Frist I like to thank you for your support of the Will Tsai Fusion. One of themajor reason that I named the effect after myself is not just because I amprofound of this particular piece, I also love the abbreviation of it! Many of the layaudience who have witness this effect in the past just naturally screamed out theabbreviation name of the effect without knowing it. I've always thought that's apretty cool name... Aside from the history of the name, this e-struction system is acombination of video and written instruction form. For a long time, I found myselfstruggling with DVD playback in terms of learning to construct a gimmick withprecision. Angles, position, and handling are just too hard to analyze witheverything that's moving in the screen. This system is made with blown up hightquality photos on the construction of the gimmick and video instruction onlearning the handling and moves. Hope you'll have an exciting journey of perhapssomething new that you have not thought of :) .

Best wishes to my new friend,

Will Tsai

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This section contains a brief explaination of the concept behind this effect. Again,it is formed with two major part of machanic - Visual change and deck display.

A. Deck Display

To logically explain what's happenning, let's start from the deck display.Throughout the history of Rough & Smooth spray (R&S), gamblers and magiciansuse R&S to secretly, or perhaps I should say openly, conceal a card from withinthe deck and produce this specific card as needed. A very popular and clever useof this idea among magicians would be the Invisible Deck. Cards are allconcealed in a specific order, thus won't be seen while displaying the cards withspread, and the performer is able to produce any one concealed card from withinthe deck. My approach to the use of R&S, is to be able to display both thetraditional 'display 26 cards' and 'concealed 26 cards' with no apparent movement;simply by applying pressure on slightly different portion of the deck whilespreading the cards. This way, both sets of the card (eg. Set A - Blue, Set B -Red) can be displayed by a simple spreading. Spready can be broken to show fullcards on both sides because while displaying the face of cards from set A, youare actually displaying the back of the cards from Set B, and reverse the otherway too. This allows the illusion of two time change to be created, whileeverything is cleanly shown under extremely fair condition!

B. Visual Change

The change change is used in combination of the deck display change tostrenghen the moment that the magic happen. While it's not a must, and I'llexplain quite a few alternative ways to the change (there are effects which doesn'tinvolve with this visual change explained in this version), there are some veryinteresting biological and psychological principles involved in the working of myapproach to the illusion, which can also be found in my book 'Handbook of Visual& Psycho Perception'. If you read Japanese, I personally think it's a must read andvery interesting book which contains no trick but all human physical facts whichcorrelate with human biological and psychological perception. Of course the visualchange can be achieved by your favorite sleight of hand, this change is just mypersonal vision of how this effect looks like in my mind. Interestingly, although thisvisual effect is gimmicked (modified flap card), it is not any easier than sleight ofhand to execute it. It's a gimmick that involves dedication and practice!! Again,this is just my personal preference and it is included for the sake of completenessin sharing my effect. Please feel free to adapt and modify the effect in anywaythat you prefer.

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This section contains a quick material list of what you will need to construct theeffect. There are basically two parts to make the effect happen.

A. Deck Change

1. Rough & Smooth spray

2. One normal deck of card x1

3. One straight deck (one way forcing deck) x1

4. Card size (width-wise) envelope(s) (1 would work, but recommend 5)

B. Visual Change

5. Dental dam ( Rubber glove would work but dental dam recommended)

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This section contains a detail construction of the deck.

Quick overview:

Cards are frist sapareted into two sets (Set A-before change, Set B-afterchange). Two sets are sprayed in specific portions of the card, the prayed areawould form a Z shape if you look from the side of the card as illustrated.

Fig 1. Stop portion on card back

Fig 2. Turn the very same card up side down (vertical direction), spray in thesame position. The spray area should be on the reverse end on front and back.

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Fig 3. Sprayed cards stack in alternative order, with Set 1 (red) in one orientation,Set 2 (blue) in opposite orientation.

