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  • Look at this famous deleted scene in "Terminator 2: Judgment Day."

  • We're looking directly at Arnold Schwarzenegger and Linda Hamilton's reflections, but we can't see the camera capturing it all.

  • That's because that's not really a mirror, and this reflection of Hamilton isn't actually her.

  • Filmmakers have mastered the art of hiding their cameras from a mirror, using visual trickery and precise cameras and choreography.

  • Today, they can shoot mirrors in ways that once seemed impossible.

  • Innovative mirror shots stretch back to the beginning of film, like when Orson Welles captured the now-iconic fun-house-mirror sequence in 1947's "The Lady from Shanghai."

  • Of the 80 mirrors in the sequence, some were actually two-way mirrors.

  • While Welles and Rita Hayworth acted on the reflective side of the glass, the camera could shoot everything from the non-reflective side without being detected.

  • Two-way mirrors are still useful today.

  • "It Chapter Two" used them for its terrifying fun-house sequence to switch between the reflections of this kid and Pennywise.

  • But a convincing mirror shot doesn't necessarily need to use a real mirror.

  • Like that scene from "Terminator 2" where Sarah Connor removes the chip from the T-800's head.

  • The camera was directly behind the characters, but it's nowhere to be seen in the reflection.

  • That's because for this trick, the mirror is actually a window looking into a duplicate version of the set.

  • Performers stand on either side of the reflection mimicking each other's movements.

  • So Hamilton can be seen here, but her reflection is actually the actress's twin sister next to Schwarzenegger.

  • And Schwarzenegger's silhouette in the foreground?

  • Well, that's a very lifelike dummy.

  • The body-double trick works best with twin actors.

  • Otherwise, filmmakers have to make sure to avoid the double's face, as seen in this mirror shot from 1995's "La Haine."

  • And this technique is also prone to human error.

  • Take this shot from 2011's "Sucker Punch."

  • If you look closely, you'll notice the timing of the actresses and their doubles is slightly off.

  • To avoid this issue and let actors focus on acting instead of imitating a body double, filmmakers turn to CGI.

  • First, the crew will shoot the actor in front of a mirror.

  • Then they will film just the background behind the actor.

  • VFX artists then wipe away the camera by swapping in pieces of the clean plate of the reflected background.

  • This allows for the kinds of shots once thought to be impossible.

  • However, the process isn't as easy as it sounds.

  • Take these mirror shots from 2014's "Birdman."

  • To perfectly match the background shots, they had to make sure the lighting was identical in each pass, and the artists had to be careful where they cut.

  • For this one close-up, you'll see green tape on the camera.

  • This helped the VFX artists avoid cutting out any of Michael Keaton's hair.

  • The process gets even trickier if the camera is moving.

  • Take this legendary shot from 1997's "Contact," where one shot seemingly turns into the reflection on a medicine cabinet mirror.

  • To make this work, director Robert Zemeckis broke it up into multiple shots and replaced the entire mirror with CG.

  • First, Zemeckis had actress Jena Malone run towards the camera instead of filming her from behind.

  • The camera was placed on a Steadicam, allowing for smooth shots and repeated takes.

  • After running down the hall, Malone reached for the knob of the medicine cabinet, but instead of a mirror, there was a blue screen.

  • Then the crew shot the bathroom background on its own and placed it as well as the texture of a mirror on top of the blue screen.

  • This one shot was so influential you still see similar styles decades later, like in this episode of HBO's "Euphoria."

  • All these tricks and more were used in 2021's "Last Night in Soho."

  • Production designer Marcus Rowland and VFX supervisor Tom Proctor of DNEG had to build a world of mirrors while avoiding cameras in the final shot.

  • The Café de Paris set alone was lined with an estimated 178 mirrors, which all needed accurate reflections.

  • But they had to do much more than remove the camera, since Eloise, played by Thomasin McKenzie, frequently looks in the mirror and sees Sandie, played by Anya Taylor-Joy, and vice versa.

  • And many of the mirror shots were incredibly active.

  • So like "Contact" before it, they used Steadicams, relying on the consistent movements from Chris Bain to get shots like this and this over and over.

  • For key scenes with multiple multifaceted mirrors and large camera moves, the team relied on motion-control cameras.

  • Since their moves are programmed in advance, it made it easier to do separate takes of both actresses walking down the stairs.

  • And to make sure the leads matched their movements precisely, "Soho" brought in a movement coach for weeks of preparation.

  • To allow the stars to interact more directly, the "Soho" team had to build several double sets.

  • This shot here, where Eloise first walks into the Café de Paris and sees Sandie in the mirror.

  • The two actresses were actually facing each other on set.

  • Rowland built a double lobby, allowing for direct interaction between the actresses.

  • And just like in "Terminator 2," they used a real set of twins to tie the illusion together.

  • But the shot could go from just Eloise's reflection to Sandie's with no visible cuts thanks to adjustable mirrors.

  • When the attendant takes off Eloise's jacket, they're standing in front of a real mirror.

  • Then one of the twins walks in front of the camera.

  • This gave the crew just enough time to push the mirror away, allowing Sandie to step in.

  • And as a viewer, you'd never know there wasn't a mirror there, thanks to this very subtle bevel added to the edge of the mirror with CGI.

  • Every mirror scene presented its own challenges, so in some cases, the team had to rely on two tricks at once,

  • like here, where Taylor-Joy stands in front of a mirror with Matt Smith, whose real reflection is caught in the mirror.

  • Smith is in front of a real mirror, but the rest of the glass is CGI.

  • For the final touches, "Soho" utilized the most subtle VFX improvements to avoid any continuity errors.

  • For example, Proctor and his team inserted green-screen shots of extras into many final shots to cover up the rough edges of where a camera was cut out,

  • and for any mismatched mirror movements, visual effects artists used digital re-timing tools.

  • They could get into shots frame by frame and individually speed up or slow down individual characters, bringing them into perfect alignment.

Look at this famous deleted scene in "Terminator 2: Judgment Day."

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