Phoneonemon

THE BLURB:
Cause any prediction to appear on a stranger’s cell phone.

Doug McKenzie is the street-smart pro that gave you the
indescribably wonderful “Juan Hundred Dollar Bill Switch.”
He’s unlocked the vault once again to let loose another one
of his hardcore thrillers: Phoneomenon.

Here’s the effect as recently featured on two different TV
specials:

A random stranger in the crowd is focused on remembering a
card when suddenly her cell phone rings. She takes her phone
out of her pocket to check who’s calling only to see the
name of her card staring her in the face.

Phoneomenon is the result of Doug McKenzie’s life long
fascination with cell phones and how to secretly load them
with information. He includes all the street smarts and
technical tricks needed to transform any cell phone into a
heart-stopping Phoneomenon.

    * Includes a wide variety of methods to suit different
performing situations.
    * No gimmicks or special devices required.
    * Multiple presentational ideas described in detail.
    * Features a system that gives you instant access to
almost any modern cell phone.

Note: Phoneomenon is a situational effect that may require
audience management skills.

MY COMMENTS:
There's an old kids' joke that I don't quite recall but it
goes something like this: "How do you make the best rabbit
stew? First, you have to catch a rabbit." After watching
this DVD, I was reminded of this. "How do you
unsuspectingly program a spectator's phone to reveal a
particular message? First, you have to secretly steal the
phone . . ." D'Oh. Of course. In one respect, I find this
humorous. But I'm not kidding. You really have to do this.
Now, Doug McKenzie shows you a couple of ways to do this,
but you certainly must use caution. Fortunately, Doug also
gives you other techniques and alternatives to use to
accomplish this. If you can't secretly obtain a phone, then
you can secretly obtain their cell phone number and there's
many ways to do this. You can also use your own phone,
though it may not be as effective. There also are a few
methods for programming and revealing the message, as Doug
explains on the DVD.

Before I go further, let me point out that the video
presents this as a card revelation. You can certainly use
this to reveal any alpha-numeric phrase. It doesn't have to
be a card. And if you perform this, you should get a very
effective reaction.

The thirty-minute video is definitely homemade. The video
is not great, but watchable. The audio is awful, but quite
audible. And, though explanations are made, there are
several places where Doug doesn't go into lengthy
explanations because he doesn't want to get too technical.
Uh, yeah. But there are some performers that are technical
and he could have provided some additional info. In fact, I
wish that this video had more information and didn't feel so
rushed.

For those into cellphone mentalism, and wish to do something
with a little less "audience management skills," I recommend
Docc Hilford's brilliant Cellular Mitosis. But the
information in Phenomenon is certainly useful. It may not
have the best production values, and it certainly seemed
rushed and packed with ideas that could have been explained
in more detail. Still, this effect has fried many, been
featured on a couple of television specials, and for the $20
SRP asking price, you'll certainly get value.