The Matrix’s glorious ‘dodging bullet’ scene with Keanu Reeves was shot using 100 plus cameras: ‘It was extraordinary…’

As far as dodging bullet scene is concerned, The Matrix makers used something called the bullet-time effect for it, also known as flow-motion and time slice, in which the subject seemingly is in slow motion while the camera appears to be moving at a normal rate. Examples other than The Matrix where this is executed efficiently includes Shrek, The Simpsons, Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle, Kung Fu Panda, Sherlock among others. But these features and series came after The Matrix was released in cinemas. So how did the team pull off that impossible-looking act? Of course, the obvious answer is CGI and multiples cameras. But during an interview with Vanity Fair, The Matrix star Keanu Reeves had opened up about how it all came to be.

Stating that it was shot with the help of over 100 cameras, the actor told the publication, “When it came to shooting Neo dodging the bullets, it was on a stage with a green screen and more than 100 cameras. I was on a wire, and it was extraordinary to be the human piece of ‘bullet time’ and do something physically impossible. I threw myself back, did the choreography—everyone was really excited hearing the camera shutters. Then, of course, in Wachowski fashion, we did it a whole bunch more, looking for super-perfect. Then, we started to see ‘bullet time’ enter the mainstream in commercials, and the Wachowskis became a part of our visual language. You see them moving a camera like that now during football games. There’s nothing like the original, but it’s still always cool.”

That indeed is very very cool, and something that was described in the screenplay as ‘Entering the liquid space of bullet-time.’ A succinct and precise way to express what actually was happening to my brain as I took in the scene. The segment felt fluid and smooth, exactly the way its makers had wanted it to be. The scene is significant not just because of the way it was shot or how it influenced the visual grammar of movies, but because it is at that exact moment Neo, our hero, realises his abilities physically. It is for this time he had been training with blood, sweat, tears, and it pays off — both to Neo and to us.

The Matrix made 467 million dollars (a jaw-dropping figure at the time) of its considerably modest number of 63 million dollars. The Keanu Reeves film also ended up bagging four Oscars in the categories of sound, editing and visual effects.

Also starring Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving and Laurence Fishburne in pivotal roles, The Matrix is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video, YouTube and Apple TV.