Derren Brown's 'Undertaker'

[ElmoPansy]

Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to hate. I just think that if you're performing for complete strangers in public, you need to be more considerate of their feelings. People are going to be defensive when a stranger approaches them, and you need to put them at ease. I know you want an unnerving presentation, which is fine, but you want it unnerving in a controlled sense, the way a horror movie is unnerving, not the way a murder on the street is unnerving.

[ElmoPansy]

Why are people surprised at her non-reaction? A man you know nothing about walks up to you and pulls out a bunch of photos of people he knows. As if you couldn't care less already, he gives them to you and tells you to tediously sort them all out. Then when you do he turns the pictures over and starts talking about how half of them are dead.

Now tell me, how would you see this person: as a magician with some props just out to entertain the public, or a psychopath?

[BananaSandwich1]

hey dude is this a trick or can you actually tell if someone is no longer alive by looking at a photo of them, ie you can sense their consiousness is no longer here

[Thopter]

I think his girl subject here belongs in the dead pile..what a bore.

[DefiantBoris]

The real magic trick is her not calling the police due to the sheer awkwardness.

[NewFormofSilence]

She was seriously creeped out there.

[TheFlumpmasterflex]

All those people with dead on the back were probably not dead most looked young and healthy

[JimB667]

she must be awful in bed

[cliffwalkinfool]

Several who have been shown doing this have allowed but two categories: positive or negative.

Then watch Derren Brown's presentation and note the difference (not that it makes any difference, but watch,).

[dovatony]

Definitely out of this world. :)

[TorugaMagic]

@dovatony ;-)

[jester429]

there is just one part i don't get, oviously this is out of this world ! But there seems to be something diffrent about it :/

[Th3H0wT0]

She didn't seem amazed?

[ShaneLang]

@Th3H0wT0 She was probably slightly disturbed/scared.

[paulaitchison]

sneaky bugger - ootw!

loved that

[theedge5150]

I make this effect, but the reaction is the worst that I have....because people get scared, they got afraid..I didn't get a good reaction....

I need to improve some wayto be a fun magic....

[jester429]

@theedge5150 to be honnest, the illusion in itself can be very powerfull. The only thing you need to adjust is the presentation that comes with it

[Murchadh]

Awesome, certainly a card trick that is out of this world!

[TorugaMagic]

Hahaha!!

[meldster]

o.0

[shootacop2kill]

Look at her reaction at 4.19. Nice performance with a great reaction.

[corchafran]

I wonder if you could look at the pictures if the positive energy people were smiling and looking happy and he negative energy people were not. If you look at the picture of Ann, at the end, she doesn't look happy or positive.

[Essi2721]

@corchafran

Pretty much it. Happy people = "alive" ; sad people = "dead"... Depends on the pictures, not the "aliveness" of the person.

[chiti5578]

What in the world? oiejrgoigejrgioejroijriogjrioj­o

oreiue

raer

HOW DID U DO THIS?

im so creeped out right now..ugh ....

[entaroduai]

the trick itself was pretty good, but i suppose that you can add some showmanship to enhance performance.

[linagee]

Hotornot for dead people. Interesting.

[happyguy82]

I think the way it's done is Toruga/Darren chose dull pictures of the dead and lively happy pictures of the alive so naturally the lady selected the cheerful happy ones and put them in one stack. nothing to do with whether the subjects were actually alive or dead.

[MauMauPlate]

was she alive?

[x0kuteness0x]

whoa.

whoa.

[Jaysnipes]

I've would of felt bad for being able to identify that. lol Seriously when I first saw that epsiode I thought the whole results were scary.

[deanmat]

Actually, Sump, I read your response again. That probably would work....but it would take a lot of work, and only work, as you say, the majority of the time, and only after a lot of experimentation with the pictures. An infinitely more simple way to do it is....the way it is actually done.

[bbkingzor]

deanmat, the way it is actually done is . . . what? How?

[deanmat]

at the end derren actually reveals the name of this very old effect. i didn't catch it the first time. Most people don't. At the end, he says it's "out of this world." "Out of this World" is a very old, very clever card trick. Some people say, it's the best card trick. It's one of those tricks that people just can't fathom how it could be done.

[sump3n]

bla bla...ok.. bla bla bla ok.. bla ok.. bla ok.

Okay!? ;)

This can be done at home. Get alot of pictures. Say exactly the same thing to anyone. They will sort out by negative and positive.

Do this over and over again with diffrent people.

If you keep track of wich ones that are alway getting the negative and positve path. You can select them and give a try on anyone else. They will get atleast 95% correct.

Its how we respond to faces. On instinct we respond almost the same. Good luck!

[jauque12345]

So EASY, the dead people are not smiling!! They look negative

[FireproofAshes]

I assure you it's not that simple ;)

[TheAVAMovement]

I assume its just making the choices yourself based off your instincts first. But I guess this guy also has a better knowledge of human instinct.

