Now You See It, Now You Don't
Adapted from the Book "Camcorder Tricks and Special Effects", and from common sense.
EXAMPLE:
TALENT A performs a magic trick causing TALENT B to vanish.
Tools and Props:
Camcorder, tripod, two chairs, magic wand
1. Set up your camera and lock it down on the tripod.
2. Frame a wide shot including both people and focus.
3. Roll tape.
4. Cue the talent. TALENT A claims he will make TALENT B disappear, and then waves a magic wand at TALENT B after counting to three.
5. Cue the talent to freeze and press stop to pause the tape. (Or leave it running and edit it in post)
TALENT A MUST REMAIN STILL!
6. Have TALENT B climb out of the chair and out of frame without disturbing anything.
7. Press start and cue TALENT A to resume motion. (Or not, see Step 5.)
Once you get it down you can apply the same principal to make different objects appear and disappear.
