Burn

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INTRODUCTION WARNING MAKING THE BURN CARDS THE SLEIGHTS IN THE SMOKE 1 IN THE SMOKE 2 SNAP AND BURN BURNING LINK BURNING HAND REMAINS SPREAD VANISH CORNER SHADOW BOX SHADOW INDEX TRANSFER INDEX ASH NO SMOKE WRATH 2 BURN THRU 1 BURN THRU 2 BURN THRU 3 BURN THRU 4 BURN THRU 5 VANISHING BURNS BURN BURN 2 BURN 3 CREDITS + ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

BURN INTRODUCTION

Welcome to BURN and thank you much for investing in my ideas. BURN is a collection of card effects that in some way involve the use of fire or burns, primarily with the use of a lighter, candle and tailor-made gaff cards. As a performer I love to use acceptable gimmicks and gaffs, I highlight the word acceptable as most purchasable gaff cards can’t be played off as actually affected cards, such as the gaff card that sees the ink on the index smeared across the face of the card, it may look visually impressive, but as soon as the card is inspected, one can instantly see that the card was printed this way, and it’s the same for at least 90% of gaff playing cards. I love the idea that the magician can affect his cards in certain unexplainable ways, but it’s only fair that the affected card be handed out, acceptable and fully examinable for the effects a magician chooses to use ultimately express and reflect who that magician is, therefore if your spectator hears that he/she can’t keep the effected card (as you have to use it again on the next spectator) or even inspect it, all credibility is questioned, and even worse if the gaff is inspected and revealed to be nothing more than a trick card, the magician will forever become a trickery kind of guy who uses tricky cards and not an illusionist who can actually affect cards. I’m sure you will have seen the printed burnt cards you can get and I’m also quite confident to predict that they have never been used, and I know there is an audience of magicians out there who printed gimmicks are ideal for who I wouldn’t judge for their purchase, as some magicians do still strive to be that Pappa Daniel’s-esque type of wet tricky magician… Magic plays its best through an accepted connection and not an unnecessary showcase such as a restaurant or nightclub; it needs to be invited and not forced. I have a lot of respect for those who perform restaurant magic successfully, because I know how hard it can be to build a connection and perform successfully with those not interested; especially in the scenario where you have to play the paid trick-monkey. I’m reminded of a local and somewhat famous magician and friend who blatantly introduces gaff cards to his deck from a half deck of random gaffs in a brown envelope, no part of the process of the envelope being taken from his pocket, the gaff being taken out and added to the relevant part of the deck or the envelope going back to the pocket is done under any cover whatsoever, and this is repeated at least three times during one routine. There are many careless magicians out there who’ll not only attend a gig with more than one deck, but not care to try hide this fact, in fact, I can’t count how many times I’ve uncontrollably shaken my head at he who performs one trick with a red deck, then changes for a blue deck for another trick, as if either the audience aren’t bothered about this or the magician isn’t, either way it’s a good method for gaining a mediocre reputation - as opposed to amazing. I often wonder what that magician is thinking, if anything beyond his own ego, for his actions only support disbelief in real magic, which is one thing I want to confront through Burn… Gaffs are acceptable in magic, as long as they are acceptable gaffs.

Those who have discovered my 2006 notes; TWO, will already be aware of my interest in burn/voodoo effects, as it was through these notes that my burn ideas began in the form of the Blaze series, some developments of those ideas are included in this book. After TWO, I continued to develop the Blaze series and discovered many different and effective ways to portray Burns through card work. Those ideas have now come together to offer you an in depth document on the subject through multiple Burn effects. Day 1 at the Theory11.com headquarters and the run-through began, Wayne and I took an hour or so to narrow down a list of ideas I had put together for the Dangerous playlist, and on that list was a version of Blaze. Blaze made the cut and was set for performance on ‘the party night,’ but by the time we’d got to effect 12, we were all out of time, so Blaze was one of the few that never made it. Not wanting to waste the ideas that were recycled over the shoot, I decided to take the Blaze concept to the next level in a project unto itself. BURN is designed (as all magic should be) to appear real, the gaff cards are actually burnt and will appear to have been affected at the moment of performance impact, and for those known to use the printed gimmicks may risk portraying this to their audience as just another gaff… The realism of BURN deserves so much more. I hope at least one of these ideas stays with you and that you gain the reactions from your choices that I have with mine. Enjoy D

BURN WARNING PLEASE TAKE YOUR TIME TO READ THIS Smoking can be seriously harmful to you and those around you; I have never smoked and try to keep a distance from those who do. I in no way condone smoking through the release of this document. My intentions are for the purposes of magic effects and I in no way accept responsibility for anybody who is influenced to indulge in the activity of smoking from this document. The principal effects that use a lit cigarette, a lighter, a candle or lit flame of any kind are merely ideas of how the effects work. There is a level of danger involved in each effect to which you have to take great care. Due to the effects being nothing more than suggested routines, I cannot and will not accept responsibility for any harm caused to any performers injured through the process of performing and effect from Burn. The setup requires the use of fire through the medium of a lighter, candle or other form of an open flame. I do not advise anybody below the age of 16 to create such gaff cards by the suggested means and do advise all who wish to create such gaffs to do so with absolute care. Those below the age of 16 who wish to create these gaffs in such a suggested method must ask a responsible adult to do so for them. I do not take any responsibility for any damage caused whatsoever as a result of attempting develop the Burn gaffs. Fire kills and is a dangerous element, please be sensible and take absolute care if you do chose to develop the gaffs. For those who choose to develop the gaffs, please do so in an open and well-aired area where no flammable substances are, I advise that this work is carried out above a bucket or container full of water and that a fire extinguisher is close by. After preparing the deck, please ensure for your own safety that the lighter or matches have been fully extinguished before concluding the creation. Check out www.FireSafety.com for further helpful fire regulations. Please be aware that when playing cards are burnt, potentially toxic fuels are released from the burning paint-work. Keep the deck held at a good distance from your face and if possible, wear a protective facemask.

BURN MAKING THE

BURN CARDS

To make all of the gaff cards for the Burn series, you will need to make three important templates that will be used for applying playing-card-shaped burns to other cards or other items. BURN TEMPLATE ONE The Burn Full Template is to the left… a playing card, the 7 of Diamonds with all of the pips and index cleanly and carefully cut out. You will need a sharp art-blade and a rubber mat to use for cutting on. You will also need a steel ruler to guide the blade and a very steady and careful hand. Before you begin, make sure you chose a card that will adapt to the cutting process. Cards such as those values of Ace,4, 6, 8, 9, 10 and a Queen will not adapt as the centre of the loops in these cards will simply drop out leaving for an imperfect template. The easiest cards to cut and most effective in finish are those with definite lines such as 7 and King, although the other remaining choices – 2, 3, 5 and Jack – are also achievable. The easiest suits to create templates from are Diamonds and Hearts, although Spades and Clubs are achievable also. When cutting out the index value, cut outside of the ink as opposed to cutting the ink or even cutting the line. This will allow a bigger gap for the flames to reach through when burning the card.

