Hi folks,


I posted this in The Workers and didn't get any replies. Honestly, I'm not sure what category would be appropriate. But since I'm not that far from being a beginner (somewhere between beginner and intermediate), I thought I'd try here and see if anyone has ideas.


Inspired by some ideas in Cushing Stout's book, On the Other Side of the Mirror, I bought a 2 x 4 inch sample, a one-way mirror (also called "two-way mirror" -- go figure). It's sitting in one of my boxes of Delightful Magical Implements, waiting for me to find a use for it. The mirror isn't big enough to hide a poker- or bridge-size card, but a miniature card fits under it comfortably. Can anyone direct me to close-up routines that use such mirrors? They could be card routines, but they wouldn't have to be.


The basic idea is that the mini-card, perhaps a replica of a selection, would remain unseen until a strong light was shined on it. But what throws me is that such mirrors are well-known among the public, and I'm trying to figure out a way to make the appearance of the card (or other small piece of card or paper that's somehow relevant to the plot) look really magical. It would be very cool if I could make the card materialize gradually, but I have no idea how to do that. I'm imagining lowering the lights in the room where I'm performing and using candle-light to supplement the room lights.


Thanks for any ideas people can offer.


Bob

You would be better off using present-day technology rather than technology of the past for the effect you have imagined. Any cell phone can make a card fade in or fade out, and there are probably "Apps" available to make it appear as any chosen card almost instantly (for example, typing in 6C would cause the Six of Clubs to appear). I'm not sure that would be as amazing as making an actual playing card appear since the world has been growing up on smart phones for some time now.

I guess I'm old fashioned, Jim. I really like the idea of an image of a playing slowly materializing and then fading in a mirror -- I'm aiming for a kind of fairy-tale atmosphere (like the Wicked Queen in Snow White, for example). Cell phones would be incongruous. Thanks for the suggestion, though.


Bob