Kodiac is SICK OF: The Matrix Effect

G

George Hill

Staff Alumnus
I am getting sick of seeing The Matrix Fallout!
What I am talking about is is not the movie - but the elements of the movie that are cropping up everywhere. You'll know them when you see them...
Commercials for Cars, Clothes, Sundry, and now McDonalds Monopoly game on frenchfries.
The element is 1/2 speed filming while the camera is drifting in some direction while very fast techno music plays - often from a band called the propellor heads.
This is getting old.
How freakin exciting can pealing a label be?
What else is next? Pampers? Roto Rooter?
HOw many different add agencies are going to capitalize on the Matrix's style?

Just a rant.
 
It does get old after a while.
Kinda like Pink Floyds--Dark Side of the Moon.
Great for a time but 30 years of it is a bit much.
 
George, actually, I've been kinda interested in this new effect of the digital motion-picture revolution. The first time that I noticed it was in a Gap commercial, two years ago (That long ago? Yeah, I guess it was...). I frankly loved it, when used to showcase dancing or simply beautiful motion in 1/4 time. (Or is that 4/1X time?)

I noticed it on the Micky D's commercial, as well, and wondered why in the world they bothered, but I guess they're trying to showcase that the simple movement of removing the little stupid paper game piece from your fried processed potato package (love 'em, Gawd help me,) could have such a major impact on your life.

Silly, but not nearly so annoying as any given Old Navy ad. (I've posted a standing order that O.N. is on the "no buy list" in our house until they quit making such stupid and annoying commercials...)


DrRob, an opinion from a man in the industry, if you please?

L.P.

[This message has been edited by Long Path (edited April 14, 2000).]
 
I think you see this type of copycat work anytime there is something new and "cool"
Recognize it for what it is; it will not go away (nope, not ever !), and will only be reduced by the advent of the next "cool" thing.
 
Maybe the NRA could use this new hip effect ;). Have an 'assault rifle' and a hunting rifle, stop it when it hits the target, maybe it will prove that in fact they are basically the same thing.? :confused: LOL

It looked cool the first time they did it but I agree it's just not cool anymore, kinda freaky if you ask me. :)

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Weird, I was ranting about this just a couple of days ago. When the effect first became popular, I thought it was way cool... but now you see it freakin' EVERYWHERE!
 
Bruce is right - no way has "Dark Side of the Moon" been out for 30 years. I was a sophmore in high school when it came out and I graduated in seventy-... Oh. Never mind.

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"...and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one."
Luke 22:36
"An armed society is a polite society."
Robert Heinlein

[This message has been edited by mk86fcc (edited April 14, 2000).]
 
Matrix effect huh?? I think those most telling trend in design right now is the imac look... translucent colored plastic in friendly colors and rounded shapes.. you've seen that "look" in all sorts of new products from cell phones to new "concept" cars. I think its a cool look and has been copied all over the place, but like many trends this too shall pass. (even the NAME icolt is a kudos to mac)

As far as the "matrix" stuff goes that look owes a LOT to music video, where half speed and limited color pallettes are commonplace (anyone see Stigmata?.. totally shot like a music video). Techno has gotten so popular its mainstream. (note that madonna's last hit "ray of light" was a techno song produced by the dust brothers.. her label shopped EVERY hot techno act to produce this record) Hell i have even heard 2 seperate iggy pop songs used to sell products (reebock used "search and destroy, and and there was a car commercial that used "the passenger").

In fact just about any "trend or fad" gets out so quickly thses days thanks to our rapid media funnels that they also die outfaster. I recall that for about 2 years swing was a really hot underground hipster set.. and right about the time the fad was over.. the GAP started selling khaki's with swing music.. SUDDENLY all these new kids started showing up at the swing clubs wearing kahakis instead of 40's gangster suits.. overnight the the look of elegance at the clubs changed to one of casualness.

You'll see this "matrix" look die off fairly quickly.. IF the directors of the next 2 matrix installments keep pushing the SFX envelope.

You'll also notice other hot trends if you look for them, from 40's style pin up ads (camel cigarettes, a number of liquor ads, sunscreen, and fashions)to the subtle use of s&m in advertising. (winston cigarettes, altoids, among others)

The crazy thing about ANY genre of music, film, design etc is that it becoimes quickly derivative and somewhat predictable. IE what was new for a a few minutes doesn't remain so for very long. The next new thing will come along and that will be that.

