Wacky Mirror Effect

Submission 20,680

Part of a series on TikTok. [View Related Entries]

About

Wacky Mirror Effect is a Creative Effect on TikTok that creates a constant wavy effect over the camera, making it appear as if things are moving in a funny way.

Origin

In late November of 2020, TikTok added the Wacky Mirror effect to their platform. It's unknown who first used it. Some of the earliest videos using the effect apply it to pets, including cats and dogs (examples shown below, left and right).^[1]^[2]

Spread

The Wacky Mirror effect found quick success on TikTok, with videos under the hashtag #wackymirror^[3] gaining over 88.9 million views by January 2021, and inspiring a number of trends on the platform.

Filming People Unknowingly

On December 21st, 2020, just_us_fam_ uploaded a video to TikTok^[9] filming someone unknowingly with the effect, garnering over 26.4 million views in just over 2 weeks (shown below, left). On December 22nd, keemokazi uploaded a similar video to TikTok^[10] unknowingly filming a girl put a necklace on another girl, garnering over 16.8 million views in a comparable span of time (shown below, right).

JNATHYN_DIOMA

One of the primary sounds associated with Wacky Mirror is called JNATHYN_DIOMA First version, which originates from a video of a TikToker messing around with a synthesizer.^[4] Videos using Wacky Mirror under this sound typically feature people or animals staring directly into the camera as the effect runs from top to bottom of the screen. On November 25th, tyler_oscarson uploaded a video of his dog set to the sound to TikTok,^[5] garnering over 1.6 million views in just over a month (shown below, left). On December 16th, banderitax uploaded a video to TikTok^[6] staring into the camera set to the sound, garnering over 3.5 million views in under a month (shown below, right).

Teach Me How To Dougie / Wacky Mirror Dance

The sound "Teach Me How To Dougie – Classics Reborn" is associated with a trend in which you film two people or objects side by side with the effect set to the sound, making them appear as if they're dancing strangely in unison. On December 31st, naomiss87 uploaded a video^[7] of a series of Marvel action figures set to the sound, garnering over 148,000 views in 6 days (shown below, left). On the same day, ajestevez14 uploaded a similar video to TikTok^[8] using Five Nights at Freddy's figures, garnering over 35,000 views in the same span of time (shown below, right).