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Details

Phuzion

Andrew Scott and Alakazam

(Based on 1 review)
Windows Media Video File View Clip

Effect

Peel away the surface of reality with a killer piece of weird like no other.

You start by taking out a deck of cards from the box and as you are shuffling them you say that you are going to do something that is really strange, but more importantly, that you will do it very slowly. You have someone select a card, they sign it and it gets lost back into the deck.

The deck is given to your spectator to shuffle, as you state that the card is going to vanish from the deck and appear inside the card box which is shown empty and placed on the table or given to another spectator to hold.

You have the person with the cards hold onto them real tight and before they know it - boom - it's gone! The spectator checks through the deck and the signed card has completely vanished!

You point to the card case the other spectator is holding - it's empty. But... you point out the back of the card case looks the same as the back of a card. Now for the freakiest thing ever, slowly you start peeling the printed back design from the box! It leaves behind a white surface and you turn over the surface that you have torn away - all attention is focused on this strange object that IS the SIGNED selected card!

Includes Gimmicks and Instructional DVD which outlines Peter Nardi's & Jack Allibone's commercial handling for the 4 phase card under box routine utilising Phuzion as the killer ending !

"Even Nostradamus couldn't foresee Phuzion's stunning clima... I asked him."
- Tyler Wilson

"Watching Andrew Scott perform Phuzion for the first time was equivalent to getting slapped in the face with a frying pan. Andrew fried a room full of laymen & magicians with this effect; it is a PERFECT finale to the "card to impossible location" plot. I love it!"
- Wayne Houchin

Reviews

James Sanden

Official Reviewer

Jun 19, 2008

In Andrew Scott’s “Phuzion” the magician performs a card routine where the spectator’s signed selection appears under the card box, then inside the card box and finally becomes part of the card box. That’s correct. At the end of the routine the side of the card box that has the image of the back of a playing card is peeled off, seal and all, leaving the side of the box blank. The kicker is the fact that the selection is signed, which seems to make the fact that the seal is on the back of it impossible.

If you’re looking for a devious and diabolical method to somehow invisibly add a perfectly placed seal to the back of a signed selection, look elsewhere. The method used in “Phuzion” is fairly straightforward. However, the ending effect is strong, unexpected and deceptive. I was actually fooled when I watched the online video.

Keep in mind “Phuzion” is not a routine. It’s a single effect. There is no method offered to allow a spectator to sign a card and then have it instantly appear on the side of the case. The producers did provide a routine with the DVD that has “Phuzion” as its climax, but I was disappointed in the structure and performance. Not only were the sleights performed poorly, but the routine was clunky and was structured around the method for “Phuzion.” This is an inorganic approach and shows a low level of creativity. That may sound like a harsh assessment and the routine may work perfectly for you, but “Phuzion” is such a convincing and interesting effect, I feel it deserves a better lead-in.

The explanations were adequate, though unrehearsed and unprepared. (I feel like I say this in all my reviews. To DVD producers out there: you may be unwilling to script it out, but at the very least, please think about the best way to teach your effect prior to turning on the camera.) Additionally, the dynamic between the two people providing the explanation was confusing. They tended to interrupt each other and take the other person off track.

Strangely, Mr. Scott did not perform or explain his creation on this DVD, though he did provide complete, thorough instructions for the construction of the gimmick, as well as additional thoughts and ideas. Because of something Mr. Scott said during his segment, I believe the routine performed and explained on the DVD is not how he performs the effect. I would have liked to have seen his handling, given he created it. Further, he mentions at one point that multiple handlings would be covered during the explanation, and only one handling was described. If you are selling a single effect, I believe you should go in depth into that effect, which includes covering alternate handlings. Perhaps that was Mr. Scott’s intention, but unfortunately the producers did not follow through on it.

In addition to the DVD, “Phuzion” also includes a set of seals to perform the effect, one of which is used in each performance. Mr. Scott also tells the viewer where to get more seals, as well as how to create them on your own. However, “Phuzion” does not include a ready to go gimmick, so it is a bit of an arts and crafts project, but you probably have everything you need at home and it won’t take you more than 15 minutes to put together.

At $17.50 “Phuzion” is priced fairly well for a one trick DVD, especially given it includes a secret something required to do the effect. While I would toss out the included routine, the final effect is powerful and will be something your audience will remember. If you like the idea of peeling a signed selection off of your card case at the end of a set, “Phuzion” provides a solid solution.
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