BARCELONA, Spain – Eager Matrix fans soon will get their first glimpse of what's said to be Larry and Andy Wachowski's filmmaking fantasy: a live-action movie that's as close to anime as possible.
The Matrix Revolutions is scheduled to open Nov. 5 at the exact same moment in more than 50 countries, with an IMAX edition opening simultaneously at a number of theaters. Entanglements between man and machine are explored through an idiosyncratic filmmaking style that evolved over the course of the trilogy, merging virtual with real in a visual vocabulary supervised by special effects guru John Gaeta.
Just two days after wrapping the final Matrix chapter, Gaeta stuffed laptop and clothes into a suitcase and hopped a plane to Barcelona to address aspiring digital artists at tech confab Art Futura. He spoke to Wired News in Spain about the hybrid future of gaming and filmmaking.
Wired News: What aspects of the virtual world in Revolutions will feel new to audiences?
John Gaeta: This time, the story unfolds in the world outside of the Matrix, so we had to envision, design and build new environments on the Earth's surface. It's based on the idea of a future America, but it's dystopian, freakish and post-apocalyptic.
WN: As you progressed through each film, did the effects-development team rely increasingly on homegrown software, rather than off-the-shelf tools?
Gaeta: Absolutely. We built a mountain of code, and a far greater portion of the film was computer-generated. We're using new iterations of the same tools. We discover the dysfunctions, then we rewrite and reuse in new ways. Writing code is simple; figuring out what you need to write is hard.
WN: What was most difficult this time around?
Gaeta: Large-scale procedural creature animation, full environmental builds, creating virtual humans and things that simulated reality – there's a lot of re-imagined "real world" in Revolutions, and that's more challenging than creating fictional space.
WN: How much will the new film feel like Reloaded?
Gaeta: Not much. The Matrix is a three-act play: What began underground concludes in Revolutions on the Earth's surface, in Revelations-like fashion. In the first film, we learned that people are trapped in a prison devised by machines. In Reloaded, we learn about the power architecture in that world, and discover what (Keanu Reeves' character) Neo must do to become a savior, a messiah – to interrupt the mental slavery of that world's inhabitants. But along the way, we learn that it's not just up to Neo – freedom is a personal choice each of them has to make.
WN: Should audiences expect to see new tricks this time around – the introduction of some new digital-effects techniques, perhaps, in the same way that "bullet time" was new in the original Matrix?
Gaeta: We don't sit around the studio dreaming up big, new, mind-blowing gimmicks to cram into everything. There is one new technique in Revolutions we can't talk about yet – but I can say it's a new extension of virtual cinematography. You'll know it when you see it, and I'm pretty excited about it.
WN: What happens after Revolutions?
Gaeta: With the massively multiplayer online Matrix game, we're hoping to cultivate a community of gamers who are actively engaged in the concepts of the film trilogy. Now, the audience itself will be in charge of perpetuating and evolving the story, not just those of us on the filmmaking team.
WN: How are you collaborating with the game developers?
Gaeta: (Co-directors) Larry and Andy Wachowski's production company manages artistic direction for all of the Matrix projects: games, animes, music, films. Other companies do effects for specific projects. In developing the game, we shared resources with the game developers, including a motion-capture facility we built that captured over 5 terabytes of data each day. As Revolutions developed, we shared design source material with the game guys – photography, textures, 3-D models and character layouts.
WN: Can you describe how the creative and technological development cycles were different this time around?
Gaeta: For about a year, we reviewed scripts with the (Wachowski) brothers and with our artists. Then, a pre-visualization team began setting up sketches. A lot of editorial work had to happen in tandem with the art and effects so that the breadth, size or intent of a shot could work. And this was all happening at the same time as the games and animes. We were doing pre-visualization and post-production on hundreds of shots simultaneously.
WN: How soon do you see film and games merging into a new, hybrid entertainment experience?
Gaeta: It's already happening. Digital photorealism in film is here now, the same in games is coming soon, and online will follow as soon as bandwidth permits. That's just a matter of math. With the desire to make that happen coming from so many different directions – the military sector, the scientific community, even the porn industry – it's inevitable.
Guided virtual experiences derivative of dramatic structure that look real but allow you to interact dimensionally and affect the course of things aren't that far off. But it's going to take plenty of experimentation to get it right. Plenty of virtual-effects-laden films stink, because effects don't make a film emotionally engaging; the vision of great directors and writers do.
