# non reflecting mirror?



## FirstSpartan (Aug 7, 2008)

that may come out as looking more like a picture and frame as you won't have the 3-d aspect of the reflection moving as your angle toward the mirror changes. 

It seems like it would be easy to test out tho and would be a cool prop! A non refelcting mirror would be way creepy 
If there is a way to do it I think I'll make one too.


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## Growler (Aug 12, 2008)

That and I was thinking that you wouldn't have that silver look that mirrors tend to have. I don't have a digital camera to pull it off right away. Was wondering if anyone else had tried something like it?


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## BlueFrog (Oct 20, 2009)

Too strange, I was just thinking last night about how to do this! I had the same idea you did. If you try one, be sure to let the rest of us know how the end result looks. I'd really like to have one of these for a vampire.


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## Wolfbeard (Sep 22, 2008)

This sounds like a great idea. Here's a thought I had on this. If you can enlarge the image to twice the size as the frame and place it about a foot behind the glass, it might give that 3D look as people walk by it. It is essentially like the moving bookcase busts in Disney's HM. The image would appear to shift as fast as the person walking by the frame.

Eric


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## Calloween (Mar 8, 2009)

Pesky me would put my cell phone light on it and figure out its not real so lighting could be an issue.


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## Growler (Aug 12, 2008)

ok, you would be the same kid who lit up my bottomless pit with a flashlight and screamed, "It's only mirrors". lol


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## Porkchop Express (Mar 27, 2009)

We did this at our vampire haunt last year with pretty good effect. We had a station set up with vampire hunting stuff and a posted list of how to identify vampires, of course with one of the ways being no reflection. We had a framed piece of window glass hanging behind a shelf with a few bottles of holy water and such and cut a hole in the wall. We set up and exact mirror of the shelf and bottles behind glass, and since it was dark, it looked pretty convincing. people stopped and stared at it for quite a while.


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## Glass 'eye' (Jul 22, 2007)

Porkchop Express said:


> We did this at our vampire haunt last year with pretty good effect. We had a station set up with vampire hunting stuff and a posted list of how to identify vampires, of course with one of the ways being no reflection. We had a framed piece of window glass hanging behind a shelf with a few bottles of holy water and such and cut a hole in the wall. We set up and exact mirror of the shelf and bottles behind glass, and since it was dark, it looked pretty convincing. people stopped and stared at it for quite a while.


Would love to see pictures if you have any Sounds like it would work well.


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## alucard (Dec 1, 2008)

This idea sounds really neat!


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## helenback (Dec 20, 2009)

How would a fish-eye lens work?


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## MikeBru (Jul 30, 2009)

Hmmm, you got me thinking about this now. What about two mirrors. A first real mirror to get TOTs used to the idea, followed by an identical non-reflecting mirror. As mentioned place a shelf across the real mirror and across the fake mirror along with another shelf across the back of the fake mirror to create a "reflection". The rear of the fake mirror should probably have some sort of room or space behind it that mimmics the space the TOTs are in. I guess you could really freak the TOTs out too... after finding a TOT staring at the fake mirror and trying to figure it out you could have a prop slam into the rear of the glass or approach from the rear of the TOT but in the mirror but not in the room. Let me try that again. While the TOT is looking at a reflection, the reflection could show that something is coming up behind them. When they turn around there is nothing there. What approaches from behind them can only be seen in the fake mirror. Hmmm, that will twist yer mellon man.


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## halloweenbarb (Jun 9, 2008)

if the victims are far enough away from the mirror, and I think if the mirror didn t have a frame on it, (or maybe a simple chrome one), if you put it on an angle pointing upwards you should be able to pull it off pretty easily. I was stumped and quite freaked out by this when I was getting my eye exam. they have the mirror on the wall at an angle so the eye chart reflection that you look at seems farther away. It was pretty freaky! the mirror was at eye level but tilted upwards!


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## hauntcrazy (Nov 14, 2007)

The thing to do is put it at the end of a hall way so people have to walk straight at it instead of past it.
Another thing you can do... I have one of those old fun house mirrors. On this one, you can adjust the distortion of the mirror so that anything directly in front of it is not visible. Of course everything else is distorted as well. But in low light, it would not be that noticable.


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## Gnome (Mar 4, 2005)

wow, if you had a duplicated or palatially duplicated + revered photo on the other side of the glass you may be able to fave enough space to squeeze in a actor to pop up "in the mirror" to give a great scare wile the guest is engrossed in trying to figure out the reflection!


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## Shadow Mistress (Oct 26, 2007)

This is going to drive me crazy until I can figure out how to do it...what a great idea..


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## MikeBru (Jul 30, 2009)

We are over thinking this. Get a real vampire to bite your guests and you can use a real mirror.


