I don’t know how I’m just hearing about you, but I came from your piece on Vanity Fair and now I’m devouring as much of your act and content as I can. I hope one day your act takes you to Oslo, Norway. I’ll be there.
Came from the WIRED pickpocket video because of your skill and comedy, really hilarious guy. And then I got into the comments, saw you commenting on peoples comments and found this. You are absolutely amazing and super super talented, words can't describe it. The way you build your whole magic show around the comedy and vice versa is really cool and I'd love to see you live someday 😊 keep making us laugh and be in awe 😉🤘
You definitely fooled me and none of their remarks gave anything away! I'm loving your stage presence as much as your online presence. You're a very humble guy! Jesus bless you Ben!
Your first appearance on Fool Us has been my favorite since I first watched it, and I'm so glad you got to be on the show again! I absolutely love tricks with twist endings, and this one is fantastic! I was really blown away by the twist, and your comedy is impeccable as always. Keep it up, Ben!!! Congratulations 😁😁
This may not have won a trophy, but it was definitely one of my favorites. I loved everything about it from the adorable preamble to the great reading recommendations (I am a hobbyist magician and I rewatched to pause and take note of some of the books and the site) to the fabulous trick.
Aww thank you Meredith! You made me smile. And yes! Great books on there. Actually, all of those choices are great books! I'm a huge fan of both Focus and Pure Effect if you can track down a copy. Have you read either of those?!
@@TheComedyAndMagic :-) That is only fair since you made me smile the whole time. Those two are the hardest to find. I haven’t read them, but I am on the lookout for them now (I found Pure Effect, but the $400 price seems excessive. I feel like I will be able come across it at a used bookstore eventually.). I did order Maximum Entertainment and Expert at the Card Table though.
@@meredithmonroe9723 Oh man, yeah that's a lot of money. Find someone who has it and borrow it. Maximum Entertainment is SO good. And Ken mentions me in the 2.0 version several times (huge honor). Expert at the Card Table is harder to read because it was written over 100 years ago, but the info in it is completely solid and certainly universal. Other magic books that I love, The books of wonder by tommy wonder. Those are probably my fav books. If you don't have them, grab em. They're the best.
@@TheComedyAndMagic I guess I need to find some local magicians. LOL. That is the version I bought (2.0). I love old books, so Expert at the Card Table should be great to read. I will definitely pick up the Books of Wonder too. Thank you.
Hahaha thank you Jeki! Your magic is epic. I was so sleep-deprived by the time I watched yours. I'm going to sit down with a glass of wine tonight and watch again to TRULY appreciate your skill, performance, and hard work.
Man I was so excited to see you had gotten back on the show! I loved your first appearance, and I really enjoyed this one just as much, even with the quarantine thing going on. In fact, I'd say you used that situation to your advantage in a very neat and unique way. Love your work!
I am going through this video frame by frame and screenshotting to compare, still lost. Amazing trick Ben, and also truly speaks to Penn and Teller’s experience in the field.
This was amazing. With most tricks on Fool Us I have at least a vague idea how it was done, especially after I hear Penn's code. If I don't get the code then I can at least think of ways that it **could** have been done. This time I'm coming up absolutely blank. The top of the room was visible when you held your hand up to the camera, so you didn't drop a canvas. You picked books off the shelf at the start and the end and your body did not always obscure you picking them up, so it wasn't a green screen. It was live, so you didn't freeze the recording while your hand was raised and thereby give a confederate time to reset the shelves. I am absolutely, 100% mystified. Great job.
There is so much good going on in this clip! An amazing trick, great personality and real comedy all wrapped up in this fantastic display of showmanship.
@@TheComedyAndMagic Guessing he's missing the live audience and live shows due to COVID restrictions. I can't blame him, but I appreciate that the producers and the magicians are working hard to keep it going. Lovely trick by the way, no idea how it's done
@@cIappo896 thank you for watching! I actually really started enjoying virtual shows! Now I am doing a combination of live and virtual and I actually think it’s great.
The energy u bring to the table is really contagious, not to mention, i obviously got fooled! Much love from Asia my man you r truly and simply magical
Is this guy the best or what?? Even his promo was fantastic and different from anything you've ever seen. I don't think they even tried to guess the full mechanics and really just got off on a technicality... But either way, this guy is probably my favorite magician. So good!
Aww thank you Jared. You are the kindest. It really warms my heart that you appreciate the things I put into the world. Where are you based?! (city state)? I'd love to let you know when i'm doing a show near you.
Jake! Thank you my friend! I'm so impressed with the work that YOU are doing. Like, you're using youtube for so much good for so many people. And that is so cool. Remind me, where are you based these days?! I would love for our paths to cross again IRL
@@TheComedyAndMagic , I am still active duty and stationed in Minot, North Dakota. But I am getting out and moving to Las Vegas in January. Should be easy to meet up there, right? Feel free to stay with me!
