Price$20.00
Media TypeBook
CategoryClose Up
Date AddedJun 13, 2014
Calculated Chaos
Westfall, Chris
Vanishing Inc.
(Based on 1 review)
You will learn the magic that took The 2014 Magi-Fest by storm, as well as an interlude with a sharpie marker, an outstanding Triumph routine, a color change with a pack of cards and a rubber band and more. As you have come to expect from Vanishing Inc., our booklets are hardback-book-quality, but with the convenience and compact size of a booklet. Illustrated by Tony Dunn and packed with over eight routines in 52 pages, the advance edition of Calculated Chaos was a sellout at Magi-Fest. Now it's available worldwide!
Here's a small sampling of our favorites from the booklet:
Nested in Nothing: This is a super opening for a sponge ball or coin routine. You open a coin purse and remove a bagless purse. You reach into the bagless purse, and remove ANOTHER bagless purse. You reach inside this bagless purse, and remove the object you will use for your next trick.
Three Stooges: This is a very subtle, smart use of dual reality to effect a completely impossible mentalism routine.
52 Backs: This is a terrific color-changing deck routine, which makes use of the four Aces. The routine is structured so that it would be a great routine WITHOUT the color change at the end, but with it, it's an unforgettable ending.
Sprung Change: Using a rubber band and a deck of cards, you do a strikingly visual change. And, it's not difficult to do!
Plus, learn from Mr. Westfall's essays on: Rejection (from a group who doesn't want to see magic), Calculated Chaos (his term for making the magic SEEM impromptu, even when it isn't) and Approaching People (how Chris walks up to groups and engages them).
Reviews
(Top ▲)
This is a short booklett that feels a lot like a set of lecture notes. It is 52 pages long and has a couple essays and a handful of workable tricks. I’ll go through it chapter by chapter.
Walks Talks and Acts Like a Chris Westfall
A quick Bio about the author and his background in magic
Calculated Chaos
An essay that outlines a theory of making magic look very off the cuff. I disagree with most of what a was discussed here but there are many who will agree with Chris. It is written clearly and his point was made well.
Cheeky Triumph
This is a color changing triumph. A card is selected, and placed back in the deck, half the deck is turned over and it is shuffled face up into face down. The cards are straightened out and change color. All the cards of course besides the selected card. This reminds me to some extent of a Horse of a Different Color by Dave Johnson and is similar to and effect by Aldo Colombini and Greg Wilson. It uses a very specific set of gaffed cards but is almost self working after you set up the deck. This is definitely a worker.
Approaching People
This is a small essay on aproaching people in a resteraunt. None of the ideas fit my performance style perfectly but he does share a couple in lines that might help some. He had a couple ideas that I enjoyed as well.
Time Cap
This is probably my favorite effect in the book. It is a quick routine with a normal Sharpie and it’s cap. First the cap vanishes, then with a wave it appears recapped on the Sharpie. This can be performed with many pens that have a cap.
M******* Steal
This is a very clever and creative effect with a coin. It is kind of a “pick a coin trick”. A coin is signed from a handful of change, they are all dropped in a card box and handed to the spectator to “shuffle” or mix. Magically their signed coin ends up in an impossible location. This is a creative way to use Canadian money. Unfortunately you can’t do it without using a specific type of coin, in many countries you will need to buy a gaffed coin.
Rejection
How to deal with rejection as you perform professionally. I liked this a lot and there was some good advice on a subject that isn’t talked about a whole lot.
Never Touched
The magician never touches the deck. It is cut, the card is remembered and lost in the deck. Chris explains a very clever way to reveal their selection that, in my opinion, looks like real mind reading. This explains a wonderful new concept that will be sure to fool magicians and laymen alike. This is so simple and versatile that it could be used in many effects.
Sprung Change
This is a very clever trick with a rubber band and a deck of cards. A deck is wrapped in a rubber band and a single card pops half way out. It is not the selection so the magician turns it into the selection. The set up was no problem for this effect but the actual execution of the change was fairly vague, so you will need to be a little creative here.
Three Stooges
A spectator is able to divine another spectators card. This effect is probably suited more for a parlour setting than walkaround because of angles. While this is an interesting idea, I think there are better ways to perform this without using the gaff that he uses. It is a fine trick though with a working method.
Nested in Nothing
This is an almost self contained sponge ball production. You pull out a small purse, reach in pull out a frame, reach into the frame and pull out another frame and then reach into that frame and pull out a sponge ball. I don’t like the idea of using a purse frame but I guess some do. If this fits your style it is a fun deceptive way to use a purse frame.
