Derren Brown: The Events
Encyclopedia
Derren Brown: The Events is a Channel 4
television series featuring the illusionist Derren Brown
. Filmed in front of a live studio audience, this series is made up of four one-hour specials, during which Brown attempts what he has described as "some of the most incredible feats to date". The show consists of a mixture of pre-recorded location pieces connected by theatre-based segments, with each of the four programmes building up to a major stunt performance.
The first trailer broadcast included Brown speaking in reverse but walking forwards with events around him happening forwards. Seemingly cryptic messages were also hidden in the advert such as links to a "Manchester United" website. The advert was later played forwards (although now with Brown moving in reverse), and revealed the premise of the shows. Brown explains that in his new series he will be revealing the "inner workings" of his tricks and "showing you how to get away with it".
. This was conducted by a set of white balls lined up, facing a wall, next to a television displaying a live feed from BBC One
as they aired the live draw. After the draw, Brown wrote the results on a piece of card prior to turning the white balls around, facing the camera, to reveal that both the numbers on the balls and the numbers on the card were the same. The winning numbers were: 2, 11, 23, 28, 35 and 39. The bonus was number 15, however, his predictions did not include the bonus ball. If the numbers were chosen at random, there would be a 1 in 13,983,816 chance of predicting all 6 numbers correctly.
On Friday 11 September at 21:00, a show aired, which stated three possibilities for winning the lottery. The first, faking a winning ticket, was quickly dismissed, and the majority of the programme described Brown's use of automatic writing
and crowd psychology to appear to predict the numbers ahead of time. Through a series of experiments and attempts at explaining complex psychology, while avoiding the underlying maths, Brown suggested that he may have predicted numbers using a phenomenon known as the "Wisdom of Crowds
". He revealed 24 volunteers who, after a number of previous sessions, were shown to apparently predict the correct numbers by perusing a board filled with previous lottery numbers and guessing that week's through automatic writing. The show concluded with a brief description of how the lottery results could have been rigged, with Brown firmly stating that this would have been illegal and that he would always claim the stunt was simply a trick.
The "Wisdom of Crowds" explanation received considerable negative criticism from the press and leading academics with one journalist writing in The Times
"Derren Brown turns from most intriguing man on television to the most irritating". Publicist Max Clifford
remarked that the stunt would have "put millions on [Brown's] value in the years to come". Philosopher A C Grayling wrote that "the hour-long 'explanation' was itself a trick, and not as good as the lottery trick itself." Camelot, the company who run the National Lottery, congratulated Brown on his "illusion", and reminded the public that it was "impossible to affect the outcome of the draw". This trick attracted widespread attention, and a number of alternative explanations were proposed, including the use of a split screen camera trick, or a false wall. The Daily Mail concluded that using a false wall seemed the most likely method, while a poll for the Guardian concluded that a split screen was most likely.
The audience present at the filming of "How to Win The Lottery" witnessed a recorded scene which was cut from the final broadcast: an open-topped bus was filmed under the Christmas lights in Oxford Street, with a group of school children appearing to pull the set of lottery numbers from a black sack. The film pre-dated the lottery draw by some months, as the lights were not yet up at the time of broadcast. The reason for this scene being cut from the aired programme is unclear; The Sun's response from Channel 4 was that it was cut "due to time constraints". In "Derren Brown: Behind the Mischief", Derren states that he was disappointed with this stunt because the explanation of how he fixed the draw itself was supposed to act as a twist, but due to the scrutiny the show came under appeared ridiculous.
Brown claimed that his short film used a number of manipulative techniques which would cause involuntary actions if picked up by the viewer, including a message reassuring the watcher that they would remain safe if they remained exactly where they were. Brown later showed a second video which he described as containing a further subliminal message, informing affected viewers that any earlier threat was gone. Additionally, at points throughout the programme, an image was flashed to the viewers showing an illustration of a figure tied to a chair.
, Brown conducted a nationwide experiment in remote viewing
- the ability to see and describe an object that is hidden from view. The curator
of the Science Museum
was asked to paint a simple picture on a canvas, which she then covered over and placed on display in the Science Museum for one week, where visitors could draw what they thought was on the canvas. Brown repeated this with an audience in the museum and viewers at home. The four main things both the visitors and audience drew were: trains, Stonehenge
, horses and concentric circles. Near the end of the show it emerged that between 30% to 35% of people drew some form of concentric circles, this was then revealed as the design painted on the canvas. In an additional twist, the next most common drawing was of Stonehenge (around 10%), and it was revealed that the painter, who had been at a secret location for the duration of the show, was actually at Stonehenge. Additionally, the painter cited Stonehenge as an image that she was imagining to convey the abstract drawing of concentric circles.
