Alex Geiser - Intensity
Transcript
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04:08 One person that really inspired my magic when I was growing up was Chris Kenner.
04:25 He was one of those guys that I never saw, but just only heard about.
04:30 And when I eventually got my hands on his book, I was really busy with it.
04:39 I loved it. I loved all of his visual techniques, and especially his trick "Intensity."
04:49 And when I went over it, I learned it, and I mastered it.
04:54 As I started to develop more and more techniques and skills and knowledge into card magic,
05:02 I decided to just add a few things.
05:06 And one of the main principles that I kept in mind with this effect is the principle of fluidity.
05:17 Having a consistent motion, nonstop, that continues to just flow and keeps you relaxed.
05:25 And you'll see that in this effect.
05:28 It also has a lot of moments, so you'll notice that I pause on those moments, and I let them sink in, too.
05:38 Everything in this routine is beautiful.
05:41 And because it's beautiful, I've put so much work into it that I want it to be appreciated.
05:49 So the clarity is an extremely important aspect, not only of this routine, but out of all of my magic.
06:00 And, yeah, clarity is just really important to go through.
06:06 So you'll enjoy this.
06:10 [How to set up the deck]
06:17 Okay, first off, for this, we're going to need to set up the deck.
06:22 And this setup is very minimal.
06:24 You want to get two pairs of very--you want a great contrast between these two pairs.
06:31 And that goes without saying.
06:33 I like to use the queens and two red aces.
06:40 So you're going to take one pair.
06:44 One card goes face up.
06:46 The other one goes face down directly on the top.
06:50 And then you're going to set these on the top.
06:54 Okay, so there's two ways of setting this up.
06:56 You can set it up so that it's already in the case before you begin the trick.
07:02 Me, I like to be more spontaneous.
07:05 I never really have a set deck.
07:07 So if you're going to do a trick beforehand and then go into this one, you can get into it this way.
07:16 You can have--you're going to look for two pairs.
07:19 So the aces are in the deck.
07:22 Your misdirection for culling the cards--say I'm going to go for the two aces right there.
07:29 We have this ace, and I want to cull this queen.
07:34 And we look for the other queen under cover, again, of misdirection of the two aces.
07:41 The queens go to the top.
07:45 Strip out the aces.
07:50 Now you have the two queens on the top.
07:52 But now you have to reverse the second queen.
07:55 And what I do is really simple.
07:57 I just grab them all, get a break under all four cards as I spread, pick all the cards up above the break.
08:05 This edge meets with this edge.
08:08 And these fingers are going to clamp down.
08:10 There's going to be friction.
08:13 And so the hand turns face down as these hands--as the hands separate.
08:20 And then I strip out the bottom card and then add the cards this way, like this.
08:29 So now we have the two aces and the setup.
08:33 And this is an impromptu setup.
08:35 So now we're ready to begin.
08:38 [no dialogue]
08:49 Okay, so now we're going to go into the first change.
08:53 It's a transformation with the two cards.
08:56 So under cover of misdirection, we spread these two.
09:01 Show it.
09:02 You can even show it close to the fingertips.
09:05 So if someone's really glaring at you, you're going to count with your pinky two cards.
09:13 One, two.
09:14 Under cover of showing these cards.
09:16 And it covers all the movements.
09:21 Lay them flush on top of the cards.
09:23 So now you have a break under four cards.
09:26 The two aces on top, and you're set up.
09:30 You are now going to lift up this edge,
09:33 and your thumb is going to contact the inner left corner of the four cards.
09:42 The thumb is going to apply pressure on the top card,
09:46 and it's going to pivot on the pad of my left index finger with this corner.
09:52 So I'm going to do this motion.
09:56 The cards, all three cards underneath the top one get stripped out.
10:02 And if I move my thumb, which is pointing towards the ceiling,
10:07 and move it upwards, this packet is naturally going to pivot.
10:13 And as I continue, it is now face down, so you want this to be clear.
10:19 This is all going to be one fluid motion.
10:21 Remember this.
10:22 It has to be one motion.
10:25 So it comes up, and the middle finger and ring finger can also help maneuver the card.
10:33 So you're going to get it here.
10:36 This finger, the ring finger, is going to move to my left,
10:40 and the packet is slowly going to move.
10:45 As it's completely covered the top card, I'm just going to riffle these.
