Editing The Matrix (section)

== Production ==

=== Development ===
In 1994, the Wachowskis presented the script for the film ''[[Assassins (1995 film)|Assassins]]'' to [[Warner Bros. Pictures]]. After [[Lorenzo di Bonaventura]], the president of production of the company at the time, read the script, he decided to buy rights to it and included two more pictures, ''[[Bound (1996 film)|Bound]]'' and ''The Matrix'', in the contract. The first movie the Wachowskis directed, ''Bound'', then became a critical success. Using this momentum, they later asked to direct ''The Matrix''.<ref name="Influence Screened"/> Reeves said that the Matrix avatar would have been a "different sex than the Zion reality" in the early draft of the script, but the studio was not ready for that version.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://ew.com/movies/the-matrix-theories-lana-wachowski-keanu-reeves-carrie-anne-moss |title=What even is 'The Matrix'? Lana Wachowski and her stars address decades of theories |last=Romano |first=Nick |website=EW.com}}</ref>

In 1996, the Wachowskis pitched the role of Neo to [[Will Smith]]. Smith explained on his [[YouTube]] channel that the idea was for him to be Neo, while Morpheus was to be played by [[Val Kilmer]]. He later explained that he did not quite understand the concept and he turned down the role to instead film ''[[Wild Wild West]]''.<ref>{{Citation|title=Why I Turned Down The Matrix {{!}} STORYTIME| date=February 13, 2019 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hm2szuXKgL8 |access-date=September 29, 2021|archive-date=September 29, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210929083519/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hm2szuXKgL8|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Madonna]] also turned down an undisclosed role, a decision she would later regret.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ew.com/movies/madonna-regrets-turning-down-matrix-role-jimmy-fallon-video/|title=Madonna regrets turning down a role in 'The Matrix'|website=EW.com}}</ref>

Producer [[Joel Silver]] soon joined the project. Although the project had key supporters, including Silver and Di Bonaventura, to influence the company, ''The Matrix'' was still a huge investment for Warner Bros., which had to invest $60 million to create a movie with prominent actors and difficult special effects.<ref name="Influence Screened"/> The Wachowskis therefore hired underground comic book artists [[Geof Darrow]] and [[Steve Skroce]] to draw a 600-page, shot-by-shot storyboard for the entire film.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Miller |first=Mark |date=November 2003 |title=Matrix Revelations; The Wachowski Brothers FAQ |url=https://www.wired.com/2003/11/matrix/ |url-status=live |magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121120101020/http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.11/matrix.html |archive-date=November 20, 2012 |access-date=December 4, 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/adambvary/the-wachowskis-jupiter-ascending-the-matrix-cloud-atlas |title=The Wachowskis Refuse To Take No For An Answer |work=BuzzFeed |last=Vary |first=Adam B. |date=February 5, 2015 |access-date=December 6, 2022 |archive-date=September 10, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160910054233/https://www.buzzfeed.com/adambvary/the-wachowskis-jupiter-ascending-the-matrix-cloud-atlas |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Weinraub |first=Bernard |date=1999-04-05 |title=Brothers Unleash the Comic Book of Ideas |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/04/05/movies/brothers-unleash-the-comic-book-of-ideas.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=2023-09-15 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The storyboard eventually earned the studio's approval, and it was decided to film in Australia to make the most of the budget.<ref name="Influence Screened"/> Soon, ''The Matrix'' became a co-production of Warner Bros. and [[Village Roadshow Pictures]].<ref name="Museum">{{cite web |last=Powerhouse Museum |title='The Matrix' film poster |url=http://from.ph/422513 |access-date=December 24, 2012 |publisher=Powerhouse Museum, Australia |archive-date=February 5, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130205081603/http://from.ph/422513 |url-status=dead }}</ref> According to editor [[Zach Staenberg]] on the DVD audio commentary track, the production team sent an edit of the film's first minutes (featuring Trinity's encounter with police and Agents) to Warner executives, and secured Warner's "total support of the movie" from then on.<ref>''The Matrix'' DVD Audio Commentary featuring actress Carrie Ann Moss, film editor Zach Staenberg, and visual effects supervisor John Gaeta. At time 3:30–5:11</ref>