I loved the trick, and even more loved the fact that I completely missed all code from Penn. You could absolutely have stopped at any position, and Penn could have chosen to stick to his choice. The only thing I can think of that you could potentially control is what images appear for which books. But even then, you couldn't have chosen what Penn ultimately chose. I'm not going to guess more, other than to say I think you're a brilliant magician, and pretty fun to watch. :)
All I got from that banter was force, but even with that in mind, how the hell did you do that effect? Disregarding the fact that it seemed like you had to have multiple outs, the vanish itself was impressive
Thank you for watching and enjoying. Listen again. Not just to Penn but to the whole thing. There is a code inside of his code. It was very clever. Those guys are super smart.
But he said "NEVER forced", so I don't know how to take that. He also said something about a "great stop", which stuck out as a strange locution so had to be code.
You didnt win the trophy but you surely won my heart and the hearts of countless other people who have been your fans. As a fellow magician I am proud to call you my mentor and a brilliant source of inspiration. Thank you Ben 🤘🏻❤️
Huh. I have to admit this is one of the first times I've listened to Penn's hints and they basically provided no help at all. I can only assume because you are friends with Teller that Teller has some edge in understanding the trick since Teller mentioned don't say anything about it, meaning he didn't know but may have had at least a better starting point to work with. Penn's comments of "never force" confuse me if he didn't also say "free choice." Assuming no camera tricks obviously because they aren't allowed, no force, free choice, I would assume then this could be done on stage with some modifications? You don't have to answer but if it could be modified somehow at all to be performed live it's really, really good. Congratulations.
Hey, thank you!! To answer your questions, there are no camera tricks involved. (Those aren't allowed on the show, you are correct). Yes with a modification it can be performed live. The biggest obstacle is touring with 1000 pounds of books. Even my airline status wouldn't make it that cheap or easy. I could borrow books in the city I'm performing in, but it would be kind of a nightmare. Maybe if I do a theatre run for an extended period of time?? Thanks again for watching!! I hope this sheds some light?!?!
Awesome trick, loved the whole introduction and the setup! I first saw you live during orientation week of my freshman year of college. This was at the University of South Alabama back in 2017. It's awesome to see how far you've come, and I hope I can see you at a show sometime soon!
@@TheComedyAndMagic Right, feels like it was yesterday-can’t believe it’s been four years already. I’m doing great! Still in AL. I graduated in May and stayed here for medical school. How have you been?
@@yulongie oh man! Medical school!? Mad Kudos. That’s very exciting. Do you know what you want to specialize in?! I’m good! Doing shows. With the pandemic, doing lots of virtual shows. But also starting to do live again too! And I got a puppy. That’s big news.
@@TheComedyAndMagic thanks so much! Not sure yet, but I’d be happy with virtually any specialty. That’s awesome, glad that you’re getting back into some live shows with how crazy this year has been! I’m impressed with your ability to set up these virtual shows, too. If they’re anything like what you did in this video, I’m 100% on board. How sweet, I got a puppy too! How old and what breed?
@@yulongie Good for you! I'm excited to hear how it goes, and what direction you decide to go in medicine. Seriously, mad respect. Ahhh!! yay puppies! She's a husky/Shepard mix. She's very sweet and ridiculous. How about yours?!
@@gibblsworthiscool Same. Barely. My mind was still spinning after we got off zoom. I honestly didn't fall asleep until an hour and a half after we called it quits.
Yes! St. Olaf College in Minnesota. I remember the performance well because you asked me for a single digit number as part of your prediction routine and I said 17😂. I still have an ace signed by you!
@@morganmay9149 That's so much fun. I remember that show! The venue looked like a concert hall. What a fun memory. I hope you're doing great! I miss the Twin Cities. Haven't been since pre apocalypse.
Really great! Saw this in a Zoom show you did and loved it but the... umm.. bookends to this version really take it to the next level. Hilarious and a stunner. "Teller I think you're muted" is one of the funniest things I've heard in this whole zoom era of magic. Awesome
hahaha. We used LTA not zoom. So it's broadcast quality. (also I film live from a Sony 6100 through an Elgato capture card into an M1 Macbook pro). In case you're into that sort of stuff.
So I don't think this is how the trick was performed at all (Penn kinda confirmed that it wasn't), but I'm thinking that it wouldn't be hard to write software that looks like a photo gallery or similar (maybe 20 items or so) on a loop, then after a swipe above a certain speed, always lands on a particular item. They zoom past so fast that human eyes and even standard cameras wouldn't notice.
It's possible certainly!! It's just Instagram and not a magic app. But there are a couple of reasons why I didn't do that. Firstly, the account that lists the magic books is a private page, and I wasn't sure if Penn already follows them. And if he didn't, then it would have been super clunky to ask him to take out his phone, and if he didn't already follow, we would have eventually just had to use mine anyway. Does that make sense?
Don't have anything super legendary to say, just wanted to let you know I love your enthusiasm and energy! & I still have no idea how you did it either!