At the end of the show, Brown revealed that the show was recorded three weeks previously, and that he had arranged for adverts influencing people to draw concentric circles to be placed in major newspapers on the day of transmission. Details of where to find these adverts were then given. There was also a subtle technique used during the programme to encourage people to draw concentric circles. No explanation was given as to why many thought that the painting would be of horses or trains.
by calculating the winning number based on the speed and trajectory of the ball and wheel. Using £5,000 of a member of the public's money, which he acquired by hypnotising them in the street, Brown aimed to win £175,000 for them. Filming with hidden cameras at a secret location in mainland Europe, Brown in fact made an incorrect prediction, betting on black 8 while the winning number was the adjacent red 30. The show ended on this anticlimax, with the accomplice informed that he would be repaid the £5,000. A stage hand was visible at the end of the show waiting with a large cheque worth £180,000, the amount the accomplice would have received if Brown's prediction had been accurate.
Brown said on his blog hours later that he was "still reeling from tonight's escapade", and in a self-deprecating YouTube
video the next week (delivered as an impersonation of Stewie Griffin
) Brown remarked that he had "fucked it up" and called it an "epic fail".
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
television series featuring the illusionist Derren Brown
Derren Brown
Derren Victor Brown is a British illusionist, mentalist, painter, writer and sceptic. He is known for his appearances in television specials, stage productions and British television series such as Trick of the Mind and Trick or Treat...
. Filmed in front of a live studio audience, this series is made up of four one-hour specials, during which Brown attempts what he has described as "some of the most incredible feats to date". The show consists of a mixture of pre-recorded location pieces connected by theatre-based segments, with each of the four programmes building up to a major stunt performance.
The first trailer broadcast included Brown speaking in reverse but walking forwards with events around him happening forwards. Seemingly cryptic messages were also hidden in the advert such as links to a "Manchester United" website. The advert was later played forwards (although now with Brown moving in reverse), and revealed the premise of the shows. Brown explains that in his new series he will be revealing the "inner workings" of his tricks and "showing you how to get away with it".
Event 1: How to Win the Lottery
The first show, a live event broadcast on Wednesday 9 September 2009, appeared to show Derren Brown predicting that night's lottery drawNational Lottery (United Kingdom)
The National Lottery is the state-franchised national lottery in the United Kingdom and the Isle of Man.It is operated by Camelot Group, to whom the licence was granted in 1994, 2001 and again in 2007. The lottery is regulated by the National Lottery Commission, and was established by the then...
. This was conducted by a set of white balls lined up, facing a wall, next to a television displaying a live feed from BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
as they aired the live draw. After the draw, Brown wrote the results on a piece of card prior to turning the white balls around, facing the camera, to reveal that both the numbers on the balls and the numbers on the card were the same. The winning numbers were: 2, 11, 23, 28, 35 and 39. The bonus was number 15, however, his predictions did not include the bonus ball. If the numbers were chosen at random, there would be a 1 in 13,983,816 chance of predicting all 6 numbers correctly.
On Friday 11 September at 21:00, a show aired, which stated three possibilities for winning the lottery. The first, faking a winning ticket, was quickly dismissed, and the majority of the programme described Brown's use of automatic writing
Automatic writing
Automatic writing or psychography is writing which the writer states to be produced from a subconscious and/or spiritual source without conscious awareness of the content.-History:...
and crowd psychology to appear to predict the numbers ahead of time. Through a series of experiments and attempts at explaining complex psychology, while avoiding the underlying maths, Brown suggested that he may have predicted numbers using a phenomenon known as the "Wisdom of Crowds
The Wisdom of Crowds
The Wisdom of Crowds: Why the Many Are Smarter Than the Few and How Collective Wisdom Shapes Business, Economies, Societies and Nations, published in 2004, is a book written by James Surowiecki about the aggregation of information in groups, resulting in decisions that, he argues, are often better...
". He revealed 24 volunteers who, after a number of previous sessions, were shown to apparently predict the correct numbers by perusing a board filled with previous lottery numbers and guessing that week's through automatic writing. The show concluded with a brief description of how the lottery results could have been rigged, with Brown firmly stating that this would have been illegal and that he would always claim the stunt was simply a trick.
The "Wisdom of Crowds" explanation received considerable negative criticism from the press and leading academics with one journalist writing in The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
"Derren Brown turns from most intriguing man on television to the most irritating". Publicist Max Clifford
Max Clifford
Maxwell Frank Clifford is an English publicist, considered the highest-profile and best-known publicist in the United Kingdom...
remarked that the stunt would have "put millions on [Brown's] value in the years to come". Philosopher A C Grayling wrote that "the hour-long 'explanation' was itself a trick, and not as good as the lottery trick itself." Camelot, the company who run the National Lottery, congratulated Brown on his "illusion", and reminded the public that it was "impossible to affect the outcome of the draw". This trick attracted widespread attention, and a number of alternative explanations were proposed, including the use of a split screen camera trick, or a false wall. The Daily Mail concluded that using a false wall seemed the most likely method, while a poll for the Guardian concluded that a split screen was most likely.