10:51 I just let them fall naturally so that I'm only holding the top card.
10:56 And I keep going in that same motion.
11:01 And I continue and take the card.
11:05 So right now they're only aware that this card is transformed.
11:09 They only have that knowledge.
11:11 They don't know about this one yet, so I give myself some time,
11:15 and I turn it over slow.
11:17 You want to turn it over slow so you create suspense.
11:22 Suspension also adds to the magic.
11:24 Remember that.
11:26 Turn it over and show it.
11:31 Pause a second.
11:33 Let it sink in.
11:34 Confirmation.
11:36 As your hand moves back--as your right hand moves back to the left,
11:41 you're now going to pinky count three cards.
11:44 One, two, three.
11:51 The card in the right hand lays face up on top of the deck.
11:56 And just to check, you have a break under four cards.
12:01 This next move is extremely simple
12:03 because you're just going to do a quadruple turnover,
12:08 and you are now automatically set for the next transformation.
12:23 Okay, so one hand top palm, right hand grips it in overhand position.
12:30 But notice how the pinky is positioned, and this is crucial.
12:33 You want the pinky to be here.
12:35 You want it to be curled almost to the point where the fingernail of that pinky
12:40 is trying to almost pick up that card.
12:44 That's kind of where you want it to be.
12:47 It might be different with you because your hands--
12:50 not everybody's hands are the same.
12:52 So with me, it works this way.
12:55 I have it here, and I have a lot of space.
13:00 I have a big arc here,
13:02 and this gives me plenty of room to apply pressure forward and downward.
13:09 So I'm going to go like this.
13:12 And that's going to lever the card up straight into place.
13:19 And when it's here, it's in palm.
13:22 And this is a move that's going to take some knack if you don't already have it.
13:26 So it's a great move.
13:28 This is one of the most--this is a very important move in magic,
13:31 and I would recommend you study this and perfect it the best you can
13:37 because you can use it in so many different ways.
13:40 So the one-hand top palm has a transformation.
13:45 I let them see this angle.
13:48 I'm going to let them see the inside.
13:52 And as I turn over, the larger action covers the smaller action,
13:59 and this covers the one-hand top palm.
14:02 So now they see this edge.
14:05 So all of a sudden, they see a face-down card,
14:09 and then as I turn it over, now they see a face-up card.
14:27 Okay, and that is only the right-hand action.
14:30 The left-hand action, you're basically just turning the card,
14:34 the entire deck, like this.
14:38 You're just making one turn, okay?
14:41 So when you show it,
14:44 so that the shorter edge is perpendicular to the ground,
14:48 and they can see this side.
14:52 Now as you turn, you're executing the one-hand top palm this way,
14:58 and then the left hand takes it.
15:01 So now the opposite short edge is now perpendicular with the floor,
15:09 and you come away.
15:11 Now remember, this is another moment, so you have to let it sink in.
15:16 Let it sink in for about a second, come away.
15:21 Now you're going to do just a card production,
15:25 and in palm, we have applied pressure between the pinky
15:30 and the base of the thumb right here in this position.
15:34 I'm going to pull the pinky towards the back of my hand, like this,
15:40 and at the same time, I'm going to pull the thumb towards the back of my hand as well.
15:44 And the point here is to get this card to buckle.
15:49 And when I have this card buckled, my index finger is now in position to grab,
15:54 to touch just this edge,
15:57 and the thumb is going to pinch the card between these two fingers,
16:02 and at the same time, it's going to flip out.
16:08 So here's the action.
16:13 And you'll notice that it happens all--it's supposed to happen in one motion.
16:20 It's really not that hard to do. It'll probably take you two minutes to get down.
16:24 So here, thumb back, pinky back, buckle the card, pinch here, produce.
16:33 Now if you like, if you don't want to be completely isolated while producing the card,
16:39 I could suggest that you could do a pulling action, as if you're pulling it out of the air,
16:45 depending on your style.
16:47 I prefer just to go straight towards the viewer, like this.
17:03 Okay, so at this point, we've produced the card.
17:07 And now, we want to get a break underneath the top two cards.
17:12 My right hand is going to lay the right hand's card face up on top of the deck.
17:20 And I have an excuse for doing this. I want to make this logical.
17:23 So as I set it down, I rub it.
17:27 So I have a break under three cards, right?