Aww thanks so much! Some fun tv clips are posted on my channel. Also Brainchild on netflix and the Vanderpump rules clip is live on facebook. I appreciate you saying hi!
Just found this and i think i know how its done: 3 real books on the shelf, the rest is like a big photo or something. Obviously shows two of the real books "closing the door" (the term i just learned from another video lmao). "Rigged" scroll (didnt stop right away, but of course we chuck it up to the internet lag, maybe the app is rigged or something, the possibilities are endless with the tech we have), knew that he would have ended on the library. Asks up or down, which is funny, since when you move your finger up, the feed goes down and vice versa, so we can interpret any answer the way we want it. Ben actually scrolled the wrong way compared to the way Penn gestured. So we know we are gonna land on Focus anyway. He offers a couple more books down, for all of which he would have had additional layered book covers. And maybe im reading into it too much, but the whole setup was getting kinda too long and even a bit annoying for me, so that could be used to not get taken up on that "scroll more" offer. So then, we cover the camera, pull the big photo with all the fake books away, and voila. A book that's always gonna be one out of the 3-5 (or however many contingencies we want) that we offered.
You looked you looked so familiar in the Vanity Fair video, and I knew I’d seen you somewhere before where you left a good impression! I loved this when I first saw it and still love it now. I hope to see you come back again and finally take that damn trophy and sell Handsome Jack his back for double! Hahaha
* it’s Tellers fault, if you win the trophy is coming out of HIS SHARE of the pay. * it’s nice that we get to see where you live. * i love your comic style. * so many people who do comedy are so aggressive, but you are so gentle and laid back. never forced. * we love that it deals with magic books. okay now time for me to decipher this.
i can’t figure it out. i’m starting to question reality. maybe just like in The Matrix how there is no spoon, maybe there is no bookcase. or maybe it’s not the bookcase that’s not real, maybe it’s me. maybe i’m not real. on a serious note though i get the force. i think everyone knows by now that the selection was a force, but that’s all i got. i don’t know if the bookcase is gimmicked or not. i mean you did perform The Holdup/Heist in your last Penn & Teller performance, which is an act that is traditionally done with a few gimmicked pieces of equipment. i mean it’s a trick that’s been around for literal decades; you just did your own spin on it. THIS TRICK however…dude…i’m perplexed. just how did you make those seemingly real books disappear. even if they weren’t real, even if they were cardboard, or attached to a drawstring, or if they were just dust covers, it still doesn’t explain where they all went/were hiding in plain view in the final reveal. this is just a really impressive performance
As a fellow performer I'd just like to say that Penn missed something - praising the clever way you just brought the 'Selection Process' into the 21st Century! What a great idea. My only recommendation would be to use a tablet rather than a phone - the phone's size made the focus seem smaller. A tablet would have made everything more visible. Full marks though for one of THE most up-to-date effects AND the funniest, most enjoyable intro ever!
@@TheComedyAndMagic Ah, you're welcome Ben, my pleasure. I specifically didn't name that brand, because - without getting too heavy - I disagree with the way they treat their manufacturing staff (you might have heard). But also, because I work in military health, I recommend technology that allows you to work and load files without any Wifi connection. A phablet or small laptop (with a detachable keyboard) is ideal so that you have USB ports. Those are better for working offline of course, and it's easier to keep secure offline, plus you can load without a Wifi connection and - crucially for a performer - you can RELOAD from a memory stick if everything goes wrong! Those !@%! Apple gizmos don't let you back up and interface in the 'real world' that way!, and I've had things go wrong 5 minutes before a performance and been saved by my trusty memory stick! Hope that's helpful.
Ben, could you have done this illusion live on stage? I’m hinting that it might have been footage editing or even mirrors. I certainly didn’t see the false book jacket coming either. Great illusion!
Thanks Marc. It CAN be done onstage. But it would be super hard to travel with and set up each night. Maybe someday when I have a theatre residence. If that's the case, i'll put it in the live show.
@@TheComedyAndMagic okay, then the illusion is done from the camera angle, that’s makes it seem impossible. Everyone is running out the back, but the recording can’t capture the feet or anything else.
@@marctompkins3001 It can be on stage if space is defined. There are many ways to quickly remove dozens of "books" (500 really weren't), such as a "drawbridge", etc. For speed and a very nice presentation, I would award a trophy. Teller's friends simply do not receive trophies, while Penn's friends are judged by the investment in the spell and receive the trophy. :)
Omfg i am always smiling through one of your routines because you’re just so funny but that Handsome Jack comment got me so good i choked on my lemonade hahahahah so freakin’ funny
Dang I was hoping for you to fool them, could be just be a green screen type effect but that “force” was incredible you got in their head if that was a force. Loved the jokes and trick
yo, you may not have fooled them, but your presentation was really enjoyable and mystifying (for this plebian), regardless. Keep up the great work because you've got the knack for it! :D
I don’t know how I’m just hearing about you, but I came from your piece on Vanity Fair and now I’m devouring as much of your act and content as I can. I hope one day your act takes you to Oslo, Norway. I’ll be there.
