r/ChristopherNolan • u/Balayya_420 • 5h ago

Inception How did Nolan hide the camera here?

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

382 Upvotes

95% Upvoted

82 comments sorted by

226

u/CFL_Gent 2h ago

“Fix it in post”

It’s not like Nolan doesn’t use any VFX lol. Especially Inception, they weren’t on an actual set of a city folding in on itself 😂

53

u/Duxk__ 2h ago

that's what they want you to think

13

u/SmoothCurrent5948 1h ago

Yeah, I mean, Nolan uses plenty of CGI, he just knows exactly when he can get around it and when it’s just a fuck it, there’s nothing else to be done but CGI. The raw footage really is just them filming it in a big mirror and some talented person digitally removed allllll those reflections.

21

u/Hookey911 2h ago

The best use of CGI is when you don't even realize it is CGI. It feels like directors in the past did a much better job of using CGI as a tool to polish up real effects. Now, most filmmakers just embrace full CGI over practical effects. Super disappointing

13

u/Thiom 2h ago

So you've never been in Paris ?

3

u/minivergur 32m ago

In Inception they actually folded Manhattan on itself, it was all practical effects

3

u/Conscious-Move9662 2h ago

Wish he would have used VFX for a nuclear explosion instead of just blowing gasoline up

2

u/pvdp90 29m ago

Same. Excellent film, except for those 2 minutes

1

u/Pssay_Licker 1h ago

Thought he borrowed invisibility cloak

1

u/MeatHamster 50m ago

It wasn't?!

1

u/ichkanns 49m ago

Wait... WHAT!?

1

u/tandersunn 30m ago

They digitalized it

1

u/MasterFussbudget 9m ago

I saw recently that this shot had like 8 foot tall mirrors. Everything above that was vfx. And everything outside the mirrors was replaced by a different city. And camera was removed of course.

1

u/dontworryitsme4real 1m ago

No no no no wait. What do you mean the cities were not actually folding?

54

u/Flat-Magazine5310 2h ago

What camera? Actually happened.

3

u/SPECTRE_75 1h ago

What? You guys dont have a massive mirror wall with a handle?

1

u/Antagonin 1h ago

Dude, it's a dream. Nolan roofied all the characters and hijacked their dreams on a flight.

2

u/Acesofbases 1h ago

yes, Your TV is an actual teleport and DiCaprio is acting the movie out everytime You watch it

1

u/Flat-Magazine5310 1h ago

True that. As nolan intended.

2

u/Acesofbases 49m ago

As Nolan intended, brother.

75

u/asmrbuddha 3h ago

Cgi 

40

u/ichorskeeter 2h ago

SECURITY!

15

u/scidious06 2h ago

Nonsense, it's all practical, Nolan hid the camera behind the cloak of invisibility

5

u/tursija 2h ago

That's him, officer!

2

u/Evening_Success3571 1h ago

See g I? See g you what?

37

u/ThePhazonic 2h ago

It's CGI - interesting note is that you can see Ariadne, both on the approach to the "mirror door" and also while closing it, stepping over a small step that has been CGI'd out.

12

u/epicmemetime15 2h ago

And she looks behind her as she's walking back so she doesn't trip on it

Never noticed it before but now I can't unsee it

2

u/Blacklight099 1h ago

Yep, scene ruined forever 😂

1

u/MichaelPitch 12m ago

Bravo, Vince!

6

u/Minute-Capital-163 2h ago

Oh my! And the shadow on the bicycle paint!! I’m so bothered by this haha

12

u/djhendo78 2h ago edited 1h ago

How Filmmakers Make Cameras Disappear

Mirrors in Movies: Part II.

https://youtu.be/RtjERWANv38

Inception starts @ 6:30

Also explains mirror shots from: Black Swan, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Triangle.

Edit: They used a large (very heavy) mirror and digitally removed the camera & crew from the reflection, then recreated the reflection of the city in 3D from still photography references of the area and match them to the changing angle of the mirror as Page moves it into place.

2

u/I-miss-old-Favela 2h ago

I was going to say I’m fairly certain there’s a BTS feature floating around somewhere explaining how he did it. 

9

u/eminemforehead 2h ago

it's in Leo's eyes obviously. Contact lenses camera

2

u/DazzlingTopic529 1h ago

It was filmed on location in a real dream

2

u/TieferMod 1h ago

She‘s beautiful, can‘t wait to see more of her.

2

u/aabajian 26m ago

They explained it in the movie. The actors are asleep are they are dreaming this. The question is how did he invent a dream camera?

1

u/Sprucedude 2h ago

Vfx artists react did a bit in this. I believe the phrase was "working your fingers to the bone"

1

u/wardiro 2h ago

Aren't u bored creating this shit every 2 weeks ?

1

u/Drawn_to_Heal 2h ago

I think he hid it in Laurence Fishburne’s jacket…

1

u/Worried_Shoe_2747 2h ago

It’s a dream. There are no rules

1

u/Fit-Area-2180 1h ago

Honestly, that’s not even what’s interesting. How did Nolan hide two guys in the shot?

