Where knowledge of the film industry comes in HANDY...

[hells_half_acre]

This is a post about Hand!Porn.

Sometimes I see posts (mostly on tumblr) with screen caps of Sam or Dean's hands, and fangirl drooling over how sexy they are. I always wonder if the person really thinks the hands are sexy on their own or if they only think they're sexy because they believe that their attached to Jared or Jensen...

...because, guys, I've met Sam Winchester's hands, and they are not attached to Jared Padalecki.

So, this is just a PSA from someone who knows a LITTLE bit about how filming works. If the hands are in a shot that includes the face, then that is the actor's hand. If the hand is in a cut-away shot and you ONLY see the hand and whatever it is manipulating... there's a good possibility that those hands belong to someone else. Sam Winchester's hands spend a lot of time hitting keys on a computer or scrolling through contacts on a phone - it's "a good gig" in the words of the person attached to Sam's hands, who also sometimes works as an extra, drives trucks, and smokes. I can only imagine that the person attached to Dean Winchester's hands feels similarly, as they also scroll through phones or perhaps pick up and put down guns.

If you think hands are sexy regardless of who they are attached to, then no worries! But if you think hands are sexy because you are imagining they are hands belonging to a pretty face, you might be drooling over the wrong hands.

So, just remember - shots that pan from a face: Actor hands. Shots that just have a hand in them: Probably a Hand Double.

Why do they use hand doubles? - to save money and the lead actor's time. Lead actors make way more per hour than hand-doubles do, also, lead actors require (by nature of being human and by union law) a certain amount of downtime between work days. Using doubles for shots where you don't see someone's face means that those shots can be filmed while your lead actors are sleeping or spending time with their adorable children/pregnant wives or filming the next episode.

For that matter, there are some shots of stunt-falls where people are gushing over Jensen or Jared's asses, or (in the case of the most recent episode) laughing at how "Jared" ended up with his knee in the trash can... and again, I'm wondering, do these fans realize that those are actually stunt-doubles? Do they realize that they're gushing over the stunt-double's asses and not the boys'? Or does it not matter? I mean, there are some shots where it's definitely Jensen or Jared because you can see the face, but there are other shots where it's kind of obvious by the way the face is purposefully obscured that it's a stunt guy. (According to a recent interview, at the moment Jared is nursing a broken rib after a skiing accident, so I highly doubt he's doing any of his own stunts).

On a somewhat related note: I was having a discussion with a friend the other day about how part of the reason we can't read non-AU RPS (besides a general squick for the genre) is because we can't stand how inaccurate the fics are when it comes to the way the film industry actually functions. This is sort of along those lines. I can't get into these pictures, because as soon as the person posting it claims it's Jared or Jensen, I'm too distracted by the inaccuracy.

Comments

[raloria.livejournal.com]

Very true. I spot a lot times when the hand shots are not Jensen or Jared's. But then through capping and photographing close-up shots of the boys at VanCon over the years, I can easily pick out their hands. I might know their hands almost as well as they do. :P I can tell you that their fingernails are very different...and their knuckles. I will say they've gotten better at picking hand doubles. Back in the Pilot when Sam pulls on the Impala's door locks? Totally nothing like Jared's hand in the CU.

And yeah, I have the same issue with fans gushing over the boys in stunt when it's actually their stunt doubles. I've had to point it out more than one occasion. And again, when I'm capping I have to go practically frame by frame in the action scenes so I see it all. ;)

[hells-half-acre.livejournal.com]

I think you are probably about the only person I'd trust to tell the difference between the boys' hands and their doubles. I don't think I can do it.

Speaking of, if you scroll down through these comments, galwithglasses has a S7 shot and she wanted to know whether it's actually Jared's hands...I think they are, but it's just a guess. And I mainly think that just because the guy who doubles for Sam mostly just does phones/keyboard work.

I mean, on the one hand, they're stunt doubles are, by necessity, quite fit - so it's not like they don't deserve to be gushed over... but on on the other, it just drives me nuts when people are under the wrong impression. :P

[raloria.livejournal.com]

Can't help it. I've got a thing for their hands. *points to icon* I've even shaken Jensen & Jared's hands. *g*

Checked out the cap and also viewed my own and I'd say it's probably Jared's hand. I DO know it matches the hand from earlier in that ep when we see Dean take the bandage off and pour alcohol on it. You can see the same calluses.