Me too!
And me 😊
Norway fan club, assemble 😂
I think it's just a green screen + sleight of hand pretending to get the books off the "shelf"
Came from the WIRED pickpocket video because of your skill and comedy, really hilarious guy. And then I got into the comments, saw you commenting on peoples comments and found this. You are absolutely amazing and super super talented, words can't describe it. The way you build your whole magic show around the comedy and vice versa is really cool and I'd love to see you live someday 😊 keep making us laugh and be in awe 😉🤘
“Handsome Jack sold me his trophy for like 30 bucks anyways”
HAHAHAHAHAHA! Love every second of this performance, Ben!!
Thank you Zak! You're the man!
The fact that you made this fully virtual performance feel so effortless and engaging is a testament to your amazing showmanship. Great job Ben! 🙌
Thanks man!!
You definitely fooled me and none of their remarks gave anything away! I'm loving your stage presence as much as your online presence. You're a very humble guy! Jesus bless you Ben!
Hey thank you!!
Ben probably is Jesus, he can just bless himself
@@iiiiitsmagreta1240IYKYK 😅
Your first appearance on Fool Us has been my favorite since I first watched it, and I'm so glad you got to be on the show again! I absolutely love tricks with twist endings, and this one is fantastic! I was really blown away by the twist, and your comedy is impeccable as always. Keep it up, Ben!!! Congratulations 😁😁
Aww thanks Vitor! You are the kindest.
Man. Well done Ben. Your humor, presentation, and execution are at an ideal level of professionalism.
Awww thank you Puddin! So nice of you. I really appreciate it!!
This may not have won a trophy, but it was definitely one of my favorites. I loved everything about it from the adorable preamble to the great reading recommendations (I am a hobbyist magician and I rewatched to pause and take note of some of the books and the site) to the fabulous trick.
Aww thank you Meredith! You made me smile. And yes! Great books on there. Actually, all of those choices are great books! I'm a huge fan of both Focus and Pure Effect if you can track down a copy. Have you read either of those?!
@@TheComedyAndMagic :-) That is only fair since you made me smile the whole time. Those two are the hardest to find. I haven’t read them, but I am on the lookout for them now (I found Pure Effect, but the $400 price seems excessive. I feel like I will be able come across it at a used bookstore eventually.). I did order Maximum Entertainment and Expert at the Card Table though.
@@meredithmonroe9723 Oh man, yeah that's a lot of money. Find someone who has it and borrow it. Maximum Entertainment is SO good. And Ken mentions me in the 2.0 version several times (huge honor). Expert at the Card Table is harder to read because it was written over 100 years ago, but the info in it is completely solid and certainly universal. Other magic books that I love, The books of wonder by tommy wonder. Those are probably my fav books. If you don't have them, grab em. They're the best.
@@TheComedyAndMagic I guess I need to find some local magicians. LOL. That is the version I bought (2.0). I love old books, so Expert at the Card Table should be great to read. I will definitely pick up the Books of Wonder too. Thank you.
Hate it when the first comment gives the ending away. Bummer.
You are amazing 🔥😆😆 Killed me ‘Teller you are muted’ 😂😂
Hahaha thank you Jeki! Your magic is epic. I was so sleep-deprived by the time I watched yours. I'm going to sit down with a glass of wine tonight and watch again to TRULY appreciate your skill, performance, and hard work.
Oh my!
Man I was so excited to see you had gotten back on the show! I loved your first appearance, and I really enjoyed this one just as much, even with the quarantine thing going on. In fact, I'd say you used that situation to your advantage in a very neat and unique way. Love your work!
Hey thanks Brooks! Very kind of you to say!
Definitely a classic entertainer. I would love to see him perform. Great charisma, great joke delivery, and pretty impressive tricks!
I am going through this video frame by frame and screenshotting to compare, still lost. Amazing trick Ben, and also truly speaks to Penn and Teller’s experience in the field.
This was amazing. With most tricks on Fool Us I have at least a vague idea how it was done, especially after I hear Penn's code. If I don't get the code then I can at least think of ways that it **could** have been done. This time I'm coming up absolutely blank. The top of the room was visible when you held your hand up to the camera, so you didn't drop a canvas. You picked books off the shelf at the start and the end and your body did not always obscure you picking them up, so it wasn't a green screen. It was live, so you didn't freeze the recording while your hand was raised and thereby give a confederate time to reset the shelves. I am absolutely, 100% mystified. Great job.
Well go on, give the poor kid a trophy then
He took only real books off the shelf at the beginning. The others folded away revealing the last real book which was a force apparently.
Penn said "no force"...
There is so much good going on in this clip! An amazing trick, great personality and real comedy all wrapped up in this fantastic display of showmanship.