The SUPRISING fad that never took was the last 'star wars " film.. the art director made one simple statement "more silver".. I fully expected to see more "silvery" and SF looking designed products and it never happened. But you never know, it still could.. trends are funny that way.

Dr.Rob
 
DrRob--- Knew I could count on you, Bud!


Ida know about the "silver" trend-- it's a rather lengthy, evolving one. Terminator II, with its mercuric-man morphing menacingly, used it about 8 years ago. (That long?) Covers of many SF books (like Wm. Gibson's Neuromancer, 1981, and its sequal whose name escapes me, c.1990) used lotsa silver. The Abyss (late '80's) used silver to great effect. I think that we're going to see that trend continue for a long time, as it's been peaking so slowly. As I understand it, the reflections and highlights on the graphics used in silver are majorly memory-intensive for computer-animation, so that may be the main reason that it's been growing so slowly.

Gotta run to Psych of the Offender class, Now showing at a lecture hall near me!
 
Long Path is correct. The very first widely seen use of the multi-position digital photo technique was the Gap Khakis ad about two and a half years ago.

I've never heard of it referred to as the "Matrix Effect" before. The computer generated effects of that movie extend well beyond the multi-position dpt.

Speaking of the Matrix, I just recently saw it for the first time. A lot of folks( mostly very young guys, I now surmise, kept saying it was the best movie ever!( The Matrix RULES, dude!! ) Put succinctly...PUHLEEEZE! What a corny piece of trash. Without the computer generated effects, you would be left with very little. However... For those of you who've read anything by the late great comparative mythologist Joseph Campbell, espaecially his landmark 1948 book "The Hero with a Thousand faces", you will recognize the archetypal "hero's journey" story structure. It's been used so many times in books and movies, it would astonish you. Basically, it goes something like this...

An individual is in a comfortable place, all warm and cozy, when a harbinger of some sort comes forth( Morpheus in "The Matrix" ) and says "Look, you're asleep here. This is not for you. Time to wake up. You are dreaming." Sound familiar? Never have I seen a more literal realization of this than in "The Matrix".
Then, our hero goes through an initiation of sorts, going on all sorts of adventures, encountering great obstacles, sometimes meeting a great sage that fortells his future.( the "Oracle" in the movie )
Our hero then does great battle with an archetypal monster( the "Agents" ), defeats his enemy, and ultimately returns to the world, a change man, bearing great gifts of wisdom( boons, as professor Campbell refers to them )to give to the world.

This is, of course, a thumbnail sketch, but you get the idea. For those of you who might think I'm pulling your collective leg, pick up a copy of "The Hero with a Thousand Faces" by Joseph Campbell. A copy shouldn't be hard to find. It's been in print continuously for more than 50 years.

Oh, and for those of you who are great fans of this gem of a film, no flames please. And please don't tell me about it's 3 Academy Awards. Those were all technical awards for sound editing, special effects, and the like. Definitely a nice flashy piece of eye candy, but that's about it...
 
"(anyone see Stigmata?.. totally shot like a music video)."

Dr. Rob got it. The reason why all these movies (Don't forget Fight Club) and commerials are looking the same is because Hollywood has been using a lot of young commercial and Music Video directors who typically are Audio/Video geeks with more experience in editing than actual production. It started with Michael Bey who was a commercial director before he did Armageddon, and now we've got the likes of Spike Jonze (a music video director) and other techno geeks making the rounds.

Parabellum, I'm not flaming you, but I disagree with your synopsis. The story is much more complex than that. This is all of the top of my head, and I just had a two martini lunch so bear with me. the "matrix" is an abstract interpretation of Eastern Mystiscism and how it correlates to view of reality. Neo is the Christ figure and Morpheus is John the Baptist. Neo is the saviour brought to deliver people from the confines of a limited conscience. Eastern Mystics feel we are limited to a gross perception, much like the Matrix, and until we are "realized" oh....blah blah blah (insert new age interpretation of the meaning of life >>here<< ). When Neo is physically released from the Matrix, its exactly like the birthing process. Anyways, I don't know where I'm going with this sophmoric interpretation, maybe I'll change it later.
 