=== Pre-production ===
The cast were required to be able to understand and explain ''The Matrix''.<ref name="Influence Screened"/> French philosopher [[Jean Baudrillard]]'s ''[[Simulacra and Simulation]]'' was required reading for most of the principal cast and crew.<ref name="Simulacra">{{Cite news |last=Rothstein, Edward |date=May 24, 2003 |title=Philosophers Draw on a Film Drawing on Philosophers |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/24/movies/philosophers-draw-on-a-film-drawing-on-philosophers.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=December 5, 2012 |archive-date=April 7, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200407104440/https://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/24/movies/philosophers-draw-on-a-film-drawing-on-philosophers.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In early 1997, the Wachowskis had Reeves and Moss read ''Simulacra and Simulation'', [[Kevin Kelly (editor)|Kevin Kelly]]'s ''[[Out of Control: The New Biology of Machines, Social Systems, and the Economic World]]'', and [[Dylan Evans]]'s ideas on [[evolutionary psychology]] even before they opened up the script.<ref name="Screenplay"/> Eventually, Reeves was able to explain all the philosophical nuances involved.<ref name="Influence Screened"/> Moss commented that she had difficulty with this process.<ref name="Screenplay"/>

The directors had long been admirers of [[Hong Kong action cinema]], so they decided to hire the Chinese [[fight choreography|martial arts choreographer]] and film director [[Yuen Woo-ping]] to work on fight scenes. To prepare for the [[wire fu]], the actors had to train hard for several months.<ref name="Influence Screened"/> The Wachowskis first scheduled four months for training, beginning in October 1997.<ref>{{Cite news|title=The Mind-Bending Story of How 'The Matrix' Came to Be|language=en-us|magazine=Wired|url=https://www.wired.com/story/the-matrix-legacy-book-excerpt/|access-date=March 15, 2021|issn=1059-1028|archive-date=March 2, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210302053828/https://www.wired.com/story/the-matrix-legacy-book-excerpt/|url-status=live}}</ref> Yuen was optimistic but then began to worry when he realized how unfit the actors were.<ref name="Training"/>

Yuen let their body style develop and then worked with each actor's strength. He built on Reeves's diligence, Fishburne's resilience, Weaving's precision and Moss's grace.<ref name="Training"/> Yuen designed Moss's moves to suit her deftness and lightness.<ref name="Trinity">{{Cite AV media |title=[[The Matrix Revisited]] |date=November 20, 2001 |last=Oreck, Josh (Director); Wachowski, Larry; Matthies, Eric (Producers) |publisher=[[Warner Bros. Pictures]] |place=United States |section=Trinity |medium=DVD}}</ref> Prior to the pre-production, Reeves underwent a two-level fusion of his cervical (neck) spine due to spinal cord compression from a herniated disc ("I was falling over in the shower in the morning").<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Heath |first=Chris |date=August 31, 2000 |title=The Quiet Man: The Riddle of Keanu Reeves |magazine=Rolling Stone}}</ref> He was still recovering by the time of pre-production, but he insisted on training, so Yuen let him practice punches and lighter moves. Reeves trained hard and even requested training on days off. However, the surgery still made him unable to kick for two out of four months of training. As a result, Reeves did not kick much in the film.<ref name="Training"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://sploid.gizmodo.com/keanu-reeves-couldnt-kick-in-the-matrix-and-six-other-1681941448|title=Keanu Reeves couldn't kick in The Matrix--and six other factoids|work=Sploid |date=February 12, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170212175210/https://sploid.gizmodo.com/keanu-reeves-couldnt-kick-in-the-matrix-and-six-other-1681941448 |archive-date=February 12, 2017 |last1=Chan |first1=Casey }}</ref> Weaving had to undergo [[Hip replacement|hip surgery]] after he sustained an injury during the training process.<ref name="Influence Screened"/>

=== Filming ===
[[File:Campbell Street train bridge at intersection of Elizabeth Street.jpg|thumb|Campbell Street train bridge at the intersection of Elizabeth Street was one of the filming locations in the city of Sydney.]]

All but a few scenes were filmed at [[Fox Studios Australia|Fox Studios]] in Sydney, as well as in the city itself, although recognizable landmarks were not included to maintain the impression of a generic American city. The filming helped establish [[New South Wales]] as a major film production center.<ref>{{Cite AV media |title=HBO First Look: Making the Matrix |publisher=HBO |place=United States |medium=Cable TV documentary}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.vulture.com/2021/12/the-matrix-timeline.html |title=How The Matrix Got Made |work=Vulture |last=Phipps |first=Keith |date=December 22, 2001 |access-date=February 2, 2023 |archive-date=January 24, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124052554/https://www.vulture.com/2021/12/the-matrix-timeline.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Filming began in March 1998 and wrapped in August 1998; [[principal photography]] took 118 days.<ref name="The Power Plant"/> Some filming also occurred at [[Culver Studios]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Mears|first=Hadley|date=November 21, 2019|url=https://la.curbed.com/2019/11/21/20965989/culver-studios-history-amazon-studios|title=Culver Studios before Amazon|publisher=’’LA Curbed’’|accessdate=February 1, 2024}}</ref>

