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Jul 11 2010

Secrets Revealed: Amaze your friends with magic on your iDevices

Any of you who know me, know I’m a closet magician. I’m pathetic at it actually, but the few times that I can pull a trick off and actually fool someone, it makes me feel awesome. Even the times I do an effect and the people pretend to be fooled can be pretty fun.

I’m going to show you a few ways to amaze and delight your friends with magic using a few apps but I’m also going to pull back the curtain a bit and show you quite a few professional effects used by real magicians.

Are you ready?¹

Abracadabra

by MacEnvy.com (iPhone, iPod touch)

Abracadabra² is the first of a series. It consists of a collection of instructional videos that are easy to learn and geared at the beginner level. Each trick includes a performance of the trick as well as step by step instructions by Angelo Oddo. The videos aren’t of the highest quality but the magic and the teaching are solid—better than I’ve seen on other apps of this type.

For US99¢ you’re getting a great deal with Abracadabra.

Magic Card

by Renditions Design (iPhone, iPod touch and iPad)

Though it’s a bit pricey in the iPhone App Store marketplace at US$2.99, I like Magic Card because the effects it allows you to perform are simple and take advantage of the particular device you’re using. You buy it once and get three versions of the same effect (find the chosen card) geared especially for each device. The iPhone version is the most amazing to me in that it allows you to take a photo of the face down chosen card and the iPhone will magically transform that photo to show the card face up revealing its secret identity.

Invisible Deck

by Ellusionist (iPhone, iPod touch, iPad)

The original, physical Invisible Deck is the trick I recommend to anyone getting into magic… now Ellusionist has taken that effect and made “an app for that”.

The effect is classic. The participant takes an imaginary, invisible deck of cards, shuffles them, takes the top card, looks at it³ , remembers the card and places it face up in the middle of the face down pack. The participant then puts the imaginary cards in their imaginary box and tosses it to you, the magician. You catch the cards in your iPhone—trapping them there. Does the participant remember the card? The participant names the card they chose. Magically, you show that the cards on the iDevice can still be moved with the touch of a finger. You hand the iDevice to the participant and invite them to drag the cards around…dealing them out to the edge of the screen. Then the participant comes to one card that is face down in the face up pack…the card won’t leave the screen. You tell the participant to double-tap the card…it flips over…it’s their chosen card.

The Invisible Deck app sells for US$2.99 from the iPhone App Store.

Crack the Government Conspiracy

from Scam School (iPhone… or any phone for that matter)

This is a great mentalism effect where you get the participant to choose a card and then you phone someone who then inexplicably tells them the card they chose. As host Brian Brushwood ( @shwood ) explains, your patter⁴ is that you have a friend who works at the FBI or you can pull out all the stops and just tell your friends you’re calling God. Whatever your explanation, you just need to come up with an entertaining reason why someone on the other end of the phone knows the card your participant chose freely.

The price on Crack the Government Conspiracy is free, just watch the video, check out the sponsors and use the coupon codes when you can.

Interested in magic?»

iKnow

by Jason Palter (any current iPod)

This one can use pretty much any iPod. It might be a bit clumsy on the iPad and, in fact, this might be the only effect on the list where a standard click-wheel iPod will be the best choice.

The effect is simple: the participant dials through the songs on your iPod and listens to a few—they’re all different…they put the iPod behind their back and they dial through the list up and down until they couldn’t know where they are on the playlist…they stop on one song and listen to it⁵ …when they’re ready, they stop the song…and “just from the reverberations on the song running inside their minds” you begin humming and then identify the exact song they were listening to.

This is not an app, it’s instructions and performance tips on DVD and iKnow will set you back about US$19

Digital Conviction

by Robert Smith (iPhone or any camera phone…in fact, it’s best if it isn’t even your phone!)