MTAA--Man, you don't realize it, but we are talking about the same thing!!!!!

Joseph Campbell was a Jungian( after a fashion--not dyed-in-the-wool as some would lead you to believe ) and believed in the concept of the "hard wiring" of certain universal precepts. This is the core of why dream interpretation is considered by Jungians to be valid.It is for this very reason that this archetypal story pops up again, and again, and again...

The passion plays in the Bible follows perfectly the "hero's journey" archetype to a T. John the Baptist was the "harbinger" for Jesus, saying "Look, you are the one. Wake up. You have a great mission before you"
By breaking the bounds of the "limits of consciousness", Jesus transcends, in essence defeating Death, and bringing His message into the world. It fits perfectly.
The Gnostic view of Christianity, to which I subscribe, is completely in line with the Eastern view:

"The Kingdom is spread on the face of the earth, and men do not see it"--Jesus, in The Gospel According to Thomas

If, after the martinis wear off, you delve a little deeper into both our interpretations, you'll see that we are in complete agreement! All the best. Any thoughts, MTAA?
 
Blah blah blah.

Guys, there's an old saying that there's nothing new under the sun, and most of the time you wouldn't be wrong to live by it even though it's not perfectly accurate. In short, yeah the story of the reluctant but fated hero is old. So is the bold hero who is untouchable. So are the two lovers who must not be together. So is the man betrayed, so is the revenge of a woman, ad nauseum. All these things are old concepts but if you tell them in a new or interesting way, ain't nothing wrong with that.

And yeah, I LIKED the effects. The plot wouldn't have been totally believable without many of them. As it was they made it believable enough to make me think it's possible (no, not likely) that I'm in a matrix right now.

But publish it as a novel with no need for special effects to make it believable and I'd still like it a lot.

Just my .02 :D
 
Didn't Shakespear say there were only 19 different plots - everything else is just a variation?

Matrix kicked serious ass in the Technical effects arena. Was the story deep and profound? Not really, but it was an eyecandy movie just like most Action - Martial arts movies.

FYI, for those who don't know how it's achieved, the Matrix rotation effect is generated by putting the subject in question in the center of a green room, surrounded by high speed digital cameras, as many as you need for the angle changes, at whatever height you need. Picture a watch, where the cameras are at the hash marks all along the outside, facing center pivot point. As the second hand sweeps around, the view is switched from camera to camera.

The green is filtered out of the picture just like the typical TV green screen, leaving just the subject in the center. From action to cut all of the cameras roll, and then the composition / editing room puts it all together on some very high speed workstations.

The editor can scroll back and forth, zoom in or out, etc getting the effects just right, until you wind up with what we saw in The Matrix. Watch the "Behind the scenes" special on it, it's cool. I'm continually amazed by what they can do these days, and what's "real" and what's CGI in the movies / TV.

Heck, how many of you notice that the ads behind the home plate on Baseball games switch every time you come back to that shot?

Spark

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Kevin Jon Schlossberg
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I have also noticed a Fight Club effect.

Super close up camera work going over an area of an item, like the dashboard of a car, with techno music playing.

Watch Fight Club 10 times like I did and you will notice this effect in commercials etc.
 
Dr. Rob, even if some of (a lot of) Brad Pitt's dialogue was severly retarded, Fight Club was a great movie ! Get this, Roger Ebert was having a conversation with Clinton and the prez said Fight Club was his favorite movie of 1999. I thought that was pretty interesting, considering the film has a lot to do with the frustration towards his idealistic society.

Parabellum, NOW I see what you meant ! I thought you were making a St.George comparison, but I'm glad to hear you agree and you don't think I'm smoking crack. After the post I started analyzing a bit further (does this make Trinity Mary Magdelene ?) and started to worry about my analogy. In regards to your earlier comments about the movie in total, yea the dialogue was weak and lets face it, every time I see Keanue Reeves I expect a "dude !" or a "Whoa!!". Not exactly a master thespian, but he got the job done.

Can't wait for "Gladiator" to come out. I'm curious to hear how that gets reviewed.
 
Thanks Don, for that truly meaningful contribution to the conversation( blah blah blah) Hmmm...interesting( and oh so original ) point.

As for making it into a book...ROTFLMAO!! Pray, tell how you might achieve that????
 
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