Mirror-inverted scene

NCC-73515 · #1 11-15-2008, 04:38 AM

I wonder why the short trailer scene with Spock and Kirk was mirror-inverted...

Cannibal · #2 11-15-2008, 04:50 AM

To make it more aesthetically pleasing. The direction of the action on screen leads your eyes and your attention in that direction. The flip probably just made it flow better with how the trailer was edited. That scene in that particular spot in the trailer would have probably been jarring had it been aligned properly. It's a very subconscious thing but it's very real.
I can't say I agree with that. I've always found that to be somewhat unethical and distracting. But that is the reason that some photographers/filmmakers/editors will do that from time to time.

Big D · #3 11-15-2008, 04:52 AM

That happens quite a lot in movies, and it's mainly for aesthetics. To make the composition look right, for whatever purpose.

There're a ton of good examples in, for instance, The Lord of the Rings. If you watch closely, buckles and cloak pins change direction from time to time, and Frodo's facial scars and scrapes shift for a few scenes near the very end. In that case, the mirroring was done so that the characters seem to be moving in 'the right direction', namely from left to right - the way they're always progressing along their entire journey, across all three films. It helps to reinforce the audience's feeling of travelling away from home non-stop, even though it's too subtle to notice without it being pointed out.

:edit: Cannibal's (b)eaten me to it. That'll teach me for spending ages on these pointlessly-wordy replies