French Postcards by Chris Philpott
Chris Philpott’s French Postcards is a wildly entertaining version of Paul Curry’s Out of this World.
“A brilliant Out of this World experience! When Chris did this for me I had one of those “*^%[email protected] why didn’t I think of that?” moments. Presentational gold!” -Steve Valentine
A study out of Cornell University recently made headlines: subjects could predict if a picture was going to appear on the left or right side of a computer screen but only when they used erotic pictures!
To test the theory, you show 12 postcards from various destinations and 12 French postcards (these are vintage nudes — elegant, sepia-toned, upper-body nudity). The cards are mixed; then, without looking, a spectator sorts them by sensing if a card has sexual energy or not. The results are perfect!
The effect includes 24 custom-made postcards, written instructions and links to video instructions, updates, extra effects and a bonus comedy script by professional comic and magician, Bruce Gold. Also includes Jon Armstrong’s “Out of this Blah Blah Blah,” the cleanest OOTW handling ever!
“Finally, a reason to do Out of this World, that holds attention from start to finish. With French Postcards, they’ll never forget you!”
-Steve Valentine
French Postcards Key Selling Points:
Paul Curry’s Out of this World (released in 1942) is justly revered as one of the greatest of all card tricks. The plot is clear and seems utterly impossible: a spectator uses intuition to separate the red cards from the black cards. It’s powerful, empowering and easy-to-do…
And yet, it is far from a perfect trick. What exactly does the audience see in performance? They see someone sort 52 pieces of paper into two piles. That’s not magic, it’s filing!
While there have been hundreds of methodological variations on OOTW, most don’t address the core problem of making it entertaining: how do you add emotional stakes to someone dealing out cards, trying to separate red from black?
By moving from playing cards, French Postcards accomplishes several important things:
– More entertaining. In “French Postcards”, the volunteer is not sensing if the card is red or black – he or she is sensing if it feels sexy or not. Instantly, this becomes more interesting, engaging and funnier. You don’t have to tell a single joke – the situation itself is funny (but if you want to tell jokes, the script by Bruce Gold is excellent).
– More real. Because the premise is based on a real study, it makes the effect more believable and relevant – this is an effect that can make spectator’s cry as well as laugh (you can see both in the trailer).
– Better visibility: the postcards are larger and can be seen better by your audience. The two types of cards are oriented two different ways (vertically and horizontally) and veer toward two different color-palettes (reddish versus blue-ish) to further increase visibility. The cards are visually more interesting than playing cards.
– More fooling. The size of the postcards seems to preclude sleight of hand, cutting off one possible explanation for how the trick is done.
And yet with all these advantages, French Postcards is no more difficult than the original effect.
QUOTES:
“Love these! What a fun, creative spin on a classic!”
– Charlie Frye
“Chris Philpott’s French Postcards is the best presentation of Out of this World I have ever seen, and the most “magic for the buck” I have ever purchased!”
– Bob Meigs
(Five Stars) “This is a wonderful update to the classic Paul Curry plot, Out of This World. I very highly recommend this product!”
– Dr. J. M. Ayala de Cedoz, My Lovely Assistant
“Great, great, great reimagining of Out of This World! I love this routine!”
– Andy Hofer
“With French Postcards, Chris tells a compelling story in just a few sentences. Once interest has been generated, he then puts the participant INTO the tale. This is a brilliant combination and, along with being a retelling of a classic, is why the effect garners such strong reactions.”
– Bill Cushman
“French Postcards has a great hook, a justification, a clever prop, and an intriguing involvement of the spectator.”
– Simon Aronson
“It looked to me just how the real thing it might look and that’s not something I see that often.”
– Sean Giles
“I’ve just used French Postcards at a gig tonight during that: “show us something different moment”. WOW what great reactions! Can’t thank you enough!”
– Graham Lowery
“They’re friggin fantastic! It takes an amazing effect with a boring premise, flips it, makes it interesting and can engage a lot more people. An incredible effect!”
– Mystery Arts Inc.
“What a practical and brilliant idea to elevate a great effect even higher.”
– Tom Jorgenson
“The best version of the best card effect ever!”
– Rob Maron
