Son of a Stunner (S.O.S.) is a fantastic download offered by Murphy’s Magic as part of the “The Vault” series and it only costs $9.95. S.O.S. is seven and a half minutes long and is performed and taught by Paul Harris and it is a real beauty.
The spectators see you write something down on a scrap of paper…perhaps it is a prediction?
Then, from the spectator’s point of view, they see the performer split a deck and shuffle it half face-up into half face-down. They see the performer do an “up the ladder” display of cards and see some cards face-up and some red-backed cards that are faced down. Then the performer randomly pulls a card or two off the top and inserts the cards one at a time into the deck. Some of the cards are face up and some are face down. The performer stops at a “random” face-down card. When that red-backed card is turned over, it happens to be the predicted card that is written on the scrap of paper. Bam! Then, the deck is fanned and all the card are now in the same direction!! Bam, Bamm!! Then (yes there is more) the entire deck is turned over and all the backs of all the other 51 cards are a different design and color!!! Bam, Bamm, Bammm!!!
The download starts off with Paul Harris discussing the trick and how much he enjoys it. You will enjoy it too. Then there is a performance of the trick with a camera angle focused only on the performer’s hands and the deck of cards from the spectator’s point of view. It is a tight shot on the card and you cannot see the performer’s face, until the end. You then see that the performer is Paul Harris as the camera pulls back and he smiles. The next segment is the “setup” with no spoken words, just music and subtitles. The explanation is excellent and the way the video was produced it is very easy to follow and learn. The trick is not difficult to learn or perform and requires just a tiny bit of practice and an extra something that does not come with the deck.
This is a great download that is absolutely and totally worth the price of admission.
I highly recommend S.O.S.!