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## Iffy49 (Feb 2, 2009)

What about using a webcam or video? 

Take a video of the empty area. When the TOT comes up turn on the webcam and project the image. After a few seconds, replace the TOT with the prerecorded section.

Would that work?

Ian


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## wackychimp (Jul 16, 2009)

I think a key thing might be to have a sign that is backwards in "mirror world". This is a visual cue that we're all used to when looking into mirrors. Ultimately, I think it would fool the eye more if it were a _room _behind the mirror, rather than an image. And if you go this route, the more props the better for this scene so that the TOTs will realize it's supposed to be a mirror. Also you could put a sink in front of it to signal it's like a bathroom mirror... but that depends on the rest of your haunt.

The video thing might work, but I'd think you'd want High Def video so that it would look more real to the victims.


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## Gnome (Mar 4, 2005)

wackychimp said:


> I think a key thing might be to have a sign that is backwards in "mirror world". This is a visual cue that we're all used to when looking into mirrors.


it was suggested that on a shelf in-front of the mirror there could be identical bottles on both sizes of the glass ....if the bottles had large labels facing the glass that would be a good place to utilize this ^




wackychimp said:


> The video thing might work, but I'd think you'd want High Def video so that it would look more real to the victims.


problem here is to not have you monitor/screen/projection "glow" ruin the effect....
perhaps having a light on the mirror that is the same brightness as the image seen it would mask it IDK


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## Hoodoo_Hermit (Nov 4, 2009)

neat idea


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## Gorey Vidal (Jul 7, 2010)

I wonder if you were to have a live video of a EMPTY COPY of the room in question set apart from the haunt. That way you can get the same effect that a room gives in a normal mirror.


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## Eyegore (Aug 23, 2008)

I bet a rather convincing effect could be achieved with a photo.

Take a photo of the room and get it enlarged to poster size.
The "mirror" would be nothing more than an empty frame covering a rectangular shaped hole in a wall. In the adjacent room, you would suspend the photo about a foot from the hole. 

The spectator would see what looks like a mirror, and can even move around while staring into it, and the focal perspective will look as if it is shifting with the viewer.

This effect is used in the movies all of the time.


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## LilsheDevil (Aug 30, 2005)

This is just a thought since I am not a prop maker,I throw parties
would useing film work? the kind you put on your car or front door? take a picture useing a digital camera with a timer,then replace the mirror part with a piece of glass that has the film on backwards with the picture that has been taken.
such as: Optically clear Armorcoat safety films are colorless and undetectable on glass, which makes them the perfect protection retrofit. Unlike many other films, Armorcoat clear safety films films are non-reflective so it is virtually invisible on your windows

just a thought! and please correct me if I'm wrong


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## Eyegore (Aug 23, 2008)

The problem is a picture buy itself isn't going to work, and the film would probably create a reflective surface that would then reflect the viewer's image. A true mirror looks different at various angles, but a picture will look the same at every angle thus ruining the illusion. The solution I came up with might work but I would have to do a small scale test to find out! When looking into a mirror, you see what looks like a window/hole that's dividing up two rooms. It actually just reflects it surroundings into the surface making it look like two rooms. By making a window/hole in a fake wall with an even larger picture behind it, you should get a pretty convincing effect, that will look just like a true mirror.


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## joshua17ss2 (Apr 7, 2008)

i was thinking on this for a little while and you could use a webcam, a computer, and a type of panoramic video. have the camera track there face and move the picture around to mimic there movements and give that 3d look., its a bit on the pricy side thought. 

I had an idea for a haunted room i wanted to make a few years ago, set up an lcd behind the mirror and have a second room setup with a camera, have it be the exact opposite of the room the mirrors in and have an actor or 2 walking around decked out in ghost attire just moving around the room it would look like the same room there in but only full of ghost. like the halloween specail where people are pulled in the mirror and are trapped for ever. you could have sound as well so the dead could ask for help and try and get them to join the land of the living impaired.


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## Dark Crop (Jun 27, 2010)

Easy, alls you need is a big room divided in half and a twin.  

http://www.djmick.co.uk/laughs/funny-twins-bathroom-mirror-prank-video/


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## Porkchop Express (Mar 27, 2009)

Sorry it has taken so long to get these pictures up. I have been out of town for a while. They are not the best of pics, but it gives you a good idea of how the prop was seen by those walking by.


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## Halloween Princess (Sep 23, 2008)

Porkchop, that looks great! Your explanation of how this was done confused me a bit. Could you break it down for us one more time?


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## Wolfbeard (Sep 22, 2008)

Wolfbeard said:


> This sounds like a great idea. Here's a thought I had on this. If you can enlarge the image to twice the size as the frame and place it about a foot behind the glass, it might give that 3D look as people walk by it. It is essentially like the moving bookcase busts in Disney's HM. The image would appear to shift as fast as the person walking by the frame.
> 
> Eric


Eyegore, your idea sounds familiar! (from page 1) Great minds think alike. 