17:31 I feel this, and then I grab all the cards under the break,
17:38 but my thumb is going to only slide off the top one.
17:43 And now, if you notice, my left index finger is maintaining the edge.
17:48 I want this double to be completely straight,
17:51 because now I'm just going to flip it over like this.
17:54 And so here's my double, okay?
17:57 Let me keep it out of line so you can see better, just for clarity.
18:04 So again, here we are. Feel it.
18:09 Push the top card off.
18:12 Take the two underneath and flip it over, and just lay this right on top.
18:19 No space, no time. There shouldn't be a time space between.
18:23 You just turn the cards over and put it back.
18:25 And now you feel this one, just like you did the first one.
18:30 Take it, and now you're going to turn the whole deck over.
18:38 Place the ace on the face.
18:44 Okay? So as you do that, you're going to want to pinky pull down just one card.
18:51 And that should be a queen.
18:53 You should have a red queen on the top, or on this side of the deck.
18:58 So as soon as that card goes here, pinky pull down.
19:02 And now we're going to go into the buckle change.
19:09 So the way I need to set it up is I'm almost going to do a half-pass sort of action.
19:17 Since I have a break right here, this card is going to be levered,
19:27 and this corner is going to be placed between my ring finger and my pinky.
19:34 So we're here, like this.
19:40 Okay? So what we have here is a motion.
19:45 See this? And you can see that motion.
19:48 The viewer can see that.
19:51 So how do we disguise this? How do we make it seem logical?
19:55 And this is my answer so far.
19:59 After this is executed, the flesh of the left hand, the base of all the fingers,
20:07 are going to contact the next top card, up-jog it, and in-jog it as this hand comes away.
20:19 So I'm going to lever the card into card clip right here,
20:28 and I'm going to take this one out.
20:33 And as I set it in-jog, the left fingers are going to go through the edge and grab the deck.
20:44 The right hand comes away.
20:47 And it's important that I make sure that these are displayed correctly,
20:53 because you need to know what was there first.
20:57 And that's another way I create more clarity, because you have to wait,
21:00 let it sink in and register that these are the two aces.
21:05 The right hand is going to come up, and as the right hand comes up,
21:10 you're going to position yourself for a window change, but this is a modified window change.
21:15 So right here, we're going to execute.
21:28 Right now, we've positioned ourselves for a modified window change.
21:33 Now, if you know the window change, it's okay if you do just the regular window change.
21:38 I was just looking for a way to--I just had a vision for it, and I wanted to meet that vision.
21:46 And so I'm going to show you the modified window change.
21:50 So to get into it, I have the card in clip.
21:54 Left finger's out, not too much, just enough, just enough so that it seems natural.
22:02 And you're going to come up.
22:05 This edge meets this edge, and as it does, as the left fingers support the hidden card,
22:13 my right fingers can extend.
22:17 And as they extend, I'm going to tilt my hand just slightly, not enough to expose the card, but just slightly.
22:27 So now they can see the two aces.
22:29 They have a good picture here. They have the two aces.
22:32 We have a good before picture.
22:34 So now the friction of my left fingers is going to hold onto this card,
22:41 but this edge is still supported by my right hand.
22:45 But notice how I can kind of move it back and forth.
22:49 You see that?
22:51 You move it back and forth.
22:53 You want to position it right in the center of the middle finger here.
23:04 Okay?
23:06 So you're right here.
23:09 All the fingers are together.
23:11 Once you have lined up a spectator's vision, or if you're doing this for camera,
23:18 imagine a line, or if their eyes could shoot lasers, you'd see a line.
23:25 And that's the line of vision that they are.
23:28 You want to look at their eyes and match it up to your middle finger.
23:33 You want to do this.
23:35 So without saying, of course, you can't do this surrounded,
23:39 but we'll go into another change that can be done surrounded, and it's beautiful.
23:45 So now we're going to buckle the card.
23:50 So we're going to apply pressure.
23:53 My right hand is going to move towards my left.
23:59 Okay, so now the movement is a little bit different.
24:05 My left hand is going to move in a line this way, not up and down.
24:11 Okay?
24:13 So when we're here, the card is going to buckle as this edge moves to this edge here.
24:20 Okay?
24:22 So we're going to buckle it.