Due to Reeves's neck injury (see above), some of the action scenes had to be rescheduled to wait for his full recovery. As a result, the filming began with scenes that did not require much physical exertion,<ref name="The Shooting Begins"/><ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://ew.com/movies/1999/04/09/how-matrix-made-it-big-screen/ |title=How The Matrix made it to the big screen |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |first=Rebecca |last=Ascher-Walsh |date=April 9, 1999 |access-date=February 2, 2023 |archive-date=January 25, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230125132223/https://ew.com/movies/1999/04/09/how-matrix-made-it-big-screen/ |url-status=live }}</ref> such as the scene in Thomas Anderson's office, the interrogation room,<ref name="Interrogation Room"/> or the car ride in which Neo is taken to see the Oracle.<ref name="Car Ride to the Oracle">{{Cite AV media |title=[[The Matrix Revisited]] |date=November 20, 2001 |last=Oreck, Josh (Director); Wachowski, Larry; Matthies, Eric (Producers) |publisher=[[Warner Bros. Pictures]] |place=United States |section=Car Ride to the Oracle |medium=DVD}}</ref> Locations for these scenes included [[Martin Place, Sydney|Martin Place's]] fountain in Sydney, halfway between it and the adjacent Colonial Building, and the Colonial Building itself.<ref name="CNN location">{{cite web |last=Delaney, Colin |date=April 26, 2011 |title=5 Sydney film sites you didn't know you knew |url=http://travel.cnn.com/sydney/visit/five-famous-film-sites-sydney-053166 |access-date=December 24, 2012 |publisher=CNN |archive-date=December 13, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131213040238/http://travel.cnn.com/sydney/visit/five-famous-film-sites-sydney-053166 |url-status=live }}</ref> During the scene set on a government building rooftop, the team filmed extra footage of Neo dodging bullets in case the [[bullet time]] process did not work. The bullet-time fight scene was filmed on the roof of [[NortonLifeLock|Symantec]] Corporation building in Kent Street, opposite [[Sussex Street, Sydney|Sussex Street]].<ref name="Government Roof">{{Cite AV media |title=[[The Matrix Revisited]] |date=November 20, 2001 |last=Oreck, Josh (Director); Wachowski, Larry; Matthies, Eric (Producers) |publisher=[[Warner Bros. Pictures]] |place=United States |section=Government Roof |medium=DVD}}</ref>

Moss performed the shots featuring Trinity at the beginning of the film and all the wire stunts herself.<ref name="Trinity"/> The rooftop set that Trinity uses to escape from Agent Brown early in the film was left over from the production of ''[[Dark City (1998 film)|Dark City]]'', which has prompted comments due to the thematic similarities of the films.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ebert |first=Roger |date=November 6, 2005 |title=Great Movies: Dark City |work=[[Chicago Sun-Times]] |publisher=[[Sun-Times Media Group]] |url=http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20051106%2FREVIEWS08%2F511060302%2F1023 |access-date=December 18, 2006 |archive-date=February 5, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130205090823/http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20051106%2FREVIEWS08%2F511060302%2F1023 |url-status=dead }}</ref> During the rehearsal of the lobby scene, in which Trinity runs on a wall, Moss injured her leg and was ultimately unable to film the shot in one take. She stated that she was under a lot of pressure at the time and was devastated when she realized that she would be unable to do it.<ref name="Government Lobby">{{Cite AV media |title=[[The Matrix Revisited]] |date=November 20, 2001 |last=Oreck, Josh (Director); Wachowski, Larry; Matthies, Eric (Producers) |publisher=[[Warner Bros. Pictures]] |place=United States |section=Government Lobby |medium=DVD}}</ref>

Fishburne later said that while being in Sydney to shoot the film, he experienced a racist vibe and that it felt like America in the 1950s.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/movies/matrix-actor-felt-racist-vibe-20030505-gdvneu.html|title=Matrix actor felt racist 'vibe'|date=May 5, 2003|website=The Age}}</ref>

The [[Dōjō|dojo]] set was built well before the actual filming. During the filming of these action sequences, there was significant physical contact between the actors, earning them bruises. Reeves's injury and his insufficient training with wires prior to filming meant he was unable to perform the triple kicks satisfactorily and became frustrated with himself, causing the scene to be postponed. The scene was shot successfully a few days later, with Reeves using only three takes. Yuen altered the choreography and made the actors pull their punches in the last sequence of the scene, creating a training feel.<ref name="Construct Kung Fu">{{Cite AV media |title=[[The Matrix Revisited]] |date=November 20, 2001 |last=Oreck, Josh (Director); Wachowski, Larry; Matthies, Eric (Producers) |publisher=[[Warner Bros. Pictures]] |place=United States |section=Construct Kung Fu |medium=DVD}}</ref>