Eric


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## Eyegore (Aug 23, 2008)

Wolfbeard said:


> Eyegore, your idea sounds familiar! (from page 1) Great minds think alike.
> 
> Eric


Then it must work!


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## Wolfbeard (Sep 22, 2008)

Eyegor said:


> Then it must work!


After reading your post, I had an additional thought on the design. If the photo was bowed a bit, with the edges touching the frame and the apex (middle) of the arch about a foot away from what would be the glass, it might give more of a 3-D effect and not give away the gag by being able to see the edges of the photo. 

Now if only we could come up with a way to have some folks visible in the mirror, but the "vampires" not visible, we could rake in some big $$$ 

Eric


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## Porkchop Express (Mar 27, 2009)

Sorry for the vagueness...basically all we did was to set the picture frame with the window class up against the wall of the tent and cut out a piece of the "wall" the same size as the frame. We placed one small table on each side of the "wall" and then duplicated the stuff we placed on the table on both sides. The key was to have the "mirror" slightly angled so that the "reflection" focused primarily on the table and stuff and not the background. Hope this helps. I am not the best at explaining things.


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## undeadrevenge (Aug 1, 2010)

*or...*

i have this idea, i dont know if anyone has said it yet as i cant be bothered to look throuch all the pages but, instead of using a photo you could film the rest of the room from the perspective of the mirror, ( ie, flames flickering, cloth moving) stuff like that, and cheap monitor behind the frame, embedded into the wall, if you wanted to go realy realisic you could use some sort of software that moves servo motors that move the cloth ect. at the same time as it does in the film clip.


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## Eyegore (Aug 23, 2008)

undeadrevenge said:


> i have this idea, i dont know if anyone has said it yet as i cant be bothered to look throuch all the pages but, instead of using a photo you could film the rest of the room from the perspective of the mirror, ( ie, flames flickering, cloth moving) stuff like that, and cheap monitor behind the frame, embedded into the wall, if you wanted to go realy realisic you could use some sort of software that moves servo motors that move the cloth ect. at the same time as it does in the film clip.


Yeah, that would definantly work, and look freaking awesome, but I'd imaging it cost alot for an effect/prop, that might not even get noticed. Still good idea though. I just thought of something...you can film your scene on tripod, mirror footage, and play on loop in TV. Just put TV in or behind the wall, and add a frame.


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## undeadrevenge (Aug 1, 2010)

Eyegor said:


> Yeah, that would definantly work, and look freaking awesome, but I'd imaging it cost alot for an effect/prop, that might not even get noticed. Still good idea though. I just thought of something...you can film your scene on tripod, mirror footage, and play on loop in TV. Just put TV in or behind the wall, and add a frame.


i know it would be a bit too expensive, your idea is sorta like that really, although without all the servor motors and that stuff, it might not really get noticed if that area of the haunt has an actor or a prop desined to scare them, then they would get distracted, however if you had a nice bit 60" tv that you dont mind getting scrached by tot's then you could have an amazing full mirror thing going on


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## Eyegore (Aug 23, 2008)

undeadrevenge said:


> i know it would be a bit too expensive, your idea is sorta like that really, although without all the servor motors and that stuff, it might not really get noticed if that area of the haunt has an actor or a prop desined to scare them, then they would get distracted, however if you had a nice bit 60" tv that you dont mind getting scrached by tot's then you could have an amazing full mirror thing going on


 you might could pull off a small "mirror" with a computer monitor or 20" LCD TV! But if I ever happen to see a 60'' hdtv laying around,, I'll put this project on my to do list!


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## undeadrevenge (Aug 1, 2010)

Eyegor said:


> you might could pull off a small "mirror" with a computer monitor or 20" LCD TV! But if I ever happen to see a 60'' hdtv laying around,, I'll put this project on my to do list!


well yeah i allways see nice shiney 60" tv's lying about


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## cinemafreak (Nov 11, 2012)

You could probably do it with a picture if you took a panoramic view of the room, more than the mirror would normally get, and then curve the image like a U. that way, as someone moves, they'd see more of the room as they walk by.


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## MikeBru (Jul 30, 2009)

That might be a very elegant solution.


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## BobbyA (Aug 20, 2010)

Short of the arched pano or video trick, you could get away with it for a short period if while they see the mirror they are not in a position to change perspective.
For instance a large mirror at the end of a hall. Or positioning them in a dead non reflecting zone in the middle of the mirror, while the other areas still reflect might make the illusion last longer. Take off the silver on the back of the mirror in one area and place your large picture behind that area.


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