This is mind freaking, Criss Angel-caliber stuff. You have the participant choose a card at random. It’s lost in the deck. The joker from the deck is marked with the participant’s initials. You borrow a camera phone from the participant or an audience member and snap a picture of the initials on the joker. The joker is then magically transformed into the participant’s chosen card (cool) with their initials on it (very cool) and then after you give the participant a moment to let that sink in, you remind them of the photo you snapped. They check their phone, and the photo has now changed into that of the chosen card with their initials on it (freaking awesome). The photo of the joker is nowhere to be found.

Digital Conviction sells for about US$25 and is not an easy trick to pull off. It requires some skilled card manipulation and a lot of practice.

Performance by Chris Ballinger

Ghost Vision

by Andrew Mayne (another one that works with a borrowed camera phone…might as well be an iPhone though)

This is a creepy one that would be good for a Halloween party or if you’re with a group of friends at a historic site somewhere and want to freak them out. The effect is that with a borrowed camera phone, you take a picture that seems perfectly normal as you take it. But when viewed on the phone, the image shows a ghostly human shadow that wasn’t there before.

Ghost Vision sells for about US$15.

…if you have and perform Ghost Vision, you might also investigate Ghost Vision Reload (US$7)

iPhoneTrick.com

by Andrew Mayne (your victim’s iPhone)

As we all know, there can be few things more dangerous than a friend who thinks he knows the best way you should be using your technology. Mayne plays upon this fear by offering a bunch of ways for you to make it look like you’ve done unthinkable things to your friend’s iPhone right from iPhoneTrick.com. Here’s a video Andrew made to explain his pranks.

One of the tricks is really disturbing and is also right on iPhoneTrick.com. It’s called Spirit Photography and using your friend’s iPhone and some American money, you’re going to give them a haunting little scare. Check out this video for Andrew’s explanation…

iDeck

by Noel Qualter (…this one doesn’t need anything)

The previously mentioned iKnow is basically a card trick done with songs…iDeck is a song trick done with cards. An iPod-like deck of cards is produced with 52 songs printed on each card. A song is freely and secretly chosen and lost in the deck. You bring out a set of magnetic earbuds and hit the play button on the box of cards. Magically a song starts playing and, sure enough, it’s the card the participant chose.

Because it is a big deck of technology in and of itself, iDeck doesn’t come cheap…US$74.

Rap it up…

That’s my list. I warn you, magic takes practice. The more money you spend on an effect sometimes, the more time you need to spend on practicing it. So before you spend a bunch of money on any of these professional tricks, make sure you’re committed to practicing, performing and making them awesome. Magic is made to be performed in front of live people—not YouTube.

And if you do buy one of these effects and you find out the secret is something really “silly” and “stupid”—don’t give up. Remember, before you knew what the secret was, you though the effect was pretty darn cool…and so will your audiences.

What do you think? Are you impressed with the selection of magic that is out their for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad? Did I miss anything? Did I include anything you think is absolute crap? Leave me a comment and let’s discuss.

why does Criss Angel say this? If someone said “no,” would he wait? [↩]
though the app is called “Abracadabra” on its splash screen and in the videos, it’s listed as “Magic!” in the iPhone Apps Store. So just follow my link. [↩]
this is all imagined, you realize [↩]
magicians call the stuff they say to build up an effect and give it context “patter” [↩]
you can be out of the room for this [↩]

If you don’t already, you should subscribe to the Scam School podcast.Powered by Hackadelic Sliding Notes 1.6.5

By RickMacMerc • Featured, gadgets, ideas, iOS, iPad, iPhone, News • 2 • Tags: Auto, beginner level, brian brushwood, card, card face, click wheel, Conspiracy, Crack, criss angel, Deck, deck of cards, Ellusionist, face, face down, government conspiracy, iKnow, impactful, Invisible, invisible deck, iPad, iPhone, iphone apps, ipod touch, Magic, magic card, magicians, pack, participant names, patter, performance, phone, professional effects, revealed, Scam, secrets, secrets revealed, set, slider, someone, song, Store, us99, video check, Vision

Apr 27 2009

Adobe Photoshop Tip– Simple Transparent Desktop effect …without cheating

These shots are all over the internet right now: a person posts a digital photograph of their computer and the desktop picture displayed on the screen seems to mimic what is behind it so faithfully that it appears that the screen is actually transparent. There are several shots I’ve seen that are done so well that you’d swear that the photographer simply removed the LCD and top bezel of his PowerBook. But these people assure me that they have perfectly lined up these shots with no fakery…

finalshot Adobe Photoshop Tip Simple Transparent Desktop effect ...without cheating

and I believe them.. because I can do it and so can you.

