10 Secret Techniques Films Used To Ensure Perfection

One of the lesser known problems that faces filmmakers is the age-old question of how to film scenes where actors are staring at their own reflection in the mirror.

To achieve the right effect, you ideally need as close to an over-the-shoulder shot as possible, meaning that in order to prevent the camera being visible you need a tight lens and the actor to be moved into a specific spot and turned at a certain angle.

Today, of course, lighting, mics, cameras and crew can be digitally removed from the finished scene - but that kind of technology is a relatively recent development, and even then took a while to be cheap enough to employ in day-to-day moviemaking.

For Terminator 2: Judgment Day, James Cameron had a specific scene in mind - the one where Sarah Connor accesses the T-1000’s CPU and, with it at her mercy, has to decide whether to destroy the killing machine now or trust that it’ll continue to protect her son. For it to work, both Linda Hamilton and Arnold Schwarzenegger needed to be shown in the mirror at the same time - but Hamilton would need to be in motion.

To allow for full camera movement in blocking this pivotal scene, he came up with a novel approach. You see, Hamilton had a twin...

The ‘mirror image’ is actually Hamilton and Schwarzenegger facing the camera - there’s no mirror set up at all. Arnie’s body double sits still with his back to the camera and Hamilton’s sister acts as her double, mirroring Hamilton’s actions. Simple yet ingenious.