What makes the sequence groundbreaking is that after creating it in three dimensions, the directors can select any of an infinite number of camera angles just by plugging in the right equation - all without having to reanimate a single frame.
"There will be a very low likelihood that we will see a quick repetition of the material."Ĭhief among the promised marvels is the "Burly Brawl," which Wired magazine has called "Bullet Time Squared." The set was entirely re-created inside the computer, along with dimensional replicas of the heads of Reeves and Weaving. "I think that the next two films will absolutely plaster and pummel everything in all directions," he said. Interviewed in his office in Alameda, Calif., where the naval base is now studded with faceless barracks and warehouses, many of which contain the future of the special effects industry - Gaeta averred that the sequels would be more difficult to imitate. They can manage to talk without saying anything"), which leaves their visual effects supervisor, Gaeta, to answer the deeper questions about the legacy of The Matrix. "You guys only thought they were talking to you. The Wachowskis themselves rarely speak to reporters ("They've never talked to the press," Pope said. The people behind The Matrix acknowledge its influence on cinema, car commercials, video games and even fashion, but they're too busy looking ahead to The Matrix Reloaded (and later this year, in November, the final part of the trilogy, The Matrix Revolutions) to complain about the homages (a k a ripoffs). It's that combination of the credible and the incredible that puts The Matrix in a different class from its imitators. But what happens in the dojo isn't computer-generated: The actors trained for three months to master the kung fu, the midair triple-kicks and the intricate wire work, and the sequence is edited (by Zach Staenberg) to emphasize the actors' fluid movements. It is no accident that, in The Matrix, Morpheus' way of helping Neo to understand his own powers is to upload a martial-arts program into his brain and take him into a virtual dojo, a Zen monastery.