Derren Brown - 08/09/10

[Russinating]

Especially when the guy involved clearly has a very low IQ.

Precisely. Derren clearly said (and does say in most of his shows) that "this" technique, whatever it may be, doesn't work on everyone. Call it suggestible, call it dumb, whatever, he was picked specifically because it would work on him.

And who knows, much like The System, Derren may well have got so far down the line with lots of people before deciding to pick this guy for the plane finale.

 

[Sawell]

Matt and his family were genuine, the suggestibility factor is no different from one of his live shows. Read his books, manipulating people is not magic or illusion it's psychology.

The goals that were achieved in this show were real, and you can tell Derren was immensely impressed by what he had managed to achieve. Unfortunately for most of the population that achievement was dwarfed by disbelief, but the reality is what he did to Matt was no different to what he does to members of the public on his live shows (which I've been to), it's just he did it over a longer period of time to try and condition them. You have to be of a certain nature to start with, and Matt was hand picked.

The effect that was caused happens every day throughout humanity, it happens to people who go through trauma and come out the other end a better, more confident or different person. Derren just placed the moments and suggested the events to Matt.

I haven't been impressed by Derren's stunts as of late though, it has to be said. For me this stunt wasn't big enough, which is why I didn't like it. If you understand human suggestibility and the subconscious mind then this is pretty small potatoes. Derren is a master manipulator, give him that much time with anyone of that nature and he could make them do whatever he wants. Nothing new. He is an amazing individual though, and still manages to impress. Just less of this lottery/sticking to your chair crap.

 

[Nexus]

It's one thing for him to hypnotize people and use suggestion and while I believe he is successful at that in his live audience shows, this programme was a mess, all over the place with glaring errors in continuity and editing.

 

[neilw]

The thing that makes it so obvious is that flight simulator. Although it is pretty much exactly like the real thing, physics-wise, etc, the graphics are not at all photo-realistic for goodness sake. One look at the airport terminal building, any light source, or draw distance and it'll become completely obvious they're computer graphics. And also, isn't it bloody obvious that you're staring at computer monitors when your eyes are focussing so near.

I'm deeply saddened that there are many naive people who will believe this nonsense.

The Flight Sim was real, mate of mine works for the company that runs them (CTC Avaition) I'll ask him if he knows anything about it. Also It would have been an Airbus Cockpit not a boeing one. Not that the guy would know that.

Or is your point that you would know your not flying a real aircraft due to the shoddy graphics

 

[Sawell]

It's one thing for him to hypnotize people and use suggestion and while I believe he is successful at that in his live audience shows, this programme was a mess, all over the place with glaring errors in continuity and editing.

Sure, the production was very poor. At one point it was raining on Derren and not on Matt, and they were stood next to each other.

 

[neilw]

Also notice one day the guy went to work, dressed smartly, another shot of him comming home from work another day shows him in causal cloths.

could have been dress down day, but unlikley.

 

[Weebull]

I thought the bit where he first got him out of bed and into the garden was pretty telling. Unless they took three cameras and were very careful not to catch each other in shot, it looked to me like they definitely filmed that more than once.

 

[Russinating]

Also notice one day the guy went to work, dressed smartly, another shot of him comming home from work another day shows him in causal cloths.

could have been dress down day, but unlikley.

Client meeting one day, desk day another? Sometimes I'll go into work in shorts and flip flops, the next a suit. Not exactly crazy.

I thought the bit where he first got him out of bed and into the garden was pretty telling. Unless they took three cameras and were very careful not to catch each other in shot, it looked to me like they definitely filmed that more than once.

What's your point?

 

[Digitalle]

Client meeting one day, desk day another? Sometimes I'll go into work in shorts and flip flops, the next a suit. Not exactly crazy.

Clutching at straws much? Brown is a trickster, his skills are in tricking us the viewer, to believe what we are seeing is real. Not the other way around.

Not to mention the unusually bad acting in last nights episode, it's unlike him.

 

[Russinating]

Clutching at straws much? Brown is a trickster, his skills are in tricking us the viewer, to believe what we are seeing is real. Not the other way around.

Not to mention the unusually bad acting in last nights episode, it's unlike him.

ME clutching at straws? You're using the fact that somebody went into work wearing different clothes on different days evidence that the whole thing is fake and everyone's an actor. But of course that's more plausible than him just having a meeting at work one day .

Surely if it's all fake and he's an actor then it's more likely that he wouldn't have randomly worn a suit?

 

[Digitalle]

ME clutching at straws? You're using the fact that somebody went into work wearing different clothes on different days evidence that the whole thing is fake and everyone's an actor. But of course that's more plausible than him just having a meeting at work one day .

Surely if it's all fake and he's an actor then it's more likely that he wouldn't have randomly worn a suit?

First of all, there is no work since it's all a scam, but just say there is. What sort of even semi-professional goes to work in dungaree's, scabby boots with the laces hanging out and a tea cosy on their head? Really? Not to mention that seems to be ALL he wears. Ever. On anyday.