BURN TEMPLATE TWO The corner template offers the idea of a torn corner vanishing in smoke and appearing anywhere the performer desires leaving behind nothing but a burnt image of where the corner was. For now we shall concentrate on making the template and the basic concept application. Decide on a force card, preferably a 7, King or an easily adaptable template card and tear the corner from it. Carefully cut the index and index pip from the corner to make a corner template as in the image to the left.

BURN TEMPLATE THREE For the burn revelation I have offered a few performance suggestions later in the book as the idea for this template is that it can be completely personalised, for the effect alone I shall keep to the template as shown in the image to the left - a King of Hearts revelation. Simply draw the shape of a K and a Heart on any card and cut it out to create a template, once again, beware of any joining loop shapes such as O’s, B’s or similar.

BURN CARD ONE Burn Gaff One should look like the 2 of Spades shown in the image to the left. Hold Template One tightly in place in front of another card at an off angle so that the index can be clearly identified and burnt onto the white of the playing card. Light your lighter and hold so that the top of the flame gently touches the template. Focus the flame on the openings in the template and hold the card and template at an angle allowing the heat to rise away from the card as shown in the image below. This will prevent any definite burns that may seem too dark compared to the rest of the burns. Don’t try to authenticate the card with more burns after removing the template as you will do this naturally during the actual performances. Done correctly the template should last three or four applications.

BURN CARD TWO Hold template one aligned on top of another card slightly off to the side so that it just overlaps the index. The image shown to the left shows how Burn Gaff Two should look. You may wish to cover the index of the card your burning with another card so that it isn’t affected by the burns as shown in the image, to do this all you have to do is fold another card over to cover the running edge as shown in the image above. For this gaff I’d recommend and Ace for the gaff as it will be used in an effect explained later in the book. You may want to apply a few more touch-up burns to this card as I have on the Ace of Clubs pictured to the left. To do this simply remove the template and let the open flame touch different parts of the card as you can see on the bottom left corner of the Ace and a little bit in the centre and the top right. BURN CARD THREE Once again using Template One, hold the template on the back of any other playing card and add the burns through the main index holes, you can add the index burns if you want to but the image shown to the left of Burn Gaff Three appears much more authentic and acceptable without the index pips as it calls for more attention to the pip count. Once again, a few more burns have been applied after the use of the template to make the card seem more realistic. You can also apply the same concept to the face of another card, preferably an ace. This idea will be covered through an effect late in this book

BURN CARD FOUR For this gaff card you will need to choose a card with a lot of white on the face. As the template is a lot smaller than template one, you may need to stick the template down with a little magicians wax or sticky tape, although be careful not to add too much heat as such adhesives will burn and leave unwanted markings on the card. As you can see from the Four of Clubs to the left, the flame was allowed to widely overlap the template to add more burns making for a more authenticated finish.

BURN CARD FIVE Burn Gaff 5 shows a very subtle burn that has been applied only to the index value and pip to change the cards value. Either template one or two can be used for this, you will see in the image to the left that template two has been used over a Seven of Hearts. It’s quite important to choose a card of the same suit to avoid confusion when the revelation takes place. Once again you may need to stick the template down with a little magicians wax or sticky tape but remember to be careful not to add too much heat. You’ll notice that this gaff has the least burn marks to allow for an easy cover up which will unfold later in the book.

BURN CARD SIX Burn Gaff Six uses template three to leave burns in the shape of the King of Hearts as shown in the image to the left. The template has been held over the Six of Diamonds a little off centre so that the revelation happens in a random place as opposed to dead central. A few heavy burns have been applied after the application of the template so that the revelation isn’t too clean and has to be inspected to really see the King of Hearts. You can also apply the same concept to the back of another card. This idea will be covered through an effect late in this book.

BURN CARD SEVEN Burn Gaff Seven has a large hole burnt through the Ten of Hearts. You will also notice that there aren’t too many burns on the card as these aren’t too necessary for the effects that this gaff is used for. To make this card, simply punch a few holes through any card with a pen or pencil and make a bigger hole by cutting through with scissors. Hold a bare flame under the card so that it reaches through the hole touching the edges. As soon as the card lights, take the flame away and extinguish the burns so that the hole doesn’t grow too close to the edges.

BURN CARD EIGHT As you can see from the image to the left, Burn Gaff Eight has a small hole burnt through the card. To do this, simply punch a hole through any card with a pen or pencil then hold a bare flame under the card so that it reaches through the hole. As soon as the card lights, take the flame away and extinguish the burns so that the hole doesn’t grow too much. The hole is made small purposely so that it can be covered when the card is pinched between the finger and thumb. To add more effect or affect, I always apply the hole to the face of a face card; this offers more of a psychological impact as a level of darkness strikes through the visually harmed face, although this is down to preference.

BURN CARD NINE Burn Gaff Nine is simply a card with one of the corners slightly burnt away as shown in the image to the left. Take any card and tear a little bit away from the corner. Once done, apply burns to the corner; the tears should ignite very quickly due to the tares, as soon as they ignite extinguish them so that the index of the card is still identifiable.

BURN CARD TEN Burn Gaff Ten is the easiest to make and simplest of all the gaffs. The Five of Diamonds has simply been held over an open flame so that burns are left on the face of the card. You can decide on the size of the burns and their position.

BURN GAFF ELEVEN Burn Gaff Eleven utilises template one by applying the burns to the back of the box as shown in the image to the left. The most prominent burn is made over the index which is conveniently burnt onto the white of the box. The rest of the diamonds are faint which draws all attention to the index.

BURN GAFF TWELVE Burn Gaff Twelve once again makes use of the card box with the application of template two. As you can see in the image to the left, template two is held in place over the face of the box in a white area so that the burns can be identified very easily.

BURN GAFF THIRTEEN Burn Gaff Thirteen makes use of template two after it’s use for making the previous gaff cards. The corner should be authentic enough not to apply any further burns

BURN THE SLEIGHTS Throughout Burn I’ll refer to a number of sleights, and in stead of explaining them through the effects I offer them here as a separate reference list should you need them… THE GAMBLERS COP I shall explain this move as it was designed… to palm away the bottom card of a deck.        

Hold the deck in dealers grip Use finger one to pull the outer corner of the bottom card in toward the palm causing the card to buckle as in image01 Use finger 3 and 4 to pull the card down away from the deck toward the fingers, use finger 2 to align even more - image02 Grip the deck from above with your free hand and pull the deck back slightly, along with the palming card Grip the palming card between the knuckle of finger 3 and palm under the deck as shown in image03 Now move the deck back into position leaving the palming card behind as in image04 Before you take the deck away leaving behind the palmed card, tilt the palming hand downwards as in image05 …As you do this, take the deck away and slowly lower your palming had down to your side where you can either hold it for as long as need be or dump the palmed card in your pocket

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Held correctly the palmed card will not be seen from head on and is hidden from many angles as in image07, however, if done comfortably and smoothly nobody will need to look at your hand anyway.

THE SLIP FORCE The Slip Force allows the bottom card to be forced on the spectator through the means of spreading the deck from one hand to another and asking the spectator to touch any card.       

