The Matrix is a 1999 science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is the first installment in the Matrix film series, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, and Joe Pantoliano, and depicts a dystopian future in which humanity is unknowingly trapped inside the Matrix, a simulated reality that intelligent machines have created to distract humans while using their bodies as an energy source. When computer programmer Thomas Anderson, under the hacker alias "Neo", uncovers the truth, he joins a rebellion against the machines along with other people who have been freed from the Matrix.
Special effects are illusions or visual tricks used in the theatre, film, television, video game, amusement park and simulator industries to simulate the imagined events in a story or virtual world.
The Academy Award for Best Visual Effects is an Academy Award given for the best achievement in visual effects.
The Matrix Reloaded is a 2003 American science-fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is the sequel to The Matrix (1999) and the second installment in the Matrix film series. The film stars Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, and Gloria Foster who reprise their roles from the previous film, while Jada Pinkett Smith was introduced in the cast.
Cinematography is the art of motion picture photography.
Bullet time is a visual effect or visual impression of detaching the time and space of a camera from that of its visible subject. It is a depth enhanced simulation of variable-speed action and performance found in films, broadcast advertisements, and realtime graphics within video games and other special media. It is characterized by its extreme transformation of both time, and of space. This is almost impossible with conventional slow motion, as the physical camera would have to move implausibly fast; the concept implies that only a "virtual camera", often illustrated within the confines of a computer-generated environment such as a virtual world or virtual reality, would be capable of "filming" bullet-time types of moments. Technical and historical variations of this effect have been referred to as time slicing, view morphing, temps mort and virtual cinematography.
Frank Herbert's Dune is a three-part science fiction television miniseries based on the 1965 novel by Frank Herbert. It was written and directed by John Harrison. The cast includes Alec Newman as Paul Atreides, William Hurt as Duke Leto Atreides, and Saskia Reeves as Lady Jessica, as well as Ian McNeice as Baron Vladimir Harkonnen and Giancarlo Giannini as the Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV.
Andrew G. Vajna was a Hungarian film producer whose films include the first three entries in the Rambo series, Total Recall, Tombstone, Die Hard with a Vengeance, Evita, and Terminator 3. He founded the now-defunct production companies Carolco Pictures, Cinergi Pictures, and C2 Pictures, frequently in collaboration with Mario Kassar.
John C. Gaeta is a designer and inventor best known for his work on the Matrix film trilogy, where he advanced methods and formats known as Bullet Time.
Pacific Data Images (PDI) was an American computer animation production company based in Redwood City, California, that was bought by DreamWorks SKG in 2000. It was renamed PDI/DreamWorks and was owned by DreamWorks Animation.
Virtual cinematography is the set of cinematographic techniques performed in a computer graphics environment. It includes a wide variety of subjects like photographing real objects, often with stereo or multi-camera setup, for the purpose of recreating them as three-dimensional objects and algorithms for the automated creation of real and simulated camera angles. Virtual cinematography can be used to shoot scenes from otherwise impossible camera angles, create the photography of animated films, and manipulate the appearance of computer-generated effects.
Cinergi Pictures Inc. was an American independent film production company founded by Andrew G. Vajna in 1989, after he had sold his interest in his first production company, Carolco International Pictures. The company had a number of major hit films, most notably Tombstone, Die Hard with a Vengeance and Evita. However, the majority of their films lost money. A string of box office bombs – including Super Mario Bros., Renaissance Man, Color of Night, Judge Dredd, and Burn Hollywood Burn – ultimately did the company in, and it was dissolved in 1998. Cinergi Pictures' library is now owned by Disney.
Mikael Salomon is a Danish cinematographer, director and producer of film and television. After a long cinematography career in Danish cinema, he transitioned to the Hollywood film industry in the late 1980s earning two Academy Award nominations. He is also a television director whose credits include dozens of series, films and miniseries including Band of Brothers, Salem's Lot, Rome, and The Andromeda Strain. His awards and nominations include a Primetime Emmy Award and a Directors Guild of America Award.
Witchblade is a made-for-television live-action superhero film adapted from the cult comic book by Marc Silvestri and Top Cow Productions. Set in contemporary New York City, the occult police drama centers on Sara Pezzini, a brooding and willful homicide detective who is the reluctant inheritor of an ancient, symbiotic weapon that grants her superhuman powers.
Ben Grossmann is a visual effects supervisor in Los Angeles, California. He won an Oscar award for Hugo in 2012, and an Emmy award for The Triangle in 2006. He is the co-founder and CEO of Magnopus, a cross-reality experience company.
William Dawson is an American software engineer and co-founder of early Web giant Xoom, which at one time ranked as the 7th largest Internet site in the world. Dawson is credited for creating over 30 products for a dozen companies ranging from scientific research tools to video games. Early in his career, Dawson was the Chief Science Officer at Apple Inc. and a member of the Macintosh Development Team. He also helped launch the optical media industry by producing the world's first CD-ROMs and DVDs, authoring both the media and development systems that mastered them.
Michael "Ffish" Hemschoot is a director, animator and has held a variety of roles as a visual effects artist in major Hollywood films. Since 1996, Hemschoot has worked on films such as Mars Attacks!, What Dreams May Come, The Matrix, Hollow Man, Black Hawk Down, Minority Report and National Treasure.
Steve Johnson is an American special effects artist whose career has spanned more than thirty years. His work has appeared in over 200 films, countless television shows, theme parks, commercials, and music videos. Some of his best-known creations include Slimer for Ghostbusters (1984), the alien seductress Sil for Species (1995), Robin Williams's robotics for Bicentennial Man (1999), and Doctor Octopus's arms for Spider-Man 2 (2004).
Rudy Poat is a creative director and designer. He is known for his work on The Matrix franchise working in special effects. Before working on The Matrix, Poat also worked on special effects for What Dreams May Come (film) that helped lead the companies Mass Illusion and Manex to several Academy Awards.
Roy Field was a British special effects artist in the film industry. He worked on the first seven James Bond films before joining the team of 1978's Superman. He experimented with using animation to depict the flight of Superman and also used optical printing techniques to depict bullets bouncing off his body. The team shared the 1978 Academy Award for Best Visual Effects and the 1978 Michael Balcon award for Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema. Field received two BAFTA nominations for visual effects on the Jim Henson films The Dark Crystal (1982) and Labyrinth (1986).