U R B A N I LL U S I O N S

CONTENTS

FOREWORD by Fr anz Har ar y 3

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 4

INTRODUCTION 5

SEVEN BY HALF V2 .0 7

A multi- cut divided lady illusion r einvented & impr oved

FORTRESS 17

A new- age assistant’s r evenge

REVOLLUSION 30

A spectacular appear ance thr ough a giant industr ial fan

SLICING THROUGH 43

An innovative pr esentation thr ough br oken glass bottles

DEKOLTA’S DILEMMA 50

A super - fast Dekolta’s Chair that can be per for med anywher e

CRYSTAL METAMORPHOSIS 55

A tr anspar ent sub tr unk designed for speed

VIP TRUNK 65

A simple but effective appear ance of a VIP

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BENCHMARK 70

A new standar d in instant sur r ounded appear ances

6 INCHES 83

Passing thr ough a steel plate

WIND PASSAGE 99

Walking thr ough a giant industr ial fan

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FOREWORD

I fir st met J C Sum in Bangladesh in 2 0 0 5 and mor e r ecently was for tunate enough to wor k with him and
his team on a pr oject. Thr oughout this per iod we have maintained contact thr ough cor r espondence.

J C and his beautiful par tner and super b magician, Ning, make a for midable illusion team. They owe a gr eat deal of
their success to being equal par tner s on ever y aspect of their business and show. They both have str ong
per sonalities, ar e gr eat thinker s, ar e super b magicians and do amazing contempor ar y illusions that ar e simply
mind blowing.

They have been able to distinguish themselves in the competitive illusion field by pr esenting a number of or iginal
illusion designs that have r einvigor ated familiar plots. Simply sear ch out clips of “ Cr ystal Metamor phosis” and
“ Revollusion” . Watch these, be fooled, and then delve into this ter r ific book for descr iptions.

It is r ar e that illusionists will shar e the wealth of knowledge and insight that J C does in this book. For those who
wish to use illusions in their wor k this book is simply invaluable. As a designer of or iginal illusions for year s, I
under stand the pr ocess of br inging an illusion fr om an idea, to wor king concept to physical for m and finally to
per for mance on stage. It is a long, sometimes difficult, yet gr atifying jour ney.

“ Ur ban Illusions” is a much- needed collection of moder n illusions for today’s audiences and J C pr ovides an
essential new voice in the ar ea of illusion design. Study the designs, the thought behind the designs, the motivations
behind the pr esentations and add power ful pieces to your show r eper toir e.

Fr anz Har ar y
May 2 0 11

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Based in Singapor e, J C Sum is one of the top pr ofessional illusionists in Asia and is a wor ld- class designer of
or iginal illusions and mega illusions. As an inter national per for mer , J C has staged over 3 0 0 0 shows acr oss Asia
Pacific as well as in the Middle East, Fr ance and the US.

Along with his par tner , 'Magic Babe' Ning, they ar e acknowledged as " Singapor e' s celebr ity magic duo" (Channel
News Asia). The Str aits Times r egar ds them as “ Asia’s most famous illusionists” . Magicseen Magazine r ecognizes
them as " tr uly one of the wor ld's leading illusion acts" .

J C & Ning ar e well known for their innovative illusions such as telepor ting and vanishing people & car s over gr eat
distances as well as setting a wor ld magic r ecor d and successfully pr edicting the national 4D lotter y. Fr om 2 0 0 8 -
2 0 0 9, they star r ed in " Ultimate Magic" , Singapor e's fir st daily magic attr action that r an for 13 months. In 2 011, they
also star r ed in their own one- hour 3D TV magic special.

In 2 0 09 , J C was awar ded a Mer lin Awar d for " Most Or iginal Illusionist of the Year ” by the Inter national Magicians
Society. He is also a r ecipient of a ' Master of Magic' awar d fr om the Inter national Festival of Magic (Bangladesh)
and the winner of two Inter national Br other hood of Magicians (U.S.A) ' Linking Ring' magic awar ds.

J C is widely r egar ded as one of the most pr olific illusion designer s in the wor ld. He has designed over 75 or iginal
illusions for his shows and special events thr oughout Asia. He has wr itten 3 books on moder n illusion designs &
pr esentations for the magic community and the books have been sold in over 3 5 countr ies.

Besides magic, J C enjoys r eading, watching movies, playing pool, cooking and customizing “ Tr ansfor mer s” toys.

For mor e info, visit: www.jcsum.com

Read his blog at: www.backstagebusiness.wor dpr ess.com

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INTRODUCTION

Although I have wr itten 4 books on illusions since 2 0 0 4, “ Ur ban Illusions” (fir st published in J an 2 0 0 9) is
my fir st book that has been made widely available to the main magic community. Pr eviously, all my books wer e only
available dir ect fr om myself. However , thr ough the effor ts of Tim Tr ono, Patr ick Wolfor d and Kathy Car ini fr om
Mur phy Magic Supplies, this book is now available thr ough magic dealer s wor ldwide.