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Position the force card on the bottom of the deck and begin to spread the cards from one hand to the other Underneath the deck, reach for the bottom card with finger 2 of the receiving hand as in image10 Pull the bottom card underneath the spread toward your opposite hand Ask the spectator to touch any card Separate the spread deck at the touched card so that the touched card is the lower card of the upper packet as shown as the 8H in image11 Close the lower half and extend finger one from the lower half hand – image12 Connect your finger with the touched card, as you raise the spread half to show the lower touched card, push the force card under the spread so that it connects with your finger as in image12

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BASIC PASS VARIATION A pass allows you to invisibly cut the deck allowing a controlled card to be shifted from within the deck to the top or bottom.   

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At the held break in the deck, the holding hand pulls the outer edge of the deck down whilst finger 1 pushes the packet outward as in image13 The packet reaches the edge of the deck and is stopped by the hand shading the move held over the deck as in image14 The cover hand then guides the packet over to the top of the deck in an action of straightening the deck as seen in images 15 and 16

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BURN IN THE SMOKE

1

CAN BE PERFORMED WITH BURN CARDS ONE & SIX A card is selected and lost in the deck The performer takes a random card from the deck - not the selection - and holds it over an open flame Slowly, burns appear on the face of the card taking the shape of the spectators selected card This effect can be performed with a few different burn cards, however, for this explanation I shall refer to burn-gaffone; pictured above as the 2S with a 7D burnt onto it. This version of In The Smoke is best performed as a walking performance, as in standing/walking as opposed to sat down, I refer to this as a walking performance as this is best performed in a walk-about situation. This version of the effect can be performed completely surrounded providing you manage your crowd control abilities. You will need a duplicate of the 2S which needs to be 2nd from top with the gaff card as the top card. The force card in this case is the 7D which needs to be in your favourite forcing position. For these effects I’ll always carry a lighter just in case my spectators don’t have one, I mostly enjoy performing the Burn effects using a candle, however, as I rarely carry a candle in my pocket I’ll always use a lighter, and I’ll only ever use my own if the spectator doesn’t have one. Begin by forcing the card on your spectator, they can sign this card if you choose to allow it but isn’t necessary. This card will now be lost in the deck. You can shuffle as much as you like as long as you retain the top two cards. Ask the spectator for their lighter, or use your own asking the spectator to light it and hold it out for you. As they do so, maintain a break under the top two cards in preparation for taking a double. When the lighter is lit, take the double from the top of the deck holding it from end to end as in image17 (to the left) so that you are holding the gaff card behind a regular duplicate of it. Make sure you hold the double slightly bent to secure them together as they burn. You can now either put the deck aside or keep hold of it depending on how you wish to lose the duplicate card in the next few stages. Hold the double above the flame allowing the heat to leave at least a bit of a mark on the card. Hold the card up to show the spectator the burns then turn the card to yourself to inspect it before holding it to the flame once more. Take the card back and look at it again and ask the spectator hold the lighter up higher, as they do, bring the double back to the top of the deck and drop the regular card to the top so that you are holding only the gaff card... this needs to be done quickly, but not rushed… Alternatively, if you have got rid of the deck, perform a gamblers cop with the lower card of the two as explained in the sleights reference towards the beginning of this book, I much prefer this method as there will appear to have only ever been one card in play. Hold the gaff-card above the flame allowing it to Burn a little. Slowly turn the card on its side so that the spectator can see the face of the card to reveal the revelation. The card can now be handed out for inspection as you dump the palmed card.

BURN IN THE SMOKE

2

CAN BE PERFORMED WITH BURN CARDS ONE & SIX

A card is selected and lost in the deck The performer takes a random card from the deck – not the selection and holds it over an open flame As the card begins to sear, the spectator is asked to hold onto it The performer blows out the flame and the burns are revealed to have taken the shape of a playing card… The spectators selected card This is an alternative handling for In The Smoke, developed for a staged or seated performance. For this explanation I shall refer to burn-gaff-six; pictured above as the 6D with a KH burnt onto it. The stronger difference in handling is that you never need to go back to the deck and you have a far better opportunity to shade the X card before the revelation. You will need a duplicate of the 6D which needs to be 2nd from top with the gaff card as the top card. The force card in this case is the KH which needs to be in your favourite forcing position. This effect handles much better with a low candle; alternatively you can have somebody hold a lit lighter with their hand on the table so that you get that necessary low point. Perform the effect in the same way as In The Smoke 1 until you’re ready for the double lift… If you’re not using a candle, ask the spectator for their lighter, or use your own asking the spectator to light it and hold it lit with their hand resting on the table so that the flame is steady. Holding your hand over the deck, pick up two cards at the back with your thumb before gripping both cards on the outer edges as shown in image18. Not only will this secure the double as it burns but it will also get you in the correct holding position for the Tenkai-steel.

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Hold the double above the flame allowing the heat to leave at least a bit of a mark on the card. Turn the card face up to show the spectator the burns, then turn the card to yourself to inspect it. As you turn the card back to the flame, push your thumb down the back causing the card to pivot as shown in images19-21. Hold the double over the flame once more so that the spectator can see the face of the card, as it burns, tilt it away from them and perform the Tenkai-steal as shown though images22-24. You should do this with the card facing down so that the face isn’t revealed yet.

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As the card burns a little, take it with your other hand keeping it in the flame, you can now bring the palmed card back to lap or dump, you’ll find that sitting at a table will offer the best clean-up results. Ask the spectator to take the card as it is still held above the flame, you can then rub your hands together and hold them close the flame as you blow it out. You can now ask the spectator to inspect the card for the reveal.

BURN SNAP AND

BURN

CAN BE PERFORMED WITH BURN CARD THREE

A card is selected and lost in the deck The performer takes a random card from the deck – not the selection and waves it over an open flame A final wave extinguishes the flame and burns in the shape of the spectators selected card instantly appear on the back of the held card This is a further variation of In The Smoke whereas the reveal is on the back as opposed to the face of a random card. A different handling explanation will be covered so that you can decide for yourself the better handling for the gaff cards. The explanation for this is very short and simply and relies on L.Green’s Snap Change, although I cannot teach the method for this I can teach the method for the effect… For this effect you’ll need the gaff card at the bottom of the deck ready for a slip force… In this case it’s the Queen of Hearts on the face, the actual QH from the deck will need to be behind this. Force the QH on the spectator using the slip force as described in the sleights reference page toward the beginning of this book… don’t allow the spectator to remove the force card, simply hold it up for them to see before turning the deck around to see the card yourself. Close the deck so that the QH is back at the bottom. Pick up both of the QH’s as one card and hold them in snap-change position with the face facing you, in this position the spectator will be looking at the back of the QH from the deck and you will be looking at the face of burn card three. Have the spectator light the lighter. Slowly wave the card through the open flame a few times before performing the snap-change… The nature of the snap-change should extinguish the flame but don’t worry too much if it doesn’t, this is not of importance. To clean up, simple take the burn card with your other hand and hand it to the spectator or allow them to take it from your hand leaving you enough time to dump the regular QH.

