The shoot we probably had the most fun on EVER!

Well - this is a bit of a throwback Thursday. When i opened Facebook today it gleefully told me it was THREE YEARS AGO that we were busy filming Awesome Self Working Card Tricks for Bigblindmedia. THREE YEARS?!?! How is that possible? It really does not seem that long ago. HA!

We filmed in a couple of locations for this project. Our friend's unbelievably beautiful barn (that we also used for John Bannon's Move Zero shoots) and the local art deco Victorian Cinema. We had an insane amount of filming equipment and I remember the shocked looks we got from the locals as we lugged enough gear to film Downton Abbey up the high street of our tiny village. (That said, the looks weren't HALF as shocked as when a bevvy of tattooed models turned up a few hours later to be the spectator's... Tenbury Wells had not witnessed anything like that, probably, EVER! HA!).

It was SUCH a laugh filming this project. We had a seriously brilliant combo of performers - Steve Dela, Dave Forrest, our own Liam Montier and Cameron Francis - and the routines we cherry picked for this DVD/Download are STILL totally kickass. I remember Liam working his socks off to get get the best 11 routines he could find. Here's a couple of vids of performances so you can see some of the awesomeness we chose...

If you still wanna know a bit more about the project, you can zoom over to the Shop and have a gander - TAKE ME TO THE BIG BLIND MEDIA STORE - or, you can read this write up Liam did at the time to explain what the 11 featured routines were all about:

LIAM MONTIERS says:

"I've had a couple of emails asking about the contents of the Awesome Self Working Card Tricks DVD, and the set ups etc, so I figured I'd post a bit of information here. I work for Big Blind Media, and actually chose most of the tricks for this set, so I thought it might be worth giving some insight into the tricks and how they made it on the set Smile

1. Power of Thought - Paul Curry.

If you had to name an amazing Paul Curry self working trick, then 'Out of this World' would be top of the list. But he actually created a HUGE number of incredible routines, and Power of Thought is a full scale MONSTER trick. It's a 2 deck effect, so it takes some setting up, but basically a spectator FREELY chooses any card from one pack, and you turn it crosswise, so it is visible at all times. You then deal through both packs at once - and the spectators selection is in the same place IN BOTH DECKS! It's easy, it's completely baffling, and it resets fast. It also works with more than one selection - you can have two or three freely chosen cards match up in the same way. A proper show stopper of a routine, and great for showing friends around a coffee table or at a restaurant when asked to 'do something'.

2. Route 1 - Dave Forrest

Dave Forrest has been one of my favourite creators for years, and with Route 1 (a self working Card At Any Number) he really out-did himself. It's a freely named card, and freely named number, and BOOM. There's no moves, and the method is genuinely incredibly clever and counter intuitive. It fooled me when I first saw it, and it gives you a lot more freedom than most ACAAN, which is a bit of a 'holy grail' plot for magicians and mentalists, so it had to be on the project.

3. Compatibility - Wayne Dobson

The first of two Wayne Dobson tricks, this is a borrowed, shuffled deck routine that feels a bit like an Anniversary Waltz. So the spectator shuffles the deck, chooses a card while your back is turned, and then signs the back (they don't look at the front of the card). They lose it back in the deck themselves as well. Then you turn back around, choose a card from the faces yourself, and sign the face, then the spectator mixes the cards. You explain that the nearer the cards end up after the shuffle, the more compatible you are. It looks like something has gone wrong, but resolves nicely and unexpectedly when it actually turns out that you and your spectator have somehow managed to sign the SAME card! Very versatile and practical, and very commercial.

4. Wayne Man - Wayne Dobson

One of Cameron Francis's favourite tricks, this is another anytime, borrowed shuffled deck trick that looks like an amazing memory demonstration. A spectator shuffles, and it looks like you memorise the entire deck, and then reveal their card. I don't want to say too much to ruin the surprise, but from one very simple principle, Wayne has got TWO killer phases. This is something you WILL use and do, and so had to be on the project Smile

5. Emotional Reaction - Dai Vernon

Steve Dela is a close friend of mine, and when I was talking about the Self Working series, he mentioned that he still used Dai Vernon's 'Emotional Reaction'. It's a classic trick, but it's flown under the radar of a lot of magicians, and if they don't know it - you WILL fool them. Steve handles it great, and shares some real insights in how to manage the spectator so that they basically do the trick for you! Again, it's a borrowed shuffled deck, and if it passed you by the first time around, learn it before someone else fools you with this classic thought of card location.