The filmmakers originally planned to shoot the subway scene in an actual [[Metro station|subway station]], but the complexity of the fight and related wire work required shooting the scene on a set. The set was built around an existing train storage facility, which had real train tracks. Filming the scene when Neo slammed Smith into the ceiling, [[Chad Stahelski]], Reeves's stunt double, sustained several injuries, including [[Rib fracture|broken ribs]], knees and a [[dislocated shoulder]]. Another stuntman was injured by a hydraulic puller during a shot in which Neo was slammed into a booth.<ref name="El Fighting">{{Cite AV media |title=[[The Matrix Revisited]] |date=November 20, 2001 |last=Oreck, Josh (Director); Wachowski, Larry; Matthies, Eric (Producers) |publisher=[[Warner Bros. Pictures]] |place=United States |section=El Fighting |medium=DVD}}</ref> The office building in which Smith interrogated Morpheus was a large set, and the outside view from inside the building was a large, three story high [[cyclorama]]. The helicopter was a full-scale, light-weight mock-up suspended by a wire rope operated a tilting mechanism mounted to the studio roofbeams. The helicopter had a real minigun side-mounted to it, which was set to cycle at half its regular (3,000 rounds per minute) firing rate.<ref name="Helicopter Rescue">{{Cite AV media |title=[[The Matrix Revisited]] |date=November 20, 2001 |last=Oreck, Josh (Director); Wachowski, Larry; Matthies, Eric (Producers) |publisher=[[Warner Bros. Pictures]] |place=United States |section=Helicopter Rescue |medium=DVD}}</ref>

To prepare for the scene in which Neo wakes up in a pod, Reeves lost {{Convert|15|lb|0}} and shaved his whole body to give Neo an emaciated look. The scene in which Neo fell into the sewer system concluded the principal photography.<ref name="The Power Plant"/> According to ''The Art of the Matrix'', at least one filmed scene and a variety of short pieces of action were omitted from the final cut of the film.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Wachowski |first1=Larry |title=The Art of The Matrix |last2=Wachowski |first2=Andy |last3=Darrow, Geof; Skroce, Steve; Kunitake, Tani; Manser, Warren; Grant, Colin; Staenberg, Zach; Oesterhouse, Phil; [[William Gibson|Gibson, William]] |publisher=Titan Books Ltd |year=2000 |isbn=978-1-84023-173-1 |editor-last=Lamm |editor-first=Spencer |publication-date=November 24, 2000}}</ref><!-- Nevertheless, the [[Sydney Harbour Bridge]], [[ANZAC Bridge]], [[University of Technology, Sydney]], [[AWA Tower]], [[Martin Place, Sydney|Martin Place]] and a [[Commonwealth Bank]] branch are visible in some shots, as is signage on buildings for the Sydney offices of MMI Insurance (now [[Allianz]]), [[Aon Corporation|AON]], [[Citigroup]], [[Telstra]], [[Westpac]], [[KPMG]], [[Ernst & Young]] and [[IBM Corporation]] among others. Other clues to the filming location include [[Right- and left-hand traffic|left-hand traffic flow]] and signs featuring [[Australian English]] terminology and spellings such as "lift" and "authorised" (rather than the [[American English]] "elevator" and "authorized").{{citation needed|date=December 2012}} --><!-- Subtle nods were included to [[Chicago, Illinois]], the home city of the directors, through a subtly placed picture of the Chicago [[skyline]], [[city map]]s, the destination of the subway train during the subway station fight between Neo and Agent Smith saying "[[Chicago Loop|Loop]]", and the names of streets: Wells, Lake, Franklin, Erie, State, Balbo, Wabash, Adams.{{citation needed|date=December 2012}} -->

=== Sound effects and music ===
{{See also|The Matrix: Original Motion Picture Score|The Matrix: Music from the Motion Picture}}
[[Dane A. Davis]] was responsible for creating the sound effects for the film. The fight scene sound effects, such as the whipping sounds of punches, were created using thin metal rods and recording them, then editing the sounds. The sound of the pod containing a human body closing required almost fifty sounds put together.<ref name="Sound effects">{{Cite AV media |title=[[The Matrix Revisited]] |date=November 20, 2001 |last=Oreck, Josh (Director); Wachowski, Larry; Matthies, Eric (Producers) |publisher=[[Warner Bros. Pictures]] |place=United States |section=Sound effects |medium=DVD}}</ref>