The pr ice has also been adjusted to be mor e accessible for illusion enthusiasts and magicians looking to add scale
to their show. Out of r espect for those who pur chased the or iginal book fr om me dir ectly at a higher pr ice, “ The
Impossible Telepor tation” mega illusion (5 0- stor ey Telepor tation) is not included in this edition of the book.

With the explosion of magic on TV, especially “ str eet magic” , the mainstr eam audience’s over all
expectation on magicians & illusionists has incr eased substantially. While some may ar gue that TV magicians have
cr eated unr ealistic expectations on magicians but these TV magicians have also pr opelled the ar t for war d in
mainstr eam pop cultur e consciousness. And, isn’t magic “ unr ealistic” to begin with? While I’ve designed a number
of illusions just for TV to take advantage of the medium, I per sonally do feel the major ity of an illusionist’s mater ial
should be per for mable for a live audience, even if it is a differ ent method, as long as the per ceived effect is close
to what is seen on TV.

“ Ur ban Illusions” is a collection of 10 pr ototyped or audience- tested stage illusions that can be per for med
live and would be consider ed fr esh and contempor ar y for the new gener ation. The designs in this book ar e
r eflective of global enter tainments tr ends that in tur n influence the cur r ent evolution of magic. Illusionists do need
to update themselves with not just illusion methods and techniques but also moder n design, building methods and
mater ials. The thinking behind the pr esentations of illusions and image must change to r emain r elevant and on the
cutting edge.

This book is not for the beginner illusionist. Due to the natur e of the illusions and building complexity for sever al of
them, I have to assume the r eader is fair ly familiar with standar d illusion as well as utilities such as a “ Deceptive
Base” . I also assume you have basic under standing of illusion building and assembly or have a builder who can
assist in that technical ar ea.

A lot of the pr ops ar e built fr om wood, aluminum, stainless steel and acr ylic (plexi- glass). This means you will have
to have a full wor kshop to build some of these illusions. Alter natively, do what I do and sour ce for vendor s who can
fabr icate differ ent par ts and assemble the illusion your self. Honestly, this is what I consider the most cost
effective and pr oductive way to build an illusion but you will r equir e car eful planning, detailed plans & instr uctions.

Her e ar e some gener al building guidelines:

 Wher e possible, instead of ¼” or 3/ 8 ” ply wood, I tend to use 13 mm honeycomb alumnium. The advantage
is that it is ligther than wood, does not war p, absor b moistur e, is water pr oof and has a longer lifespan.
The disadvantage is that it is much mor e expensive, can dent and all edges must be filed, sanded and
capped with aluminum C- channel for safety as the edges can be ver y shar p.

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 I use 2 .5mm thick aluminum or stainless steel sheet for the bottom of bases. This keeps the base
lightweight, yet str ong and allows for “ give” when loaded.
 I use at least ½” diamenter bolts wher e possible. While this does add weight to the pr op, it secur es the
pr op together much better and looks nicer .

Pr acticality is kind of a hallmar k of my illusion designs. The illusions detailed ar e not for the solo per for mer but
also do not r equir e a lar ge illusion cr ew. Most illusions can be per for med with just your assistant and you. For the
bigger illusions, you will r equir e one or two mor e stage hands depending on how you want to pr esent it.

Besides lear ning the techniques and methodologies of illusions, I think it is essential to know who ar e the
tr ailblazing illusionists in the wor ld and to study their wor k and contr ibutions to the illusion landscape, past,
pr esent and futur e. With the Inter net now, ther e is no excuse for a lack of r efer ence mater ial.

At the top of the list has to be David Copper field for making illusions look so good for the last 30+ year s. He is the
single biggest influence for a lot of illusionists per for ming today, myself included. His body of wor k is second to
none and he has given us the most beautifully cr afted illusion pr esentations in the histor y of magic. As of this
wr iting, Cr iss Angel is the cur r ent face of magic with his MindFr eak TV show, “ Believe” stage show in Las Vegas and
wor ldwide following. He took advantage of the r evolution that David Blaine cr eated with his “ Str eet Magic” TV
specials and has used multiple mediums to push his illusions (or “ demonstr ations” as he calls them) and br and.

The highly r espected older guar d has their legacies fir mly intact. The late- Doug Henning, Mar k Wilson, Har r y
Blackstone J r , Siegfr ied & Roy, The Pendr agons and Lance Bur ton have all shaped the cur r ent look of contempor ar y
illusions. The cur r ent cr op of established pr ofessionals who have helped keep illusions advancing and r elevant in
mainstr eam enter tainment include Luis de Matos, Ayala, Hans Klok, Mur r ay Hatfield, Ed Alonzo, Nathan Bur ton, J an
Roven, Dani Lar y, Gr eg Fr ewin, Br ett Daniels, Kevin James, Peter Mar vey, Rick Thomas, Anthony Reed, Fr anz Har ar y
and Mar k Kalin & J inger among other s.

