Cinefex Weekly Update | Issue 10

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Article by Joe Fordham

The sequels to The Matrix -- written and directed by Larry and Andy Wachowski -- both featured main titles by French visual effects studio BUF Compagnie, designed to lead viewers into the fabric of a digital world conjured by machines.

For the final episode, The Matrix Revolutions, the titles represented a journey that penetrated the core of the machines' creation. "The idea for the Revolutions titles," explained the production's overall visual effects supervisor John Gaeta, "was based on a Big Bang concept representing the birth of consciousness in machines. It was a quick shot because Larry and Andy wanted to get into the film immediately; but it revealed the fabric of all the structures as fractal debris, which were nano-components of that world."

The titles begin with the series' familiar rain of glowing green computer code, which forms the main title in 3D and into which the camera passes, gliding through the 'u' of Revolutions to arrive at an explosion of golden, glowing energy. "To create the explosion," said BUF visual effects supervisor Stéphane Ceretti, "we carried out extensive research work on Benoit Mandelbrot's fractal systems and Julia structures. We wanted to establish a compound of the richness of a classic explosion with the mathematical precision of fractal structures, which represented the origin of the machines' spirit. We used a fractal processing device operated with scripts to generate fractals and control their tracking motion, then used a mathematical tool aptly known as 'complex numbers' to animate the shapes, bringing them to life as the journey progressed."

BUF generated 2D layers of patterns, improvised designs of spiraling and tubular structures, and then created parallax effects by piling up the layers and adding CG elements in the foreground. The initial explosion was made up of particles representing stellar bodies expelled at high speed from the core of the detonation, 3D flames, rays and halo effects textured with fractal detail as the explosion expands. The camera then approaches a glowing Machine City of Mandelbrot-style structures, based on a matte painting provided by Tippett Studio, which generated visual effects for a sequence in the third act of the film, set inside the city.

The camera zooms into the city and pulls back to reveal a contemporary urban landscape constructed out of green computer code. BUF based the code city on a digital model provided by the film's production company, Eon, which developed the model from surveys of Sydney, Australia -- home to a significant portion of the main-unit shoot. "We started inside a police car at the foot of what was known as the Architect's building," related Ceretti. "We then flew up to the tops of the buildings and beyond. To cover the buildings in code, we refined the 3D models in the foreground and applied textures from pictures of downtown Sydney on all the elements."

BUF lit street textures and moving traffic to convey a time-lapse effect, with a setting sun and building lights appearing, and car headlights bustling along streets. The change in scales, from ground level to high in the sky, required a transition between four scales of code flowing over surfaces, until motorways faded away in a satellite view. As the camera retreats, the city is revealed to be an integer in a line of code seen on a computer monitor inside the first live-action scene of the film. The Wachowskis shot the scene with code on a computer screen on set. BUF replaced the code in postproduction to allow more accurate control over camera movement, image definition and animation speed, completing the 50-second sequence.

Although BUF's contribution to The Matrix Revolutions numbered only seven shots, with 75 in The Matrix Reloaded, the work brought to a conclusion a four-year collaboration between the artists in Paris and the American production. "BUF's work represented a new stage in the evolution of the aesthetics of the Matrix trilogy," stated Ceretti. "We had to find new methods to bring to life the worlds presented in the script. It was a real pleasure to contribute artistic and technical know-how to help define that universe. Our close involvement with the Wachowskis, their visual effects supervisors John Gaeta and Dan Glass, and the richness of this undertaking made it a unique experience."

Full coverage of the visual effects in The Matrix Revolutions appears in Cinefex 97, together with production articles on Hellboy and The Passion of the Christ, a company profile on Matte World Digital, and a Q&A interview with Phil Tippett. On sale now. Click here for details.

Eyetronics™ (www.eyetronics.com) provides 3D scanning and modeling services based on its proprietary portable hardware systems and software for feature films (Gothika, Master and Commander, Lara Croft Tomb Raider II: Cradle of Life, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Freddy v. Jason, Agent Cody Banks, Bulletproof Monk, James Bond's Die Another Day), TV (Alias, Star Trek: Enterprise, Angel, Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and games (The Getaway, Who Wants to be a Millionaire?). Call (800)-205-9808 for more information.