BURN BURNING

LINK

CAN BE PERFORMED WITH BURN CARD THREE

A card is selected - The Queen of Hearts - and lost in the deck The performer applies pressure to the deck claiming that he can affect certain focused cards The performer claims to have focused on the wrong card… the 7 of Diamonds The performer searches the deck to reveal a card with the 7 of Diamonds burnt onto the back of it The actual card is then revealed to be the spectators’ initial selection… The Queen of Hearts For this effect you’ll need the gaff card at the bottom of the deck ready for a slip force… In this case it’s the Queen of Hearts. You’ll also need to remove the regular QH from the deck. Force the QH on the spectator using the slip force as described in the sleights reference page toward the beginning of this book… don’t allow the spectator to remove the force card, simply hold it up for them to see before losing it in the deck, this will prevent the back of the burn card from being revealed. Shuffle the cards a little before squeezing the deck tightly between both hands… As I squeeze the deck, I can pass certain energies through it, and if I keep thinking of your card… Seven Diamonds, Seven Diamonds, Seven Diamonds… I can affect your card, the Seven of Diamonds… That’s what it was right? As the spectator claims that the 7D isn’t their card, search through the back of the cards to reveal a card with the 7D burnt onto the back of it… It wasn’t the 7d? What was your card? As the card is named as the QH, slowly turn the card to reveal their card You know sometimes I mess up but it’s bizarre how this happened, usually a few burns are marked on the card I think of which should have been the 7D, but the 7D was burnt onto your card, the QH, which I had no idea was your card… That’s messed me up a little; it’s not supposed to work that way. The final patter is offered to draw a little more belief to the effect, and as with all patter, this is entirely optional.

BURN BURNING

HAND

CAN BE PERFORMED WITH BURN CARD THREE

A card is selected - The 7 of Diamonds - and lost in the deck The performer takes the Queen of Hearts and places it face up in the spectators open palm The spectator is asked to focus on their card The Queen in their hand heats up Their card is revealed in the shape of burn marks on the back of the Queen Place gaff card three (QH with the &D on the back as pictured above) on top of the deck with the real QH on top of it, place the 7D in your favourite forcing position and force the card. Lose the 7D anywhere in the deck. After a few false shuffles, perform a double lift to reveal the QH as if to reveal this as the selected card, when the spectator claims that this isn’t their card, turn it back face down. You now need to glide the top card so that you can slide the gaff card out from the deck. Spread the top two or three cards aside with your thumb as in image25. As you go to take the top card, quickly pull it back with your thumb so that the 2nd card down is left out for the taking as in image26. This is done whilst tilting the deck slightly face up so that the top of the deck is out of view from the spectator preventing the burn mark from being seen.

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Place the deck aside as you place the burn card face-up in the participants’ hand. From this point on you are open for a powerful performance, through suggestion you can actually cause your spectator to believe that the card in their hand is heating up, here’s a quick example of patter… I want you think about the card that chose, not the card in your hand, the initial card and I want you to burn an image of it onto the Queen of Hearts, imagine that though is on fire, you can feel the heat under the card becoming more and more intense as if the back of the card is about to literally set aflame. You may with so light a lighter and have the spectator focus on the flame, focus so much that they can feel it.

BURN REMAINS TO BE PERFORMED WITH BURN CARD TWO A card is selected and lost in the deck and two Aces are produced The Aces are waved over the deck where the selected card instantly appears between them The performer then shakes the aces, with the selected card sandwiched between them over an open flame The selected card is seen to vanish from between the aces leaving nothing but a burnt shadow on one of the Aces of where the selected card was The vanished card is then revealed ANYWHERE the performer desires covered in burns This effect is developed to follow up and conclude your favourite sandwich routine/effect. Remains does require a little extra setup. To start with you will need a duplicate 7D upon which you will apply random burns to both the face and the back. You can now plant this card anywhere where you want to reveal it at the end of the effect; you may just chose to keep it hidden within the deck for an in-hands revelation. Once planted, you’ll need to perform your favourite sandwich effect using the black aces as sandwich cards and the regular 7D from the deck as your sandwich card. You may want to practice a routine that will retain the gaff card on top of the deck at all times as this is where you will need it for the effect. Following your sandwich effect you would begin, however, you can simply begin by showing the black aces and forcing the 7D and continuing as such… Some magicians will make a selected card to appear between two Aces like so, but here’s something I like to do… With the 7D face up between the face up Aces - AS at the front/top card of the face up three cards and AC at the back… Get a break under the top card of the deck – the gaff card. Turn the three cards face down onto the deck and push the cards forward adding the gaff card to the bottom so that you have a packet of four cards above a break in the deck Pick up the top two cards as one with finger one and your thumb as you use finger two to pull out the lower two cards above the break as in imgaes27-28.

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Allow the top two cards to square and drop to the deck posing as one card - apparently the AC Now peel off the top card of the two card you are holding - The AS - keep a break under this as it lands on the deck Now drop the other card – gaff card – to the top of that before picking up the two Aces – AC and gaff… This will appear that you have counted the three cards and taken them back from the deck, you will now be left with the gaff card behind the Ace of Spades.

If you chose to you can do a false count to display three cards, this will reposition the gaff back into place, but I never find this necessary. Wave the two cards in hand over the open flame – lighter or candle etc – and slowly allow the cards to separate to reveal that one card has gone, turn the cards face up to show the two aces with the burnt shadow of where the 7D should have been between them as in image29, you can now reveal the hidden pre-planted 7D that has burns on. You will appreciate at this point that it’s better to plant the revelation 7D somewhere away from you so that you have time to dispose of the 7D that is in the deck along with the unburnt AC.

BURN SPREAD VANISH TO BE PERFORMED WITH GAFF CARD TWO

A card is selected and lost in the deck The performer claims that he can transfer the pain from burning his hand into the deck The performer holds his hand over an open flame allowing it to burn When the performer can bare no more pain, he pulls his hand away and holds it above the deck He then slowly spreads the cards to show that the selected card is nothing more than a burnt shadow of where it once was in the deck (Optional extra) The selected card is then found ANYWHERE the performer desires covered in burns This is a real performance driven effect and the one I love to perform the most from this document. You’ll need to start with gaff-card-two on top of the deck so that the burnt index is away from you/closer to the spectator; the Ace of Clubs from the deck needs to be at second from bottom with the 7D as the bottom card. You can now also hide a burnt 7D anywhere you wish to reveal it, if you chose to end the effect that way. Kick about a third of the deck as in image30 Use finger 1 to rotate the lower half of this packet out from the deck as in images31-32 Throw the remaining two packets to the top of the now lower packet so that the bottom cards of the thrown packets are left out-jogged as in image33, you now need to tidy the deck up leaving the lowest of the out-jogged cards out-jogged

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You will now need to perform a variation of the EMOTION force from the ONE lecture… The Emotion Force… Adapted for the Burn Spread Vanish Be sure to keep the out-jogged card shadowed from the view of the spectator. Riffle the deck a few times and explain to the spectator how a card will be selected when they call stop As you then riffle, the spectator will call stop, because of the out-jogged card, a natural and instant stop will be made at the force card. This is all about timing, no matter when the spectator calls stop you need to aim at stopping at the break. In most cases and with enough practice you will hit the mark every time. Once the stop is made, reach over with your open hand pushing the out-jogged card in and lifting at the same time the top two thirds of the deck. Be sure to keep your thumb in place at the stopped at card so that the spectator can clearly see that no switches or slights are taking place If you happen to make the stop too soon or too late, the force can still be achieved. Simply push in the out-jogged card and lift the top two thirds above the force card letting go of the thumb break at the same time. Doing this whilst rotating the body and arms slightly to the right will shade the break-change, once the deck is cut no questions will be asked The stopped at card in this case will be the lower card of the lifted packet and not the top card of the lower packet