They have paved the way for the new gener ation of illusionists such as David Davinci, Michael Gr asso, Dan Sper r is,
Yunke, Ryan J oyce, Sam Power s, Reza and J ason Bishop to name a few. Oh, ‘Magic Babe’ Ning and some guy have
done some cool things too!

As with any book, differ ent illusions will appeal to differ ent people, but I hope the effects, pr inciples and
methods used in my “ ur ban illusions” will inspir e you to develop stage effects for the new gener ation!

This body of wor k would not have been possible without the inspir ation pr ovided by the following individuals; David
Copper field, J im Steinmeyer , Paul Osbor ne, Rand Woodbur y, Bill Smith, J ohn Gaughan, Fr anz Har ar y, Andr ew Mayne,
Alan Wakeling, Andr e Kole, Geor ge Kimer y, Dar win Or tiz and Max Maven. They have all inspir ed and educated me
thr ough their thinking, wr iting, per for mance and cr aftsmanship. For that, I am gr eatly indebted to each and ever y
one of them.

Finally, thanks, of cour se, to Ning for being the per fect par tner . One r eason our illusions look good when we
per for m them is because she is the one pr esenting them with me.

J C Sum
May 2 0 11

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SEVEN BY HALF V2 .0
A divided lady illusion r einvented & impr oved

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Effect:

A gir l enter s a ver tical tr apezium- shaped cabinet whose position is depicted by a gr aphic on the fr ont of
the cabinet. Six lar ge stainless steel guillotine- shaped blades (examinable) ar e inser ted into the cabinet fr om fr ont
thr ough the back, dividing the cabinet into seven sections. Each section is too small for the gir l to hide and the
blades r un the entir e width of the cabinet.

To top it off, the entir e top half of the cabinet is titled 9 0 degr ees to its side, effectively dividing the cabinet into
half. The cabinet is r estor ed and the blades ar e r emoved. The door s ar e opened to r eveal the gir l unhar med!

Intr oduction:

In 2 0 05 , I designed the fir st ver sion of 'Seven by Half’ that was my or iginal design for a 'blade & box'
illusion. The illusion was designed for the wor king per for mer . It was self- contained, lightweight, packed small,
played big and could be per for med completely sur r ounded. J ack Mur r ay (Dr eam Illusions) built the fir st pr op and
he did an excellent job in fabr icating the illusion and applying his building exper tise to the pr oject.

The swor d/ blade box is a time- tested plot that is str ong, audience- tested and r elatively angle- pr oof. The only
' pr oblem' if you can call it that, with the pr esentation is that ther e is no kick or specific climax to the illusion. You
simply put in the swor ds and then take them out all over again.

That is why good pr esentations of illusions like Har bin ' Zig Zag Gir l' and its evolved cousin, Gunther Punchinger 's
' Mini Kub Zag', ar e much mor e popular and gener ally better r eceived by audiences than a standar d swor d/ blade
box or ' Geometr ick- style illusion. Ther e is a definite 'punch- line' to the illusion; after the blades ar e in and the pr op
is ' zagged' . This gives clear indication to the audience to applaud.

My motivation for cr eating 'Seven by Half' was to cr eate a new look and over all illusion pr esentation for an existing
plot. The whole idea was NOT to mer ely tr ansplant an illusion method/ look to another box. I designed 'Seven by
Half' as an equal alter native for illusionists looking for a ' new' pr actical illusion and an enhancement to a blade box
illusion. I also wanted the method to be fr esh. While the contr ibuting methods for hiding the gir l cannot be called
new by any extent of the imagination, the or iginal design of the pr op along with other elements eliminate the
per ception of any conventional hiding place for the gir l.

The effectiveness behind the deception of 'Seven by Half' is due to the simplicity of the effect and pr op design. It is
ver y str aightfor war d in ter ms of the look of the pr op - a cabinet with six slots to r eceive 6 blades that can be split
into half. To the audience, the inser tion of the blades is alr eady a fooler . The dividing of the cabinet by flipping it on
its side is a definite kicker / applause moment in the per for mance of the illusion.

The pr op design is specific and intended. For example, the suppor t ar m is both functional and aesthetic. It star ts off
as a shelf/ holder for the 6 blades and then later ser ves as the suppor t for the upper half of the cabinet when it is
flipped over . The cur ved design of the suppor t ar m with cir cle cutouts and cir cle on the exter ior graphics ar e
juxtaposed with the str aight edges of the cabinet and blades to cr eate visual contr ast. It gives textur e to the pr op
design and an inter esting look without making it look too ' boxy'.

The V2.0 of this illusion featur es a br and new design so it looks much mor e stylish and moder n. Many have noted
that the pr op r eminds them of J im Steinmeyer ’s Moder n Ar t. This was not intended but I can see the r esemblance
because of the fr ont gr aphic on the cabinet.

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Method & Requir ements:

The pr op must be custom built and Fig 1 shows the Fr ont View of the finished pr op with blades in place.

FIG 1

FRONT VIEW – Over view of Pr op

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