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Analysis Video

Scene

Detailed Analysis

I first decided that the best comparison I would be able to make to this gadget is a two-way mirror. The gadget is see-through on one side and opaque (there is a projection and no visibility of action of the other side) on the other. To being my research, I took a look at how light interacts with glass.

It turns out that all light is split when it hits glass, half is sent though and half is reflected. Which light get seen is a matter of which light is stronger. As shown in the example above, sunlight is much stronger than a ceiling light. When it is daytime and the sun is out, it is very difficult to see reflections because the light coming from outside overpowers it. However, at night, reflections from inside the building can easily be seen as minimal light is coming in from outside. This is how two-way mirrors work.

Two-way mirrors are pieces of glass that are coated on one side with a special silver coat that is meant to be extremely reflective. This silver is applied in a way that lets 50% of light through. However, this still affects both sides of the pane. In order for the mirror to work, the principles from above must be applied: it must be far darker on one of the sides of the mirror. In police stations, the room where the interrogation occurs is always brightly lit, while the room with the supervisors is dim. This allows for the supervisors to see in and prevents those inside from seeing out.

To return to the scene, the hallway is equally lit all the way through. Therefore, even if there was a projector hidden down the hallway (which is a whole different issue altogether) this gadget is not physically possible in this situation because the light is constant on both sides of it.