'Brain Candy' - Geoff Williams and Scott Franz

[Joe Mckay]

A few years ago Geoff Williams and Scott Franz released a magic DVD of unusual magic called 'Brain Candy'.

I don't think it was ever sold. Instead it was spread among friends with the request they share it by making copies for their buddies.

It is a series of impossible magic tricks that are "done in a single take with no cuts, edits or trick photography". The methods are (apparently) wildly impractical. But they do make for astonishing effects and it is a fun challenge trying to figure out the methods since no trick photography is involved.

I stumbled across the videos on YouTube and thought others might enjoy seeing them as well. They are great fun.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7mDJ2ys78g (A super clean 'Matrix' effect)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGd2aFgsFkU (A toy horse vanishes)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAlPZ3PxvD4 (A signed card through car window)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bUWm-zsUfE (An impossible 'Hanging Coins' effect)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcC_Lpmm7ms (A self levitation)

This sort of thing reminds me of a classic bit that Penn & Teller did years ago:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D87DSLe4Eqw

Their latest show has a trick involving a toy cow and a video camera that covers similar themes as well. Also - if you are interested in impossible tricks that can only be done on TV - Kevin James has a nice effect in the August 2013 issue of MAGIC magazine.

Lastly - the master of this kind of "TV magic" is Richard Wiseman. He has a ton of videos on his YouTube channel where he pulls off impossible effects and then explains the odd methods behind the tricks. I cannot imagine anybody in the world being as good as Richard in this area since his thinking is so ingenious.

https://www.youtube.com/user/Quirkology/videos

[Evan Shuster]

I received a copy of Brain Candy several years ago as part of my subscription to Channel One. Really funny, clever material. It inspired me to seek out all things Geoff Williams.