What you will need first, is half a normal deck and half a straight deck to form acomplete 52 card deck. However, in the major routiine that allows you to endclean, you'll only need 13 cards from each deck. It's up to you to do a completedeck for the sake of practice and play with the other routines included.

Step1. Cut the envelope

See figure. Cards will be sprayed in a 'almost ' half and half manner. The envelopewill be used as a shell for the unwanted area to be sprayed. Note:You will need toleave a small space between the sprayed area and the centre of the card. Thus,you need the cutted envelope to be slightly longer. Also, keep the spray at least30cm above the card and don't over spray it. Over sprayed cards will be VERYSMOOTH!

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Step 2. Spray the card

First spray the top portion of the card. Instert the card into envelope and spray.See figure.

This is where the spray should have covered on the card. See figure.

Step 3. Praying the back of the card

Turn over the card upside down, and spray in the same position as you did. So theprevious spray area is down on the bottom portion.

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This is where the spray should have covered on the card. See figure.

Step 4. Stacking and Testing the sprayed cards

For testing purpose, you can just spray two blue and two red cards, wait till theyare dried to see if you have done the right job. Since it could be tricky to learnhow to spray properly when you first start using the R&S spray. It's always a goodidea to do the 'testing' before you spray on all cards and found you might did itimproperly.

To stack the sprayed cards and run a trial test, see figure

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To run a trial test, have just a few cards stacked like above figure(such as fourcards below).

To test out the first set of color display, rest your thumb slightly above the centerof the card (top sprayed portion, portion A in previous figure), simply do a pushspread to see result.

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To test out the second set of color display, rest your thumb slightly below thecenter of the card (lower sprayed portion, portion B in previous figure), simply doa push spread to see result.

Note: The reason you are displaying three cards on the first trial, two cards on thesecond trial, is because you are concealing while displaying one of the two sets ata time. If you use a blank card on top, it should make a lot more sense.

Step 5. Continue untill all cards are sprayed

Continue spraying all cards untill you finish spraying the number of cards youneed.

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Tips on fastening the praying process...

Over the years I've applied and explored this principle in many of the visual cardeffects/plots. It only takes 10 minutes to spray each deck once you know what youare doing. The quickest way that I found is to cut a few more envelopes and spraya few cards at a time.Usually 5 to 8 cards. This would speed up the processtremendously. However, keep in mind that it takes a good 30 seconds to a minutefor the spray to dry. If you start stacking while the spray is still wet, the deckwon't be able to work properly.

Step 6. Stacking the cards

Refer back to the figure in Step 4 . First thing you need to have, is all prayedcards in the same orientation, blue and red separated. With both sets positioned inthe same orientation one next to the other. Turn one of the pile 180 degreeclockwise. And stack the cards one by one in an alternative order untill you finish.

Step 7. Final Check

Since it's hard to tell where the rough area by seeing with bare eyes, it'ssometimes very easy to mixed up the orientation and cause the deck to workimproperly. A desk light makes it a lot easier for a final check. If the orientation ismixed, the deck won't work properly. In addition, the deck won't work at this pointif you want to check the orientation by spreading the cards. Due to theconstruction of the deck, there are a few tricks and tips you need to learn tooperate the deck smoothly. Please see the 'Handling' section.

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This section contains detail instruction on constructing the visual change gimmick.

Quick overview:

The gimmick involves an elastic flap card made with dental dam or rubber glove (Dental damrecommended). This gimmick has been around for a long time and only became popular inthe recent 10 years. Quite a few marketed products uses elastic flap card in slightly differentway. However, a friend recently introduced me to Henry Evans's Modern Time effect, and Ifound the g immick works perfect for the WTF. If I have found the product 6 years ago, it'dsaved me a lot of time to construct my own. If you are a lazy builder, strongly recommendthat you just go and purchase the above effect. Not only you will receive a gimmick that'sperfect for this effect for just a few dollars more, there are extra gimmick which allows othervery cool effects to happen.

