Can you believe it?

The Matrix reloaded and Matrix Revolutions will showcase impossible action sequences and a new special effects buzzword, virtual cinematography.

Computer Times, 7 May 2003

Billy Teo

 
Action Reloaded

Hardcore fans of The Matrix are probably familiar with terms like Bullet Time, a computer-generated special effect on time compression or time speeded-up, used in the original movie in 1999. But come next Friday [May 16] when the long-awaited sequel, Matrix Reloaded, opens at local cinemas, fans can learn another special effects term: Virtual Cinematography. The Bullet Time effect was used in memorable scenes in The Matrix, such as when butt-kicking Trinity (portrayed by Carrie-Anne Moss) freezes in mid-air or when Neo (Keanu Reeves) dodged a flying bullet in the rooftop scene.

In Virtual Cinematography, computers are used to generate photo-realistic three-dimensional (3D) models of the surroundings and the actors, complete with facial expression and physical characteristics. While the Bullet Time effect was chiefly two-dimensional, like a bullet travelling from one point to another, or from the background to the foreground, Virtual Cinematography has broken the barriers as to where the cameras can go. The cameras can be positioned at all perspectives: flying through an action, from top to bottom, left to right and all around, to create the shots.

The Matrix Reloaded promises plenty of reality-defying action. But much of the battles are entirely computer-generated. There are over 1,000 virtual effects shots for the Matrix Reloaded. The original movie had 412 shots. The visual effects cost for the two sequels, Reloaded and Revolutions (in cinemas this November) is US$100 million.

For example, in Reloaded, heavy use of computer-generated images are in the scene where Neo, the hero played by Keanu Reeves, squares off with an army of Agent Smiths, all actor Hugo weaving clones. Mr John Gaeta of Esc Entertainment, the visual effects supervisor who dreamt up Bullet Time effect for The Matrix, has a new buzzword for The Matrix Reloaded: virtual cinematography. Esc Entertainment is the visual effects production company overseeing the sequels' special effects.

In the Bullet Time setup, 120 digital cameras were arranged in a sequence to capture an action, like an actor falling back. the images were then interpolated or combined by computer software to become a revolving scene. In effect, a virtual camera can move around an action as it occurs, at varying speeds.

But the much-imitated Bullet  Time technology could not meet the demands of the sequels. So, enter virtual cinematography, where everything in a scene - the actors, props, buildings, and the fighting actions - are replicated as computer data. The hard work is in digitising the "real" elements.

For buildings, for example, 3D models were mathematically generated and rendered from photographs. Action sequences performed by actors were captured and stored as movement patterns that could be applied to digital actors (3D models). The actors' facial expressions were captured by a process called universal capture, using high-definition digital cameras (Sony HDW-900) and tweaked by a suite of proprietary software. The level of detail is down to facial pores and hair follicles - this high-resolution scanning produces data to the tune of one gigabyte per minute. The resulting digital faces are pasted on the digital actors.

A typical virtual scene will have photo-realistic digital copies of the real actors immersed in a believable 3D environment that looks no different from the real world. The directors, brothers Andy and Larry Wachowski, would then manipulate the digital actors in any virtual scene. They can also control the movement and speed of their virtual cameras to go anywhere in a scene. The computer-generated footage is then mixed with "live" footage for the final cut.

Singaporean in the Matrix

Singaporean Nickson Fong, 34, is the effects technical director for The Matrix sequels, Reloaded and Revolutions. he is in charge of creating realistic smoke and atmosphere effects, as well as explosions. On the overall use of technology for The Matrix sequels, Mr Fong said: "It is a progression of what The Matrix pioneered. The sheer volume of effects work is groundbreaking."

He revealed that Esc Entertainment used mainly Dell computers that run on Windows 2000 operating system and dual Intel Xeon processors that are at least 2.2 GHz fast. There are also "rendering farms" - networked computers made of "stacks and stacks of Dell machines".

"One single frame may contain thousands of elements spread over many layers. It may take between 15 and 20 plus hours to render one frame," he said. Films runs at 24 frames per second. So, a typical two-hour movie may have 172,800 frames.

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