Derren Brown Events (How to win the National Lottery)

[RomerojpgX]

Thats the thing on the Net you can tell someone to go stuff it up their bum (putting it mildly) and get stuffy with them, sadly if you do that in real life you will loose everyone around you and then smacking them in the head will get you in jail, where Brown should be locked until he tells the Truth

[neverland]

I'm surprised people are so disappointed after last night's "reveal". Personally I was disappointed the moment he came out with the BS legal reason for not being able to reveal his numbers before the draw. Surely at that point it was obvious it was going to be a variation on sealed envelope shennanigans?

What worries me about last night's programme is how likely it is to increase ticket sales amongst Camelot's target market of innumerate divs. You know, the people who think choosing the numbers 1,2,3,4,5 and 6 would somehow be more of a waste of money than choosing numbers based on their cats' birthdays. The people who think -5 > -4. The people who'd be stupid enough to entertain the possibility of his "Wisdom of Crowds" nonsense being anything other than total cock. For someone who's made an entertaining show essentially exposing a gambling scam it seems odd to be making a dull one promoting the lottery to the hard of thinking.

Maybe I'm being harsh. Maybe he wants to be the new Jamie Oliver, and encouraging people to get together in lottery groups is his way of strengthening the social fabric and fixing "Broken Britain". The clues are there. He's trying to rebuild communities right? And what's blighting communities at the moment? Knife crime, and to a lesser extent, littering. And he demonstrates his awareness of this by doing some trick involving empty polystyrene cups and a knife. Clever!

Anyway, if I'd broken into Derren Brown's house (which I didn't because that would be illegal), I might have found his diary (but I didn't) which details how he spent a year of his life preparing for this stunt. If I then revealed the contents of it on the internet (which I wouldn't because that would be illegal and anyway I don't have a copy because stealing it would be illegal so I didn't do that) it would probably look like this...

Days 1 to 5 - had a few meetings with the techies and worked out how to do a live split screen gag with a phony camera shake.

Day 6 - Started searching the net trying to come up with a bogus explanation. By 9:30 I'd found some guff called "Wisdom of Crowds". That'll do. Spent the rest of the day surfing the web. Must remember to put hand cream on the shopping list.

Days 7 to 365 - Sat in bed eating Pringles and watching Diagnosis Murder.

[thescrounger]

Originally Posted by Gobias

The problem is even with split screen and 'fake handheld camera' the rendering to apply all that to an HD image would mean a much longer delay and therefore would also mean the BBC had to be in on it. I fear the trick was done in an even simpler way.

Not really, a lot of these digital effects can be applied in real time from the camera. A home user would have to render out these things on his PC but television uses hardware which is real time. Camera wobble and split screen are not CGI, but are electronic effects that have been around for at least 20 years.

[daboy3000]

Well i've just skipped 10 pages because i got bored with all the people saying how crap the show was, but wtf!

Did you really think he was going to show you how he did it, thats part of the magic, just because you didn't get the answers you were hoping for you're moaning and sulking. So what he didn't show you what cameras or mirrors were used, i would like to see any of you do it!!

Good entertaiment, not his best show but a trick that will be in the history books.

I guess you either like him or you don't, i will be watching his next show for sure.

[RomerojpgX]

Originally Posted by daboy3000

i would like to see any of you do it!!

Give me a few million quid and I gladly will, us normal people need cash to such crap tricks.

also Next time someone says a film is bad, try saying that to someone who hated it

[scoobyood]

Originally Posted by daboy3000

Did you really think he was going to show you how he did it, thats part of the magic, just because you didn't get the answers you were hoping for you're moaning and sulking. So what he didn't show you what cameras or mirrors were used, i would like to see any of you do it!!

I think there's moaning and sulking because he specifically said.. "how you can do it too" then he gave an explanation which was really crap, then he DIDN'T tell the stupid people that all of what he said was crap. There are a lot of superstition and stupid theories around the lottery. Instead of squashing some myths, which Derren is known for doing in al his shows, he made a whole **** heap of new ones. That's not cool and it's not clever.

I'd love to do what he did, I'll await your message with the keys to channel 4's cupboard full of cameras and broadcast equipment. We'll have to arrange a time when we can broadcast it. I'll probably do it better because I'll make sure the assistant doesn't put the balls back with one out of place.

[neverland]

Originally Posted by RomerojpgX

I think I have to re-think who I have as friends as these sorts are dumb beyonds words,

That's what happens when you make friends with your local chapter of the Deathrace fan club.

I'm dreading going in to work on Monday. It's bad enough having to work with people who think a monkey puppet miming to a Michael Jackson record is the TV event of the century, but I dread to think what kind of half-witted nonsense is going to be spouted next week. I think I might have to resort to inventing an upset stomach so I've got an excuse to bail out of conversations that could otherwise end up with me loudly calling someone a ******* idiot.

[Harsin]

For the people who for some reason think that was an impressive illusion, you should go and dig out one of the old David Copperfield specials, your brain will start trickling out of your ears.

[neverland]

Originally Posted by Harsin

For the people who for some reason think that was an impressive illusion, you should go and dig out one of the old David Copperfield specials, your brain will start trickling out of your ears.