Fig. Elastic Flap Card - Once the gimmick is activated, the flap flips over when let go due tothe tension of elastic material such as dental dam or rubber skin.

Here's what you will need (if the card is changing from blue to red)

Red Card x1 , Blue Cards x 2, Any Card x 1 (In this case, it is a red Guarantee card below)

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Step 1. Quick go over on what you need

You need to peel off the back design layer of one blue card and one red card, chop the 'anycard' in EXACTLY half, and chop the dental dam in half vertically. The photo below shows theratio of the dental dam that I use in comparison to a playing card (2/3 : 1). I assume thepurchaser of this effect have a basic understanding of producing card gimmick. However ifyou need more information, check the last section of this page for tips and method.

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Step 2. Trimming the skin

In a moment you will need a skin later that matches exactly to one of the 'any card' piece. Itshouldn't matter which piece you use, since both should be exactly the same size. At thispoint, just precisely eyeballing the skin with the piece and trim the skin.

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As the result, you should have a skin piece that matches the card piece like below.

Step 3. Gluing the cards

Glue the 'any card' pieces to a red skin. In this case, I'll stick with magician's best friend,rubber cement. In the photo below, the two red pieces are the back sides of the 'any card'pieces, and the white card is the front side of the red back skin layer. The sides shown arethe sides rubber cement should be applied on.

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First piece glued

Second piece glued

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Step 4. Sharpening the edge

Now carefully fold the piece like such, creating a sharp edge on the junction of the two gluedpieces.

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Shown below - This will become the 'after changed' card. The more precisely handle thebetter.

Side View

Step 5. Gluing dental dam

Glue the dental dam in the approximate position shown below, on top portion only.

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Side View

Step 5. Attaching skin piece

Now that the dental dam is in position, attach the skin piece that we prepared in the firststep to the portion where we glued the dental dam like below.

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Side View

Step 6. Flattening the elastic pieces

Press the card down flat and attach the lower part of the dental dam. Again, it's only thelower parts need to be attached so it doesn't hurt the elastic nature of such material. From

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what you see extruding from the previously attached portion, I glued only about 1/3 at thevery end.

Step7. Attaching it onto the last piece

Take out the last blue card that's left, and attached the gimmick you have been working ononto the blue card with areas shown below. It should look as if it's a complete blue cardwhen you activate the gimmick, and a complete red card when you release it.

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Activate status shown

Notice that after the gimmick is constructed, some have concern about 'flashing' the gimmicksince there's an extra half size piece on top of a full size card. However, keep in mind thatwhen you hold the deck in your hand during the performance, the audience is looking downat an angle. If you look at the card at an 30 to 45 degree angle, it's a perfect optical illusionwhich they can't see. Also, when you spread the card and ask have your audience select acard, your thumb will run on top of the gimmick to give you the cover needed.

Final Product

The final gimmick card would naturally want to snap back from it's activate position due tothe elastic material inside of the card.

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Tips & Methods - Cutting the dental dam

See figure. Various size can be found over the Internet. I personally pick mine up at localdental supplies. If what you have around you is too big in size, trim the dental dam/rubberskin down to the proper size. Cutting dental dam/condom/balloon/and rubber product is verytricky. The easiest way that I found is to put such material into an envelope. This way, thefriction inside the envelope would catch the rubber and makes the cutting procedure moresmoothly. In such case, cutting with a very sharp cutter also helps. I personally found scissordoesn't work well in such job.

Tips & Methods - Peeling card skin

Peeling card skin can be tricky. If you have no previous experience, it could take a while tomaster it. There are quite a few marketed product that teaches you how to do this efficiently.If you are interested in constructing your own effects and gimmicks, definitely check thoseout. However, I'll briefly go over the HOWs.

Each card is formed with three layers, front design, center layer, and back design. What youneed is only the back layer in this effect. First warm the card up by putting a ruler ( oranything with firm edge) on top of the card against a flap surface, pull the card 90 degree upto destroy the 'stiff-ness' of the card. Very much like preparing manipulation card. Do this onthe other side to. This would soften the cards a bit and make the following procedure easier.

