Following the success of The Matrix's groundbreaking special effects, the creator of bullet time photography, Gaines, talks through how the process works and how they put together the effects that worked to great effect in the film.
This little short has probably out lived it's usefulness. When it was made it was 1999 - the year of The Matrix - and the talk was all about the special effects and in particular the unique bullet time technique. We'd all seen the majority of the Matrix before (ie the wire work) but this was new and everyone was pretty taken by it. This documentary gives a nice introduction to the technique without going over the top on technical detail. It is interesting to see the scenes being shot against the green background and see the computer moving around freely on the set of the rooftop or subway station where the two main effect shots happen.
But is 4 minutes really enough? Yes, I'd say, but the problem is that this subject should have been part of a much bigger documentary rather than one of 3 very short films put onto the dvd and video. Instead of being lost in a sea of discussion and facts I was left simply going `oh'. One of the antidotes for this was the delivery of special effects co-ordinator Gaines who is genuinely enthused about the subject and manages to bring out his passion despite the fact he must have talked it to death by the time he made this film. The contribution from voice-over man is annoying and only serves to make this feel more like a cheap trailer and not a docu-short.
Overall this is of interest to Matrix completists but I doubt many fans don't already know the basics that are covered in this short. Also, seeing many other standard actioners aping the effects here (and seeing Reloaded take them further) take away from their impact now. Worth a watch in companion with the film though - it's only 4 minutes long after all.