Back to the routine… When showing the force card, spread the lower few cards a little to show the Ace of Clubs behind the 7D, don’t draw too much attention to this, just allow it to be a natural break in the deck Once the card has been seen, throw the top packet back to the lower packet in the same way as earlier allowing the lower card to out-jog at the back, as you square up the deck maintain a pinky-break below the force card You now need to pass the packet below the break to the top of the deck: a basic pass variation is explained on page11 of this document The 7D and AC will now be at the bottom of the deck and gaff-card-two will be somewhere in the middle of the deck You will now need to steel the bottom two cards into gamblers cop as also explained on page11, you’ll have enough shade and the perfect angle to palm the cards away to your pocket to retrieve your lighter Place the deck face up on the surface as you hold out and light the lighter I want to show you an experiment in the transfer of energy, a demonstration of a skill used by people who practice the science of voodoo, now I call it a science because most people perceive voodoo as something supernatural when really there’s a scientific explanation for the strange things that can happen as a result of voodoo. What I want to demonstrate now is something usually used against other people whereas heat can be taken as an energy and transferred to another person in a harmful way… I’m not going to do that but I am going to use those principals by taking the heat from the lighter and applying it to the deck, or more to one card in the deck… Hold the lit lighter under your open palm, not too close but close enough to appear to be within burning distance. Wave/move your hand a little so that the heat from the lighter isn’t concentrated in one spot. This is where you’re acting unfolds, you need to act as if the lighter is burning you enough to cause pain, you may find the bonus effect BUURN useful at this point. Hold it for a beat and pull away in pain. Put the lighter down and press the heated hand down on the deck. Slowly ribbon spread the deck revealing the shadow of the 7D in place in front of the AC, the deck should spread a little further over the AC due to the warp in the card and the burn marks, if it doesn’t simply spread a few cards after the ribbon as if looking for the card. If you decide to use this as a vanish you can now reveal the card from your chosen place of revelation.

BURN CORNER SHADOW TO BE PERFORMED WITH BURN GAFFS FOUR AND THIRTEEN

An index corner is torn from a freely selected card and placed on the deck The performer waves his hand over the corner causing it to vanish from the deck leaving behind a burnt shadow of where the corner was The vanished corner is then found ANYWHERE the performer desires This effect does require a little bit of a setup. You’ll need a force card (in this case the 2H) for which you will need a duplicate… Hold the force card and its duplicate together as one card and tear an index corner off of both cards at the same time in an attempt to get similar tares. You will need to attach/fix/glue one of these corners to the duplicate card of the gaff, in this case the 4 of Clubs as in image34, you can dispose of the torn duplicate 2H that matches this corner. Place the new gaff with the corner stuck to it at the bottom of the deck in front of gaff card four; then place the torn 2H in front of it ready to force, make sure that the torn corner is toward you before you start. Now you will need to decide on the outcome of the effect, you can either end up with a revelation of the exact corner ANYWHERE you desire, or you can reveal the burnt corner – gaff thirteen – close by; this is all down to your performance style. In each case you will have to plant the chosen corner anywhere you want to later reveal it. For this effect you’ll need to use a slip force as explained on page11. As you force the card, keep the bottom half – or at least the torn corner of it covered by your hand as in image35 Bring the top half back to the deck as you out-jog the card so that the bottom torn half is hidden in the deck. Remove the card from the deck by turning the excess packet face up in your hand, then add the force card packet to it like an open book as in image36 so that the torn card is still hidden, as you close the deck (like a book) slide the force card away into your hand as in image37 so that the corner remains hidden behind your fingers.

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At this point you can ask the spectator to hold the deck, make sure you give them the deck face down and keep their attention on the card in your hand so that they don’t inspect and discover the gaff card at the bottom of the deck. You will now need to perform Angle Zero from TWO and DANGEROUS… The idea is simply to pretend that you are tearing the corner from the card, as you do this, add a few nicks to the card to create that tearing sound, it will appear that a corner has been torn from the card… a very nice addition from Wayne Houchin. Hand the torn card to the spectator as you take back the deck. Turn the deck face up toward yourself so that the spectator cannot see the bottom gaff card, at this point, fake placing the fake corner on the deck and allow the bottom card to be seen. So far it will just appear that the corner torn from the card is now sat resting freely on the deck.

You will now need to perform a sleight that will vanish the gaff card to reveal burn-gaff-card-four, there are many slights that will achieve this including the Ego Change, the Flick Change or a one handed palm via the pinky, if you do not know these moves… Completely cover the card with your free hand. With your deck-hand, tilt the deck slightly and allow the card to slide away from the deck at an angle as in image38. Stretch your fingers to the side of the deck allowing the card to work its way over and under the deck as in images39-40. When the card has fallen into your hand, simply close your fingers allowing the card to flush under the deck… Remember, your free hand will shade any of this from being seen by the spectator.

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You can hand the card out and reveal the hidden corner whilst you dump the gaff card that has the corner stuck to it.

BURN BOX SHADOW TO BE PERFORMED WITH BURN GAFF TWELVE AND THIRTEEN

A card is selected and the deck is placed back into the card box An index corner is torn from the selected card, the card is handed to the spectator The corner is then pressed against the face of the box where it is seen to vanish leaving behind a burnt shadow The vanished corner is then found ANYWHERE the performer desires This is simply a variation of Burn Corner Short and is very simple to learn and perform… At the moment of vanishing the corner, simply rub the supposed corner on the face of the box and reveal that a burnt shadow of the corner was left behind. Clearly you will have to be careful on your angles when displaying or handling the box as the burns have no cover and in this case no real need for shade as attention is only brought to the box upon the vanish. You can make a shade card out of an old box by simply cutting the face off to the size of a playing card, this can then be copped away at the right moment, but for the amount of effort involved you will find that working with the angles is far more comfortable than working with the slights for this.

BURN INDEX TRANSFER TO BE PERFORMED WITH GAFF CARD FIVE A card is selected and lost in the deck The performer takes a random cad from the deck and squeezes the index between his finger and thumb and pinches the flame from a lit lighter or candle with his other hand The burns are transferred from the burnt fingers to the card causing the index to burn into the shape of the spectators selected card This effect uses the 7H with the 2H burnt into it’s index as shown above. This is probably the easiest effect to achieve in the document and by far the most versatile gaff in the series. Retain the gaff card on top of the deck, make sure you know which corner has the burnt revelation on it, use your favourite force with the revelation card, in this case it’s the 2 of Hearts. Lose the force card in the deck and take off the top card/gaff-card-five holding it by the index, the rest should come naturally. The transfer of heat from one hand to the other is only my suggested method, sometimes you may wish to demonstrate how you are able to generate heat from your bare hands, or fingertips in this case. This is also a good gaff card to simply hold over a candle or lighter by which burns are made in the shape of the revelation. You may even want to hold the card over a candle or lighter that isn’t lit to demonstrate the power of belief. This effect also ties in nicely with any of the popular blister effects on the market at the minute.