Compiled by Joe Fordham

The War of the Worlds: Variety announced that after years of speculation, Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise will be bringing H.G. Wells' 1898 science fiction tale of Martian invasion to the big screen, with Cruise set to star and production possibly to begin in 2005, pending progress with the screenplay. David Koepp is reportedly rewriting an existing draft by Josh Friedman. Given Spielberg's involvement, it is anticipated that DreamWorks will enter the equation, with Spielberg, Cruise, Paula Wagner, Walter Parkes and Laurie MacDonald expected to produce. AICN reported in 1998 that screenwriter Peter Briggs produced an earlier screenplay based not only on Wells' book but also on unpublished chapters, set in the novel's Victorian time period. The previous 1953 Paramount feature, which won an Academy Award for its special effects by Gordon Jennings, was more akin to Orson Welles' infamous 1938 radio adaptation.
London Fields: Variety reports that David Cronenberg is slated to direct a film adaptation of Martin Amis' 1991 novel about Nicola Six, "a promiscuous psychic troubled by disturbing premonitions," set in and around a seedy London pub. The film, with screenplay by Roberta Hanley and Amis, is being produced by Chris Hanley and Hamish McAlpine for Muse Productions and Metro Tartan. No distributor or cast members have been announced.
Doctor Who: The British Broadcasting Corporation has announced that Christopher Eccleston will be the ninth actor in the BBC's long-running science fiction TV series about an eccentric time lord from the planet Gallifrey, who surfs time and space inside a time machine disguised as a 1960s-vintage London Metropolitan Police Service telephone box. The new 13-part series will begin production soon in Cardiff, Wales, for broadcast in 2005. Doctor Who first appeared on British television screens in 1963.
Van Helsing: Click here for a new trailer chock-a-block with even more creatures, environments and visual effects from Stephen Sommers' summer monster movie.
Bewitched: Variety reports Shirley MacLaine will play mother to Nicole Kidman's suburban witch, and Michael Caine will play her father in this Columbia Pictures adaptation of the 1960's ABC sitcom, directed by Nora Ephron. Ephron and Delia Ephron are writing the screenplay, with Douglas Wick and Lucy Fisher producing for Red Wagon. Shooting begins this summer.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: Glasgow newspaper The Daily Record states shooting has begun in Glencoe, Scotland, for the fourth Harry Potter film. The location was used in earlier Potter films to represent the environment around the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Glencoe Mountains, Glenfinnan Viaduct and the fields surrounding Glen Nevis will reportedly all be featured to maintain continuity between films. New locations will include Exmoor in Devon. The Warner Brothers film, directed by Mike Newell, is scheduled for release November 2005.
South of the Border: According to The Hollywood Reporter, Walt Disney Studios plans to make this canine tale, featuring talking animals, as a live-action movie. The story follows the adventures of a Chihuahua named Mitzi, whose pampered-pooch upbringing leaves her ill-prepared for the long journey home when she is accidentally separated from her doting owner during a vacation in Mexico.
Patrick Tatopoulos: Click here to sample a brief Moviehole.com interview with production designer/creature maker Patrick Tatopoulos, who expounds on his involvement with I, Robot, Aliens vs. Predator, The Chronicles of Riddick, Underworld 2, The Outer Limits and the on-again-off-again-apparently-on-again Superman remake.
Sin City: The Hollywood Reporter states that Leonardo DiCaprio, Bruce Willis, Elijah Wood, Mickey Rourke, Brittany Murphy, Kate Bosworth and Jaime King are at various stages of negotiations to join director Robert Rodriguez on his journey into Frank Miller's comic book world. Benicio Del Toro and Maria Bello are reportedly also hovering in the wings. Rodriguez is due to start principal photography 'shortly,' although earlier reports indicated he has already shot some footage. The story is said to involve a trilogy of intertwining tales about a group of characters that inhabit Miller's noir fantasy metropolis.
Green Hornet: THR also states that director Kevin Smith is courting Jake Gyllenhaal to star in his own comic book adaptation, about a crime-fighting superhero who doubles as Daily Sentinel publisher Britt Reid.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind: In an interview posted on Ain't It Cool News, Eternal Sunshine director Michel Gondry discusses his recent films, reflecting briefly on pioneer filmmaker Georges Méliès, "He was one of the first people to see the potential of the cinema..." and CGI, "I've done a lot of CGI, but the thing is: you don't want to use CGI just because it's easier. That's a bad philosophy. A good philosophy is to take a chance when you shoot, and be creative at every stage... "
King Kong: Click here to view a Dominion Post image of Peter Jackson displaying what is most definitely not a conceptual design for his next feature. Now-retired Wellington Evening Post photographer Ian Mackley presented Jackson with this framed photograph of the filmmaker at age 21, dressed in a home-made ape costume created during his days of amateur movie-making while employed by the newspaper. Jackson, who claims to have always had a special fondness for gorillas, reportedly made his first version of Kong on 8mm film when he was just 14.
The Celestine Prophecy: The Hollywood Reporter states that Thomas Kretschmann, Sarah Wayne Callies and Matthew Settle will star in director Armand Mastroianni's feature film adaptation of James Redfield's novel concerning a "spiritual search in a Peruvian rain forest for a long-lost manuscript containing insights into the nature of human existence."
Star Wars: Episode 3: Click here to see Part Two of Lucasfilm's candid, online documentary about the making of the final installment in George Lucas' Star Wars saga, featuring glimpses of actors, sets, props, wardrobe, droids and some Wookie-like creatures under development. Per Starwars.com, Industrial Light & Magic has completed 105 visual effects shots to date, and has 1,900 more to go -- or 35 a week to make its deadline. Additional photography has been delayed to August.