Take one of the corner and knock against hard surface. After a few knocks you should see thecard layers start to split. Take the desired layer using only your thub nail, and firmly peel upjust the corner like below. Don't try to peel too much at this point, you have a very goodchance of braking it.

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Turn over the card, pushing the skin layer against the flat surface, and peel on the stifferlayer (remaining double layer). This should make it a lot easier to peel the layer off withoutruining the card. It may take you a few trials to get it work the first time.

Final Thought

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After all the hard work just reading the instruction to construct the gimmick... HenryEvan's Modern Time seem to be a good idea now ...

I am a very enthusiastic person on designing and hand-making my own effects. I've handmade gimmick in this nature so often over the years, it only takes me 10 minutes max tohand make one. However, if you are making it for the first time and would have to shoparound for materials needed, Henry Evan's Modern Time gimmick does seem like abargain. It's precisely made and also come with other fancy gimmick that you may like andconsider. :) My best wishes on your journey of experimenting new card crafting techniques.

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This section contains the core presentation that I personally use in theWTF routine. Feel free to use the concept and develope your own. I'dbe more than happy to hear ideas from you :) My buddy Gerard andPaul Harris also have a few incredible approaches to the handling of thiseffect. They are all incredible stuff from two of the greatest minds inmagic. Enjoy!

Best wishes,

Will Tsai

Note: I assume that you have already watched the basic handling ofthis effect, and know exactly what's going to happen in the procedure ofthe trick. Therefore, this section will not contain basic handling andmoves, but presentation, different approaches, and handling procedures.

Core Presentation - Eye of Perception, Will Tsai

"Many would wonder about how magicians do what they do? We createillusions. As the matter of fact, everything that we do happens only inyour mind. It's all about perception and it's very hard to explain, let medemonstrate what I meant to you. [display the cards and do theselection] Many magicians that I know are good with sleight of hands.They are able to control cards using only their fingertips. I am not thatgood, so over the years I've learnt an easier way for myself to do this.Look directly into my eyes... Done. First I'd try to influence your sense ofcolor...[direct their attention to the deck, do the color change, slowlydisplay front and backand, enjoy the reaction, and go on with the routine], now just think of your card... [display all different cards by spreadingthe cards vertically upon chest level, close the spread and...] If youconcentrate hard enough... you'll start to see your cards everywhere...[display all 'straight' cards]"

Note: In this presentation, I normally use a full deck, and use my ForthDimension [a jacket-less topit system. No, you do not have to, andplease don't tuck your shirt into your trouser..] to clean up the trick, as Ilater patters about what they saw was just an illusion, and there wasnever a deck in my hand. However, my buddy Paul has kindly providedan incredible solution that allows the routine to be ended clean inspectator's hand. If you are not a topit person, you'll love this! As thematter of fact, I am a topit-addicted myself and I still love and use thismethod a lot!

Handling of Magic in Hand approach that Ends Clean, Paul Harris

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Paul has a very interesting idea which allows the effect to happen inspectator's hand. This handling involves less than half a deck (26)sprayed cards in total (half of each color). The other half deck is simplystraight forcing cards (all the same). The idea is to hand the spectatorthe straight pile from the begining, perform the effect visually with thehalf deck in your hand, tab the spectator's closely guarded hands and tomake the magic happen in their hand. It is psychologically routined, sothat the visual-ness of this effect is 'educated' to the spectator, causingthe magic in their hand to happen in their mind! The best part about thisis, this gap of attention is created so strong, that while the attention isshifted to the cards in spectator's hand, the performer can literately stepback, stick the gimmicked card and take out the other half straight pile.It's not even a switch, but a simple put and take movement that no onesees. I've personally performed with this approach surrounded, not onlythe end result is incredibly clean to the audience, the psychology built inthis approach, from visual convincer to the transition of sensationalaspect of skin touch and the perception the audience receives, reallygive different layers to the effect and it ROCKS!