24:24 Now, you don't want to buckle it too much because then they might be able to see
24:28 over the middle finger, and they'll see this.
24:31 So that's why you want to buckle it just minimally, but at the same time,
24:36 you're closing it like a book, but you're closing the book this way.
24:43 See?
24:45 So you're going to go like this very slowly.
24:52 Now, once we're at the top, it's a little bit difficult because if we keep going,
24:58 you're eventually going to lose the grip of the card with the middle finger,
25:02 and this is going to happen.
25:04 We don't want this.
25:05 This is bad.
25:07 Okay?
25:08 So once I'm here, I close my fingers, and then I close the rest as a book.
25:16 My hand comes to the card like this, and as that happens,
25:21 the fingers are going to cover--my right fingers are going to cover
25:25 the left finger action.
25:27 You're going to take that top card, and you're going to pull it down.
25:32 So we have a nice double change here.
25:36 Another way you can do this move is to have your fingers together,
25:41 and you can have it buckled halfway.
25:44 Then you can open, and when you open, they see this.
25:49 They see two cards like that.
25:55 Open it, let them see that for a second.
25:58 Now close it.
26:01 Now close the fingers and push this card flush with the top of the deck.
26:07 In a circular waving action as if you're still conveying your magic,
26:14 you're going to take that card and push it down.
26:20 Okay?
26:22 So here's another question.
26:24 If the cards are beveled this way, sometimes it would be hard to grip
26:28 just that one card, and you might accidentally change it into a random one.
26:33 So what's the answer for this?
26:35 As I do it, if I see that the card--if I can tell that I'm going to have
26:40 a hard time, this finger is going to slightly maneuver it just enough
26:47 above the deck.
26:49 So now I can easily grip that card and push it flush
26:59 with the card that's on the top of the deck.
27:04 Let your hand come away and let it register.
27:08 This is something that's supposed to be beautiful,
27:10 and you want people to appreciate it, so let them.
27:15 Okay, so from here, what I usually do is I just take this double
27:22 and just show both sides, sit on the face of the deck, and I'm good.
27:30 So assuming you've already set the deck, here are the bare bones of the trick.
27:43 You have the two aces on the top, and you're set up.
27:46 Face-up queen and a face-down queen on top.
27:50 Show the aces.
27:54 Pinky count two cards.
27:57 Set the aces face-up.
28:00 Pick up the four cards.
28:03 Pivot this corner with the index finger.
28:07 Apply downward pressure with the thumb, causing these to naturally pivot
28:16 and revolve.
28:18 Now you're going to use the middle finger and the ring finger
28:22 to assist in the circular motion, and as it becomes flush with everything,
28:30 let all the cards go except for the top one.
28:34 And in the same continuing action, move it real slow so they see something going.
28:43 Right hand moves away.
28:46 Shows the card.
28:49 As the right hand comes back to the left, get a break under three.
28:54 One, two, three.
28:56 Face-up.
28:58 Turn all four cards face-down.
29:06 Turn the short edge perpendicular.
29:10 Position yourself for a one-hand top palm.
29:14 Rotate at the right wrist, under cover of these fingers.
29:23 Left hand takes the deck.
29:25 Now the opposite short edge is facing the ground.
29:30 Produce the card.
29:34 Right hand moves back to the deck, and as this happens,
29:38 you're going to pinky count two cards now.
29:40 One, two.
29:44 Set it face-up.
29:46 Feel this card.
29:49 Pick up the three.
29:52 Strip the first one off.
29:55 Lever it face-down.
29:57 With the right hand's two cards, set it directly on top.
30:03 Feel this card.
30:08 Peel it off.
30:10 Place it on the face.
30:14 Pinky pull-down.
30:18 Pivot the card into clip.
30:25 Same action as in taking that card out.
30:31 In-jogging it.
30:34 Make sure you leave a shelf here.
30:36 Again, not too much and not too little.
30:40 Let them get a picture of it.
30:44 Come back in.
30:45 Line up the edges.
30:47 Extend the right hand fingers.
30:51 Slide it into position.
30:56 Buckle change.
31:06 Taking the card.
31:08 Waving action.
31:11 Pull this card.
31:13 Push it down.
31:19 Register it.
31:23 Right hand takes the double.
31:25 Shows both sides.
31:27 And placing it flush with the rest of the deck.
31:30 [silence]
31:36 [silence]