On darkest night, of storm and rain A mask speaks out from silvered pane Want to build our magic mirror prop but the free version doesn't have the features you've come to expect from our other digital puppets? Look no more, for Mirror Mirror, our second Magic Mirror prop, is here! Features Higher-resolution model and smoother animation than the original Magic Mirror puppet. Customizable lighting setup. Choose colors for the ambient light, highlight, and accent light, and choose the direction they come from. (More lights than our previous puppets!) Choose between three spectacular background effects: Fire, Spectral Emission, and Necrotic Venting. Or leave it against classic black. Choose from two styles: classic and modern. Three modes of control: Keyboard, Microphone Input, or Performance Playback. The many moods of Mirror Mirror: asleep, sad, docile, furious, and grinning. Add custom backdrops if desired. Comes with a creepy blue-lit stone wall texture, or you can add your own. Turn floating on or off. Much better interface than with the original, done through a pop-up console with easy navigation: If you use Mirror Mirror at your home haunt this year, be sure to tell us about it and we'll feature it on our "Friends of ImaginEERIEing" page!

Full Version Price: $15 CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE Demo Version Mirror Mirror version 1.1 is the latest version. This version adds the ability to have the mirror fade when asleep. (Select "Fading" in the Appearance console menu.) This version is not heavily tested, so if you don't need the fading feature, you should use version 1.0 below. Mac Version Windows Version Mirror Mirror version 1.0 is latest fully-functional stable demo version. The only difference between the demo and the full version is a watermark behind the mask, which is removed when you register the full version. Mac Version Windows Version

FAQ's and Recommendations

How do I make Mirror Mirror as big as possible onscreen?

Mirror Mirror runs at 800x600 resolution, so you should set your screen resolution to be 800x600, or the smallest resolution larger than that. You typically do this in your system preferences. If you can turn your monitor on its side for your haunt, you should also change Mirror Mirrors's orientation to "portrait," which displays him sideways, which allows him to be displayed larger.

Also, Mirror Mirror has two modes for each orientation. If you turn on the background effects like fire, the "far" mode will zoom back out enough so that the effects aren't cropped at the edge of your monitor. Use whichever orientation gives you the best, biggest view of the mirror face.

Help! I can't record a performance - it stops recording as soon as I start!

Mirror Mirror times your performance against a sound file. If you don't provide a sound file to record your performance against, you will stop recording as soon as you start. Make sure you give it a standard audio file format, like .mp3 or .wav, that your file really is in that format (and not just named .mp3), that your file's permissions are set so that Mirror Mirror can read it, and that you have given Mirror Mirror the proper location of the file. If you don't hear your sound file playing when you start recording, then something is preventing Mirror Mirror from accessing your sound file.

How do I get the best results out of Mirror Mirror?

Your best results will come from having a live puppeteer controlling Mirror Mirror as it interacts with your visitors. That interactive element adds a lot for many visitors. It is better to use manual control of the mouth, rather than relying on the microphone, since unintentional noises can open the mouth (like an "mmmmmm" sound), and you may want his mouth to be open when there is silence (such as if he goes slack-jawed from some strange comment).

We also strongly recommend that you build a facade for Mirror Mirror and display him behind a "scrim," which hides the fact that he's generated by a computer. It takes a bit of work, but the results are fantastic and sure to please your visitors. For more details on how to build a facade, and more on the history of this great attraction effect, see our original Magic Mirror page.

How do I create my own backdrops?

The backdrop feature allows you to load any image and use it as a backdrop. The recommended image size is 512x512 pixels, but any image size can be loaded - it will scale your image to be 512 pixels wide, and then fill the rest of the 512x512 with black if necessary. Mirror Mirror will then scale the image to be as wide as the screen. To load it up, select "Backdrop" from the "Appearance" menu in the console, and select the "Custom File" option. You'll be prompted to locate the image you want to use.

Can I save a performance as a QuickTime movie?

Mirror Mirror by itself does not support this feature. However, you should be able to use Snapz Pro X on Mac or a similar utility on Windows to capture the screen video for later use in a video editing application.

I'm using Windows, and I get script error messages.

This is probably due to the way you extracted the ZIP file. In order to run properly, there needs to be a folder called "Xtras" in the same location as the Mirror Mirror application. The asFFT.x32 file needs to be in the Xtras folder. If the asFFT.x32 file is not in the Xtras folder, or the Xtras folder is not in the same folder as the application, or if permissions are set so that Mirror Mirror cannot read out of the Xtras folder, then Mirror Mirror will fail to run.

I'm broke! How can I do this on a budget of less than $15?

The original magic mirror digital puppet we created is free. It's a floating mask in a mirror, just like Mirror Mirror, but was made with old 2003 technology, and requires a bit more effort to set up and get working. You can download it here.

Version History

v1.0

Initial demo release