Movies using Magic Tricks instead of Special Effects

[The_Other_Waldo_Pepper]

@CalMeacham

Similarly in The Sting we see hands manipulating a deck of cards, doing repeated shuffles and cuts, with the same card coming up every time. Then the camera pans up to show that it’s Paulk Newman doing the tricks.,

The IMDB “trivia” section claims that it’s really John Scarne doing the manipulations and that an “invisible cut” was used during the pan up to Newman’s face. I cry “false”. Back in the pre-CGI days there was no way to make a cut during a pan so invisible that you couldn’t catch it if you watched closely, and I have – there’s no cut there. Before the shots with the manipulations there are several cuts back and forth, but the whole routine of cuts and shuffles with the same card coming up , all the way through the pan up to Newman’s face, is all one unbroken shot.

I’m forced to conclude that Newman was tutored and practiced long and hard to get those moves down smooth.

Even if it’s all one unbroken shot, shortly before panning up to Newman’s face those hands we’ve been watching leave the shot.

Why?

It’d be slightly more impressive if the hands remained in the shot until the pan up — and I say “slightly” because, as you say, it forced you to conclude that it’s Newman, and, well, (a) that’s pretty good, by which I mean (b) it was good enough. But the only reason I can see for those hands to leave the shot is for a practical effect, like you’re kind of on about: they don’t need to stop the camera or anything, they can just have the other guy (wearing a shirt with similar sleeves) stop messing around with the cards and move away right as Newman swaps in.