The film's [[film score|score]], [[The Matrix: Original Motion Picture Score]], was composed by [[Don Davis (composer)|Don Davis]].<ref>{{AllMusic|album|mw0000239692|''The Matrix {{bracket|Score}}''}}.</ref><ref>{{Discogs master|298381|The Matrix: Original Motion Picture Score}}</ref> He noted that mirrors appear frequently in the film: reflections of the blue and red pills are seen in Morpheus's glasses; Neo's capture by Agents is viewed through the rear-view mirror of Trinity's motorcycle; Neo observes a broken mirror mending itself; reflections warp as a spoon is bent; the reflection of a helicopter is visible as it approaches a skyscraper.<!-- (The film also frequently references the book ''[[Alice's Adventures in Wonderland]]'', which has a sequel entitled ''[[Through the Looking-Glass]]''.) --> Davis focused on this theme of reflections when creating his score, alternating between sections of the orchestra and attempting to incorporate [[Counterpoint|contrapuntal]] ideas. Davis' score combines orchestral, choral and synthesizer elements; the balance between these elements varies depending on whether humans or machines are the dominant subject of a given scene.<ref name="The Score">{{Cite AV media |title=[[The Matrix Revisited]] |date=November 20, 2001 |last=Oreck, Josh (Director); Wachowski, Larry; Matthies, Eric (Producers) |publisher=[[Warner Bros. Pictures]] |place=United States |section=The Score |medium=DVD}}</ref><!-- We no longer need this ref, now that we have the DVD as ref.<ref name="mirrors">Don Davis, interviewed in ''[[The Matrix Revisited]]'' (Chapter 28). A transcript of his comments may be found online: {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070429165147/http://www.geocities.com/dondavismatrixnl/Dvdfeaturesdavis.html |date=April 29, 2007 }}</ref> -->
In addition to Davis' score, [[The Matrix: Music from the Motion Picture]] also features music from acts such as [[Rammstein]], [[Rob Dougan]], [[Rage Against the Machine]], [[Propellerheads]], [[Ministry (band)|Ministry]], [[Lunatic Calm]], [[Deftones]], [[Monster Magnet]], [[The Prodigy]], [[Rob Zombie]], [[Meat Beat Manifesto]] and [[Marilyn Manson (band)|Marilyn Manson]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Coleman |first=Christopher |title=Essence of Cool |url=http://www.tracksounds.com/reviews/matrix_music_from.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130515045038/http://www.tracksounds.com/reviews/matrix_music_from.htm |archive-date=May 15, 2013 |access-date=December 28, 2012 |publisher=Tracksounds.com }}</ref><ref>{{AllMusic|album|mw0000238626|''The Matrix {{bracket|Music From and Inspired by the Motion Picture}}''}}.</ref><ref>{{Discogs master|view/63357|The Matrix: Music from the Motion Picture}}</ref><!-- Other pieces from artists such as [[Duke Ellington]], [[Django Reinhardt]], and [[Massive Attack]] are included in the film, but not featured on the soundtrack.{{citation needed|date=December 2012}} -->

=== Production design ===
{{See also|Matrix digital rain}}
In the film, the code that composes the Matrix itself is frequently represented as downward-flowing green characters.<ref>[https://cactus.black/matrix The Matrix — cactus.black (Black Cactus)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210903040638/https://cactus.black/matrix |date=September 3, 2021 }}, cactus.black</ref> This code uses a custom typeface designed by Simon Whiteley,<ref name="Museum"/> which includes mirror images of [[half-width kana]] characters and Western Latin letters and Arabic numerals.<ref name="Look of the Matrix">{{Cite AV media |title=[[The Matrix Revisited]] |date=November 20, 2001 |last=Oreck, Josh (Director); Wachowski, Larry; Matthies, Eric (Producers) |publisher=[[Warner Bros. Pictures]] |place=United States |section=Look of the Matrix |medium=DVD}}</ref> In a 2017 interview at [[CNET]], he attributed the design to his wife, who is from Japan, and added, "I like to tell everybody that The Matrix's code is made out of Japanese sushi recipes".<ref>{{cite web |last=Bisset |first=Jennifer |date=October 19, 2017 |title=Creator of The Matrix code reveals its mysterious origins |url=https://www.cnet.com/news/lego-ninjago-movie-simon-whiteley-matrix-code-creator/ |access-date=November 5, 2018 |website=[[CNET]] |archive-date=May 9, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200509142745/https://www.cnet.com/news/lego-ninjago-movie-simon-whiteley-matrix-code-creator/ |url-status=live }}</ref> "The color green reflects the green tint commonly used on early [[monochrome monitor|monochrome computer monitors]]".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Clover |first=Joshua |url=https://archive.org/details/matrix0000clov |title=The Matrix |publisher=[[British Film Institute|BFI Publishing]] |year=2004 |isbn=978-1-84457-045-4 |location=London |pages=[https://archive.org/details/matrix0000clov/page/8 8–9] |quote=In the denouement [of ''The Thirteenth Floor''], Douglas Hall simply crests a hill to discover that what he had thought was the real world has, beyond this point, yet to be constructed. In lieu of landscape, only crude phosphor-green polygons, the basic units of video graphics rendering, in the primal monochrome of an old CRT. The raw material of the simulation is even more basic in ''The Matrix'' – machine language itself, in the same familiar green{{nbsp}}... |url-access=registration}}</ref> Lynne Cartwright, the Visual Effects Supervisor at [[Animal Logic]], supervised the creation of the film's opening title sequence, as well as the general look of the Matrix code throughout the film, in collaboration with Lindsay Fleay and Justen Marshall.<ref name="Museum"/> The portrayal resembles the opening credits of the 1995 [[Japanese cyberpunk]] film, ''[[Ghost in the Shell (1995 film)|Ghost in the Shell]]'', which had a strong influence on the ''Matrix'' series. It was also used in the subsequent films, on the related website, and in the game ''[[The Matrix: Path of Neo]]'', and its drop-down effect is reflected in the design of some posters for the ''Matrix'' series. The code received the Runner-up Award in the 1999 Jesse Garson Award for In-film typography or opening credit sequence.<ref name="Museum"/>