[dandadandan]

That was awesome. I learned how to do 'Galaxy' the other day and I have been trying to find a perfect variation that eliminates the half way change over,t hat never made sense to me, you just helped me out alot after I discovered I don't need to use cards, thanks

[nathanlulu]

wow!that was out of this world

[TorugaMagic]

Hahahahaha !! Nice!

[bravouk666]

please tell me on mind trick i can do on phone please

[mousetower]

Very good!

[Garethgiggs]

Can someone please explain how this is done?! thanks

[falseicons]

hmmm I did some filming for a magic dvd following a magician round london and its these sorts of people who irritate me. Wow thats amazing but im not actually going to react in the slightest. WAKE UP!

[TorugaMagic]

When I performed this on her, she seemed to be stunned into silence when I revealed the DEAD and ALIVE..

[bravouk666]

please tell me one mid trick i can do on phone

please ill be greatfull to you

[rdoetjes]

How cool is the camera work in this :D

What's up man haven't heard from you in a while, I guess we are both busy. TTL MATE!

[TorugaMagic]

Ace!!

[mastercyde]

that's out of this world...

[TorugaMagic]

Hahaha!! lol !

[Revolver16]

lol, I love derren's magicians only jokes.

[65mac07]

Hey excellent trick would you like to trade i got alot for offer.

[pvpfiish]

Its not a trick, its a psycological feat of greatness! No gimmics or anything in this =]

[mariokluser]

This video is very well done!

In fact, the most important part of this performance is the showman ship.

The trick is quiet simple and you can use it on every person you like with a high success rate. It hasn't to be a undertaker, even thought it makes it more dramatic.

[65mac07]

Can you tell me the secret?

[russellmagic]

what is wrong with this woman for crying out loud, she should be praising him tons, stupid bitch

[MandyBH25]

Wow, I was even so spooked!

That was a terrific performance!

Great!

Keep praticing and you'll be like Derren.

[themagicjuggler]

GREAT performance. Very engaging! You can tell the girl was very creeped out when it was done.

[TorugaMagic]

Thank you so much! Yes, she really didnt know WHAT to think!

[kalchulainn]

An excellent performance of a great mind blowing piece of magic.

The one thing I would think could be added would be a more forboding setting or a larger crowd. This could really freak out a lot of people at once!

[TorugaMagic]

Hey.. Thanks fot the comment. I agree with a more foreboding setting.. and there are dark, cafes, etc. taht I could've used, BUT its much harder to find a random spectator in places like those... or.. you can't really walk up to a stranger and say 'Hey, follow me to this dark, creepy looking spot"! haha.. I have another DB style effect that I am almost done editing.. stay tuned!!

[harryfmk]

Well done man, really cool.

The camera work needs something though.

At times, the camera work and the fades (rather than cuts) that gave me the feeling that I've missed something, or been deceived.

Moving cameras make me aware of the cameraman's presence, that things are happening around him, and therefore place him in a world. If you use two cameras and jump cuts I get a stronger sense of facts and events occuring in place and time.

Aside from that a really impressive show.

[TorugaMagic]

Ok.. thanks good to know! I used the fade as kind of a time lapse.. Since the video got too long (and boring perhaps) with the spectator paging through all the photos.. But, that day we only had ONE CAM, so its really hard to get everything in the shot.. So, we had to do the 'roaming' camera shoot. But, I totally agree with the multiple cam. We are in the process of shooting more DB effects here in the States.. Stay tuned!

[Spireite1991]

really well done mate thnx

[JimtheEvo]

'Americanized DB' lol

very much liked the effect

very similar to the good man himself always nice to see someone else 'preforming' the art

and doing it so well 5 stars

[roundtopsk8]

sweet that was awesome!!!! hope to see u guys again some time!!!!

[rdoetjes]

They are both exactly the same except for the pictures.

[Stokes33]

NICE!!! Very well performed!!!

-Nik

[TorugaMagic]

Hey... Thanks Man! Stay tuned for more Americanized DB effects! :-)

[bansheeturbo]

is this real? it seems like an act, mainly because you basically quote derren brown throughout the whole video

[rdoetjes]

This is as real as Derren Brown's undertaker.

[bansheeturbo]

WOW

[bansheeturbo]

hey when you say that do you mean that this is real or that DB is fake?

[Tallos1]

WOOW great job and thanks for your video :) TThanks :)

[rdoetjes]

Nice job very DB like

[GetMeThere1]

Good. One thing that Brown does well is that he always shows a "bit" of surprise and awe (and even a tinge of fear/worry) that it worked out. He's good a making the subject feel a little freaked out. If you can elicit that from the subject it's great.

You could even set it up by explaining BEFORE you do it that something weird and scary has happened when you tried this with a friend, and you want to see what would happen with a stranger, etc.

I want to see subjects SCARED and UNNERVED :)

[joyork]

It's pretty good... I think you would find you'd get a stronger reaction if you performed this in the evening, perhaps after some people have told some ghost stories. My only other advice is try to worry about the method more in your head and concentrate on presentation. good job though, you would have had me fooled if i didnt know the principle.