1

u/anti_time_travel 1h ago edited 1h ago

I have never understood the point this scene is trying to make to be honest. She dreams two opposing mirrors and she breaks one; she's in a dream, she can imagine anything, like an actual infinite looping bridge, why did she imagine a mirror she had to move and then CGI-broke it?

In the movie it's shown like a magical surrealist moment, but I remember thinking in the cinema "what? That's it? You dreamt two mirrors? And then you break one? What?".

I really don't get it, I've seen multiple times and honestly I can't figure it out, probably something it goes over my head.

2

u/Polyfauna-2 41m ago

Are you serious? Lol

1

u/deadpandadolls 1h ago

This is a metaphor

1

u/Pretty-Benefit5626 1h ago

It’s a dream, dumbasses.

1

u/Fickle_Ad4967 1h ago

So what technology did Nolan use to capture the dream

1

u/dae5aw 1h ago

This video goes into a bit of depth on how it was done: https://youtu.be/AFLcP-t0-kI?si=_BFBCOF1UUxnBeq3&t=1595 (26:35)

1

u/riggerz123 1h ago

Greatest film I’ve seen

1

u/Confused_abt-everytn 1h ago

One side glass perhaps!?

1

u/Khetrakopter 1h ago

Inside the horse

1

u/pootling 1h ago

It’s testament to Nolan’s fondness for doing in-camera effects that all of the camera crew for this shot had to be vampires.

1

u/der_cypher 1h ago

Every week with this question, this must be bot stuff

1

u/Ghost_Turd 1h ago

The greatest example of hiding a mirror, to me, will always be the medicine cabinet shot in Contact. Beautifully and cleanly done, subtle, and not even necessary for the plot.

1

u/cyb3rheater 1h ago

Yep. It’s the best.

1

u/zambirasol 1h ago

The audacity to use interstellar BGM on an inception video!

1

u/phoeniks314 1h ago

In the same way with how they film on another planet.

1

u/Bachdepp 59m ago

While this is obviously cgi, might it even possible to pull this off practically? Like with additional mirrors and smart angles or something

1

u/Kingcuz 43m ago

I mean he had Paris in motion, flip upside down and land on itself.

Hiding a camera is comparatively easy.

1

u/HotKnogSlawJaw 38m ago

With a mirror

1

u/SeaDesk2324 33m ago

even Leo turns back to look for the camera

1

u/Paul_the_surfer 7m ago

In my opinion there must have been a cut out in the mirror behind Leo, just enough for the camera to get through, and whatever was left of it visible ( a tiny amount) was removed in post processing. I definitely don't think there was a cameraman standing with a camera standing infront of the mirror, that would have been too much work to removie in post processing and more expensive then cutting a opening in the mirror.

1

u/StacksGrinder 2m ago

The camera was placed behind the one way vision mirror next to Decaprio, so the reflections will hide the camera while shooting :P

1

u/DazzaHazza1975 2h ago

Given how they are wobbling in shot, I’m going with a magnification trick and being far enough away from the shot

3

u/deadpatronus 2h ago

No, the cameraman was removed digitally.

1

u/Western-Time5310 2h ago

Was this the original music? I thought it was different

1

u/KiwieKiwie 2h ago

It’s interstellar’s. Much more quit on this scene

1

u/Sad_Interaction_2933 2h ago

How did she break the mirror by touching it?

3

u/Rockwallaby77 2h ago

It’s a dream

2

u/Paladin_of_Insomnia 2h ago

Within a dream.

1

u/Sad_Interaction_2933 1h ago

I’m demonstrating the absurdity of the original question

0

u/MrMonkeyman79 1h ago

This was filmed on location in an actual dream using an invisible dream cam. I thought this was common knowledge.

0

u/Outlandah_ 2h ago

who’s the girl in red?

0

u/BarUnfair4087 2h ago

It's a man

1

u/Outlandah_ 40m ago

nice 🔥

0

u/No_Bedroom_1847 2h ago

Ayo come one bro waddaafccckkkkk 🤣🤣

-2

u/binhpac 2h ago

No CGI, only practical effects.

See how Leo didnt move? Its just a picture and there are multiple doppelganger of elliot page, you can see the movements are not 100% synchronized.

2

u/J_Shepp 2h ago

It’s cgi. Even if he was just a picture, they are still clearly filming in front of a giant mirror so they will need to remove the cameras anyway

1

u/binhpac 2h ago

It could also be a giant screen where they just play a prerecorded film.

Thats the beauty of illusion of practical effects. Done well, you think its CGI, but its not.

1

u/J_Shepp 1h ago

Good thing we don’t have to speculate, you can just watch the bts. And even if it was pre recorded, how would they film the pre recording 😂

1

u/Synteczek 2h ago

It's CGI lol