Karel Bata Posted May 17, 2018 Share Posted May 17, 2018 The lighting section here has always been great for advice and help, so let's try my luck here... http://www.blue-room.org.uk/public/style_emoticons/default/smile.gif I'm creating an arts installation in a disused lift and have the idea of using mirror mylar to create a mirrored cube (except for the entrance). Rather bit like this, but smaller Ambitious? Vurtually no budget though, but I'm determined to make this look good. My plan is that if I get this good enough I can raise finance for something bigger. But this really could so easily go pear shaped... http://www.blue-room.org.uk/public/style_emoticons/default/ohmy.gif Plenty of technical challenges here! I can't glue this to the walls (wouldn't be flat enough anyway, but they are rigid) so I'm looking at ways of rigging it. Any ideas or tips in general with working with mylar? Many many thanks! http://www.blue-room.org.uk/public/style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif ps If anyone's interested and would like come and say hello the event is here Art in Flux Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted May 17, 2018 Share Posted May 17, 2018 Have a look at Rosco Shrink Mirror. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karel Bata Posted May 17, 2018 Author Share Posted May 17, 2018 Hm. Rosco Shrink Mirror comes at 54" x 30ft for £126 from Stage Depot, while Lee 271 comes in rolls of 6ft x 20f t at £68 from FlashLight. So I get more roll width with Lee and more overall coverage. Is there any difference betwen the two? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timsabre Posted May 17, 2018 Share Posted May 17, 2018 Hm. Rosco Shrink Mirror comes at 54" x 30ft for £126 from Stage Depot, while Lee 271 comes in rolls of 6ft x 20f t at £68 from FlashLight. So I get more roll width with Lee and more overall coverage. Is there any difference betwen the two? Yes, you'll never get the Lee 271 flat. It's shiny but if you're looking for mirror reflections then it won't work. You staple shrink mirror to a frame and heat it with a hairdryer, it shrinks slightly and makes a perfect mirror finish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karel Bata Posted May 17, 2018 Author Share Posted May 17, 2018 That straightforward? (Nearly said easy!) I've heard of this. Do you need 4 sides to the frame? And how much pull is there when it shrinks? Thanks BTW. http://www.blue-room.org.uk/public/style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timsabre Posted May 17, 2018 Share Posted May 17, 2018 Yes you need 4 sides. It requires some effort to get a perfect result, and the bigger the panel the harder it is. Google "rosco shrink mirror instructions" there's videos and all sorts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musht Posted May 17, 2018 Share Posted May 17, 2018 Enquire at your local tip, every time I`m in my local they always have a few mirror wardrobe doors getting trashed. Shrink mirror will form a good mirror, mylar film is space blanket on a roll and never looks better than it would if had lined in bacofoil... Next step up is acrylic mirror, hike in cost for most effective product without hazards of glass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ImagineerTom Posted May 18, 2018 Share Posted May 18, 2018 Any of these soft mirror products are susceptible to movement / drafts (even in what you think is a still room they will twitch and judder) and the optical effect they produce is very very poor when compared to real mirror. As a prop on a stage it’s ok but if you’re using large pieces and are trying to create an infinity effect (which will magnify imperfections a million times over) they really aren’t the solution I would recommend. You can purchase 8x4ft sheets of acrylic mirror for £90 - although this might seem more expensive than the soft mirror it’s a much superior product and at the end of this exhibition you could reuse mirror sheet whereas soft film is effectively disposable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karel Bata Posted May 18, 2018 Author Share Posted May 18, 2018 Thanks. Interesting posts. Most of my career has been in theatre, then film, so I'm familiar with 'getting it right' (and can be kind of obsessive actually). Moving into 'art' has been interesting. For one thing you don't always have to get it 'right'. If it's getiing flawed, you look at how you can use use that. And if things go a little pear-shaped, see if you can go with it. Hell, one thing I learned very quickly is that audience doesn't know what you intended to do - they assume that what they see is exactly what you want. Just don't tell them. "A technician sees a bug and fixes it. An artist sees a bug and explores it." All that said, several decades of getting it right will stop me from ever presenting a piece of sloppy rubbish as real work. There's no one there to say I've done it 'wrong', but if inside I know it's really just crap... So 1) in this cae it doesn't have to look perfect (though wouldn't that have been great?). It has to look good. Distortions and a bit of fuzziness will be a part of it. And they have to be anyway, because 2) there's no budget! I was trawling YouTube last night (we've all been there) and found some videos on working with space blankets! I kid you not. Cheap. I've ordered a handful, and I'm going to see to do a few tests. I may be back at the drawing board next week though. If this works well, next time I'll use acrylic mirrors. I've worked with them. Problem I had then was that they have a tendancy to bend a bit and needs glueing to a suitable surface to keep themt flat, which is another topic. http://www.blue-room.org.uk/public/style_emoticons/default/wink.gif Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elliotwoods Posted November 22, 2018 Share Posted November 22, 2018 I've heard of people having success getting mylar to shrink into shape also, also people selling mylar mirrors as completed productsThe Rosco Shrink Mirror lists Vinyl as its substrate material. Here in Korea you can get a 3x2m roll of 0.2mm thickness mirrored mylar for about £100 which is mostly used for farming I'm not sure if that would work, but there's many other options alsoI also heard that mylar can expand if you heat it too much, so maybe it's just a case of that the Vinyl is less tricky to work with Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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