in film/tv, how do they film mirrors without the camera appearing in the reflection?

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Not sure if physics is the right flair. Very curious!

In: Physics

4 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

There’s a few different ways it can be done. The film crew can be green screened, the camera shots can be taken at a slight angle to avoid being scene (haha), or they completely omit the mirror altogether and do a scene with an empty frame (or glassed frame). The camera films from one side and the acting happens on the other side.

Source: obsessed with film

Anonymous 0 Comments

Another real cool trick is body doubles behind a fake mirror. Check directors cut scene from Terminator 2. It begins around 1:50. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYTOK89w8h0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYTOK89w8h0)

What you are seeing is Linda Hamilton’s twin sister in the ”mirror” with Schwarzenegger, and a boy body double. Outside the mirror is Linda Hamilton, Edward Furlong, and a fake head and body in the chair. The choreography between the twin sisters makes it look like a mirror. This allows you to see Arnold talking while Linda is drilling and pulling stuff out of his head. Gotta love the skills needed before CGI.

Anonymous 0 Comments

One very cool example of this is the mirror scene from Contact.

https://filmschoolrejects.com/contact-mirror-scene/

Anonymous 0 Comments

Not exactly the same thing but I cannot ever get past seeing green screens in the reflection of actors’ glasses. Movie or show, low budget or high budget, and everywhere in between… they all have it. It annoys the fuck out of me because I cannot *not* see it, and it pulls me right out of the scene as soon as I see it.

There’s not really an easy way to avoid it or fix it, but they need to stop casting people with glasses until they do!