Technique 05 -Infinity Mirror
At some point, you have more than likely witnessed this first hand in a public bathroom, elevator, or fun house. It's incredibly simple and truly fascinating! Placing two parallel mirrors facing one another creates the illusion of an endless tunnel as the objects between both mirrors are reflected indefinitely. As many practical techniques go, an infinity mirror creates a truly awe-inspiring illusion.
THE TECHNIQUE
Though there isn't definitive documentation of when this technique was first discovered, there are a handful of artists who have become known for their implementation of mirrors within their own work. Yayoi Kasuma, a prolific contemporary Japanese artist, continues to create Infinity Mirror Room installations that are exhibited in museums around the world. Anthony James is another artist whose work explores the concept of infinite space using light and mirrors as mediums. Guillaume Lachapelle explored infinite space through architecture in his Visions solo exhibition.
Yayoi Kasuma
Guillame Lachapelle
Anthony James
When I started planning my practical effects photography series, the Infinity Mirror technique was easily at the top of my list of techniques to explore. I'll be the first to admit that I didn't create this technique and in fact, there are several people in the toy photography community that have already used this for creating some incredible photos. Here are a few of my favorites of late:
Preparing for Infinity
DEATH STAR PLANS
For my approach to this Infinity Mirror illusion, I considered a number of different concepts including building an army of troopers with only a handful of action figures, creating an endless underground catacomb, and making an endless black hole in space. Ultimately, that galaxy far far away provided me with the best inspiration. The Death Star, seemingly larger than life, was the perfect subject for applying this trick. Even those who aren't diehard fans like myself are familiar with the iconic trench run scene in the original Star Wars: A New Hope film that was released in 1977.
Creating this scene wasn't overly difficult, however, it did require an incredible amount of planning and preparation. After deciding to move forward with creating the Death Star, I had to determine how to create the trench cross-section that would be reflected between both mirrors. Fortunately I have several friends who I regularly collaborate and consult with. When I bounced the idea off of 3D animator extraordinaire, Nathan Glemboski, he was kind enough to model a proof of concept. Having the visual reference gave me much more confidence as I moved forward with the logistics. It's pretty cool to look back and compare the 3D renders with the final photo I captured!
CONSTRUCTING THE DEATH STAR
The next hurdle was creating the physical Death Star tiles. While in search of existing models to print, I was thrilled to come across the work of Adam Alpern, who faithfully modeled a library of Death Star tiles and made them available to download for free! As a side note, you should take a minute and visit his site monster.partyhat.co and appreciate the incredible dedication and love he put into this personal project of his.
I turned to another equally talented artist and friend, Eric Lee to help me bring these amazing models to physical form! We explored everything from 3D printing, making molds of scratch-built tiles, as well as vacuum forming. Ultimately 3d printing the tiles was the fastest and most efficient method for producing the required pieces. I owe a lot of the success of this project to Nathan, Eric, and Adam.
After Eric (who was willing to print 60 individual 4"x4" tiles for me) delivered the prints, the next step was to decide on the best orientation for creating the trench. Prior to painting, I tested out various configurations with a couple of mirrors I had on hand to determine what would work best for the shot. This process was incredibly helpful in understanding what scale spaceships to use as well as the size of mirrors required to fit the camera composition.
Fortunately, the Death Star is all gray, which made painting the multicolored prints much less time consuming. Though I could have just used gray primer for the entire project, I've found that adding black as a base helps with object with a lot of varied geometry or texture. When applying paint with a spray can, some crevices don't always get completely covered. Adding the first couple of layers of black helps to reduce this and also makes those hard-to-reach areas look darker, adding additional contrast after the main coat.
The final step was to spray several coats of gray over the black primer. I opted for a primer that also serves as a filler to help conceal the print lines that naturally occur with FDM prints. Primer/Filler basically is a bit more viscus and will help to smooth out uneven surfaces. Though it doesn't fix everything, it was perfect for the purpose of this shot and ended up saving me hours of sanding.
MIRROR
Sourcing the right mirrors to achieve this shot took some time. Originally, I planned to use a 2-way mirror but ultimately decided on keeping it simple with traditional 1-way mirrors. In this case, the larger the mirror the better, which allowed for wider framing for my shot. The 2 mirrors are 30"x 36" and 1/8" thick which I purchased from my local home improvement store.
I arranged the 3d printed Death Star tiles to create a trench cross-section and placed the mirrors on opposing sides facing each other. The trench in-between reflects in both mirrors resulting in a seemingly endless trench.
After setting up the mirrors, I placed the camera to get the best framing. The vertical portrait composition was the best way to showcase the infinity mirror effect. It wasn't until I had the framing set that I could determine which ships to use. Being a Star Wars fan and collector, I had a handful of various sizes to choose from. I ended up using a Micro Machines X-Wing along with an Action Fleet TIE Fighter by Galoob, both of which were mine when I was a kid!
To make this shot "faster and more intense", I added an explosion effect which I hand made from chicken wire and cotton. Adding a light underneath gives the explosion an extremely realistic effect. The tiny LED lights I used to illuminate the explosion are by Just Plug. Made specifically for hobbyists, this lighting system is one of the easiest ways to add small lights to a scene.
In addition, I stuck two green lightsaber blades on top of the explosion to give the illusion of laser bolts being shot from the TIE Fighter. Since the blades are translucent, the LED lights from underneath the explosion also illuminated the blades.
INFINITY MIRROR in action
THE FINAL RESULT
Implementing this technique was a lot of fun and seeing the results in real time was a blast. Like many of the practical techniques I have explored, this one was incredibly simple but extremely effective. I have several other ideas that would be ideal for this approach and can’t wait to try it again in the future.
Have you tried this technique in any of your work? If so, tag me in your posts on instagram use the hashtag #wmol_infinitymirror in your caption. I would love to see your shots using an infinity mirror! Since this is an ongoing series, what other techniques should I explore?
Thanks for learning with me and hopefully this inspires you to get creative with your next project.
PREORDER THE PRINT
As part of my series that explores techniques of visual effects, my exploration with Infinity Mirrors resulted in this concept called “I’m On The Leader”.
“I’m On The Leader” is an archival-grade print on Fuji Crystal luster photo paper and mounted on black styrene board for long-lasting durability.
This print is offered as a timed preorder which closes on June 15th, 2023. Once the preorder period closes, prints will be produced and processed. Please allow up to 2 weeks before your order arrives. Shipping included!
Currently available for US and Canada orders only. Please email info@invisibleelement.com if you would like a custom quote for shipping or have additional inquiries.