BURN INDEX ASH TO BE PERFORMED WITH GAFF CARD NINE

A card is selected and by the spectator The performer takes the card and pinches one of the corners He pulls his hand away in pain to reveal that he was able to burn the corner of the card with his bare hands This effect is played in the same vein as INDEX TRANSFER on a very basic level through which the card is simply burnt at the fingertips in stead of a burning revelation. This effect uses the JD which has its corner burnt away. The handling should at this point be self explanatory You may want to remove the deck duplicate of this card in case of inspection. You can also perform this same effect by keeping the card in the deck and holding the corner of the entire deck over the flame, you can then reveal that the flame only affected one card

BURN NO SMOKE TO BE PERFORMED WITH BURN CARD TEN The participant selects any playing card; the rest of the deck is put aside The participant is asked to inspect the playing card. The card is then placed in the participants’ palm The participant begins to feel a Burning in their hand as if the card is on fire The card is turned over to reveal Burn marks on it Although the handling on this effect is very simple, the effect is developed to fit a hypnotic next-level performance. You will also find that the handling and plot of this effect can be adapted to suit most of the burn gaff cards. This effect uses gaff ten, which is simply a burnt 5D. Place the Burnt card on top of the deck and it’s duplicate from the deck in your best forcing position… Force the card using a method in which the participant removes the card from the deck – as opposed to leaving it in the deck as with a dribble force. Take the card from the participant and perform a top change so that you now hold the gimmick, place the gimmick on top of the deck and perform a double lift to show the card. Turn the card back facedown whilst asking the participant to hold out their hand (palm-up of course.) Take the top card (gimmick) and place it in their palm (face-down of course.) Right now, I want you to focus on me, on my face, my words and the sound of my voice. As you listen to me talk I want you to transfer the energy you feel through me talking to you and force all of that energy down your arm and into your hand… Right now, do you feel that? Like you hand is glowing… Allow the energy to become more and more powerful and flowing and you’ll feel that heat in your hand, you’ll feel it pulsing, almost like your hand is the most sensitive part of your body, almost as if your entire body is drained because all of that energy is going to your hand. You’ll feel your hand getting hotter and hotter and when it gets too hot just let me know… Throughout your patter keep contact with the performers out-held arm to draw more and more attention to it. 90% of the time your spectator will feel the suggested heat due to the design of the patter, as soon as you mention their hand all their attention will focus on it. Right now, if you sit very still for a few minutes and think of nothing but your hand, you’ll notice how it feels heavier than your other hand, it feels like it’s almost throbbing with energy… Right? Of course, simply because you are thinking about it, and that’s all that’s happening to your spectator, and as the feeling is fairly foreign to them, as soon as you attach a feeling to it such as heat, they will associate this foreign feeling with heat, and the more focus they have on the feeling, the more heat they will feel. Reveal.

BURN WRATH TWO TO BE PERFORMED WITH BURN CARD ELEVEN A card is selected, and lost in the deck, the deck is returned to the box. The box is shown clean and unmarked on both sides. The deck is then squeezed between the spectators’ hands The spectator begins to feel the deck heating up, at which point they remove their hands to find their card burnt onto the box. The performer then claims that there was never a 7D in the deck, the deck is then searched for the selected card which is not in the deck Wrath Two, although quite different from Wrath, will have the same if not better reaction with the use of a very deceptive extra gimmick that you will have to make… Don’t worry, this one’s invisible and very useful. You will need to use the 7D from your deck… Find an old deck and peel off the bottom half of the torn seal, you’ll now need to stick this to the back of the 7D as shown in inmage42 so that it lines up with the sticker on the back of the box (not actually shown on the title image used for this effect.) When you hold this card over the back of the box, you can show the box as a regular unmarked… box – image45. This cover gaff will be used as your force card and for this effect you will need to perform the slip force as covered earlier. Instead of having the card removed, simply hold it up in the deck for the spectator to see and then control it to the top of the deck, you will have to angle the deck so that the faces are seen through your shuffling to hide the back of the card. You now need to place all the cards back into the box with the cards face up and the box the same, as the cards go into the box, buckle the 7D allowing it to secretly slide on the outside of the back of the box as in images43-44. You should now have the cover card in place allowing you to carefully show the box both sides. When showing the box, the back of the 7D will appear to be the back design of the box. Don’t point this out… just show it for a moment as you explain the effect.

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Place the box face up in your hand ready to cop away the cover card/7D as you ask the spectator to hold their hand out flat. Place the box in the spectators hand and ask them to cover it with their other hand. As you ask them to squeeze the deck, you will have sufficient time to dump the shade card currently copped in your hand if you haven’t done so thus far. Cover their hands with yours and demonstrate the amount of pressure you want them to apply to the deck. As you do this, rotate their hands so that the deck is now face-down. Remove your hands and ask them to name their playing card. Hold your hands a few inches away from theirs and concentrate on the deck as you pretend to add invisible pressure the way a spiritual healer would pretend to form a ball of energy, as you do this ask them promptly…

Can you feel that? It’s warm right? You’ll feel it heating up, don’t react too much, just let it warm up, hopefully it won’t burn you After a few moments ask them to open their hands to reveal the burnings. You can then continue… You seriously picked that card the 7D? I just find that strange that’s all because there’s no 7D in the deck Allow the spectator to search through the deck.

BURN BURN THRU

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TO BE PERFORMED WITH BURN CARD SEVEN The participant selects any playing card; the rest of the deck is put aside The participant is asked to inspect the playing card which is then placed in the participants’ palm The performer holds his hand over the card (not touching it.) The participant begins to feel a burning in their hand as if the card is on fire The performer moves his hand away to reveal a hole burnt through the playing card You may recognise the Burn Thru effects from the TWO lecture, earlier named as the BLAZE series. The effects have been developed for Burn with extra handling advice. For this effect you’ll need the 10H with the big hole burnt through it… Place the Burnt 10H to the bottom of the deck and the regular 10H in your best forcing position. Force the 10H using a method in which the participant removes the card from the deck – as opposed to leaving it in the deck as with a dribble or inner slip force. As the forced card is removed, cop the Burnt card from the bottom of the deck as you place the deck aside or in your pocket. Take the selected card from the participant with your free hand and ask them to hold out their hand (palm-up,) at this point, bring the 10H down (face down) on top of the burnt gaff so that you are holding them as one. Flip both cards face-up as one and hold them from above so that you don’t expose the hole-difference, image47 shows how you should hold the card, image48 exposes how you shouldn’t hold the card. You’ll now need to cop away the lower card leaving only the Burnt card in hand held as in image49 thus hiding the hole. As the card is held from above, the participant will not see the bunt hole.