Here’s how I did it.

Step 1: Setting the scene:

First I arranged my shot pretty much the way I wanted it composed for the final image. Below you’ll see an image of what I was going for:

setuptheshot Adobe Photoshop Tip Simple Transparent Desktop effect ...without cheating

You don’t need to take a picture of this step, I’m just illustrating the point.

I set the computer on the table along with all the tchotchkes that would later be visible on its desktop. I had my iPod docked behind my PowerBook, the lazy Susan with all my fine dining paraphernalia and my foofbag all set up. Then I mounted my camera on a sturdy tripod and framed up the shot in the LCD viewfinder. Once you start taking pictures for this effect, you cannot move the camera, the tripod or the lens (I moved my lens and as you see in the first pic, a few items don’t line up–learn from my mistakes).

After I got the shot framed up, I took the PowerBook out of the scene being careful not to move any of the other items on the table or the camera rig. Then I shot the first pic:

nocomputer Adobe Photoshop Tip Simple Transparent Desktop effect ...without cheating

Yeah, pretty lame, I know.

Step 2: Put the PowerBook in the Action

Next, I returned the PowerBook to its previous position on the table and prepared to take its picture using the exact same settings as the picture I took without it. Why didn’t I just snap a pic while it was there before? Because, just like the camera and the tripod, once the PowerBook is in place, it must not move–not even a little. Okay, next slide!

withcomputer Adobe Photoshop Tip Simple Transparent Desktop effect ...without cheating

Notice I connected the iPod dock connector cable to the PowerBook? I thought it would add a nice touch to the final image and, as long as I didn’t change the position of the cable where it passed behind the screen, it wouldn’t hurt the final product.

Step 3: Careful Maneuvering

In the next stage, I turned off the camera in order to safely access its memory card (you still cannot let the camera move at all) and insert it gently into the PC card adapter I have in my PowerBook (again, you cannot let the PowerBook move either). If you have the ability to do so and can stretch a cable from the camera to the Mac without moving either, you could connect your camera up directly ….I didn’t, but you could.

I opened the two shots I took in Photoshop (no, I’m not going to cheat). Focusing first on the “with PowerBook” shot, I went Select>All (Command-A) and then Edit>Copy (Command-C).

Then I switched my focus to the “without PowerBook” picture and went Edit>Paste (Command-V). Then I closed the “with PowerBook” shot …leaving it open would just tempt me to cheat.

layers Adobe Photoshop Tip Simple Transparent Desktop effect ...without cheating

I grabbed the Crop tool and, in the Options bar at the top of the screen, I set the Width and Height values to my screen dimensions as represented in pixels and a resolution of 72 pixels per inch. If you’re not sure of your screen dimensions, open the Displays control panel in the System Preferences and you’ll find it there.

Then I clicked and dragged the crop tool over the screen of my PowerBook in the picture.

croppart2 Adobe Photoshop Tip Simple Transparent Desktop effect ...without cheating

Once a preliminary crop area is on the canvas, Photoshop changes the Options bar a bit to give you other features. I clicked the Perspective setting to the “on” position.

