6. The Matrix's Bullet Time Used Hundreds Of Cameras
It's weird to think now with the legacy tarnished somewhat with the cack sequels and the increasingly bizarre careers of the Wachowskis afterwards but upon its release, The Matrix was the most pioneering action films produced; if not one of the most pioneering films, full stop. Part of that was the martial arts, part of that was the co-opting of Baudelaire for a Hollywood sci-fi thriller, but mostly it was the bullet time. The creation of visual effects supervisor John Gaeta (who won an Oscar for his work on the first film), this was the special effect that was spoofed in every kid's film, advertisement and Matrix knock-offs produced for years after. The actor appears to move in slow motion, whilst the camera spins around them at a seemingly impossible speed. How do they do it? When Neo is grappling with Agent Smith in mid air, or doing a limbo move to dodge bullets, they've been slowed to almost a halt. The camera would have to be going, like, lightning speed around them to capture it. Turns out the solution is way more simple (sort of): all the bullet time sequences were shot on green screen, with a rig of cameras placed in a circle around the action. It was filmed in regular time, but each camera took a picture in sequence, then animated together in slow motion. So bullet time, the greatest innovation in action movie camerawork since the introduction of the steadicam, basically used the technology of a flip-book.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