''The Matrix''{{'}}s [[production design]]er, [[Owen Paterson (production designer)|Owen Paterson]], used methods to distinguish the "real world" and the Matrix in a pervasive way. The production design team generally placed a bias towards the Matrix code's distinctive green color in scenes set within the simulation, whereas there is an emphasis on the color blue during scenes set in the "real world". In addition, the Matrix scenes' sets were slightly more decayed, monolithic and grid-like, to convey the cold, logical and artificial nature of that environment. For the "real world", the actors' hair was less styled, their clothing had more textile content, and the cinematographers used longer lenses to soften the backgrounds and emphasize the actors.<ref name="Look of the Matrix"/>

The ''[[Nebuchadnezzar (The Matrix)|Nebuchadnezzar]]'' was designed to have a patched-up look, instead of clean, cold and sterile space ship interior sets as used on productions such as ''[[Star Trek]]''. The wires were made visible to show the ship's working internals, and each composition was carefully designed to convey the ship as "a marriage between Man and Machine".<ref name="The Nebuchadnezzar">{{Cite AV media |title=[[The Matrix Revisited]] |date=November 20, 2001 |last=Oreck, Josh (Director); Wachowski, Larry; Matthies, Eric (Producers) |publisher=[[Warner Bros. Pictures]] |place=United States |section=The Nebuchadnezzar |medium=DVD}}</ref> For the scene when Neo wakes up in the pod connected to the Matrix, the pod was constructed to look dirty, used and sinister. During the testing of a breathing mechanism in the pod, the tester suffered hypothermia in under eight minutes, so the pod had to be heated.<ref name="The Power Plant">{{Cite AV media |title=[[The Matrix Revisited]] |date=November 20, 2001 |last=Oreck, Josh (Director); Wachowski, Larry; Matthies, Eric (Producers) |publisher=[[Warner Bros. Pictures]] |place=United States |section=The Power Plant |medium=DVD}}</ref>

[[Kym Barrett]], costume designer, said that she defined the characters and their environment by their costume.<ref name="Costume">{{Cite AV media |title=[[The Matrix Revisited]] |date=November 20, 2001 |last=Oreck, Josh (Director); Wachowski, Larry; Matthies, Eric (Producers) |publisher=[[Warner Bros. Pictures]] |place=United States |section=Costume |medium=DVD}}</ref> For example, Reeves's office costume was designed for Thomas Anderson to look uncomfortable, disheveled and out of place.<ref name="The Shooting Begins">{{Cite AV media |title=[[The Matrix Revisited]] |date=November 20, 2001 |last=Oreck, Josh (Director); Wachowski, Larry; Matthies, Eric (Producers) |publisher=[[Warner Bros. Pictures]] |place=United States |section=The Shooting Begins |medium=DVD}}</ref> Barrett sometimes used three types of fabric for each costume, and also had to consider the practicality of the acting. The actors needed to perform martial art actions in their costume, hang upside-down without people seeing up their clothing, and be able to work the wires while strapped into the harnesses.<ref name="Costume"/> For Trinity, Barrett experimented with how each fabric absorbed and reflected different types of light, and was eventually able to make Trinity's costume mercury-like and oil-slick to suit the character.<ref name="Trinity"/> For the Agents, their costume was designed to create a secret service, undercover look, resembling the film ''[[JFK (film)|JFK]]'' and classic [[men in black]].<ref name="Interrogation Room"/>