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Place the Burnt card in the participants’ hand keeping your hand above it blocking the view of the Burnt hole. At this point, I usually keep the copped card in my hand and hold onto the participants arm with it. If I am surrounded, I will reach into my pocket to dump the card and retrieve a lighter as part of the patter; I would recommend this method regardless of surroundings for obvious reasons. For this effect you’ll need to use a little suggestion and control, the outcome requires a direct path to lead up to it… I need your full attention, stand straight, look right into my eyes and feel every word I say… Providing you have their full attention, you can momentarily move your hand from the card with a gesture before returning it back to shade the card; you need to get them comfortable with you moving away from the card implying that you are not hiding anything. I want you to imagine a Burning sensation in your hand, imagine that you have the power to generate a strong heat in your hand… Even if you think this is rubbish you’ll still feel some heat in your hand simply because of the suggestion, but even

that alone is quite weird… But lets take this as far as we can… Imagine the card is on fire! You can feel the heat under the card becoming more and more intense… 90% of the time the participant will react to this in some way, as soon as you notice the smallest impulse of a reaction move away your hand and imply the reaction yourself with a look of amazement

BURN BURN THRU

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TO BE PERFORMED WITH BURN CARD SEVEN

The participant selects any playing card and shuffles it back into the deck The participant squeezes the deck whilst thinking about their playing card The participant begins to feel a Burning in their hand… The participant searches through the deck to find a hole burnt through their selected playing card This is another simple effect that relies more on the performance patter for the heightened impact… Leave the gimmick lost in the deck, preferable 2nd from the bottom. Force the duplicate and have the participant return it to the deck, as they do so, control it to the bottom as you shuffle the deck so that you can cop it away. Cop away the selected card as you hand the deck to the participant to shuffle. As they do so, dump the copped card as you casually place both hands in your back pockets, do this naturally as you step back to watch the shuffle. Don’t worry about the gimmick showing up; just don’t let them shuffle too much… Okay, that’s enough… Just hold the deck in both hands and squeeze it tightly… I want you to concentrate on your card, imagine you know where it is in the deck. Take that thought and that energy coming from your hands as you squeeze the deck tighter… Feel the heat in your hands and focus on using that energy to affect the card in some way… Only you know the card so only you can effect it… Can you feel that? Can you feel that? A question which will always be followed by ‘Yes!’ Reveal.

BURN BURN THRU

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TO BE PERFORMED WITH BURN CARD SEVEN

The participant selects any playing card A pair of Kings are used to hold the selected card in a sandwich manor The performer holds the three cards between his forefinger and thumb slowly rubbing them together to create a friction The cards are thrown to the surface as the performer pulls away holding his Burnt finger and thumb The selected card is shown to have a hole Burnt clean through it For this explanation we shall use gaff card seven; the 10H. Place the gaff card on top of the deck, face-down. Place the pair of Kings on top of the gaff card face down and position the 10H in your favourite forcing position. Force the 10H on the spectator, as they look at the card, turn the two Kings face-up on top of the deck ensuring that gaff card is not seen. Spread the cards and grip the gaff card flush-behind the lower King. Place the deck aside so that you are now holding the Kings with the gaff card hidden behind them. Ask the participant to insert their selected card, face down between the face up kings. Flush all of the cards together whilst hiding a break directly between the 4 cards (two above, two below) The bottom two cards now need to be secretly passed above the top two. Cop away the bottom card as you reach toward the participant with the other three cards. The copped card will remain palmed and unseen until the revelation. What I want you to do is gently rub the three cards between your thumb and finger like this… Begin to rub the three cards slowly between your finger and thumb allowing the cards to slightly part so that the middle card can still be seen to be the selected card. At this point you can dump the copped card (if you didn’t manage to do so through the performance.) What you’re doing right now is generating heat, the Kings are merely acting as protection cards because I don’t want the card to burn you in any way… When you feel the heat, it’s important to let go, you don’t want to Burn yourself. Most folk will feel the heat or the fear of it and want to let go of the cards immediately, if they do not react in any way, simply take the cards back, and complete the effect in your own hands… Sharply throw the cards to a surface and shake your hand as if Burnt, then simply point to the three cards – unless they separated on impact revealing the Burnt out card.

BURN BURN THRU

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TO BE PERFORMED WITH BURN CARD SEVEN

The performer removes a card from the deck and holds it between his closed palms After a few moments of concentration, the performer throws the card down holding his Burnt hands in pain The card is seen to have a hole burnt through it. Once again we shall use the burnt 10H; gaff seven for the explanation. 2526 Place the regular 10H on top of the deck. Place the gimmick card on top of that followed by any other car on top of that. Perform a triple lift to show the regular 10H, turn back the cards and hold the deck up a little so that the top of the deck cannot be seen by the spectator. Glide the top card to the side slightly so that you can remove the 2nd card down as explained earlier through images25+26. Side the deck and hold the gimmick card between your hands in prayer position… A look of serious concentration before a shriek as you throw the cards to the surface… Hold your hands as if burnt and allow your participant to react.

BURN BURN THRU

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TO BE PERFORMED WITH BURN CARD SEVEN

A card is freely selected and handed to the performer The performer pinches the card between his finger and thumb and adds pressure; he then quickly pulls his hand away to show his finger and thumb blistered and burnt The card is then shown to have a small hole burnt through it where the card was held This effect uses gaff card eight; the Jack of Clubs Position the gaff card at the bottom of the deck and the regular JC in your favourite forcing position. You will also need a lighter in your right pocket unless you are using a candle or a borrowed lighter. Force the force card on the spectator and as they are looking at it, cop away the bottom gaff card as you put the deck down. Take the selected Jack from the spectator pinched between fingers 1 and 2 as in image51. As soon as you get the card, swing it into a tenkai-palm whilst at the same time holding your copped hand out to slightly revealing the gaff card… This is shown through images51-53 and is designed to look like the card simply being passed to the other hand. This move is quite difficult as there is a lot going on and you have to keep a bit of shade over the copped gaff when it’s revealed as you don’t yet want to reveal the burns just yet. You should keep the hole in the card covered by your thumb.

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Hold the open gaff card up a little and push the card up to your finger tip without revealing the hole. As you rub the card between your finger and thumb, add a lot of pressure, this will allow the hole in the card to leave an imprint on both your finger and thumb, this may also leave a little bit of black from the initial burn which will add a lot to the effect. Sharply throw the card to a surface and shake your hand as if burnt, then simply point to the card to reveal the burnt card. At this point you can dump the Tenkai palmed card.

BURN VANISHING

BURNS

TO BE PERFORMED WITH BURN CARD TEN This is a very simple and requires the use of gaff card ten; the 5D with burns on its face. You’ll also need a random duplicate, for this example we’ll use the 4H. Simply place both dupes (4H) on top of the deck and place the regular 5D in your favourite forcing position. The gaff card needs to be within the bottom half of the deck. Force the regular 5D on the spectator and have it returned anywhere in the top half of the deck. You can now take the top two cards (4H) as one and simply burn the face of the first card. Then drop the lower card to the deck under shade from the top card and place the duplicate in the performers’ hand. Ask the spectator to feel the back of the card; they will still feel the heat from the burnt duplicate. Slowly you’ll feel the heat disappearing, and with it, goes the burns… Ask the spectator to turn the card over to reveal that the burns have gone But they didn’t just vanish… Scan the deck until you find the burnt 5D and reveal the burns