With that setting in place I am able to drag the corners of the crop to the corners of my pictured PowerBook screen like so:

croppart4 Adobe Photoshop Tip Simple Transparent Desktop effect ...without cheating

Now when I hit the Return key, Photoshop is going to process the crop selection I have made an distort it into being an image the exact width, height and resolution of my screen — a perfect desktop image! Go ahead and hit Return and watch the magic happen…well actually there’s not much magic to watch, because, at best, you’re looking at a squared up view of your own PowerBook screen. You’ll need to delete the top layer to reveal the cropped and straightened “background.” Here’s what I got.

finisheddesktop Adobe Photoshop Tip Simple Transparent Desktop effect ...without cheating

Next, I saved this image I’d made to my desktop as a JPEG and quit Photoshop and opened the System Preferences to the Desktop & Screen Saver control panel and clicked the Desktop tab. I dragged the image I’d made from the desktop to the little preview window in the control panel and, voila!

desktopcp Adobe Photoshop Tip Simple Transparent Desktop effect ...without cheating

Step 4: The Final Shot

Then all I had to do was close all the windows on screen, eject the camera’s memory card from the PowerBook and place it in camera again. I powered up the camera and took the shot before I had any more opportunities to accidentally move something I shouldn’t.

Here’s that finished image again:

finalshot Adobe Photoshop Tip Simple Transparent Desktop effect ...without cheating

By admin • Articles, Graphics Tips • 1 • Tags: adobe photoshop tip, BestStuff, bezel, camera rig, card, computer, digital photograph, fakery, fine dining, ipod, lazy susan, lcd viewfinder, panel, paraphernalia, Photoshop, place, position, PowerBook, shot, sturdy tripod, t line, tchotchkes, thepicture, tool, viewfinder, Width

Apr 27 2009

Adobe Photoshop Tip– Simple Transparent Desktop effect …Extra Credit for Leo Listeners

Here’s another angle Mac users can throw into the effect: the Finder allows
you to set an image as the background for its windows. This gives us an opportunity
to make them transparent too.

So, in Step 3 of the tutorial, right you’ll want to set a few windows up on
screen and take a screenshot of the whole thing (Command-Shift-3) for you to
use as a guide later. Now this means that you cannot move these windows until
the shot is taken …though, you can always keep them in the dock until you’re
ready and keep them out of your way until then. So here are replacement Steps
3 and 4:

Step 3: Careful Maneuvering

In the next stage, I turned off the camera in order to safely
access its memory card (you still cannot let the camera move at all) and insert
it gently into the PC card adapter I have in my PowerBook (again, you cannot
let the PowerBook move either). If you have the ability to do so and can stretch
a cable from the camera to the Mac without moving either, you could connect
your camera up directly ….I didn’t, but you could.

Now, on my Mac, I set up a Finder window to which I will later
give the appearance of transparency. It is important to note that Finder windows
must be in "Icon Mode" for this to work. It is also important, not
to let the windows overlap–overlapping transparent windows are difficult to
read and use and even more difficult to explain how to make in a tutorial such
as this. Okay, so I took a screenshot (Command-Shift-3) and hid my Finder window
in the dock while I proceeded with the experiment.

I opened the two digital camera shots I took and the screenshot
in Photoshop (no, I’m not going to cheat). Focusing first on the “with PowerBook”
shot, I went Select>All (Command-A) and then Edit>Copy (Command-C).

Then I switched my focus to the “without PowerBook” picture and
went Edit>Paste (Command-V). Then I closed the “with PowerBook” shot …leaving
it open would just tempt me to cheat.

kfilayers Adobe Photoshop Tip Simple Transparent Desktop effect ...Extra Credit for Leo Listeners

I grabbed the Crop tool and, in the Options bar at the top of
the screen, I set the Width and Height values to my screen dimensions as represented
in pixels and a resolution of 72 pixels per inch. If you’re not sure of your
screen dimensions, open the Displays control panel in the System Preferences
and you’ll find it there.

Then I clicked and dragged the crop tool over the screen of my
PowerBook in the picture.

kficroppart2 Adobe Photoshop Tip Simple Transparent Desktop effect ...Extra Credit for Leo Listeners

Once a preliminary crop area is on the canvas, Photoshop changes
the Options bar a bit to give you other features. I clicked the Perspective
setting to the “on” position.

