PHOTO: Mirror sequence in MOON KNIGHT was completed in 10 months

This mirror sequence in ‘MOON KNIGHT’ took 10 months to complete. 

It was the most complicated shot in the entire series.

The result is a beautifully chaotic sequence that sees Steven come face-to-face with his alter ego, Marc, who saves them both from the onslaught of a jackal-like creature that was summoned by the villainous Arthur Harrow (Ethan Hawke). But for visual effects workers, this was months of hard graft without overtime.

“When the shoot day ends for us, the second half of our day begins,” explained Rebeck. “So, when everyone else is going off to the pub, you go back to the production office and work for four to six more hours.”

One of the most mind-bending sequences in Marvel’s Moon Knight took 10 months to make. And that’s just the visual effects artists. “This shot probably took 10 months total to work on,” said visual effects coordinator Alexandra Rebeck in a video for More Perfect Union. “It was the most complicated shot in the entire show.”

The sequence is seen early in the Moon Knight series as Steven Grant (played by Oscar Isaac) encounters his super-powered alter-ego known as Moon Knight in the bathroom of the British Museum. That’s right — the show’s very first episode included its most complicated shot.

And while VFX artists made it look effortless on screen, it took months for VFX workers to digitally remove the cameraman, who was reflected hundreds of times in the bathroom mirrors.

Steven Grant starts the first episode of Moon Knight with a deep mistrust of himself — even before realizing that he has dissociative identity disorder (DID). Part of how he comes to terms with himself is by looking in the mirrors around his apartment and in the world outside of his safe space. In addition to Grant’s own perspective, viewers are treated to a series of mirrors and reflective images throughout the episode that tease the many identities that Moon Knight uses and the alters whom Steven is just beginning to learn about.

The use of mirrors in visual media is often associated with an internal conflict or discussion for a character. Occasionally, mirrors tease characters’ duality or aspects of them that the audience doesn’t necessarily see coming. Marvel’s Moon Knight uses the device and some unexpected camerawork for a resounding “all of the above.”