I know what you mean. That bugs the hell out of me, too. So much so, that I inevitably have to step in and point out to people when I know it is the stunt doubles and not the boys themselves. Gushing is fine, but know who you're doing it for. Gah!

[hells-half-acre.livejournal.com]

I have a thing for shaking people's hands. It's something guys can easily do when first meeting me if they want to make a good impression.

Thanks for weighing in on the cap!

[galwithglasses.livejournal.com]

I had seen the callouses earlier when Dean was dressing the cut but I wasn't sure. Thanks for taking a look.

[missyjack.livejournal.com]

oooh fascinating! what a job. And to know you hand's a fetishized by millions!

i think one reason there is as little RPS nonAU as there is, is partly because the boys spend so much of their time on set, and its hard to write well (or even in a medicore way)!

[hells-half-acre.livejournal.com]

Haha, yeah, "Sam's Hands" probably doesn't even realize that he's got girls' hearts aflutter. ;)

i think one reason there is as little RPS nonAU as there is, is partly because the boys spend so much of their time on set, and its hard to write well (or even in a medicore way)!

It's true. Plus, there's the whole fact that actual film sets are not romantic places at all.

You know what else I see a lot though that drives me nuts (that I just thought of)... people who think the writers are in Vancouver too! Anyway.. I suppose if I start thinking of these things, we'll be here all day. "I can't go to bed, people are being wrong on the internet!" :P

[katsheswims.livejournal.com]

Very interesting. I think it would be a neat job. I knew this already, but I think that's because you mentioned it when you met Sam's hands before.

I think the case for many fans is "ignorance is bliss."

[hells-half-acre.livejournal.com]

Very true. Meanwhile I get pissed off at the inaccuracy of it all. :P

[etoile444.livejournal.com]

They have to save time and money where they can. They reuse Impala shots and even a few shots of Sam and Dean too. Cool, geeky info! Thanks!

[hells-half-acre.livejournal.com]

It's true... and they've used a few stock-shots too of scenery - or in the Western episode, of the horse and its rider moving across the screen from left to right.

[fourtenpm.livejournal.com]

Oh that shot wasn't Jared? What about the one where Dean said poor horse. It cracked me up so bad.

[hells-half-acre.livejournal.com]

Oh, the shot with Dean and Sam was definitely Jensen and Jared. It's just the one shot of the silhouetted horse & rider moving across the screen. That's the only stock footage.

[fourtenpm.livejournal.com]

ah, I see, so the rule of thumb is that if it could not be J2, it's very likely not J2. ha, this is so very interesting, and somehow broadened my horizon.

[hells-half-acre.livejournal.com]

Yes, exactly. If the shot is ONLY a hand holding a phone, there's a good chance that's not their hand (though it MIGHT be - we just can't be sure). Likewise, if there is a stunt done, but you can't see their face during the stunt - it might be their stunt-double.

[khek.livejournal.com]

LOL! Interesting! I kind of knew that, but only because I also know someone who used to be a body parts double--in her case, feet. Mostly shoe ads. It sounded like a fun job to have...but she had to really pamper her feet when she was working to keep them in good shape.

There was one shot in a scene in season five (maybe?) episode where they had a shot of Dean's hand and he had some kind of black nail bruise. I watched his hands for the rest of the episode, trying to see if it was Jensen's bruise or not! If I remember correctly, it was, because there was a shot where you could see it clearly and his face was in the shot too.

[hells-half-acre.livejournal.com]

Yeah, when I did extra work, they also took pictures of my hands (which they said were lovely) in case they needed to use me as a hand-double. I was always a little bit worried about them actually asking me to though, because I had a feeling that if I was doubling for some actress, they'd manicure my nails... and I can't stand people doing anything to my nails. It's like nails on a chalkboard for me.

And yes, that was Jensen's fingernail injury. That's about the only time I can tell that it really is their hands - when they've done something to their hands that make them unique. So, S5 and Jensen's black nail lets you tell Jensen from a hand-double... likewise, I think in this season, Misha had done something similar.

[galwithglasses.livejournal.com]

Hands are amazing no matter whose they are and I don't really think I gave it much thought. It makes a lot of sense though. So now I'm curious if this is Jared's hand or the double's hand and if the callouses are real. It doesn't really matter either way because the character of Sam Winchester would have callouses from digging and all kinds of other manual labor. I would think Sam and Dean's hands both would be pretty beat up, even without the whole scar business. Whose do you think it is?