Here's the breakdown

Tape the bottom of the last card of the top sprayed pile like below,making a long card.

The end result should look like this, from top, color change gaff (ifneeded), sprayed cards, long card, and straight cards.

First vertically spread and run through the top half of the deck (sprayedcards) to show every card is indeed different. Cut above the long cardand ask the spectator to hold onto the pile that's left in your left hand.At this point, the long card should be the only one that's blue color andall cards below are all red. You are simply casually displaying the bluewhile asking the spectator to hold out his hand. In a moment you'll needthe spectator's hands to be in a sandwich position. The easiest way todo this without having to adjust their hand is to show them with yourgesture while asking them to hold out their hand. They'll naturally mockyour hand guesture. Steal the long card away by adding it to the bottomwith your right hand gaff pile and put the straight pile with the red backdirectly against the palm of the hand that's on top position. Lower hishand along with the deck down to complete the sandwich. This way, thespectator won't be able to see the color of the pile that he's holding,making the final phase of the effect seem miraculous since there's noapparent way you can do any dirty work while he firmly believes thathe's holding the blue cards.

Easy and Logical Switch, Gerard

The approach from Gerard involves a very logical and casual full deck

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switch in the end of the routine. I've always love the way Gerard thinksand approaches magic. Simple and elegant. The idea is to pull the WTFdeck out of an unmatched color case (eg: blue deck out of red case).Point out that the colors are unmatched just as if you did not know it.This makes the deck's return to the case after the color changed verylogical, allowing a casual switch with the deck in the case during an offbeat moment. Switching a deck inside a case naturally makes the wholemovement very slick and unnoticeable. I personally prefer a comedyapproach using this method. An one liner or a little joke would workperfect to create the 'moment' for the switch. In addition, I've also donethe routine reversely in this particular approach. I first have the cardselected, show the audience that every card is different, turn all cardsinto their card, then do the color change! It comes logical to me to pickup the case for the comparison purpose right after the color change.

Extra Effects - Other effects that I have explored and worked outcomplete routines...

1. Instant Triumph

This effect does not need a color changing gaff. As the matter of fact,this effect does not need the color change portion of the trick at all. It'sjust a simple spread, close, and re-spread. However, you will needdouble facers to accomplish this effect. If you make the gaff with allregular cards, it will only be magically turning all cards face up and facedown except the first card!

2. Back in Time

This idea was first arose from a casual phone conversation with PaulHarris. It was first very exciting to explore my favorite plot in magic -back in time. However, after I worked out a few models, I found it wasimpossible to avoid the 'tiny edge' problem(if you make the deck withBEE, you'll know what I meant). The color differenciation was too big,it'd work but it's hard to perfect and guarantee its perfect working everysingle time. UNTIL that I found the easiest solution to it... The reasonthat I had the edge problem, is that I special treated the full card so itlooks old and ancient. But to the audience, it is equally effective if yousimply treat the 'color back' (eg. the color pattern of card back, edge notincluded). You have to try it to see how well the presentation plays tolay audience. But again I have to pre-warn you, it's a lot of work tomake this deck, and you might not get it on your first try!

Paul and myself both agreed that this plot is extremely interesting, but Idecided to do color changing effect in the demo, not only because thecolor shows up better from the camera shot in the demo, a majorportion of my work is presented around human perception too. Thoughtif I am putting my name on the product, I should share the presentation

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that I personally perform with and hopefully allow my work to tell a littlebit about myself.

3. Visual Mental Photography

For the folks who work with Mental Photography knows this is a killereffect. While I really like it as it is, I think the WTF approach would allowthe deck to look more innocent as you are not turning the deck anddribbling from different direction. All the turning and dribbling looks too'pro' in opinion, the WTF approach just looks more 'lay man'handling-wise to me.

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