Fifty-Two Backs
This is a way to make the 4 aces backs change color as well as the deck. This would be used best as a finale to a four ace routine rather than a one off effect with. You will need a rainbow deck of some kind that is the same size as your aces to perform it. He recommends Joshua Jays Prism deck.
So, this is a small book full of creative ways to spice up your current magic. In many places he didn’t go into quite enough detail. The Sprung Change and Time Cap for example both ask the magician to turn the prop over. It is implied that this is in full view but he doesn’t go into how to do so deceptively. On a couple of the other effects he has a good idea but has yet to develop a good routine. So in effects like the M******* Steal and Fifty-Two Backs you get the beginning of one trick and the ending of another without a real routine. In a book, where you aren’t provided with any gaffs or gimmicks, I expect to leave with something I can perform as written. Really there’s only a couple tricks here that you can do that with.
Walks Talks and Acts Like a Chris Westfall
A quick Bio about the author and his background in magic
Calculated Chaos
An essay that outlines a theory of making magic look very off the cuff. I disagree with most of what a was discussed here but there are many who will agree with Chris. It is written clearly and his point was made well.
Cheeky Triumph
This is a color changing triumph. A card is selected, and placed back in the deck, half the deck is turned over and it is shuffled face up into face down. The cards are straightened out and change color. All the cards of course besides the selected card. This reminds me to some extent of a Horse of a Different Color by Dave Johnson and is similar to and effect by Aldo Colombini and Greg Wilson. It uses a very specific set of gaffed cards but is almost self working after you set up the deck. This is definitely a worker.
Approaching People
This is a small essay on aproaching people in a resteraunt. None of the ideas fit my performance style perfectly but he does share a couple in lines that might help some. He had a couple ideas that I enjoyed as well.
Time Cap
This is probably my favorite effect in the book. It is a quick routine with a normal Sharpie and it’s cap. First the cap vanishes, then with a wave it appears recapped on the Sharpie. This can be performed with many pens that have a cap.
M******* Steal
This is a very clever and creative effect with a coin. It is kind of a “pick a coin trick”. A coin is signed from a handful of change, they are all dropped in a card box and handed to the spectator to “shuffle” or mix. Magically their signed coin ends up in an impossible location. This is a creative way to use Canadian money. Unfortunately you can’t do it without using a specific type of coin, in many countries you will need to buy a gaffed coin.
Rejection
How to deal with rejection as you perform professionally. I liked this a lot and there was some good advice on a subject that isn’t talked about a whole lot.
Never Touched
The magician never touches the deck. It is cut, the card is remembered and lost in the deck. Chris explains a very clever way to reveal their selection that, in my opinion, looks like real mind reading. This explains a wonderful new concept that will be sure to fool magicians and laymen alike. This is so simple and versatile that it could be used in many effects.
Sprung Change
This is a very clever trick with a rubber band and a deck of cards. A deck is wrapped in a rubber band and a single card pops half way out. It is not the selection so the magician turns it into the selection. The set up was no problem for this effect but the actual execution of the change was fairly vague, so you will need to be a little creative here.
Three Stooges
A spectator is able to divine another spectators card. This effect is probably suited more for a parlour setting than walkaround because of angles. While this is an interesting idea, I think there are better ways to perform this without using the gaff that he uses. It is a fine trick though with a working method.
Nested in Nothing
This is an almost self contained sponge ball production. You pull out a small purse, reach in pull out a frame, reach into the frame and pull out another frame and then reach into that frame and pull out a sponge ball. I don’t like the idea of using a purse frame but I guess some do. If this fits your style it is a fun deceptive way to use a purse frame.
Fifty-Two Backs
This is a way to make the 4 aces backs change color as well as the deck. This would be used best as a finale to a four ace routine rather than a one off effect with. You will need a rainbow deck of some kind that is the same size as your aces to perform it. He recommends Joshua Jays Prism deck.
So, this is a small book full of creative ways to spice up your current magic. In many places he didn’t go into quite enough detail. The Sprung Change and Time Cap for example both ask the magician to turn the prop over. It is implied that this is in full view but he doesn’t go into how to do so deceptively. On a couple of the other effects he has a good idea but has yet to develop a good routine. So in effects like the M******* Steal and Fifty-Two Backs you get the beginning of one trick and the ending of another without a real routine. In a book, where you aren’t provided with any gaffs or gimmicks, I expect to leave with something I can perform as written. Really there’s only a couple tricks here that you can do that with.