With that setting in place I am able to drag the corners of the crop to the
corners of my pictured PowerBook screen like so:

kficroppart4 Adobe Photoshop Tip Simple Transparent Desktop effect ...Extra Credit for Leo Listeners

Now when I hit the Return key, Photoshop is going to process the crop selection
I have made an distort it into being an image the exact width, height and resolution
of my screen — a perfect desktop image! Go ahead and hit Return and watch the
magic happen…well actually there’s not much magic to watch, because, at best,
you’re looking at a squared up view of your own PowerBook screen. You’ll need
to delete the top layer to reveal the cropped and straightened “background.”
Here’s what I got.

kfifinisheddesktop Adobe Photoshop Tip Simple Transparent Desktop effect ...Extra Credit for Leo Listeners

Next, I saved this image I’d made to my desktop as a JPEG. We’re not done with
this image yet.

Now here’s where this tutorial seriously deviates from the original: I went
to the screenshot I opened in Photoshop and Select>All (Command-A) and then
Edit>Copy (Command-C). Then I went to my newly cropped image and went Edit>Paste
(Command-V). It fits perfectly because I had already set my Crop tool specifications
to my screen dimensions. I could now close the original screenshot image.

kfifinderlayers Adobe Photoshop Tip Simple Transparent Desktop effect ...Extra Credit for Leo Listeners

Keeping the pasted screenshot visible, I selected the underlying Background
layer in my Layers palette (see above). I grabbed the Rectangular Selection
tool and carefully selected the actual window portion on my Finder window and
went Edit>Copy (Command-C). This copies a perfect, window shaped chunk of the
Background layer.

kfifinderwindow Adobe Photoshop Tip Simple Transparent Desktop effect ...Extra Credit for Leo Listeners

Then I went File>New… (Command-N) and Photoshop presented me with a dialog
box for a new document with all the right dimensions already entered in because
it correctly assumes that I will be using the data in the clipboard for this
new image. I clicked OK, the new image’s canvas popped up and I pasted (Command-V)
the copied chunk in it. Then I saved it to my desktop as a JPEG and closed that
image (Photoshop asked me if I wanted to save, but I declined).

kfifinderimage Adobe Photoshop Tip Simple Transparent Desktop effect ...Extra Credit for Leo Listeners

I was now confident that I was done my image preparation work and quit Photoshop.

I opened the System Preferences to the Desktop & Screen Saver control panel
and clicked the Desktop tab. I dragged the image I’d made from the desktop to
the little preview window in the control panel. My desktop was now the image
I made of the stuff behind my PowerBook.

kfidesktopcp Adobe Photoshop Tip Simple Transparent Desktop effect ...Extra Credit for Leo Listeners
kfiviewoptions Adobe Photoshop Tip Simple Transparent Desktop effect ...Extra Credit for Leo Listeners

I then went to the Finder window I was going to use and just clicked the brushed
metal frame without moving the window and went View>Show View Options (Command-J).
I clicked the radio button at the bottom marked "Picture" and clicked
the "Select…" button that appeared. I directed it to the JPEG I
made for the Finder window and closed the View Options menu and, voila!

kfidesktop Adobe Photoshop Tip Simple Transparent Desktop effect ...Extra Credit for Leo Listeners

Step 4: The Final Shot

Then all I had to do was close all the windows on screen, eject the camera’s
memory card from the PowerBook and place it in camera again. I powered up the
camera and took the shot before I had any more opportunities to accidentally
move something I shouldn’t.

Here’s the finished image:

kfifinalshot Adobe Photoshop Tip Simple Transparent Desktop effect ...Extra Credit for Leo Listeners

By admin • Articles • 1 • Tags: adobe photoshop tip, camera move, card, command c, Copy, digital camera shots, dock, extra credit, Finder, finder windows, mac users, memory card, Paste, Photoshop, PowerBook, shot, tool, transparent windows, Width

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