Shots similar to the ones in mirrors.

R

Revsta

Well-known member
How would you pull that off on a budget? Something where the actor outside the mirror does something but their reflection stays the same? Is this cheatable with two actors? Or am I going to be forced to green screen the mirror and add in the other image?
 
Do you really think an identical actor with identical props and set, behind a specially built frame separating the two identical sets, with enough practice and skill to do everything in sync, is easier and cheaper than a really basic chroma keying or masking setup?
 
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I would just lock the camera down, have the actor stand still at first then do whatever action is required. Offset the clips in post and mask out the mirror.
 
Revsta said:
How would you pull that off on a budget? Something where the actor outside the mirror does something but their reflection stays the same? Is this cheatable with two actors? Or am I going to be forced to green screen the mirror and add in the other image?
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Depends on what you're doing, does the actor A ever reach to actor B through the Glass? if not just shoot twice with the same actor as recommended,
if not, you have a lot of SFX and compositing. (shoot it twice from the same place and at the same focal length - like the prior posters suggested, then leave only the parts you need from both layers in POST)

You could always have your actor cloned in genetic engineering though. :-).

Or you could actually hire identical twins for the role (which is more money than genetically cloning your actors).
 
A lot depends on how you block your shot. If you're doing a profile shot, well, that may need to be post (but a simple splitscreen can sometimes work rather than greenscreen, but you might also try difference matting instead of GS). If you're doing an OTS (over the shoulder) PoV on the character and his/her "reflection" is staring back into/towards the camera, the classic cinema trick is to not have a mirror at all: you have a mirror frame that just is a hole that leads into another room, with a 2nd actor facing the first. You can see a first-person example of this at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iX8iVo5vc8o.

If you can pull this off, you only need to match the hair and clothing of the actor...you'll only see one back-to and one face-forward. The width of your shot also may not require hardly any set matching; only match the items in the shot (this does sometimes include the floor, though). The two actors do need to rehearse like mad to pantomime accurately, as stated previously

Just an idea and is 100% dependent on your framing. But you have to love visual effects through set dressing.
 
atomick said:
A lot depends on how you block your shot. If you're doing a profile shot, well, that may need to be post (but a simple splitscreen can sometimes work rather than greenscreen, but you might also try difference matting instead of GS). If you're doing an OTS (over the shoulder) PoV on the character and his/her "reflection" is staring back into/towards the camera, the classic cinema trick is to not have a mirror at all: you have a mirror frame that just is a hole that leads into another room, with a 2nd actor facing the first. You can see a first-person example of this at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iX8iVo5vc8o.

If you can pull this off, you only need to match the hair and clothing of the actor...you'll only see one back-to and one face-forward. The width of your shot also may not require hardly any set matching; only match the items in the shot (this does sometimes include the floor, though). The two actors do need to rehearse like mad to pantomime accurately, as stated previously

Just an idea and is 100% dependent on your framing. But you have to love visual effects through set dressing.
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I was going to do an over the shoulder shot, so I was thinking of using two actors in the shot. This might work.
 
Revsta said:
I was going to do an over the shoulder shot, so I was thinking of using two actors in the shot. This might work.
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OTS would work completely, this is why they use stand-ins or external reverses sometimes. Obviously you cannot show face - "p.s. this is what I meant by cloning the actor with genetic engineering". :-).

But the person playing the side 2 may not be very happy/co-operative since they don't get seen in the film at all - yet it has to be someone matching the same build and body type, so feed them, clothe them (wardrobe is on you now). * don't know what your budget is, assuming indy *
 
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