This is just tradtional show biz; I don't know of many that do big effects that don't have at least one or two body doubles, it's a legit method. What isn't legit, is modifying the perspective of a stunt via editing or digital "enhancement"
If you can find it... I think it was the Statute of Liberty special... Copperfield does a levitation in which the girl goes up and down and then moves down a run-way area on the stage and into the middle of the audience. Don't watch the trick, watch the audience and you'll behold the real miracle; numerous show patrons morphing into other human beings, men turning into women and all kinds of unusual phenomena... though it wasn't the effect of focus, it is the tattle-tale that really got David found out when it came to his "creative editing" habits. A series of edits made so as to allow two or three different levitation gimmicks to appear as one single illusion that could not be done live.
To me, if you can't do a peice live, you're stepping outside the definitions of what a magician is. There's a couple of exceptions I make to this with particular focus on Harary's PERSPECTIVE technique in that it is not an editing or electronic trick, just the evolution of a method that's been used in magic for live performances, for decades... actually two methods if you consider the fact that we've controlled the public's perspective to things for eons.
If we forgive and forget things such as how Angel and others grossly manipulate video presentations where do we draw the line? Copperfield already gained an assist from Lucas/ILM... but given that, does this mean any one of us can justify the use of CGI or Blue/Green screen in order to get away with a supposed impossibility? Will the televised magic shows of the future be more akin to an episode of Bewitched or I Dream of Genii?
Angels failure with the Luxor shows proves how this sort of thing backfires but obviously it hasn't detoured him from perpetuating a big mistake and mislead his few remaining fans and sponsors, presenting material he can't come close to replicating in public/live.
OH! I should make note on another thing related to Ledirc's post... stooges
We've used stooges forever, people that are in the know with things. But one of the most clever applications of this happened back in the late 1950s when Harry Blackstone Sr. presented the new "Super X" suspension for an IBM group, by placing one gent into the position traditionally reserved for the mage; two gents then held up the board and the young lady was sat & wrapped, etc.
All was moved away, the guy behind the floating lady passed the hoop, etc. and a miracle was born!
Understand, Ole Mr. B was presenting a piece to a group of magicians that were "in the know" and yet, he blew their mind with this relatively basic floating girl by bringing in a magician from outside the area, visiting the group... no one suspected a thing because this stooge was reacting exactly as you or I would, if standing in a similar position and not able to find any sort of gaff.
This is MAGIC, it's the thing Angel seems to not understand when it comes to proper application of a technique... he over-states things, so to speak... but then I think he needs to turn his ego off and listen to Cyril if he really wants to do magic...