Thank you Rob! You must LOVE books!
The real tragedy is that Ben couldn't fulfill his dream of taking a picture of the audience while holding Allison.
Ahhhhahahhahaha. Epic comment. True fan. You made me laugh with that one @DoktorTaiko
Well they should stop the crap already and get an audience back and contestants to get ON the show. Fuck this world.
@@bapt_andthebasses I’m very confused. What do you mean?
@@TheComedyAndMagic Guessing he's missing the live audience and live shows due to COVID restrictions. I can't blame him, but I appreciate that the producers and the magicians are working hard to keep it going.
Lovely trick by the way, no idea how it's done
@@cIappo896 thank you for watching! I actually really started enjoying virtual shows! Now I am doing a combination of live and virtual and I actually think it’s great.
That Rocky-like workout sequence tho 😂😂😂
The energy u bring to the table is really contagious, not to mention, i obviously got fooled! Much love from Asia my man you r truly and simply magical
Wow!!! I watched it twice! Good job man !
Hey thanks Rokas! That's awesome. I appreciate it!
Do you have any idea how much you are inspiring young magic fans around the world? Thank you.
I often forever. I'm in my own world. But I appreciate the reminder. So very much!!!
Good to see Reggie Watts is doing well. I thought the pivot to becoming a personal trainer was weird, but I'm glad it's working out for him!
hahaha. He's one of the busiest people I know.
Is this guy the best or what?? Even his promo was fantastic and different from anything you've ever seen. I don't think they even tried to guess the full mechanics and really just got off on a technicality... But either way, this guy is probably my favorite magician. So good!
Aww thank you Jared. You are the kindest. It really warms my heart that you appreciate the things I put into the world. Where are you based?! (city state)? I'd love to let you know when i'm doing a show near you.
@@TheComedyAndMagic NYC bro! And I'll take you to the best restaurant in the city after if you're up for it!
@@JaredKMarkowitz Well that sounds awesome
What a damn legend!!!!!! ❤️ I loved everything about this.
Spidey.... What are you? The nicest person I know? Thank you for watching. Big fan of yours too. But you already know that.
@Kaitlyn Comer yes!!! Ben is my bbff! Brainchild best friend forever ❤️
@Kaitlyn Comer we were!! On behalf of Spidey and myself thank you for watching!!! 🙂
That was just beautiful. Great presentation and delivery. The "force" is strong with you!
Thanks Xavier! Penn DID say I'm never forced though.....
@@TheComedyAndMagic If that's the case, them I'm even more impressed!
Oh goody. Job here is done.
@Celtrics Hey thanks for watching!
Ben brought his charisma from a different planet.
haha awww thank you. :) incase anyone is wondering: it's Mars.
Awesome episode Ben! You're my hero!
Jake! Thank you my friend! I'm so impressed with the work that YOU are doing. Like, you're using youtube for so much good for so many people. And that is so cool. Remind me, where are you based these days?! I would love for our paths to cross again IRL
@@TheComedyAndMagic , I am still active duty and stationed in Minot, North Dakota. But I am getting out and moving to Las Vegas in January. Should be easy to meet up there, right? Feel free to stay with me!
@@JakeBroe Oh man! That's awesome! I'm in LA now, but let's just say this: I got to Vegas more often than Minot. (although I HAVE been to Minot)
The Borderlands Reference at the end haha so well done especially being virtual!
Love the comedic you added.
I loved the trick, and even more loved the fact that I completely missed all code from Penn.
You could absolutely have stopped at any position, and Penn could have chosen to stick to his choice.
The only thing I can think of that you could potentially control is what images appear for which books. But even then, you couldn't have chosen what Penn ultimately chose.
I'm not going to guess more, other than to say I think you're a brilliant magician, and pretty fun to watch. :)
Hey thanks Nerketur! I appreciate the kind words! And I appreciate you watching and commenting.
Never judge a book by his cover.
Great Blend of comedy & Magic!
All I got from that banter was force, but even with that in mind, how the hell did you do that effect? Disregarding the fact that it seemed like you had to have multiple outs, the vanish itself was impressive
Thank you for watching and enjoying. Listen again. Not just to Penn but to the whole thing. There is a code inside of his code. It was very clever. Those guys are super smart.
But he said "NEVER forced", so I don't know how to take that. He also said something about a "great stop", which stuck out as a strange locution so had to be code.
@@goodmaro it's the zodiac killer's code
@@TheComedyAndMagic What's funny is you do a great act, and here we're all about, "But did you get Penn's code?"
@@goodmaro story of my life
I saw you on Vanity Fair and was absolutely charmed and mesmerized by your talents and presentation. Keep up the good work!
You didnt win the trophy but you surely won my heart and the hearts of countless other people who have been your fans. As a fellow magician I am proud to call you my mentor and a brilliant source of inspiration. Thank you Ben 🤘🏻❤️
same!!!!!!!
Aww Fahim! You made my day! Thank you for the kind words.
