Truly Magical Color Changes

[Tower of Lunatic Meat]

I've been delving into Instagram ever since I started my first Saturday Night Contest on this site and I've noticed that A LOT of people post videos of them doing color changes. But I've noticed that a lot of them require hand coverage/visual block of some sort. This has left me wondering:

Of the millions of ways to do a color change, what color changes out there are truly magical?
Are color hanged worth learning? Or are they a diversion from things that should be learned instead?

 

[RealityOne]

I don't think that a color change is magical in and of itself. It becomes magical as part of a routine where there is a goodreason to change the card. Oh, and I don't think "I found the wrong card" is a good reason.

Is it good to know a couple of color changes -- of course. How many do I actually use -- probably 3 or 4. I like Marc DeSouza's Shapeshifter, Roy Walton's Paintbrush Change, a palm change and the Houdini (often miscalled the Erdnase) change.

The coverage / block has never been an issue because the movements for a color change seem natural for me in the context of the effect.

 

[Justin.Morris]

... and the Houdini (often miscalled the Erdnase) change. ...

out of curiosity, where did you hear this name? Are you referring to the first method of the two handed transformations in Expert at the Card Table?

 

[mrcheeseman]

If you're talking about the visual aspect, the clipshift when used as a color change looks incredible

 

[RealityOne]

out of curiosity, where did you hear this name? Are you referring to the first method of the two handed transformations in Expert at the Card Table?

Although I've heard it elsewhere, it is in Roberto Giobbi's Card College Volume 3

This color change is an invention of the legendary escape artist Harry Houdini, although it has often been mistakenly attributed to S.W. Erdnase, due to his fuller and more visible description of the sleight in The Expert at the Card Table.

See R.T. Selbit's Magician's Handbook, published in 1901, page 27. Also, Elliot's Last Legacy edited by Clinton Burgess and Harry Houdini, published in 1923, page 133.

There is an interesting discussion here: http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewtopic.php?topic=121392&forum=27&start=0 and here: http://www.theory11.com/forums/threads/houdini-or-erdnase.640/ (read the last post on the second link).

 

[Justin.Morris]

Thanks! I'd heard that before but wasn't sure the history. I'll check these out. (on a off topic note: this was an interesting read for those who haven't heard this before http://m.sfexaminer.com/sanfrancisco/notorious-crooks-who-was-erdnase/Content?oid=2931064)

On topic, I like the ego change (Garcia) and twirl change (correct name?) Very open and get gasps when I do them.