BURN BURN TO BE PERFORMED WITH FINGER ONE TO BE PERFORMED WITH EXTREME CARE The performer is able to clearly hold his finger in an open flame for a long time without it burning the concept in practice This effect is very dangerous and I advise that you take extreme care when practicing the effect as you will have to touch an open flame for the effect to work. This effect is very old and as far as I can find has no trace of origin beyond simple pub-type trickery. The old version that I refer to is slightly different to Burn, as in the old version, the performer applied the burns to his own finger, and although this will be the main practice, the principal of the effect will call for you to involve a spectator. Having performed this effect many, many times, I got a little tiresome of the spectators thinking that some kind of protective payer was being used over my finger preventing it from burning, and so I tried the effect on a spectators’ finger, and my fascination with the effect began. In image57 you will see a lit lighter, if you explore a lit lighter you will see that the flame is divided by two colours. The first of which is the main flame, the yellow/orange/white flame, which is the hottest part of the flame. The second part of the flame is the lower part, the purple/blue base of it, which is the gas from the lighter… This part is not hot, or at least less hot, and the only way to realise this is to touch it. Now, before you stick your finger in, I assure you that you will burn yourself if you do this incorrectly. Although the blue part will not burn, you will still be very close to the flame; the most important thing to note is that you have to keep your finger moving through the flame so that no concentration of heat can be made in one single area on your skin. The process requires that the flame is held still and your finger is pushed through the flame allowing the flame to work its way down the side of your finger to the base knuckle and then back up again as in images58-59. It’s important to note that the flame is held to the side of your finger and not directly underneath it, this will allow the flame to reach up and away from your skin so that it isn’t concentrated on any single areas. When you try this, you will notice that the blue from the flame wraps around your finger thus protecting it from burning.

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As you can see from images58-59, the foremost knuckle from finger1 on the hand holding the lighter makes contact with the burning finger allowing for a steady guide up and down the finger. The edge of the lighter also touches the skin as the lighter is dragged back and forth.

I recommend that you use a lighter on high, as in a high flame as this will allow more gas to protect your skin. Pull the lighter back and forth twice, as in four lengths, back, forth, back and forth. It should take no more than 3 seconds for the lighter to travel one length – from the tip of the finger to the knuckle, although when practicing you may want to start off a lot faster than this. If you feel a burn, pull away quickly. The more you practice, the more you will get used to your limits. As a bonus to this effect you will be able to watch any hairs on the back of your finger singe away, this will confirm to your spectators that the flame is real and there is no protection on your finger. You will also notice that the outside edge of your finger does hold much harder skin than the inside, thus adding more protection from the burn.

BURN BURN 2 TO BE PERFORMED WITH FINGER ONE TO BE PERFORMED WITH EXTREME CARE

Now, performing Burn on your own finger may be as far as you want to take the effect, which agreeably is a powerful effect and a real magician fooler… The next performance explanation is not a suggested effect, but a tail of how I perform Burn, I would not recommend anybody try this 70% of this effect is the patter and presentation of performance and the effect does require more than one spectator. I offer the participating spectator an opportunity to figure out what is going to happen… There’s an age-old magic trick where the performer would light a match and ask the spectator to hold out their hand and close their eyes, the performer would then switch the matchstick for an ice cube and touch the performers hand with it. Due to the participants’ expectations, the ice would feel like a flame… they would feel heat when really it was ice cold. This concept amazed me so much that I studied the idea of being able to trick somebody’s mind with expectations and I developed my own approach to the concept… I ask the spectator to hold out their hand, as they do, I take them firmly by the wrist and ask them to straighten their fingers. Watch what I do… I light the lighter, then blow out the flame, I keep hold of the lighter as if it’s lit and slowly take it to the tip of their finger and slowly work it down the side of their finger. I make sure that I make contact with their finger with the lighter as if it were for real. I want you to imagine how this would feel right now if the lighter was actually lit, imagine that the flame is brushing against the side of your finger, the flame is immense and blistering and harming your skin, it itches, it hurts, it stings but you’re allowing it to happen. The spectator will simply listen and accepts what I say, however, a hypnotic effect may take place causing the participant to pull away, in which case all others will react as the participant claims to have actually felt the burns. This time, I’ll do exactly the same thing but I want you to keep you eyes closed. I promise you nothing else will happen other than what we’ve just done, but with your eyes closed and expectations raised, your mind may feel a little different. So take a few breaths, and close your eyes… The lighter is lit… You’ll hear the lighter lighting... You’ll hear me blow out the flame, but I want you to imagine that the flame is still lit. I then blow some air to the side of the lighter thus NOT extinguishing the flame; I then gesture to the spectators to keep quiet. You’ll now feel the lighter at the side of your finger; you may feel a little bit of heat but remember; it’s just in your mind… I slowly let go of the spectators’ wrist…

Keep your hand perfectly still and as long as you are aware that the flame is only in your mind you’ll be able to accept that it’s nothing more than imagination. After a few moments of burning, I ask the spectator to slowly open their eyes to see the flame on their finger. At this point the spectator will pull away in fear or remain in amazement at the sight of a cold burn.

BURN BURN 3 /

afterthoughts

TO BE PERFORMED WITH FINGER ONE TO BE PERFORMED WITH EXTREME CARE Once again, this is for information only and not a suggested performance… I often find myself in circumstances where I am asked many questions about what I do, as I’m sure you have too. To me, it’s these times that are as important, if not more important than the magic, for it is the performer who is bewildering and not always just the magic and an interesting and intriguing performer offers the magic so much life. I often use Burn to demonstrate – when asked – the powers of the mind, especially with regards to mind control, hypnosis and mindover-matter. I’ll begin by burning my own finger as I explain the theory of mind-over-matter, I’ll then explain that it’s not a unique skill and that anybody can do it and then perform burn on their finger as they watch in amazement. The connection between the performer and spectator is heightened and taken to a new level. Alternatively I’ll offer the spectator a chance to be hypnotised so that they can’t feel pain. On a separate afterthought; once you’re used to the flame reaching up and down the side of your finger you’ll be able to take the burn a little further. Once the flame has gone up and down the side of your finger a few times, slowly allow it to reach around the inside of your finger so that the flame appears to touch both fingers as in image60. As soon as the flame gets to the base of both fingers, pull the flame down and away from your hand as you stop the lighter, you’ll notice that the flame appears to get bigger just before it stops as in image61

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BURN

I hope that at least one of the included ideas stays with you or inspires a further idea for you. Writing Burn was a lot of fun for me and something I have wanted to do for a long time and I found a few more ideas throughout the writing process, some were also removed, so because they were simply color-changes but mainly those that relied on principals that were way too gimmicky or gaffed up to all hell… Some of these featured on the Burn trailer. I always like to offer self-made effects to reduce prices as I know as well as any performer that magic can be an expensive art and as always I did my research to find that a production line of the templates alone would have tripled the actual price of this document. As always, your thoughts and feedback are appreciated, feel free to get in touch with your own experiences with Burn or reviews on the effects. I offer you the best with your art, if it weren’t for you, magic would be dead Love, thanks and respect to … R Theory11 Randall Freeman NYC Plastix Chris Alexander Deryn Le Tyler Chase ingA  Jonathan Bayme Larry Jennings Lenart Green David Blaine  Jake Green Danny Garcia Wayne Houchin Greg Wilson Tim Trono Deryn Le Ed Marlo Daryl Jay Sankey For a full list of credits please visit

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