The sunglasses, a staple of the film's aesthetics, were commissioned for the film by designer Richard Walker from sunglasses maker Blinde Design.<ref>{{cite web |last=Navratil, Wendy |date=May 4, 2003 |title=Neo's cool and so are his shades |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2003/05/04/neos-cool-and-so-are-his-shades/ |access-date=July 7, 2012 |website=[[Chicago Tribune]] |publisher=[[Tribune Company]] |archive-date=May 16, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130516010955/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2003-05-04/features/0305040269_1_matrix-glasses-morpheus |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Visual effects ===
[[File:The Matrix Bullet Time Effect.ogv|thumb|The "[[bullet time]]" effect was created for the film. A scene would be computer-modeled to decide the positioning of the physical cameras. The actor then provided their performance in a [[chroma key]] setup, while the cameras were fired in rapid succession, with fractions of a second delay between each shot. The result was combined with CGI backgrounds to create the final effect at (0:33).|alt=Video sample of the film]]

{{blockquote|As for artistic inspiration for bullet time, I would credit [[Otomo Katsuhiro]], who co-wrote and directed ''[[Akira (1988 film)|Akira]]'', which definitely blew me away, along with director [[Michel Gondry]]. His music videos experimented with a different type of technique called view-morphing and it was just part of the beginning of uncovering the creative approaches toward using still cameras for special effects. Our technique was significantly different because we built it to move around objects that were themselves in motion, and we were also able to create slow-motion events that 'virtual cameras' could move around—rather than the static action in Gondry's music videos with limited camera moves.|[[John Gaeta]]<ref name="gaeta-empire">{{Cite journal |date=February 2006 |title=200 Things That Rocked Our World: Bullet Time |journal=[[Empire (magazine)|Empire]] |issue=200 |page=136}}</ref>}}

The film is known for popularizing a [[visual effect]]<ref name="Lane City of God"/> known as "[[bullet time]]", which allows a [[shot (filmmaking)|shot]] to progress in [[slow motion]] while the camera appears to move through the scene at normal speed.<ref name="guardian-sfx">{{Cite news |last=Green |first=Dave |date=June 5, 1999 |title=Better than SFX |work=Guardian.co.uk |publisher=[[Guardian Media Group]] |location=London |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/1999/jun/05/features2 |access-date=December 18, 2009 |archive-date=December 23, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191223102908/https://www.theguardian.com/film/1999/jun/05/features2 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Shields |first=Meg |date=2021-12-23 |title=How They Shot the "Bullet-Time" Effect in 'The Matrix' |url=https://filmschoolrejects.com/the-matrix-bullet-time/ |access-date=2023-09-15 |website=Film School Rejects |language=en-US}}</ref> Bullet time has been described as "a visual analogy for privileged moments of consciousness within the Matrix",<ref>{{Cite book |last=Clover |first=Joshua |url=https://archive.org/details/matrix0000clov |title=The Matrix |publisher=[[British Film Institute|BFI Publishing]] |year=2004 |isbn=978-1-84457-045-4 |location=London |page=[https://archive.org/details/matrix0000clov/page/35 35] |url-access=registration}}</ref> and throughout the film, the effect is used to illustrate characters' exertion of control over time and space.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wood |first=Aylish |title=Digital Encounters |date=April 17, 2007 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-41066-3 |edition=New}}</ref> The Wachowskis first imagined an action sequence that slowed time while the camera pivoted rapidly around the subjects, and proposed the effect in their screenplay for the film. When [[John Gaeta]] read the script, he pleaded with an effects producer at [[Manex Visual Effects|Mass.Illusion]] to let him work on the project, and created a prototype that led to him becoming the film's visual effects supervisor.<ref name="Wired VFX">{{Cite magazine |last=Silberman, Steve |date=May 2003 |title=Matrix2 |url=https://www.wired.com/2003/05/matrix2/ |magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]] |access-date=December 25, 2012 |archive-date=March 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200304014830/https://www.wired.com/2003/05/matrix2/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-03-31 |title=Bullet Time before Bullet Time - beforesandafters.com |url=https://beforesandafters.com/2019/04/01/bullet-time-before-bullet-time/ |access-date=2023-09-15 |website=befores & afters |language=en-US}}</ref>

The method used for creating these effects involved a technically expanded version of an old art photography technique known as time-slice photography, in which an array of cameras are placed around an object and triggered simultaneously. Each camera captures a still picture, contributing one frame to the video sequence, which creates the effect of "virtual camera movement"; the illusion of a viewpoint moving around an object that appears frozen in time.<ref name="guardian-sfx"/>

