Saturday 22 December 2012

Fresh from My Magic Notes :: Con Cam Coincidencia (3C) Revisited


Huei Xiang's Con Cam Coincidencia Comments

Paul Wilson’s Con Cam Coincidencia is one of the most impossible effect that I learnt and performed on a daily basis after purchasing it from Dan & Dave’s On Demand section. This effect is procedurally chaotic, interactive and yet deceptively simple. Inspired by Chad Long’s The Shuffling Lesson first published in Paul Harris’s book Art of Astonishment 3 and ideas by Juan Tamariz, Con Cam Coincidencia involves the participation of several members, thus providing good entertainment for them because they are not only actively involved in achieving the desired magical effect but the magic also happens in their very own hands! This sublime trick also enables the magician to go about the various means of presenting the effect to deliver the maximum impact to his audience. All I could say is 3C screams pure magic and high entertainment value.

Con Cam Coincidencia Revisited is an infinitesimal variation of Paul R. Wilson's Con Cam Coincidencia devised to suit my current performing style. I wanted to add a mentalism aesthetic to the effect by eliminating the mundane selection process of a card and replacing it with a phase that requires a spectator to randomly think of a card in his or her mind and writing it down on a folded piece of paper (before it is folded into quarters and being paper-clipped). It also strengthens the effect because the mind selection process is made prior to the introduction of a completely normal, preferably brand new deck of cards. However, I leave it to your discretion on whether or not to use a new deck of playing cards whenever you decide to perform this effect. However, I strongly believe that the image of a brand-new, sealed deck of cards prior to the effect adds to the impossibility of its outcome.

To peek at what was written on a blank piece of paper, which was subsequently folded into quarters, I use M. Longman's Acidus Novus (Wayne Houchin, Stigmata). While secretly looking at the selection written on it, I would ask the spectator to put his or her initials on the folded piece under the pretense of exposing the fact that magicians sometimes switch items during the performance of a conjuring trick, and to ensure that the credibility of the trick performed, it would be prudent to necessitate the signing of the paper. After the paper is signed, you should be able to know the identity of the selection and it is highly advisable that you distance yourself as far away as possible from it. This action creates a vivid mental picture in the spectator's mind which makes it impossible for the most observant spectators to backtrack. To accentuate my action as an honest demonstration of pure magical feat, I would proceed further to maximize the impact of initial action made by introducing a paper clip to clip the folded piece into a position which is utterly impossible for the inscription to be peeked at from any angle of course, the clipping action should be done by the spectator himself/herself.

There are 2 options for you to choose for the following procedure of the trick. You can either request the spectator to leave the clipped piece on the table in front of everyone's sight or you can instruct the spectator to keep it in his/her shirt or trouser pocket until the climax of the effect. Continue by removing a brand-new, sealed deck of playing cards and introduce it to the spectators. To maximize audience participation, hand the deck over to another spectator (the leading spectator is the one who was required to mentally pick a card) so that he or she can remove the seal, takes the deck out and shuffle it thoroughly. The deck can be shuffled as many times by different spectators before you request it to be returned to you.

Ribbon spread the deck face-up to show that each card in the deck is different from one another. While explaining that all the cards are different, remove all the Jokers from the spread and hand them over to the spectator for safe keeping. The removal of the Jokers from the deck should be made logic that they are wild cards and play no importance in this particular effect. Close the spread and hand the deck over to the spectator by your side for a final shuffle (not necessary). In the interest of secrecy, proceed with the rest of the effect as explained in the original footage.

Original description by Huei Xiang (2011).

No comments:

Post a Comment