6. Double Salto - Walter Gibson

A slight set up for this one, but easily managed on the fly between other tricks, this involves both you as the magician and your spectator choosing a card from half the deck each, returning them into each others packets, (do as I do style) and then the deck is combined and left on the table. Everything looks amazingly fair, and then you both name your cards. A magic gesture later, and the deck is spread out to reveal both of them face up in the face down deck, in different parts! A strong, classic trick that gets a better reaction than you might expect, because of the interaction and 'Do-as-I-do' vibe that the trick has, followed by the sudden and unexpected climax.

7. Automatic Ace Triumph - Kuniyasu Fujiwara

We always try to find a couple of tricks that will fool YOU as the magician, even when you are performing them, and Owen discovered this in the 'Japan Ingenious' book, and so we got permission to include it. It's a little 'procedural' looking, but aside from that, it's clean, it works from a borrowed and shuffled deck, and I literally have no idea how it works, still. Makes a GREAT lead in to any version of the Ace Assembly plot too.

8. Further Than That - Stewart James

Another common theme in self working card trick is that they tend to be 'implicit' in terms of effect - predictions and locations, that kind of thing. It's rare that a trick is multi-phased, and even rarer that it looks like an exhibition of sleight of hand skill. Further than That though, is exactly that, and you can check out my performance of it here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSc-IDiYz6w It definitely doesn't look or feel like a self working trick, and although there's a set-up, it's not extensive, and well worth the effort.

9. The Future Deck - Jack Vosburgh

In terms of sheer method, this has got to be one of my favourite tricks of all time. It's a prediction effect - you write a prediction on an indifferent card, which is placed in the card box. Then the deck is fairly shuffled, and a spectator freely chooses any of the cards, and they can change their mind as often as they like, before finally deciding on one, which is placed into the card box with the prediction. The rest of the deck is shown - it is totally mixed, and all the cards are different. Then, you remove the prediction card, which predicts the Ten of Clubs (for example). Then the spectators selection is removed, and is the Ten of Clubs! It's a super fooling, no fail prediction, and the method will entertain you - it's literally the reverse of the effect! A bit of a set up, but once you've done the preparation, the trick is set up and ready to go all the time.

10. What A Turn Up - Kaymar Magic

I worked for Kaymar Magic (a little 'bricks and mortar' shop in the UK) years ago, and this was a trick I learnt there. It's surprisingly simple and effective, and is a kind of 'Do As I Do' packet trick with a gentle 'sucker' style finish. You show 10 cards, and give your spectator 5, while you keep the other 5. Both of you put the cards behind your back, and mix them, and choose one. They are reversed in their packets, and then bought out. It turns out that both you and your spectator managed to reverse the same card - both of you have reversed Queen of Hearts in your packets! You comment that the trick would be simple if the cards were all the same, and they are... but not how they expect. All the other cards turn out to be JOKERS! An amazing trick to just carry around in your wallet, it's fun and commercial, engaging, and everything ends clean and examinable. Many thanks to Kaymar Magic and Alban Unsworth, it's owner, for allowing us to include this Smile

11. Your Thoughts Are Mine - John Carey

Our last trick is a John Carey number, and it really is simplicity itself, and with no sleight of hand, manages to wring three phases out of one simple idea. Firstly, the spectator shuffles and cuts the deck, thinks of a card, and returns them to the pack while it is locked in the case. From there, you don't need to touch anything again, but you still firstly reveal the thought of card - then cause that card to turn face up without touching it, and THEN reveal the spectators NAME on the back of the card! I've used this a LOT since researching ideas for the project, and it's one of the strongest card tricks I do."

If you don't have Awesome Self Working Card Tricks yet, you can get it on DVD and Download at the Big Blind Media Store! I reckon it's a seriously worthy purchase. :)

Until next time - BIG LOVE

Owen

BBM