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Chris Rawlins: Leading Thoughts Review
Two DVDs, seven effects, 2.67 hours and $35 bucks. Is it gem or is it rubble? Stay tuned to find out.
Effect
Check out the written ad copy for a description of the effects. They did a great job explaining them, and there's no need for me to repeat them here.
Method
The methods employed are pretty standard mentalism methods: peeks, "imps," forces, etc. Though there is nothing really new in concept, there are some solid combinations of concepts that make layers of deception. The methods are all straightforward and totally workable. He has a nice and simple idea for making sure that your instant stooge is ready to play that I found to be of value.
The credit card effect is a new-ish and innovative method for getting the information. It will, however, require you to experiment with a variety of different pay envelopes. The ones I have are not quite right for the effect, but I imagine a trip to a stationary store and a little experimentation will get you there.
The lottery ticket effect requires lottery slips that are used for writing down your numbers to help you keep track of them. I've never really seen these before. However, I live in a state that does not have a lottery, so I don't know if these are common or not. He mentioned that they're free at local gas stations in England.
Drop card is an excellent combination of principles that fits the model I mentioned earlier of layering techniques to increase the level of deception. There's not a whole lot to say about the methods. Simple. Standard. Sensible. What more do you want folks.
Ad Copy Integrity
The ad copy is pretty solid. I'll just point out a few things. First, they mention the newspaper test as one of the cleanest they've seen. This may be true. Just keep in mind that the method is nothing new. This basic idea is pretty much the standard for this type of effect. It's just a minor variation which is very similar to other variations of the past. The only other thing worth pointing out is in regards to the lottery ticket effect. They claim that "You then reveal the selected numbers printed upon a real, genuine lottery ticket." This is actually not quite true.
It's not a lottery ticket. It looks like a lottery ticket, but it's a special thing for tracking lottery numbers. My understanding is that it looks like a real lottery ticket. The other thing is that the numbers are NOT printed on the ticket. They are filled in with a pen. Think "fill in the bubble" tests from your school days. That's a big difference compared to "printed on the ticket."
The performance was a bit messy and chaotic. He was throwing shreds of paper, and crumpled up stuff, newspaper, his card box, etc. on the floor. It didn't seem as polished as you might think after reading the ad copy. As for the in-ad testimonials, those, of course, are just opinion, so I won't dispute them.
Product Quality
This DVD is solid overall. The production was good, easy to navigate, lit well, mic'd well, etc. The performances were done in front of a live audience, so some of the stuff happening was hard to see. But it was a bit like being in the actual audience because, for the most part, that was the experience they had. They watched from a distance while Chris Rawlins interacted with one or two people up close.
The explanations covered everything in detail. Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much detail. They were very dry overly explained and slightly frustrating to watch. The DVD set was over 2 and half hours long. I think it could have eeeeeeeeeasily been half that time. Other than that, it's solid.
Final Thoughts
If any of the effects listed in the ad copy sound interesting to you and you don't already have a method for them, then I think you'll find real value here.
Final Verdict:
4 Stars with a Stone Status of gem.
4 Comments
Hey Jeff,
thanks for another great review as always. Just thought I’d try to help out on the ‘lottery ticket’ a little, since I’m UK-based. First and most important – you’re absolutely right, it’s not what I’d call a lottery ‘ticket’ either, but I suspect it may be one of those things where stuff has a non-intuitive name (what we’re thinking of as the ‘ticket’ may actually be called the ‘receipt’ or something like that). The key point is that it’s a pre-printed thing with all of the possible lottery numbers printed on it. The idea being that people circle the six numbers they’re selecting and then take it to the till to pay. At that point, the selection sheet goes in the bin and they’re given a printed receipt with their six numbers on it (what you or I might think of as the ‘ticket’).
So – yes these sheets are free (and widely available, at least over here) and yes, technically, they have the numbers printed on them. BUT as you point out, the numbers have to be hand-selected and circled in pen. And anyone seeing the sheet will know it as something that would’ve gone into the trash if those numbers had been played in the lottery. And it looks nothing like the printed item that you would receive to hang onto if you actually played the lottery. So, in effect, it might as well be a sheet of paper straight from your home printer with the numbers 1-50 printed on it, and then 6 of those numbers circled in pen…
I’d have to say that ad-copy is definitely misleading – hard to say it’s dishonest, since it is a genuine lottery item and the numbers are (all) printed on it… – but definitely misleading. It also strikes me that, assuming the method doesn’t involve something like using a n***-w***** to post-produce the ‘prediction’, it might be possible to actually play the numbers intended to be predicted and then you’d have a genuine printed ticket/receipt with just the six selected numbers on it. Of course, you might need to play each week to have one with the right date on it…
@Dan – Thanks for the info about the lottery tickets. Hopefully that’ll help any who are unsure about this one.
And thank you in return for the edit – sorry about that, wasn’t thinking about what audience I was writing for. Good catch.
@Dan – No worries. I’m not super picky about stuff like that, but I do watch for it, casually. 😉