Colin McLeod
OPENING MINDS
$56
Suggested Retail Price $62
THE BLURB:
Every generation has a true innovator who brings his own
unique vision to bear on the art of mentalism and creates
material that seems to defy explanation. Alakazam Magic is
proud to introduce the newest member of this elite group:
Colin McLeod.
Combining his very modern sensibilities for cutting-edge
prop-free methods with a clarity of performance that leaves
audiences speechless with wonder, Colin has developed a
repertoire of contemporary mentalism which is the envy of
all who've seen it.
Now for the first time on this 4-disc set Colin reveals the
methods, techniques and thinking behind some of his most
incredible effects. This is stand-up and close-up material
that will empower you to mystify your audiences with some of
the most compelling mentalism you will ever learn.
DISC ONE:
Bookless Test
Colin's brilliant opener where he predicts a thought of word
from an imaginary book. And yes, the prediction is printed,
not nail-written.
Quite Wordy
A clever new psychological word-force for the whole
audience, leading into what will become the standard
impromptu book-test handling.
Chair Test
An exceptionally clean and direct chair-test, where process
is kept to an absolute minimum. It features three distinct
climaxes which build to an incredible finale.
DISC TWO:
ACAAN
This is the one! No gimmicks, no sleights, no pre-show, no
stooges. An anytime, anywhere, any deck method has to be
seen to be believed. One number + one card = one miracle.
Where's the Money?
A bank-note and serial number divination effect, which
introduces Colin's innovative hands-off system for
identifying which one of five spectators is hiding an
object. 100% accurate, with no electronics and no
prevaricating!
Will ESP Cards Match
Becker's classic 'Will The Cards Match' reworked for stage
and incorporating a sure-fire prediction.
�ottery
Colin's favourite effect! A purely psychological influence
effect which is the perfect answer to the question, "Can you
predict the lottery?" A future-classic...
DISC THREE:
Winning Numbers
Following on from Lo��ery, this revolutionary handling of
'Sneak Thief' turns the effect on its head by allowing you
to reveal every spectator's chosen number!
In The News
A stunning prediction of a single word from a freely chosen
piece of newspaper. It involves the entire audience, with
every decision made outside of your control. Nevertheless
the chosen word is predicted in a totally entertaining way.
The Tabular Mentis Lecture
DISC FOUR
Close-Up:
Albertest
A stack of un-gimmicked billets become an accessible and
totally practical tool which can be used to easily and
openly predict anything.
Double Card Thought Projection
This routine is the main reason Colin uses cards in
mentalism. The spectator reads the performer's mind and the
performer reads the spectator's. A truly simple and direct
mindreading demonstration using playing cards.
Kolintrol
A powerful extension of Knepper's 'Kontrol', which Colin has
developed over hundreds of performances. He correctly
predicts the actions a spectator will make, even though they
are given lots of opportunity to change their mind as many
times as they like.
Serial Prevaricator
An entire close-up routine for revealing who is holding a
borrowed, folded bank note and which hand they are holding
it in. It concludes with the divination of the serial number
from across the room.
Bolder Business
Colin teaches his handling for a drawing duplication which
uses more than a stack of billets, a pen and chutzpah.
Furtive Switch
A one handed, invisible billet switch that drags billet
switching into the 21st Century and makes it completely
practical for the real world.
MY COMMENTS:
At MINDvention 2010, Colin thoroughly impressed attendees
with his fresh thinking. Much of what he shared can now be
yours by getting this 4 DVD set packed with so many ideas
that I'm sure you'll find one you'll like and use. I know
that I have.
The format of the discs is that you first get an
introduction to each performance by Colin McLeod and Mark
Elsdon. Following the performance, Colin and Mark discuss
the routine. There are sixteen routines spread out over
four discs. The first three discs contain stage or stand-up
routines. The fourth disc contains close-up routines. As
you can see from the blurb, the routines include chair
tests, book tests, serial number divinations, billet
switches, drawing duplications, and ESP card effects, among
others.
The third disc also features a complete lecture that McLeod
did for the Tabular Mentis convention in the U.K. Much of
the material in the lecture is in the other sections of the
disc, but it's certainly valuable to see McLeod lecture
the material live.
I remember a few years back a hot new UK talent released a
four DVD set that cost nearly $150 to get and now sells for
$100. This four DVD set has a MSRP of $62. I'm not
necessarily comparing material here, just pointing out that
this set, in comparison to others, is a good value.
Anyhow, the bottom line is that I thoroughly enjoyed this
set, find that Colin McLeod has some excellent thinking, and
got some new ideas to play with (I really like �OTTERY as it
offers a great premise for an old trick). It's definitely
one of the best DVD releases of the year and most certainly
recommended.