@@crestfallenraven Thank you also!!! :)
Huh. I have to admit this is one of the first times I've listened to Penn's hints and they basically provided no help at all. I can only assume because you are friends with Teller that Teller has some edge in understanding the trick since Teller mentioned don't say anything about it, meaning he didn't know but may have had at least a better starting point to work with. Penn's comments of "never force" confuse me if he didn't also say "free choice." Assuming no camera tricks obviously because they aren't allowed, no force, free choice, I would assume then this could be done on stage with some modifications? You don't have to answer but if it could be modified somehow at all to be performed live it's really, really good. Congratulations.
Hey, thank you!! To answer your questions, there are no camera tricks involved. (Those aren't allowed on the show, you are correct). Yes with a modification it can be performed live. The biggest obstacle is touring with 1000 pounds of books. Even my airline status wouldn't make it that cheap or easy. I could borrow books in the city I'm performing in, but it would be kind of a nightmare. Maybe if I do a theatre run for an extended period of time?? Thanks again for watching!! I hope this sheds some light?!?!
Best intro on fool us! 👏👏👏
Aww thank you!!! It was a huge project to make! I'm glad you appreciated it!
Very entertaining! Great job!👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Thank you Ken!!
This was really-really good. You kept me entertained the whole time. Nicely done!
Why thank you! :)
Awesome trick, loved the whole introduction and the setup! I first saw you live during orientation week of my freshman year of college. This was at the University of South Alabama back in 2017. It's awesome to see how far you've come, and I hope I can see you at a show sometime soon!
Awww Yulong hello! Wow, that feels like another lifetime ago. How are you doing?! Are you still in AL?
@@TheComedyAndMagic Right, feels like it was yesterday-can’t believe it’s been four years already. I’m doing great! Still in AL. I graduated in May and stayed here for medical school. How have you been?
@@yulongie oh man! Medical school!? Mad Kudos. That’s very exciting. Do you know what you want to specialize in?! I’m good! Doing shows. With the pandemic, doing lots of virtual shows. But also starting to do live again too! And I got a puppy. That’s big news.
@@TheComedyAndMagic thanks so much! Not sure yet, but I’d be happy with virtually any specialty. That’s awesome, glad that you’re getting back into some live shows with how crazy this year has been! I’m impressed with your ability to set up these virtual shows, too. If they’re anything like what you did in this video, I’m 100% on board. How sweet, I got a puppy too! How old and what breed?
@@yulongie Good for you! I'm excited to hear how it goes, and what direction you decide to go in medicine. Seriously, mad respect. Ahhh!! yay puppies! She's a husky/Shepard mix. She's very sweet and ridiculous. How about yours?!
This is by far one of the best acts I have ever seen on fool us! Such a fun trick all the way through.
Aww, thank you Jordan. Thank you more than I can express. Did you get ANY sleep last night?! (genuine question)
@@TheComedyAndMagic haha got some this morning!
@@gibblsworthiscool Same. Barely. My mind was still spinning after we got off zoom. I honestly didn't fall asleep until an hour and a half after we called it quits.
Awesome trick! I still remember your performance at my school 5 years ago. So fun to meet you!
Hi Morgan! Thanks much! Which school was this?! I assume a college? Which one?
Yes! St. Olaf College in Minnesota. I remember the performance well because you asked me for a single digit number as part of your prediction routine and I said 17😂. I still have an ace signed by you!
@@morganmay9149 That's so much fun. I remember that show! The venue looked like a concert hall. What a fun memory. I hope you're doing great! I miss the Twin Cities. Haven't been since pre apocalypse.
I may have enjoyed watching you "train" more than the magic trick!!!! LOL The entire set was Magical!
haha Thanks Wendy! The intro segment was so much fun to shoot :)
Your magic is amazing and very entertaining!
Definitely the best of the closing responses I’ve seen.
Thank you Zane
Really great! Saw this in a Zoom show you did and loved it but the... umm.. bookends to this version really take it to the next level. Hilarious and a stunner. "Teller I think you're muted" is one of the funniest things I've heard in this whole zoom era of magic. Awesome
Hahaha Thanks George! I'm so stoked that you saw Camera Tricks, my zoom show! What show did you see? Public show? Performance for a company?
The twist 🤣🤣🤣. You are great.
Your craft and act is just so beautiful and authentic! I love it :)
Greetings from Germany
Aww Thank you Sugaro! Hello from America! Where in Germany are you?!
I like that modern way of "choose a card"
Thanks Max. I like the modern way of you telling me that you like the modern way of choosing a card.
Really like this guy’s delivery. Great performance on each of his videos!
Loved your last act... Love this even more....... Amazing..... Am fooled again....😁😁😁
idk who u are bro but ur comedy is hella funny
This was a brilliant performance and a phenomenal trick. I love ideas, your style and your execution!
This was so great =) so fun to watch you were amazing!
Great stuff. Keep the magic coming!
