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REM by Dave Forrest and Full 52

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REM by Dave Forrest and Full 52
« on: May 31, 2016, 10:09:20 PM »
 

Magic_Orthodoxy

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Title: REM
Creator: Dave Forrest
Publisher: Full 52
MSRP: $ 30
Skill Level: All
DVD Run time: 1 hour 23 minutes

Type of effect: Photographic prediction effect

Manufacturer's Write Up:
 
7 years ago, Dave created an effect called 'The Man Who Paints The Future' and released it to the magic community on my 'Radio Rental' DVD.

This parlor mentalism piece found favor among magicians and mentalists worldwide who added it to their professional performances.

Dave has used it in two major magic competitions and closed his parlour act with it during his engagement at the world famous 'Magic Castle' in Hollywood.

In the 7 years since it was released to the magic community, Dave has been developing a close-up version. His aim was to provide the same 'stun factor' as the original while making the whole effect portable, practical and easier to perform. Given that 'The Man Who Paints The Future' utilizes SEVEN multi-colored decks and an actual painting on a large canvas, this was no easy task.

Never-the-less, he got there in the end and is delighted to finally be able to present: 'REM'. 'REM' will allow you to have anyone describe, with unfailing accuracy, the details of the performer's recurring dream. Your participant, using free will and their own imagination, will conjure an image in their mind, deciding for themselves on the pertinent details of your dream.

Without switches or multiple outs of any kind, they will remove a single, un-gimmicked photograph from an envelope that has been in full view throughout and find that it depicts EVERY part of the dream EXACTLY as they imagined it!

And then comes the final kicker...

A spectacularly memorable revelation of a card the participant is merely THINKING of in their mind. Having told NO ONE the name of that card - it only exists IN THEIR MIND - you will prove that, somehow, your dream actually centered around that very card!

This effect has literally been years in development. It is accomplished via layered, time-tested methods, woven together to produce the most direct effect possible while trading off as little of the magic that made it's large scale predecessor so memorable.

'REM' is very easy to perform, requiring only basic card handling skills. It is completely customizable and includes all the required digital artwork in a variety of sizes. And, there are several different ways to handle the final revelation so different artwork is provided for each scenario.

'REM' is a killer! Multitudinous revelations, all merely imagined by your participant, followed by a knock-out finale that will leave them utterly speechless.

How accurate is the ad copy? no deception

What's in the box? DVD with instructions and printable pdfs

How are the production values: The DVD appears like he filmed it himself, steady cam in the living room, and one over the head shot for the explanation. There are a few live performances but they appear to be in a controlled environment with no microphones.
 
Is it well made: only a DVD is included, you will have to make all your props using the downloadable PDF files

Is it well taught: The trick at the beginning takes 9 minutes and 21 seconds to run through (seemed kind of long to me). This trick was originally inspired by a stage trick "The Man Who Paints the Future" (from Radio Rental) which is also based on another effect - "Photo Future" by Jay Sankey
 
My thoughts (what I personally liked/disliked): Watching David do the trick I was able to see what he was doing through every step, not because he was a poor performer, but because each phase is based on a series of forces & each of the forces are well known in the magic community. Then I could argue that you could perform any "force" you like best - you just have to arrive at the same finale.
 
Storage? Does it "pack flat?" most of it is mentalism, but you will need a deck of cards and the paper products seen in the video (nothing else)
 
Does it "play big?" I guess it could have a stronger punch if perhaps there was less hoops to jump through and the routine was a little shorter.
 
Difficulty / Skill level required: this is a very simple effect, if you follow the routine correctly it will require very little skill other than a few card controls.
 
How much arts and crafts are involved? you will need to make several items, but most of it requires writing and printing
 
How practical is this in the real world? (can it really be done?) It's a practical effect, but it's just long and I would wonder if your spectator wouldn't get lost in the entire thing (remember David's performance is over nine minutes long) .... you're putting a lot on your spectator to remember, and so you are constantly reminding them of their decisions (constantly recapping the effect back them).

Overall score: let's toss out the traditional score of 1-10 and make this something that we all can appreciate and understand.
 
_____ Very Satisfied
_____ Somewhat Satisfied
_____ Neither Satisfied or Dissatisfied
_____ Somewhat Dissatisfied
    X    Very Dissatisfied
_____ No Opinion
 
The trick is too long for me, and the DVD was too long as well (ha ha). The entire presentation felt like a series of hoops I was making my spectator jump trough.
 
+ Hey do you want to see my full review with even more of my opinions and ideas? Visit this link for my video review:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9C-MAR4nro
More Magic and Deck Reviews https://www.youtube.com/magicorthodoxy