Friday, June 26, 2009

Street Magic: See a Card by David Blaine iPhone App













Press Release:

Magician David Blaine Teams up with Partners 1993 to Bring His Favorite Close-up Card Magic, See-A-Card, to Apple’s App Store

Now iPhone and iPod touch Users Can Amaze Everyone with Easily Downloaded App

The coolest new app for the Apple® iPhone™ and iPod touch lets users perform famed magician David Blaine ’s amazing card effect that astounds audiences everywhere, thanks to the skills of software engineering firm Partners 1993 .

The user-friendly app -- “Street Magic: See A Card” -- works on supported iPhones, including the new 3G S, and iPod touch devices, and allows users to become a magician, like Blaine, in boggling the minds of those who see the effect performed. The app became available for downloads at Apple’s iTunes app store for $1.99 on Friday, June 26, 2009.

“This is my favorite piece of magic; it was pivotal in gaining my first TV special. Now, for the first time, I am making it available to magic fans as a download from the Apple app store,” said Blaine, who continually strives to amaze audiences with magic and public feats of endurance that include levitation and remaining under water longer than any other human being.

“Turning the iPhone into a virtual deck of cards is no small feat,” he added. “This is one of the hardest card effects to get right, and Partners 1993 has really demonstrated its technical skills. This application makes every owner of a supported iPhone and iPod touch a magician.”

David Blaine’s software firm, Mindboggling LLC, chose Partners 1993 to develop Street Magic for the iPhone and iPod touch because of its track record of innovatively solving complex mobile-application problems.

“Partners 1993 is pleased to have collaborated with David Blaine in adapting the physical effect to one that works in the iPhone and iPod touch formats,” said Lew Roth, Partners 1993 vice president of business development. “We’re proud that we could apply our out-of-the-box thinking and implementation skills to Street Magic and deliver an app that allows any performer to duplicate what David Blaine does best – leave audiences of all ages amazed by what they have just seen.”

Roth said building Street Magic to replicate Blaine’s legerdemain presented many challenges, including:
Developing the full size, composite animated imagery and sequencing needed for the iPhone to be perceived as a three-dimensional full deck of cards.
Getting the iPhone 3-D deck to behave the same as the physical deck of cards when David Blaine performs the effect.
Getting the card seen by the viewer to be the same card that is revealed on the iPhone screen.

“Street Magic was one of the most fun yet challenging iPhone projects we’ve undertaken at Partners 1993. We were inspired by David Blaine’s initial vision and driven by the extraordinary responses that this card trick evokes,” said Roth.

For other iPhone effects go here!