I thought the one where Copperfield was trying to escape (I think) from a descending blade that apparently sliced him in two was less impressive than Brown's split screen trick.

And frankly the wisdom of crowds stuff sounds faintly plausible compared to the Claudia Schiffer engagement.

[RomerojpgX]

Originally Posted by Harsin

For the people who for some reason think that was an impressive illusion, you should go and dig out one of the old David Copperfield specials, your brain will start trickling out of your ears.

Nahh just stick a film on with any good effects in it

[Gobias]

Originally Posted by thescrounger

Not really, a lot of these digital effects can be applied in real time from the camera. A home user would have to render out these things on his PC but television uses hardware which is real time. Camera wobble and split screen are not CGI, but are electronic effects that have been around for at least 20 years.

Trust me I know what can and cannot be done, and 'camera wobble' hasn't been around "for at least 20 years" in the sense that you mean it. HD is a hell of a lot of data and it would add on a relatively large amount of time to do what is being theorised (it may only be seconds but that is large compared to the time between BBC and Channel 4 feed). If there was a hidden camera it also adds the problem of the zoom lens since to me the handheld camera looks to be the genuine camera. But then its also possible that the first shot with the walkin is pre-recorded as is the 'wide shots' leaving only the single shot as the live one. But I still think camera trickery is too complex, he did it in an easier way. It is an illusion and the only thing more disappointing than his explanation will be how he actually did it.

[scoobyood]

Originally Posted by Gobias

Trust me I know what can and cannot be done, and 'camera wobble' hasn't been around "for at least 20 years" in the sense that you mean it. HD is a hell of a lot of data and it would add on a relatively large amount of time to do what is being theorised (it may only be seconds but that is large compared to the time between BBC and Channel 4 feed). If there was a hidden camera it also adds the problem of the zoom lens since to me the handheld camera looks to be the genuine camera. But then its also possible that the first shot with the walkin is pre-recorded as is the 'wide shots' leaving only the single shot as the live one. But I still think camera trickery is too complex, he did it in an easier way. It is an illusion and the only thing more disappointing than his explanation will be how he actually did it.

An as example.. in the application 'Motion'. "Right click over the camera and press wriggle..." and that effect is doable in real-time on a laptop gpu, in HD, it's a trivial digital effect.

They add the camera effect towards the end.

http://www.miroguide.com/items/2186127

And before anyone says that motion can't do live video and send it out blah blah blah... I know that, I'm just giving an example of the effect being rendered in real-time. But they could have easily have imported a video clip in and put the effect on it. There is another episode of Macbreak where an editor does precisely this in final cut.

[thescrounger]

Indeed, sorry Gobias but you are wrong, those effects are doable in real time.

Simple effects like that are not rendered they can be applied to live footage instantaneously.

[RomerojpgX]

Originally Posted by thescrounger

Simple effects like that are not rendered they can be applied to live footage instantaneously.

Esspecially if you are James Camerooooon he could do that in a nano second, if they borrow his tech for an hour for a few hundred thousand quid the cash the show must have made, they could easily have spent tonnes on tech for all we know. Or its just a mirror

[thescrounger]

In the old analogue days simple split screen effects were done live on shows. Or they were done in post production using equipment that was still real time. You don't have to be an expert to see this is **** easy to do now in the digital age. Camera wobble and green screen is available on consumer video editing software costing as little as £80. If you don't believe these simple things can be done live on professional television equipment costing thousands of pounds you're probably one of those people that think DB predicted the lottery.

[Gobias]

No need to be sorry I'm merely using my experience of working as an editor for last 15 years to guess that it wasn't done with any split screen trickery. I don't do Live TV but you never know, just a bit of fun. I'd also put a bit more faith that Brown wouldn't do a trick that could only be pulled off on TV.

It just relies too much on the camera being fixed and the other parts as pre-recorded.

But can you imagine the stress of that guy/gal/people that positioned the balls if it was split screen? Imagine they dropped one

[SteveC]

Originally Posted by Gobias

No need to be sorry I'm merely using my experience of working as an editor for last 15 years to guess that it wasn't done with any split screen trickery. I don't do Live TV but you never know, just a bit of fun. I'd also put a bit more faith that Brown wouldn't do a trick that could only be pulled off on TV.

It just relies too much on the camera being fixed and the other parts as pre-recorded.

But can you imagine the stress of that guy/gal/people that positioned the balls if it was split screen? Imagine they dropped one

Ha yeah and it rolls along the floor appearing right by his shoes

[Ratfink]

Originally Posted by Gobias

But can you imagine the stress of that guy/gal/people that positioned the balls if it was split screen? Imagine they dropped one

I would have loved that.

It's dying for an animated GIF of some sort isn't it, where a ball bounces half way out the screen as Brown puts his hands up to his face, or something..

[thescrounger]

Originally Posted by Ratfink

I would have loved that.

It's dying for an animated GIF of some sort isn't it, where a ball bounces half way out the screen as Brown puts his hands up to his face, or something..

The gag has already been done on youtube and posted in this thread a few pages back.

[GlennSh]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rHPh5Xanss