How was this shot in Contact (1997) really made? [duplicate]

There was this tricky mirror scene in Contact

The effect is: the camera is moving backwards, always facing a character running towards something and keeping the same distance from that character (who does turns, goes upstairs, etc) and always facing it, during the whole shot. When the character's hand reaches (near the camera) what appears to be a cabinet door, and opens it, the cabinet's mirror moves on the side and the image we had moves with it, as if everything (or at least the last part of the run toward the cabinet) was filmed in the cabinet's mirror (with the camera facing the cabinet, not the character).

How was this scene really made?

Is it really a mirror shot or something else?

film-techniques contact

Best Answer

It's mostly a CGI effect with blue screening / masking, motion tracking etc.

There's a YouTube explanation by the movie's Cinematographer Don Burgess

Also another by Contact's visual effects supervisors Ken Ralston and Stephen Rosenbaum

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How did they film contact mirror scene?

In the film, Orpheus (Jean Marais) travels between the world of the living and the dead through a magic mirror, which ripples like water as he passes through it. The mirror was shot from above and was, in fact, a vat of liquid mercury. Marais had to wear protective gloves in order to interact with the \u201cmirror.\u201d

How are mirror shot filmed?

6 Answers

one is using visual effects (optical or CGI) for the reflection.

The other was used by James Cameron in Terminator 2: Cameron wanted a tracking shot (camera moving sideways) behind Linda Hamilton removing a chip from Arnold's head in front of a mirror.

Film Contact 1997 - Brilliant Tricky Mirror Shot Explained

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