actually THINK and try to make up own minds on what material they want, need, and actually will USE - and not blindly go for other peoples ready chewed opinions.

If that opinion of mine is what you disagreed to, - I will of course respect you for that.
I don't understand why you do, though.

Sven

I know what Sven means.
A map is not the territory, just like a desription of a DVD tells us not very much about the product.
If somebody considers purchasing a DVD, than it's normal that he wants to know what is on it. It's common sense that he reads reviews on magic DVD's first.
The reviews for Osterlind are always great, but the original poster doesn't know the first thing about them if we only say "great, buy them".
It's like saying to somebody who wants to learn about magic that he should buy Eugene Burger's "real world". If the person does this... and he hates card tricks, well, than he'll feel real mad about this. Mr. Burger's video will still be great, though...
So, I have to back up Sven a little :
do research before you decide. It's just common sense. We don't know what you want. But if you are like most of us, you'll adore the mind mysteries.
Just my little 2 eurocents...

Yes, take a recommend then do a google on anything and read all the reviews before buying...Totally agree....


I say don't buy any of Osterlinds material....but that would be selfish of me...just want all the secrets for meself:)

Ok I understand what you mean now!;) You talk in general terms that someone should do a very good research before buying anything rather than reading just a few posts that say that something is very good...

Fair enough! We agree.. I thought you were talking specifically about the particular DVDs.. that maybe they will not suit him (which is something that I cannot imagine)...

:)
M I C

Buy them they are great!!! :-P

Well, more or less so.
However, I really mean it when I say that no matter how clever a pro inventor's creatitions are, they are not always for all.
Why I say this, is that we are all individuals with our own personality, preferences and performing style.

This also means (even though I fear a lynching mob come chasing me for it ) that Osterlind's routines are for many, but not all of us. (...sorry Richard, and with all respect!!)
After all, he created these routines and his act for himself and to suit HIS style, not everybody else's.

When having mentioned this, I will be the first to admit (...and I am also among the first in line when he releases new material!)
that his routines can be used by incredibly many, ...if not directly as HE does them, so modified to suit the individuals own personality.

Let me give you another example:
I guess that just a few (if any!) would talk in disfavour of Max Mavens routines.
I performed rather many of them, but have laid them all off.
Why?
Not because they aren't incredibly good and entertaining, but because of that I found (it took me a long time, though!)that this work wasn't for me and my style.
Even though I did not adopt Maven's style or kind of Dracula look, I felt something wrong by performing them, - Maven's routines and thinking didn't get natural to me.

Realising this, made me completely change my act, something that claimed a long time and hard work, but also to something I am very pleased with.

Still following me? (-I wish I were better in communicating in English)
My conclusion is, that even though you will find a LOT of great, clever, entertaining work in the material on the market, you have to be very critical before you chose what to buy.
Take your time, think and consider before you get something, and do not just run after the rest of the howling crowd, because something new, trendy stuff (what's actually new??) occured.
Only then, you will be really happy with what you put together.

If what you put together also includes some of Osterlind's (or Maven's or Brown's or Nyman's or Blaine's or whoever's)creations, that's fine!
You will be happy with that, as long as you know that you did some reflective thinking and considerations before you spendt your hard earned money.
My personal experience is, that only when I go through processes as mentioned, I will "own" and use what I bought and spent a long time practising with..
Only then!

...and I am very happy with what I for the time being own...and use.

Sven

Buy them they are great

They really are that good. I never personally liked Maven's effects. But you just have to expect to buy a lot of stuff if you want to get into mentalism. that's just the way it is. However money for value I have not seen anything like Osterlind's DVDs. There is much learning on many levels and the effects are great. You will use at least one or two and learn a whole lot of things by having them..

...or as a modern oracle of Delphi would say :
"know thyself, know somebody else's and make your own conclusions."
...or if Queen were a magic society :
"Too much advice can kill you, just as sure as none at all..."
Have a nice day,
Mystery

There are lots of interesting comments here! Sven, I agree with every word you wrote as well as those of the other posters.

You can find complete listings of the material on Mind Mysteries on our site and many others. The first step in any magicial purchase is to make sure the material is stuff you really would like to perform. Hopefully that is well laid out for you to puruse.

Secondly, I think what has made Mind Mysteries such a success is the material has been performed for so long in such a variety of different settings. I have worked for just about every audience imaginable and some have not been too polite! I can remember getting burned many times and have taken great pains not to get burned again! (Does that make any sense?) I have tried not to leave the viewer hanging in places where important moves take place or where a certain type of misdirection is important. I still think the most important part of the videos is the banter between Jim Sisti and myself where we discuss all the possible scenarios that might arise and how to handle them. These ideas can be applied to a lot of magic not even discussed on the series.

But thanks again for so many kind words. It is very great appreciated!

Sincerely,
Richard

I also think for a beginer its important to see a good performance and good reactions from a live audience. You can't get this in a book. Just for this alone makes the DVDs valuable. To see a set of routines that work well and are performed well. That will add to the values of any books you have to. This was missing early on when I was getting into mentalism. I didn't have good examples of live performances. Bob Cassidy's video is also good.