#askjfks sorry for the new post i didn't want to hijack the og with something completely unrelated *heart*

[bugsbenefit]

new post bc i don't want to hijack a post and make it unnecessarily long but since we're already talking about mirrors in ST (check out the post i'm talking about super great points about how mirrors are used in film, @chirpsythismorning has bangers)

it's crazy to me how much these mirror moments get discredited and it's clearly coming from a place of not understanding how filming mirrors actually works. i assure you there will never Ever be a mirror on screen in a film/show if it doesn't have meaning, there is always an intention behind a mirror shot. even a low budget production that films in the director's actual basement might have unimportant set design lying around because they didn't have time to properly work with the set, but there will still be no accidental mirror shots

because mirrors are HARD to work with

it's not even just about the obvious thing of having to keep the camera out of it's sight. you also have to hide all background set crew, camera tracks, microphones, etc. that's the reason you rarely see mirrors in the background of shots that aren't turned away from the camera

and on top of that there's also the fact that mirrors complicate set lighting. every scene has some form of artificial lighting, but the audience isn't supposed to constantly be reminded that there's an actual lighting set up instead of the nice overhead lamps. however, spotlights reflect in mirrors which mean lighting crews have to carefully plan around mirrors (or special set mirrors are ordered that break light differently)

essentially, every time you're actually able to see into a mirror in film someone spent a considerable amount of time making sure nothing unwanted shows up in it, the lighting works, and that the angle doesn't make the actors look awkward/works with the flow of the scene

and aside from the complications mirrors bring to filming, mirrors are also a vital theme of ST itself, having Vecna's main killing motive/method be "holding up a mirror" to people

and just to make clear how noteworthy any mirror shots actually are, there's also examples of mirrors used in a completely different way. look at the Bingham house for example

there is a LOT of mirrors in there. however. you never see anyone in them despite them being situated right in front of people

that's because they're all tilted upwards. (in this case the mirrors seem to actually be tilted slightly, but some set mirrors are even tilted in their frames, so a frame could hang straight while the mirror itself would still face slightly upwards)

this way you have to worry less about reflections, or a camera crew being visible, much easier to film

if you want to see it better i recommend watching an actual clip of the scene because the characters not showing up in the mirrors is hard to capture in still images. one good example would be here though

where in the moving frame Mike's head clips into the mirror for a second

just to properly show how far the mirrors are actually tilted. if this was a normal mirror not set up for filming, both Will and Mike's whole upper bodies would reflect in it, instead of just the tip of Mike's head and the actual ceiling being visible

any scene that is filmed with a clear view into a mirror is carefully thought out and intentionally planned. there is no "accidental mirror shot". mirrors aren't just there and the directors decide to have a fun shot. mirror scenes need to be carefully planned and worked with to make them look right in the end result. and there is a myriad of ways to avoid mirror shots, even while having mirrors in frame, see the Bingham house

so shots like this

aren't just there because there was a mirror and it looked fun. a lot of thought and planning went into making this shot work out on screen and the mirror has meaning. mirrors in film aren't regular props

even though the complete lack of reflections in the Bingham house might actually have some narrative importance as well in the specific case of ST. since the big bad's whole M.O. is holding mirrors up... but that's not the point i'm making here. just wanted to talk about filming techniques involving mirrors