Critical Diary Report 1

Derren Brown – The Heist

“The Heist” is Derren Brown’s latest experiment which was aired on Channel 4 on January 4th. I have always been intrigued by Brown’s shows and his methods of persuasion and ‘mind control’ and the style of filming that he adopts so when I saw that he was pulling a new stunt I was eager to find out what “The Heist” was all about. It turned out to be one of the most entertaining shows that I have seen on television in a long time….

The Experiment
His aim is to persuade a group of four businessmen and women to each perform an armed robbery on a bank security van, stealing £100 000. The challenge was worked on over a period of two weeks in which Brown was, as far as the group was concerned, teaching some of his skills/methods in a workshop that would be useful to them in the management world. The group (initially 15 people, gradually broken down to 4) were completely oblivious to the fact that through the power of suggestion and repetition of key words and imagery, Brown was building up a sense of disobedience and a feeling of power among them that would eventually cause the four to act completely out of character and carry out The Heist.

Over the two weeks Brown was subtly brainwashing the groups’ sub-conscience with phrases and images that would trigger the powerful and rebellious state of mind required. For example the colour lime green, the phrase “just do it”, the Jackson Five song “Can You Feel It” and words such as “steal” and “security” that he would throw into his motivational talks were among the factors that would appear relevant at the scene of the robbery.

On the day of the heist each group member was called for a meeting and told to bring a toy gun that had been given to them without explanation on the first day of the course. They were each separately picked up and dropped off at the bottom of a street that they were required to walk down to meet Brown. The scene was set, secret cameras were arranged in the surrounding area and the soon to be robber began walking. On his/her way along the street a car was set up to drive past with the song “Can You Feel It” booming from the stereo. This was the first trigger. Shortly after this the group member walks past a billboard poster showing the phrase “Just Do It, steal yourself” and then turns the corner to see a lime green security van and security guard carrying money to it. It is these final two familiar triggers that make the well respected law abiding citizen to fall into a daring and criminal frame of mind and reach for the fake gun to hold up the security guard in spectacular dramatic fashion and run away with the money!

I was left feeling completely entertained and in awe of how Derren Brown had gone about achieving his goal. For me this show stands out from his previous experiments and other related television programmes because it has been produced and written in a way that keeps you glued to it throughout due to the variety of elements that make up the stunt and the mix up of camera work that reflects what is going on so effectively. On top of this there is the comedy value of seeing a normal, pleasant group of businessmen/women in suits dramatically and violently holding up a security van with a toy gun! This final scene was so surreal; it was like something out of a movie.

I was particularly impressed with the art direction and how the audience is constantly given something new to take in. The use of secret cameras and CCTV footage of the group provided a small relief from standard documentary filming and interview footage and at the same time added to the sense of concealment that surrounded the show. These techniques and effects will be useful to take on board as film making is a growing interest of mine.

For me the most memorable piece of camera work was at the climax of the robbery. Once the group member had grabbed the cases of money and started to run down the street, a camera crew ran out of a building and followed the ‘robber’ down the road towards where Derren Brown was waiting with his team. This hand-held, rough and ready camera work heightened the reality of it all and accentuated the drama. At this moment the surreal feeling of it being like a movie has vanished and Brown’s work is done.

The fact that there was no interviews with the group members looking back in hindsight on the stunt made it all the more real and live and in a strange way makes you feel that you are somehow ‘in on’ the prank with Brown, simply because it appears that you know more than them as it is happening. This is an original quality that I think is the key in hooking in the viewers. You never want to leave your seat, even during the commercial break. As the plot and scheme unfolds over the hour long show you will find yourself itching to see if it works how it works and the after affects of it all.

I will look forward to his next experiment and hope it is as entertaining and stylistic as The Heist.

Web Links to find out more
http://www.derrenbrown.co.uk/news/heist

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4586704.stm