Every generation has a true innovator who brings his own
unique vision to bear on the art of mentalism and creates
material that seems to defy explanation. Alakazam Magic is
proud to introduce the newest member of this elite group:
Colin McLeod.
Combining his very modern sensibilities for cutting-edge
prop-free methods with a clarity of performance that leaves
audiences speechless with wonder, Colin has developed a
repertoire of contemporary mentalism which is the envy of
all who've seen it.
Now for the first time on this 4-disc set Colin reveals the
methods, techniques and thinking behind some of his most
incredible effects. This is stand-up and close-up material
that will empower you to mystify your audiences with some of
the most compelling mentalism you will ever learn.
DISC ONE:
Bookless Test
Colin's brilliant opener where he predicts a thought of word
from an imaginary book. And yes, the prediction is printed,
not nail-written.
Quite Wordy
A clever new psychological word-force for the whole
audience, leading into what will become the standard
impromptu book-test handling.
Chair Test
An exceptionally clean and direct chair-test, where process
is kept to an absolute minimum. It features three distinct
climaxes which build to an incredible finale.
DISC TWO:
ACAAN
This is the one! No gimmicks, no sleights, no pre-show, no
stooges. An anytime, anywhere, any deck method has to be
seen to be believed. One number + one card = one miracle.
Where's the Money?
A bank-note and serial number divination effect, which
introduces Colin's innovative hands-off system for
identifying which one of five spectators is hiding an
object. 100% accurate, with no electronics and no
prevaricating!
Will ESP Cards Match
Becker's classic 'Will The Cards Match' reworked for stage
and incorporating a sure-fire prediction.
�ottery
Colin's favourite effect! A purely psychological influence
effect which is the perfect answer to the question, "Can you
predict the lottery?" A future-classic...
DISC THREE:
Winning Numbers
Following on from Lo��ery, this revolutionary handling of
'Sneak Thief' turns the effect on its head by allowing you
to reveal every spectator's chosen number!
In The News
A stunning prediction of a single word from a freely chosen
piece of newspaper. It involves the entire audience, with
every decision made outside of your control. Nevertheless
the chosen word is predicted in a totally entertaining way.
The Tabular Mentis Lecture
DISC FOUR
Close-Up:
Albertest
A stack of un-gimmicked billets become an accessible and
totally practical tool which can be used to easily and
openly predict anything.
Double Card Thought Projection
This routine is the main reason Colin uses cards in
mentalism. The spectator reads the performer's mind and the
performer reads the spectator's. A truly simple and direct
mindreading demonstration using playing cards.
Kolintrol
A powerful extension of Knepper's 'Kontrol', which Colin has
developed over hundreds of performances. He correctly
predicts the actions a spectator will make, even though they
are given lots of opportunity to change their mind as many
times as they like.
Serial Prevaricator
An entire close-up routine for revealing who is holding a
borrowed, folded bank note and which hand they are holding
it in. It concludes with the divination of the serial number
from across the room.
Bolder Business
Colin teaches his handling for a drawing duplication which
uses more than a stack of billets, a pen and chutzpah.
Furtive Switch
A one handed, invisible billet switch that drags billet
switching into the 21st Century and makes it completely
practical for the real world.
MY COMMENTS:
At MINDvention 2010, Colin thoroughly impressed attendees
with his fresh thinking. Much of what he shared can now be
yours by getting this 4 DVD set packed with so many ideas
that I'm sure you'll find one you'll like and use. I know
that I have.
The format of the discs is that you first get an
introduction to each performance by Colin McLeod and Mark
Elsdon. Following the performance, Colin and Mark discuss
the routine. There are sixteen routines spread out over
four discs. The first three discs contain stage or stand-up
routines. The fourth disc contains close-up routines. As
you can see from the blurb, the routines include chair
tests, book tests, serial number divinations, billet
switches, drawing duplications, and ESP card effects, among
others.
The third disc also features a complete lecture that McLeod
did for the Tabular Mentis convention in the U.K. Much of
the material in the lecture is in the other sections of the
disc, but it's certainly valuable to see McLeod lecture
the material live.
I remember a few years back a hot new UK talent released a
four DVD set that cost nearly $150 to get and now sells for
$100. This four DVD set has a MSRP of $62. I'm not
necessarily comparing material here, just pointing out that
this set, in comparison to others, is a good value.
Anyhow, the bottom line is that I thoroughly enjoyed this
set, find that Colin McLeod has some excellent thinking, and
got some new ideas to play with (I really like �OTTERY as it
offers a great premise for an old trick). It's definitely
one of the best DVD releases of the year and most certainly
recommended.
