Something Else
http://cameron-francis.com/Something-Else.php
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mLaEPDZ4lU
The Official Spam:
The Effects:
The Unfolding: A spectator writes his initials on the back of a business card. The card is folded up into quarters and placed on the spectator's hand. The magician draws a magic wand on the back of another business card and claims he will use the wand to make the spectator's card vanish. The wand card is waved over the spectator's hand. Nothing seems to happen. When the spectator unfolds the business card, he discovers that he has the drawing of the wand. The magician turns over his card. The spectator's initials are on the back!
Although super simple, I think you will really like this one. It's very easy to understand, and brings sense to why two things transpose. Something that working magicians will really enjoy is that this instantly resets; so if you work table-to-table you should have no problem. A nice point about this, which solves something that always has bothered me, is that when you hand out the business card with the initials it's not bent or ripped. It's perfectly straight and professional. I never liked handing out a business card that's mutilated in some way. The difficulty on this one is very, very easy. In the simplest handling, there is only one sleight, one that everyone knows. Also, Cameron includes another handling, using a sleight that he teaches in detail. For exposure matters, I won't name it. I personally don't think it would add anything to the existing effect or method, but it's just an alternative that some people may enjoy more than the first. I like this.
The Magic Coin: The magician produces a coin purse and removes four different coins from it; in this case a penny, nickel, dime and quarter. The coins are placed in a row on the table. He then removes a folded business card from the purse which he says contains a prediction. The spectator selects a coin, say the nickel. The other three coins are placed back into the coin purse. The magician smiles and triumphantly states, “My prediction was correct!” He turns over the business card. On the other side it reads, YOU WILL CHOOSE THE MAGIC COIN. “And I was right,” he continues, “You did choose the magic coin!” The spectators look extremely underwhelmed. Sensing trouble, the magician says he can prove it. He opens the coin purse and drops the nickel into it. He then asks the spectator to shake the purse three times. The spectator is then asked to open the purse and dump out the contents. Four nickels clatter to the table. Everything may now be examined.
This is another winner in my opinion. I really love the suspense aspect of this routine. You take out the business card; the suspense is building. When you reveal the business card, it’s just a gag. Makes the spectator laugh and feel more comfortable with the magic. A nice point in this routine is that when you dump out the four nickels, or whatever the chosen coin may be, there is absolutely nothing else inside the coin purse. Your hands are empty. Everything is examinable. There really is nothing to hide. It’s a great position to be in at the end of a routine. The method is very clever. Stephen Tucker contributed some very nice touches making this routine even better. It does not instantly reset, but it is neither hard nor long to reset. It’s another one of those routines that is not knuckle-busting. With a little practice, this should be in reach to almost every magician. Stephen Tucker also includes a bonus handling that allows for a cleaner selection of the coin and some more magic moments. Personally, I would stick with the original, but Stephen’s is very nice. I like it.
Business Burn: The magician pulls out a stack of what he thinks are his business cards. it turns out the entire packet of cards is blank! Not to worry. With just a wave of his hand, the cards instantly and visually print! He then hands one to the perplexed spectator.
Just by looking at the name, I assume many of you will be able to tell where the inspiration for this effect came from. It works very on a very similar method to the marketed effect that you’re thinking of. I do wonder, however, if Cameron added enough of a change to call this and market this as his own. Although he does give credit where it is needed, I still think it might be a little “iffy.” But let’s forget about that right now and get on with the effect. What Cameron added to the method is very clever. Although there may be a simpler way to make the gimmick, Cameron’s way works perfectly. It might sound a little complex at first, it did to me at least, but don’t let that scare you away. This effect has a lot of potential. Once you make the gimmick, which isn’t as hard as it may read, you’ll be performing the effect in no time. It’s very easy to perform, and takes little practice. But, as always, practice makes perfect, so practice until your hands bleed. This, like “The Unfolding” has an instant reset making it another winner for table-hopping magicians. I think it’s a good idea to have an effect with a business card when you’re working tables, I use an effect with the ‘Out to Lunch’ principle, because at the end you can give the business card away as a souvenir. But onto the worse parts. I do think there are better methods to print business cards. Michael Ammar teaches a few in his published material. You can use a variation of the ‘Out to Lunch’ principle. So, in the end, I think this effect is only okay.
http://cameron-francis.com/Something-Else.php
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mLaEPDZ4lU
The Official Spam:
The Effects:
The Unfolding: A spectator writes his initials on the back of a business card. The card is folded up into quarters and placed on the spectator's hand. The magician draws a magic wand on the back of another business card and claims he will use the wand to make the spectator's card vanish. The wand card is waved over the spectator's hand. Nothing seems to happen. When the spectator unfolds the business card, he discovers that he has the drawing of the wand. The magician turns over his card. The spectator's initials are on the back!
