A special effects question.

[Baitball Blogger]

I have heard that you can recognize a dead body because the eyes do not refract light. So, whenever I see someone play dead on t.v., it is distracting when I see that glint in their eye. I was wondering, why don't they make contact lens for these actors that dull that refraction to make it more legit looking?

[forgotmylogin]

1. I believe it's because the eyes dry out.

After death, the body stops producing fluids.

Depends on how long the body is actually dead. If eyes stay open after death, the glint isn't going to immediately go away.

In SFX, the eyes are often the giveaway that you are seeing a prosthetic and now an actual person, so they want to keep everything as shiny as possible.