[hells-half-acre.livejournal.com]

Raloria would be a better person to ask than me (I'll draw her attention to it.) My gut is to say that that's actually Jared and Jensen, but I could be wrong. I mean, one reason they use hand-doubles is because the hands look similar.

Hands are amazing no matter whose they are and I don't really think I gave it much thought.

That's good! I mean, I'm fine with people liking hands regardless of who they are attached to. It just drives me a little nuts when I think people only like the hands because they think there's someone pretty at the end of the arm... when there might be a kind of rugged drifter looking guy who's just trying to make rent in an expensive city. :P

[galwithglasses.livejournal.com]

Now that's a real hands-on kind of job. 8-)

[hells-half-acre.livejournal.com]

Yup, raloria thinks it's Jared's hands too. You can scroll up in the comments to see her response. :)

[4422shini.livejournal.com]

I love that you wrote this. Makes me smile. Also, I have some amusing, non-spoilery photos to show you.

[hells-half-acre.livejournal.com]

Awesome. :) Do you want to email them to me or do you have time for coffee sometime?

Glad you liked the post. ;)

[4422shini.livejournal.com]

Want to do coffee on Wednesday?

[hells-half-acre.livejournal.com]

Sure! Afternoon-ish? Do you want to meet at JJBean or someplace else?

[4422shini.livejournal.com]

Sure! Or we could do Scandilicious, the new waffle place on the drive (near Kitchener). It's pretty amazing.

[hells-half-acre.livejournal.com]

Ooo...sure! I didn't even know a new place had opened. What time do you want to meet?

[4422shini.livejournal.com]

Yay! 2pmish?

[hells-half-acre.livejournal.com]

Sounds good to me. :)

[morganlucas41.livejournal.com]

Interesting post - I never really thought about them using hand doubles, although now that you've explained it, it makes perfect sense.

But regardless of whether or not a double is being used, it's still Sam or Dean's actual hands. It may not be Jared or Jensen, but it's still the character.

For me, what kind of throws me out of the fictional universe is thinking about RL actors and such. Not that I don't love Jared and Jensen, they're great. But I've always been a fan of the show first and foremost and the fictional characters over the actors. So much so that it almost throws me out to watch things like gag reels...as enjoyable as they are, it does sort of take away the "magic" of emotional scenes when I know the guys (love them as I do!) were just goofing their way through it.

Basically all that's a long-winded way to say: if fangirls are fangirling Sam or Dean's hands, then that's true regardless of what actual RL actor is filing that scene!

[hells-half-acre.livejournal.com]

Basically all that's a long-winded way to say: if fangirls are fangirling Sam or Dean's hands, then that's true regardless of what actual RL actor is filing that scene!

Very true! And that's just fine. It's when they start fangirling over the actors but they aren't actually looking at the actors that it annoys me.

And I know what you mean about how thinking of the actual actors takes away from the emotional scenes/show. I've seen actors argue about that before - about how this cult of celebrity that's built up around hollywood has a negative impact on the art that they're actually trying to perform. Because you fool people into thinking you're someone else, if everyone knows exactly what you had for breakfast and how you got that scar on your lip and who you're having sex with that night etc...

[mymuseandi.livejournal.com]

I think you have mentioned the double's hands before, and I've been more diligent about spotting which is their real hands and which are not, but I can't tell the difference usually, and I don't really care LOL I mean, hands are hands. They look good, they're gonna be drooled over :p

I like my hands, although I'd wish my fingers would be longer, but since I'm about 5'2, it's not possible, most of the time LOL

On the topic of the non-AU genre, when the boys were single, I find it easier to read them, particularly when most of what I read doesn't happen on set, i.e, most of those are set in, let say, their house or at a party, with just minor references to them filming together. But as soon as they got hitched, it just felt weird. I can't even see the scene in S4 where Ruby and Sam got it on because I feel like a voyeur :/

[hells-half-acre.livejournal.com]

I like my hands, though I have a few scars...some I remember getting, some I don't. :P

According to a guitar player, I have good hands for playing a guitar - mind you, he was trying to seduce me at the time, so that might not be true.

I think it's also harder for people to write non-AU J2 these days. I see less and less of it.