The effect from the participant/spectator’s point of view:
The mentalist has, some days previously, given a padded envelope into the safe-keeping of a participant. The envelope has been marked to prevent it being switched. At the time of the performance, the participant hands the envelope to the mentalist who has the participant verify the markings on it are the originals. The mentalist cuts open the envelope with scissors, revealing a clipboard is inside. The participant removes the clipboard from the envelope. Securely taped to the front of the clipboard is a small coin envelope. The envelope is opened and a folded prediction is removed by the participant. The prediction is read out. It contains the headlines of that day’s newspaper.
HONEST THOUGHTS
Headline predictions seem to split the mentalism community. Some people consider them the ultimate publicity generator; others avoid them, worried that the powers being claimed are too great, too unbelievable, or that the effect places you at the mercy of events (who wants to predict the headlines on the day of a national disaster!)
But anyone who has witnessed a clean headline prediction will know how powerful they can be (no one who saw Ian Rowland’s headline prediction on British TV’s ‘Richard and Judy’ show will forget Richard Madeley’s stunned expression as he read out Rowland’s prediction of that morning’s headlines).
There have been many approaches to the effect from traditional envelope predictions such as ‘Stop Press!’, The Bally Prediction’, ‘Before The Presses Roll’ etc (Lee Earle has two versions that are particularly clean), to the more unusual and elaborate presentations involving glass boxes, cases with glass tubes inside and -oddly, but rather wonderfully- margarine tubs. I’ve always felt that a simple securely sealed and marked envelope is the way to go with these effects, and that is -kind of- the approach Looch takes with ‘The Article’.
This is the effect that Looch used to fool the Newark police force (although if they are anything like most of the other UK police forces I have encountered that may not be that impressive a claim). It was, however, a pretty test conditions prediction of the score in a rugby match which Looch successfully completed, witnessed by local journalists.
A version of ‘The Article’ featured in Looch’s ‘Black Project’, but this version has some refinements in presentation and handling. In essence, this is an evolution of Paul Stockman’s ‘Impossible Envelope’ effect (with full credits). Many people would have been impressed by the core method at the heart of that effect but would have been put off by the seemingly never-ending nest of envelopes that were required before you reached the prediction. By the time another envelope had been removed from another envelope one felt you may have had to have predicted tomorrow’s headlines to come to a successful conclusion. The slight oddness of a small envelope being taped to a larger envelope was another common concern (why wasn’t this envelope nesting like the multiple envelopes already opened!?).
Looch has dispensed with the multiple envelopes to create an effect that uses the original Stockman idea in a cleaner fashion. This is, however, not without its drawbacks. I am not totally convinced that having a small envelope taped to a clipboard is any more logical than having it taped to an envelope. In fact, in the police prediction, Looch revealed an envelope taped to a foam board which I actually think is a stronger, more logical solution than either Stockman’s envelopes or ‘The Article’s’ clipboard. (Would it be unfair of me to suggest it is harder to justify charging £130 for an effect using a foam board?).
There are also some handling issues. Compared to some other Headline Predictions this is a pretty hands-on effect. The mentalist has to handle the envelope before it is opened and has to handle it while the prediction is removed. Looch does, however, tip some nice ideas for performing the load, and I’m sure other people will come up with suggestions that could clean up this aspect of the effect. I’ve also found that the timing of the removal of the clipboard is crucial -go too slowly and you may end up in a rather oddly difficult tug-of-war with the envelope and the clipboard, go too quickly and you may be presenting a new effect -the amazing appearing envelope on the stage floor.
The props themselves are very well-constructed and, handled correctly, work perfectly. The video instructions are clear and well-filmed. If you are impressed by the clean removal of the prediction on the video demo you won’t be disappointed in real life. And casually mentioned in the instructions is a fantastic suggestion for a presentation that dispenses with the small coin envelope entirely. If you were using this effect on-stage, as a prediction of events that took place during your show, this might well be the way to go.
The nature of Headline Predictions means that the envelope (box, tube, margarine tub) containing the prediction, and the actions of the mentalist are being especially closely observed. Personally, I have always preferred predictions where the dirty work happens hours before the event, rather than during it, but if you are on the lookout for a Headline Prediction that allows you to perform an incredibly clean real-time load then ‘The Article’ is just about the cleanest you are going to find.
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