Hey thanks Rick! Let me know where you live so i can tell you when I have a show near you!
@@TheComedyAndMagic Thailand!
@@ricksegal3065 Wowza!! Never been. I really want to go.
@@TheComedyAndMagic welcome anytime. By the way, I lived in Vegas for over 15 years before I moved here.
@@ricksegal3065 no kidding.
Such an amazing performance! Loved it 💯
ARG thank you!!! I appreciate you watching!
Ben I love your style, please never lose it!
Very enjoyable, and appreciate this presentation!
Hey, thank you! I appreciate you watching!!
Saw your post on reddit, this was such a clean act, but the real trick was the crispy quality of your camera on a zoom call lol
hahaha. We used LTA not zoom. So it's broadcast quality. (also I film live from a Sony 6100 through an Elgato capture card into an M1 Macbook pro). In case you're into that sort of stuff.
So I don't think this is how the trick was performed at all (Penn kinda confirmed that it wasn't), but I'm thinking that it wouldn't be hard to write software that looks like a photo gallery or similar (maybe 20 items or so) on a loop, then after a swipe above a certain speed, always lands on a particular item. They zoom past so fast that human eyes and even standard cameras wouldn't notice.
You deserve a trophy and I'm hoping you get a chance to prove that 3rd time is the charm!
you're so awesome. would there have been a way to make penn go to that page and do the scrolling himself to make the trick better for them?
It's possible certainly!! It's just Instagram and not a magic app. But there are a couple of reasons why I didn't do that. Firstly, the account that lists the magic books is a private page, and I wasn't sure if Penn already follows them. And if he didn't, then it would have been super clunky to ask him to take out his phone, and if he didn't already follow, we would have eventually just had to use mine anyway. Does that make sense?
@@TheComedyAndMagic yes. Thank you so much for the reply.
The trick was quite cool but the overall performance was so good, really entertaining. Loved it!
wait, was that a borderlands reference? or is handsome jack another magician?
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Lovick
Loved the trick. Nicely done.
Thank you LoC-O!
Wooo, hold on, that was insane! Such presentation and amazing effect! Love your thinking since Alchemy
Dmitry!! Thank you.
I loved this act 🤩👏
Why thank you Alessandro!!
@@TheComedyAndMagic ☺️💪
Every beat of this hits. So good!
Marvellous - you won my subscription, plus my wonder and delight. I’m looking forward to many more WOW moments. 🏆
Aww thanks man!!
Keep doing content :) you are so charismatic
Love the big F U trophy at the end 😂
omg we had this in uk never missed an ep after season 3 no more
I think my first appearance was on the first ep in the US after it started in the UK. But I have great memories of watching that first season!
Don't have anything super legendary to say, just wanted to let you know I love your enthusiasm and energy! & I still have no idea how you did it either!
Thank you Deejed!
Bro I just found you yesterday on this show and now I am fully invested in your projects
Aww thanks so much! Some fun tv clips are posted on my channel. Also Brainchild on netflix and the Vanderpump rules clip is live on facebook. I appreciate you saying hi!
Just found this and i think i know how its done:
3 real books on the shelf, the rest is like a big photo or something.
Obviously shows two of the real books "closing the door" (the term i just learned from another video lmao).
"Rigged" scroll (didnt stop right away, but of course we chuck it up to the internet lag, maybe the app is rigged or something, the possibilities are endless with the tech we have), knew that he would have ended on the library.
Asks up or down, which is funny, since when you move your finger up, the feed goes down and vice versa, so we can interpret any answer the way we want it. Ben actually scrolled the wrong way compared to the way Penn gestured.
So we know we are gonna land on Focus anyway. He offers a couple more books down, for all of which he would have had additional layered book covers. And maybe im reading into it too much, but the whole setup was getting kinda too long and even a bit annoying for me, so that could be used to not get taken up on that "scroll more" offer.
So then, we cover the camera, pull the big photo with all the fake books away, and voila. A book that's always gonna be one out of the 3-5 (or however many contingencies we want) that we offered.
Shout out to Reggie Watts for playing the trainer!
Amen to that!
I was wondering how he knew Reggie
@@dustinmcdonald1784 we did a show together years ago. He’s so awesome.
this is amazing.
do you have a roll that slides down in front of the book shelf maybe
Thanks Lewis, I do not! That's a good guess though!
@@TheComedyAndMagic whatttt you should of fooled pen and teller you are so good
@@lewisdewar8888 thank you!! 🙌🏼
Finally I figured out how it's done.. It's Magic!!!
You looked you looked so familiar in the Vanity Fair video, and I knew I’d seen you somewhere before where you left a good impression!
I loved this when I first saw it and still love it now.
I hope to see you come back again and finally take that damn trophy and sell Handsome Jack his back for double! Hahaha
SO GOOD!! Loved it !
Thank you!!!
* it’s Tellers fault, if you win the trophy is coming out of HIS SHARE of the pay.
