Breaking a large mirror

[Gohanto]

For a movie I'm planning I need a rather large mirror (4' x 2' or something like that) held by 2 guys. The mirror gets smashed with a rock on a sidewalk of a downtown area. Whether the mirror falls out of the frame doesn't matter a whole lot, but if it doesn't I need a spiderweb type crack so the whole thing's obviously broke.

What's the best way to get this down while being safe and cheap? Is there an online store anywhere that sells something for this purpose?

Thanks.

 

[gonzoish79]

The best thing to do is get diamond cuts at each corner of the mirror (about 2inch cut). This way it will be a clean break. If you want to make a web the rock has to go in a upward motion. A striaght throw will casue a shatter and a downward will cause big peices to break off. Good luck

 

[x002657]

You might reduce the number of shards

You might reduce the number of shards

and add a level of safety if you coat the back with sticky contact-paper. If the mirrior's reflectivity is not integral to the shot, a few other ideas come to mind:

1) coat both the front and back with sticky contact paper; the front with clear, and the back with the cheapest available.

2) coat the back with the cheapest available sticky contact paper, and spray the front with some clear-coat paint.

3) don't use a real mirror; use cheap window glass, and before breaking it, spray the back with a highly-reflective chrome-colored paint, (Rustoleum makes some), then cover it with sticky contact-paper, then also spray the front with a clear-coat paint.

4) don't use glass at all. Get one of those clear-plastic ceiling panels used to hide flourescent lighting and spray one side of that with some chrome-reflective paint, then cover it with the cheapest available sticky contact paper.

Using real glass can be dangerous; using a real mirror can be both dangerous and expensive. If it need not be totally shattered, consider plastic panels for safety's sake, and cleanup afterward.

Hope this helps, or at least leads to other ideas.

Please report back with your deccision and how it worked out for you.

x

 

[Michael Carter]

Remember the huge sheet of plate glass hit by the ambulance in "Run Lola Run", while two guys were carrying it? Watch the scene with the commentary on; Twyker states that a squib was placed at the bottom and they broke the glass just before the ambulance hit. If you freeze frame it and slowmo, sure enough, you can see a small orange flash on the bottom edge.

'Course, this was a giant sheet of tempered glass... but your post reminded me of the scene.

I'd try contact paper as above, perhaps front & back... but I might test it with a pellet gun, locked down so aim isn't an issue. This sounds like a "test it out extensively" before you go on set.

 

[x002657]

Remember the huge sheet of plate glass hit by the ambulance in "Run Lola Run", while two guys were carrying it? Watch the scene with the commentary on; Twyker states that a squib was placed at the bottom and they broke the glass just before the ambulance hit. If you freeze frame it and slowmo, sure enough, you can see a small orange flash on the bottom edge.

Something similar was used in "Demolition Man" w/Stallone and Snipes. but it wasn't a squib, it was electric relays. The relays were set up to "hammer" a corner of each of the glass panes of display cases in a museum of some sort as Snipes was shooting at Stallone and Sly was running past them. Those, too were operated manually by someone standing off-scene. I suppose something similar could be rigged without a huge cash outlay. For someone who knows a little about electric relays, I suspect it wouldn't be hard to do for maybe $ 50 in parts from Radio Shack. (And, you'd be able to use it again for future shoots).