Working notes for two phone screen forces. This page is unlisted: it is not linked from anywhere on the site.
Lucky Word
The effect: I show a post on my phone that loops random words like a video, with the caption “take a screenshot and one of these words will be your lucky word for the day. It will tell you something about what you need to do.” The spectator takes a photo of my screen with their own phone. Whatever word their photo caught, I reveal a picture of it.
The method: on my phone, a lookalike post (Instagrim) shows the same random words. One secret tap switches the loop to a stack of synonyms for one thing: dog, puppy, pup, hound, pooch, mutt, canine, doggo. The eye still sees different words every frame, so there is nothing constant to lock onto, but every photo of the screen lands on the force. If a slow camera exposure blends two frames, both are synonyms, so the photo still lands on the force. The reveal is a picture instead of the word, so it matches whichever synonym their photo caught.
Word banks
- Animals: force Dog, Cat or Horse. Random words: Lion, Penguin, Owl, Shark, Koala and more.
- Sci-fi: force Alien or Robot. Random words: Laser, Comet, Time machine, Hologram and more.
- Monsters and myths: force Ghost, Yeti or Vampire. Random words: Werewolf, Mermaid, Dragon, Zombie and more.
- Moods: force Happy or Calm. Random words: Brave, Curious, Grateful, Bold and more. This one fits the lucky word caption best.
How to perform it
- Optional cover: post the random words video for your category on the real feed with the lucky word caption, so the post exists if anyone looks it up.
- Open Instagrim on your phone. In settings pick the category and force, set the handle, likes and caption to match the real post, then tap Open post.
- Show your screen. The post loops random words from the category.
- Single tap the post: the loop secretly switches to the force synonyms. Nothing visible changes.
- Hold your phone up and have the spectator take a photo of your screen with their own phone.
- Double tap: back to random words, so the loop is clean again if anyone looks or takes another photo.
- Press and hold the post to show the reveal picture. Hold again to go back to the loop. You can upload your own reveal photo in settings.
- Long press your handle at the top of the post to get back to settings.
Videos for the real post
One square 15 second loop per category, random words only, same fonts and styles as Instagrim: lucky-word-animals.mp4, lucky-word-scifi.mp4, lucky-word-monsters.mp4, lucky-word-moods.mp4.
[Videos to be added]
Try it
[Link to Instagrim to be added]
Force Flip
The effect: a phone flashes cards or words at high speed. A spectator photographs the screen with their own phone, and the photo shows the force.
The method: after a short setup of genuinely different cards, every frame is the force item, redrawn in a new design each frame or two. Three decks: playing cards (zoomed, tilted, fanned, sideways), tarot major arcana (Marseille, Visconti gold, mandalas, medallions, giant numerals and more) and words (typed force word in many fonts, mixed letters and collages).
- Pick a deck and force, tap Start.
- Swipe up to speed up, swipe down to slow down.
- Tap to freeze on the force, long press to get back to settings.
- On iPhone, add it to the home screen for true full screen.
What we learned: when the force is the same item on every frame, the brain locks onto it and reads right through the variety, whatever the design or speed. Lucky Word solves this by changing the word itself while keeping the meaning.
[Link to Force Flip to be added]