I'm not disputing Brown is a talented man, he does what he does very well. Hence the reason we are having this discussion. I'm just saying that usually he executes it a little more effectively than he did last night. Therefore more of us are catching on to the fact that the people he uses in his stunts are fake. And the argument that 'he tells us the fake ones are fake, so therefore the ones he says are real MUST be real' is just a load of tosh.

 

[Nexus]

Or is your point that you would know your not flying a real aircraft due to the shoddy graphics

That was clearly his point, the obviousness of being in a flight simulator.

Aside from the rain, there were plenty more errors.

Like him coming home from work smoking, then suddenly he wasn't. He was also writing with a pen and paper that came from nowhere.

The photos of that train track part that somebody posted in the thread also are clearly way more involved than it appeared to look in the show.

 

[Digitalle]

I haven't watched this yet but that train track runs right next to my parents house, they filmed that part the Saturday before last - infact, my Dad was letting the production crew onto the train line.

Is it a genuine national 'trains passing every 5 minutes' railway line?

Or is it one of those you get at safari parks or at historical transport museums that just run 3 times a day for visitors and the like?

 

[Russinating]

First of all, there is no work since it's all a scan, but just say there is. What sort of even semi-professional goes to work in dungaree's, scabby boots with the laces hanging out and a tea cosy on their head? Really? Not to mention that seems to be ALL he wears. Ever. On anyday.

Ha, what? Ok, so it's all a scam. The guy's an actor and so is everyone else involved. In fact the episode is much like a mini drama. As such Derren's producer employs various people - DoP, camera assistant, 3rd AD, and, oh, a costume assistant.

Are you telling me that on reading this guys profile - a middle-ground, fairly boring insurance clerk - the costume assistant said "LOL. Know what will be really funny guys? If we dress him in a G-Star beenie and jeans for work instead of the typical, more acceptable and more believe standard suit". And nobody turned around and said "No, idiot, the whole thing will be more believe if he just wears a suit".

Are you telling me that's actually what happened? Because if so, that costume assistant needs to give up their day job.

Is it a genuine national 'trains passing every 5 minutes' railway line?

Or is it one of those you get at safari parks or at historical transport museums that just run 3 times a day for visitors and the like?

I'll bet it's the latter, but how is that relevant/important?

 

[Zogger]

The rain thing is hardly a continuity error - have you never seen rain in videos before? For it to be visible the angle and lighting needs to be right otherwise it's totally invisible.

The only thing that makes me wonder is that he wasn't at-all suspicious about the fact that he was going on a plane journey for a derren brown show at the exact time a derren brown program involving a flight was advertised to be on tv. Maybe I'm missing something though.

 

[Nexus]

The rain thing is hardly a continuity error - have you never seen rain in videos before? For it to be visible the angle and lighting needs to be right otherwise it's totally invisible.

Oh give over!

Watch it again then and explain to me why in some of the shots of Derren it's clearly raining extremely heavily, yet he himself doesn't have a drop of water on him. There is clearly somebody holding an umbrella or he is under a canopy. When it cuts back to the wide shot, or of Matt, or the croc there is no sign of water anywhere on anything or on Matt, nor is there an umbrella or canopy, infact everything is very dry.

 

[Russinating]

Oh give over!

Watch it again then and explain to me why in some of the shots of Derren it's clearly raining extremely heavily, yet he himself doesn't have a drop of water on him. There is clearly somebody holding an umbrella or he is under a canopy. When it cuts back to the wide shot, or of Matt, or the croc there is no sign of water anywhere on anything or on Matt, nor is there an umbrella or canopy, infact everything is very dry.

So it was shot twice. Or Derren came back later and redid some of his lines. Or they intercut some GVs from the start into the middle (if I remember rightly it started raining half way through the scene). Still missing your point...

If you think that proves they were actors then you clearly haven't ever worked on or even watched any kind of documentary production.

 

[Nexus]

So it was shot twice. Or Derren came back later and redid some of his lines. Or they intercut some GVs from the start into the middle (if I remember rightly it started raining half way through the scene). Still missing your point...

If you think that proves they were actors then you clearly haven't ever worked on or even watched any kind of documentary production.

Just a FYI, I've edited documentaries before.

It doesn't necessarily prove acting I agree, but it just goes to show that everything Derren is trying to show as in plain sight, with no camera tricks or anything else is nonsense.

 

[oli356]

Decided to go watch the plane bit of the show...

Don't know how anyone would believe that... oh the pilot fainted and there's no co-pilot.
Lets get some random person to land a plane which costs... A bit of money..

Oh, well that was easy to land... lol

 

[Secret_Window]

Why are people bothering to defend something that is clearly so rubbish?

Real or not, it was rubbish from Derren Brown. Whether it was down to shoddy editing, bad acting, continuity errors, or unbelievable tricks/illusions, Derren Brown didn't do a very good job of convincing the audience what he was trying to do - that is simply it.

Good for you, if you are one of the people who bought it all, and was pleased with the end product, but it seems for most, it was disappointing. If nobody can accept that, then they really need to get over it.

I hope whatever he does next, is a little bit more mysterious and convincing.