The bullet time effect is similar but slightly more complicated, incorporating temporal motion so that rather than appearing totally frozen, the scene progresses in slow and variable motion.<ref name="gaeta-empire"/><ref name="Wired VFX"/> The cameras' positions and exposures were [[Previsualization|previsualized]] using a 3D simulation. Instead of firing the cameras simultaneously, the visual effect team fired the cameras fractions of a second after each other, so that each camera could capture the action as it progressed, creating a super slow-motion effect.<ref name="guardian-sfx"/> When the frames were put together, the resulting slow-motion effects reached a [[frame frequency]] of 12,000 per second, as opposed to the normal 24 frames per second of film.<ref name="Influence Screened"/> Standard movie cameras were placed at the ends of the array to pick up the normal speed action before and after. Because the cameras circle the subject almost completely in most of the sequences, computer technology was used to edit out the cameras that appeared in the background on the other side.<ref name="guardian-sfx"/> To create backgrounds, Gaeta hired George Borshukov, who created 3D models based on the geometry of buildings and used the photographs of the buildings themselves as texture.{{citation needed|date=February 2024}}

The photo-realistic surroundings generated by this method were incorporated into the bullet time scene,<ref name="Wired VFX"/> and algorithms based on [[optical flow]] were used to interpolate between the still images to produce a fluent dynamic motion;<ref>{{cite web |last=Seymour |first=Mike |title=Art of Optical Flow |url=https://www.fxguide.com/featured/art_of_optical_flow/ |access-date=March 25, 2019 |website=fxguide |date=February 28, 2006 |archive-date=March 25, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190325005829/https://www.fxguide.com/featured/art_of_optical_flow/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Buckley |first=Robert |title=Film Essay on The "Bullet Time" Scene In "The Matrix" |url=http://scis.nova.edu/~rbuckley/Film%20Essay.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130515001756/http://scis.nova.edu/~rbuckley/Film%20Essay.pdf |archive-date=May 15, 2013 |access-date=December 27, 2012 |publisher=Graduate School of Computer and Information Sciences, Nova Southeastern University }}</ref> the computer-generated "lead in" and "lead out" slides were filled in between frames in sequence to get an illusion of orbiting the scene.<ref>{{cite web |last=Tiwari |first=Abhishek |title=Bullet Time Technique |url=http://www.sbc.ac.in/voice/bullet.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120915002004/http://www.sbc.ac.in/voice/bullet.htm |archive-date=September 15, 2012 |access-date=December 27, 2012 |website=Voice |publisher=School of Broadcasting and Communication |location=Mumbai }}</ref> Manex Visual Effects used a [[cluster (computing)|cluster]] farm running the [[Unix-like]] [[operating system]] [[FreeBSD]] to render many of the film's visual effects.<ref>{{cite web |date=January 23, 2008 |title=Comment about the use of FreeBSD (5:50) |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAsYz5pVwyc#t=5m45s |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/bAsYz5pVwyc| archive-date=December 11, 2021 |url-status=live|access-date=January 29, 2012 |website=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=April 22, 1999 |title=FreeBSD Used to Generate Spectacular Special Effects |url=http://www.freebsd.org/news/press-rel-1.html |access-date=July 19, 2012 |archive-date=August 18, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120818022437/http://www.freebsd.org/news/press-rel-1.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Manex also handled creature effects, such as Sentinels and machines in real world scenes; [[Animal Logic]] created the code hallway and the exploding Agent at the end of the film. DFilm managed scenes that required heavy use of digital compositing, such as Neo's jump off a skyscraper and the helicopter crash into a building. The ripple effect in the latter scene was created digitally, but the shot also included practical elements, and months of extensive research were needed to find the correct kind of glass and explosives to use. The scene was shot by colliding a quarter-scale helicopter mock-up into a glass wall wired to concentric rings of explosives; the explosives were then triggered in sequence from the center outward, to create a wave of exploding glass.<ref name="Post-production">{{Cite AV media |title=[[The Matrix Revisited]] |date=November 20, 2001 |last=Oreck, Josh (Director); Wachowski, Larry; Matthies, Eric (Producers) |publisher=[[Warner Bros. Pictures]] |place=United States |section=Post-production |medium=DVD}}</ref>

The [[Photogrammetry|photogrammetric]] and image-based [[computer-generated imagery|computer-generated]] background approaches in ''The Matrix''{{'}}s bullet time evolved into innovations unveiled in the sequels ''[[The Matrix Reloaded]]'' and ''[[The Matrix Revolutions]]''. The method of using real photographs of buildings as texture for 3D models eventually led the visual effect team to digitize all data, such as scenes, characters' motions and expressions. It also led to the development of "Universal Capture", a process which samples and stores facial details and expressions at high resolution. With these highly detailed collected data, the team were able to create virtual cinematography in which characters, locations and events can all be created digitally and viewed through virtual cameras, eliminating the restrictions of real cameras.<ref name="Wired VFX"/>