Control

The effect of this trick is crazy. Playing with life and dead is another step of magic. Spectators are not just audiences ,but rather than people who participate in this phenomenon. There is nothing to be check,and nothing to be suspect at. No props needed. Totally impromptu. It can be performed ANY TIME, ANYWHERE. Only your performances and this secret is needed. And there is no harm to you by any means, but I'm not sure that your spectators with heart problems might be shocked. (So, you are better be careful to choose your spectators - Yes, this trick is THAT great).

The DVD contains live performances for you to watch people's reactions and the acting of Wayne. He and Daniel teaches very well. The method is not difficult, but the performance is a lot harder. I could say that performance is almost everything for this trick, once you have known the secret. But, knowing the secret is not enough, if you don't know how to perform. They worked really great on explaining many kinds of situation and how should we apply ourselves to those to get the best reactions as we could.

Also, Daniel has a special bonus effect which let spectator to hear your heartbeat and stop it. This is also a crazy effect. But this can get very well with the stop your pulse effect. It's impromptu, and no props needed.

Moreover, Wayne also included an effect about stopping time. And this is also impromptu, no props needed : just your normal watch is fine, or even a borrowed watch. It takes a few practice so, but it can be done any time, anywhere. Totally impromptu.

Overall, this DVD contains a lot of tricks that is more than just tricks, but rather than phenomenon that is hard to believe it could be possible. Playing with time, and life&dead is really crazy and awesome! All tricks are impromptu, and don't need any props. Highly recommended.

Throughout the history of magic there have always been certain types of effects that are universal to everyone having at least thought about the type of plot though rarely, if ever in a magical context. What do I mean exactly? The very subject on Wayne Houchin's Control, the amazing illusion of stopping your pulse. There are just a few various methods to achieving this type of effect out on the market today; however they can be a little difficult to track down. Regardless of that fact, I find the method that Wayne has devised and teaches on this DVD is very straight forward and quite convincing. Not to mention it is also 100% safe, along with the bonus effect by Daniel Garcia which is also 100% safe.

Another great feature that has been included with this version, and was not released with the very first version and copies of Control, is the Johnson Justification which really helps make Control as nearly as fool proof as possible. Without getting into too much detail and giving everything away, this is what the Johnson Justification allows you to do. Let's say during one evening you decide to perform this effect and when you ask if anyone is familiar with taking a pulse, and someone either raises their hand or lets you know that they have taken a class and know the correct method to take someone’s pulse. If this were to happen, and quite frankly it WILL happen, you can use this to your advantage and ask them to help you along with another member of the audience who has no experience in taking someone’s pulse. Needless to say, this increases the believability of the performance and helps tie any loose ends someone might have if you were indeed having someone correctly take your pulse.

As for Daniel Garcia's impromptu effect titled STOP, is another thing altogether. This isn't something you will perform freely and as often as the title effect, Control. The reason for this is because of a couple factors that you need to perform the effect correctly. Since you are having someone place their ear and head directly on your chest, you might find it to be uncomfortable for the both of you if you really haven't worked out everything you need to make your performance convincing and believable. Quite frankly I rarely perform Daniel Garcia's STOP effect, and it's not because I don't find it any less powerful and/or entertaining. I just feel that if you're going to demonstrate an effect where you slow down and then stop your pulse, you don't necessarily need it to be auditory to get the point/effect across. Everyone has taken their own pulse or someone else's pulse using just their fingers so it's not that far of a stretch in the imagination when asking someone to feel the effect rather than hear the effect.

In closing, this is a very powerful and entertaining effect that I have had tremendous amounts of fun performing in my Mentalism & Mental Magic performances. I strongly believe and put into practice the advice that Wayne gives when teaching you the mechanics and presentation of Control, and that is to slowly drop hints throughout your routine and slowly build interest in this new type of effect you just spent 7 years learning and are not quite sure if you can/will demonstrate the effect. By building interest to a feverish peak has really increased the reactions I have received when I follow Wayne's advice. This truly is a piece of magic you will do for the rest of your life, and something that someone else will remember you for the rest of their life.