Although super simple, I think you will really like this one. It's very easy to understand, and brings sense to why two things transpose. Something that working magicians will really enjoy is that this instantly resets; so if you work table-to-table you should have no problem. A nice point about this, which solves something that always has bothered me, is that when you hand out the business card with the initials it's not bent or ripped. It's perfectly straight and professional. I never liked handing out a business card that's mutilated in some way. The difficulty on this one is very, very easy. In the simplest handling, there is only one sleight, one that everyone knows. Also, Cameron includes another handling, using a sleight that he teaches in detail. For exposure matters, I won't name it. I personally don't think it would add anything to the existing effect or method, but it's just an alternative that some people may enjoy more than the first. I like this.
The Magic Coin: The magician produces a coin purse and removes four different coins from it; in this case a penny, nickel, dime and quarter. The coins are placed in a row on the table. He then removes a folded business card from the purse which he says contains a prediction. The spectator selects a coin, say the nickel. The other three coins are placed back into the coin purse. The magician smiles and triumphantly states, “My prediction was correct!” He turns over the business card. On the other side it reads, YOU WILL CHOOSE THE MAGIC COIN. “And I was right,” he continues, “You did choose the magic coin!” The spectators look extremely underwhelmed. Sensing trouble, the magician says he can prove it. He opens the coin purse and drops the nickel into it. He then asks the spectator to shake the purse three times. The spectator is then asked to open the purse and dump out the contents. Four nickels clatter to the table. Everything may now be examined.
This is another winner in my opinion. I really love the suspense aspect of this routine. You take out the business card; the suspense is building. When you reveal the business card, it’s just a gag. Makes the spectator laugh and feel more comfortable with the magic. A nice point in this routine is that when you dump out the four nickels, or whatever the chosen coin may be, there is absolutely nothing else inside the coin purse. Your hands are empty. Everything is examinable. There really is nothing to hide. It’s a great position to be in at the end of a routine. The method is very clever. Stephen Tucker contributed some very nice touches making this routine even better. It does not instantly reset, but it is neither hard nor long to reset. It’s another one of those routines that is not knuckle-busting. With a little practice, this should be in reach to almost every magician. Stephen Tucker also includes a bonus handling that allows for a cleaner selection of the coin and some more magic moments. Personally, I would stick with the original, but Stephen’s is very nice. I like it.
Business Burn: The magician pulls out a stack of what he thinks are his business cards. it turns out the entire packet of cards is blank! Not to worry. With just a wave of his hand, the cards instantly and visually print! He then hands one to the perplexed spectator.
Just by looking at the name, I assume many of you will be able to tell where the inspiration for this effect came from. It works very on a very similar method to the marketed effect that you’re thinking of. I do wonder, however, if Cameron added enough of a change to call this and market this as his own. Although he does give credit where it is needed, I still think it might be a little “iffy.” But let’s forget about that right now and get on with the effect. What Cameron added to the method is very clever. Although there may be a simpler way to make the gimmick, Cameron’s way works perfectly. It might sound a little complex at first, it did to me at least, but don’t let that scare you away. This effect has a lot of potential. Once you make the gimmick, which isn’t as hard as it may read, you’ll be performing the effect in no time. It’s very easy to perform, and takes little practice. But, as always, practice makes perfect, so practice until your hands bleed. This, like “The Unfolding” has an instant reset making it another winner for table-hopping magicians. I think it’s a good idea to have an effect with a business card when you’re working tables, I use an effect with the ‘Out to Lunch’ principle, because at the end you can give the business card away as a souvenir. But onto the worse parts. I do think there are better methods to print business cards. Michael Ammar teaches a few in his published material. You can use a variation of the ‘Out to Lunch’ principle. So, in the end, I think this effect is only okay.