The audience present at the filming of "How to Win The Lottery" witnessed a recorded scene which was cut from the final broadcast: an open-topped bus was filmed under the Christmas lights in Oxford Street, with a group of school children appearing to pull the set of lottery numbers from a black sack. The film pre-dated the lottery draw by some months, as the lights were not yet up at the time of broadcast. The reason for this scene being cut from the aired programme is unclear; The Sun's response from Channel 4 was that it was cut "due to time constraints". In "Derren Brown: Behind the Mischief", Derren states that he was disappointed with this stunt because the explanation of how he fixed the draw itself was supposed to act as a twist, but due to the scrutiny the show came under appeared ridiculous.
Event 2: How to Control the Nation
On Friday 18 September, the second event was broadcast where Brown attempted to "control the nation" by forcing an inability to get up and walk away from the show. Brown showed a short film, consisting of rotating lines, that was meant to produce a sense of physical inability to rise from one's chair. Approximately half of the live studio audience appeared to experience this effect, though Brown claimed that the percentage of viewers experiencing the sensation would be lower in the less-optimal conditions of their homes.Brown claimed that his short film used a number of manipulative techniques which would cause involuntary actions if picked up by the viewer, including a message reassuring the watcher that they would remain safe if they remained exactly where they were. Brown later showed a second video which he described as containing a further subliminal message, informing affected viewers that any earlier threat was gone. Additionally, at points throughout the programme, an image was flashed to the viewers showing an illustration of a figure tied to a chair.
Event 3: How to Be a Psychic Spy
On 25 September, inspired by the CIA's top secret Stargate ProjectStargate Project
The Stargate Project was the umbrella code name of one of several sub-projects established by the U.S. Federal Government to investigate claims of psychic phenomena with potential military and domestic applications, particularly "remote viewing": the purported ability to psychically "see" events,...
, Brown conducted a nationwide experiment in remote viewing
Remote viewing
Remote viewing is the practice of seeking impressions about a distant or unseen target using paranormal means, in particular, extra-sensory perception or "sensing with mind"...
- the ability to see and describe an object that is hidden from view. The curator
Curator
A curator is a manager or overseer. Traditionally, a curator or keeper of a cultural heritage institution is a content specialist responsible for an institution's collections and involved with the interpretation of heritage material...
of the Science Museum
Science museum
A science museum or a science centre is a museum devoted primarily to science. Older science museums tended to concentrate on static displays of objects related to natural history, paleontology, geology, industry and industrial machinery, etc. Modern trends in museology have broadened the range of...
was asked to paint a simple picture on a canvas, which she then covered over and placed on display in the Science Museum for one week, where visitors could draw what they thought was on the canvas. Brown repeated this with an audience in the museum and viewers at home. The four main things both the visitors and audience drew were: trains, Stonehenge
Stonehenge
Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument located in the English county of Wiltshire, about west of Amesbury and north of Salisbury. One of the most famous sites in the world, Stonehenge is composed of a circular setting of large standing stones set within earthworks...
, horses and concentric circles. Near the end of the show it emerged that between 30% to 35% of people drew some form of concentric circles, this was then revealed as the design painted on the canvas. In an additional twist, the next most common drawing was of Stonehenge (around 10%), and it was revealed that the painter, who had been at a secret location for the duration of the show, was actually at Stonehenge. Additionally, the painter cited Stonehenge as an image that she was imagining to convey the abstract drawing of concentric circles.
At the end of the show, Brown revealed that the show was recorded three weeks previously, and that he had arranged for adverts influencing people to draw concentric circles to be placed in major newspapers on the day of transmission. Details of where to find these adverts were then given. There was also a subtle technique used during the programme to encourage people to draw concentric circles. No explanation was given as to why many thought that the painting would be of horses or trains.
Event 4: How to Take Down a Casino
On 2 October, Brown attempted to beat the odds at rouletteRoulette
Roulette is a casino game named after a French diminutive for little wheel. In the game, players may choose to place bets on either a single number or a range of numbers, the colors red or black, or whether the number is odd or even....
by calculating the winning number based on the speed and trajectory of the ball and wheel. Using £5,000 of a member of the public's money, which he acquired by hypnotising them in the street, Brown aimed to win £175,000 for them. Filming with hidden cameras at a secret location in mainland Europe, Brown in fact made an incorrect prediction, betting on black 8 while the winning number was the adjacent red 30. The show ended on this anticlimax, with the accomplice informed that he would be repaid the £5,000. A stage hand was visible at the end of the show waiting with a large cheque worth £180,000, the amount the accomplice would have received if Brown's prediction had been accurate.
Brown said on his blog hours later that he was "still reeling from tonight's escapade", and in a self-deprecating YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
video the next week (delivered as an impersonation of Stewie Griffin
Stewie Griffin
Stewie Griffin is a fictional character from the animated television series Family Guy. Once obsessed with world domination and matricide, Stewie is the youngest child of Peter and Lois Griffin, and the brother of Chris and Meg....
) Brown remarked that he had "fucked it up" and called it an "epic fail".