* it’s nice that we get to see where you live.
* i love your comic style.
* so many people who do comedy are so aggressive, but you are so gentle and laid back. never forced.
* we love that it deals with magic books.
okay now time for me to decipher this.
i can’t figure it out. i’m starting to question reality. maybe just like in The Matrix how there is no spoon, maybe there is no bookcase. or maybe it’s not the bookcase that’s not real, maybe it’s me. maybe i’m not real.
on a serious note though i get the force. i think everyone knows by now that the selection was a force, but that’s all i got. i don’t know if the bookcase is gimmicked or not. i mean you did perform The Holdup/Heist in your last Penn & Teller performance, which is an act that is traditionally done with a few gimmicked pieces of equipment. i mean it’s a trick that’s been around for literal decades; you just did your own spin on it. THIS TRICK however…dude…i’m perplexed. just how did you make those seemingly real books disappear. even if they weren’t real, even if they were cardboard, or attached to a drawstring, or if they were just dust covers, it still doesn’t explain where they all went/were hiding in plain view in the final reveal. this is just a really impressive performance
I love your comedy Ben!
Oh and also your magicc 👍
I loved the script throughout! Incredible act in my book!
Thanks Matthew!
Wow, I didn't see that coming. Great trick and great performance.
As a fellow performer I'd just like to say that Penn missed something - praising the clever way you just brought the 'Selection Process' into the 21st Century! What a great idea. My only recommendation would be to use a tablet rather than a phone - the phone's size made the focus seem smaller. A tablet would have made everything more visible. Full marks though for one of THE most up-to-date effects AND the funniest, most enjoyable intro ever!
Hey thank you!! Are you working for apple? Because you might have just convinced me to buy and ipad.
@@TheComedyAndMagic Ah, you're welcome Ben, my pleasure. I specifically didn't name that brand, because - without getting too heavy - I disagree with the way they treat their manufacturing staff (you might have heard). But also, because I work in military health, I recommend technology that allows you to work and load files without any Wifi connection. A phablet or small laptop (with a detachable keyboard) is ideal so that you have USB ports. Those are better for working offline of course, and it's easier to keep secure offline, plus you can load without a Wifi connection and - crucially for a performer - you can RELOAD from a memory stick if everything goes wrong! Those !@%! Apple gizmos don't let you back up and interface in the 'real world' that way!, and I've had things go wrong 5 minutes before a performance and been saved by my trusty memory stick! Hope that's helpful.
@@zantas-handle it IS helpful. Thank you! Yes, some cognitive dissonance going on with a few of my purchases…. It is hard to buy fully ethically!
@@TheComedyAndMagic You're right, it is tough sometimes. At least you're thinking about the ethics, that's more than most! ;)
@@zantas-handle same!
Hi Ben, this was absolutely beautiful.. you're inspiring!
Aww thank you Tomer!
WHERE DO YOU LEARN TO DO THAT
Absolutely loved this!
Thank you!!
that was a nice change and very funny
Why thank you True!
This was totally awesome 👍😊👍😊👍😊👍
Ben, could you have done this illusion live on stage? I’m hinting that it might have been footage editing or even mirrors. I certainly didn’t see the false book jacket coming either. Great illusion!
Thanks Marc. It CAN be done onstage. But it would be super hard to travel with and set up each night. Maybe someday when I have a theatre residence. If that's the case, i'll put it in the live show.
@@TheComedyAndMagic okay, then the illusion is done from the camera angle, that’s makes it seem impossible. Everyone is running out the back, but the recording can’t capture the feet or anything else.
@@marctompkins3001 It can be on stage if space is defined. There are many ways to quickly remove dozens of "books" (500 really weren't), such as a "drawbridge", etc. For speed and a very nice presentation, I would award a trophy. Teller's friends simply do not receive trophies, while Penn's friends are judged by the investment in the spell and receive the trophy. :)
I saw a string or microphone wire in the background?
When he made those books 📚 except one disappear was everything for me.
Omfg i am always smiling through one of your routines because you’re just so funny but that Handsome Jack comment got me so good i choked on my lemonade hahahahah so freakin’ funny
For a second there I thought you were going to do iVanish at the end. Great trick!
hahaha. I should have. You should be my director.
Dang I was hoping for you to fool them, could be just be a green screen type effect but that “force” was incredible you got in their head if that was a force. Loved the jokes and trick
Thank you!! I was hoping for one also. But that's ok. No green screen though!!
Is no one gonna acknowledge the legendary Mr. Reggie Watts?
One of the best
yo, you may not have fooled them, but your presentation was really enjoyable and mystifying (for this plebian), regardless. Keep up the great work because you've got the knack for it! :D
That's was great. I loved it.
THANK YOU FLASH!!!!
I didn't think I would like this guy due to his intro. He definitely won me over during his performance. What a cool dude.
Thanks man!
great performance!
Great job Ben!
Thank you!