How Filmmakers Make Cameras Disappear | Mirrors in Movies: Part II

Who’s the fairest of them all…

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[paul_et]

Sorry Alfonso...

A few other notes:
When I mentioned the “one-way” mirror used in the Black Swan technique, I should’ve said “two-way” as a one-way mirror is just a - well - regular mirror… (edit: a one-way mirror is a two-way mirror…)
Also: fundAmental.

[chuchu]

The interesting thing about the last breakdown is that the mirrored-room technique has been used in video games since before there was the hardware capacity to simulate reflections. Clever film tricks work across all entertainment mediums

[pon]

Sometimes I take it for granted that we can just do everything because of CGI, but there's some ingenious stuff going on behind the scenes which makes me have a newfound appreciation for special effects. Thanks for that!

[DoahnKea_Tuber]

I usually prefer NOT knowing how the magic is done, but the complexity of shooting these scenes still remains so fascinating even after knowing the techniques employed. Super video!

[MajatekYT]

Another almost "through the mirror" effect using an actor and a double - not as a way to make the camera move through a mirror, but as a way to establish that the character is not human - was in Terminator 2: Judgement Day where Linda Hamilton and her identical sister interacted with Arnold Schwarzenegger and a replica prop of his head on two opposite sides of a table so that they could get Linda's character to pull a piece of future tech out of Arnold's head. There are so many movies that do this effect practically and it shows how effective it is!

[gluttonousmaximus]

I'm actually very interested in mirror shots in very very OLD movies because there were just times I couldn't imagine how they managed to make their bulky cameras (don't even get me started with Technicolor+sound cameras!) disappear when the mirror was right in front of everything.
There were signs of cheaper tricks though, like in Robert Siodmak's "The Spiral Staircase" where some mirrors were plastered with a painting in select shots. But then we got to first-person scenes like in Robert Montgomery's "Lady in the Lake" and Delmer Daves' "Dark Passage". And the full-frame mirror shots in "The Verdict" and "Portrait in Black", I mean holy moly how did they do that?!

[maisiesummers]

One of the greatest mirror shots that still blows my mind is the one from Contact, where the little girl runs down a hall, reaches towards the camera, and it turns out we've been seeing her _reflection_ all the time.

[FilmscoreMetaler]

Triangle is such a gem. The further it goes the crazier it gets and somehow its concept still works. If you don't know the film yet, you have to watch it and better don't read anything about the movie's premise.

[dipperpines]

One thing I'd like to add to the Harry Potter one, in addition to the dirt that was added, at 5:44 you can see parts of the image warp as the wardrobe and mirror shakes, which is a crazy detail to me. Perhaps it's a simple thing to do in VFX, but either way I love the little details they added to sell it

[Cyberguy]

12:45 "Look at that head turn, that is basically perfect" For me, that was the most imperfect part of the illusion: her reflection starts turning her head before she does. It's only a tiny delay, but it's also basically the only motion on screen at the time, so it is much easier to notice. I knew something was wrong the first time I saw the clip and could guess what was going on.

[tessiepinkman]

This is exactly what I needed this Sunday night in Norway. I truly love your breakdowns of movie magic, and all your other content too. You are one of those truly *great* creators that capture your audience within the first seconds and keep us, the audience, for the entire run - without us noticing that any time has gone by. Thank you for all your hard work!

[EarthSurfer]

Your first mirror video transformed how I "look" at reflections in film. I now review each scene to see how well it is executed. My favorite at the moment is the Barbershop scene in The Marvelous Mrs Maisel, Season 3, Episode 8 at ~23:20. In addition to an intricate camera path, the reflective surfaces are multitude. Yet, it appears to be flawless as the camera should be staring at itself, it is no where to be found. A lot of work was done for an incredible 15 second shot.

[taylorjohnson]

Sir, your titles are nothing short of masterful. Take 6:42 for example. *Chef's kiss*. You don't draw undo attention to them but all of your graphics, title, and visualizations raise the production quality of your videos to a level not often seen. Good work my dude.

[davidci]

I'm glad you showed that scene from Triangle. It's such an underrated thriller movie, one of my all time favorites!

[Iamdebug]

Of all of these the last one was the most obvious to me. The two syncs weren't well enough matched up and gave it away instantly. I could tell Page was pulling on real mirrors but I expected that was filmed on another two way mirror so there was less scrubbing to be done by FX so to find out it wasn't and they did all that work is truly impressive.

[lwangakinuthia]

I didn't think anything could live up to "mirrors in movies" part one but goddammit this guy never misses.

[MrFusselig]

The German prank TV show "Versteckte Kamera" had a similar prank about a mirror (German: Spiegel) several years ago, compared to the last example.
They had mirrored rooms in a restroom and a twin couple standing in both rooms, acting in front of the mirror. Then unknown strangers would come in, and would question their sanity.

[TanjoGalbi]

In the Triangle mirror clip I noticed right away that the reflection was not a reflection because of her sleeve!

The real actress has her sleeve pulled up the wrist further to almost cover the base of the thumb, the stunt double's is not pulled as far. A continuity error that exposes the effect if you notice it.

There was also a slight difference in movement as she passed the mirror to get to the gramophone that I noticed that suggested the mirror was not real. They could have done better by having a real mirror in place there for the long shot when the effect shot was not needed yet.

[_AG_]

Part 1 was something kind of fresh to watch. Never saw such content and it was amazing and so is the part 2. Love it

[Bombgamiing]

Your videos are proof that I can make film from my village in India without going to a film school just by learning from your videos. Grateful to you for sharing such knowledge.