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Bullet time

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Bullet time (often hyphenated as bullet-time) is a concept introduced in recent films and computer games whereby the passage of time is displayed as extremely slow or frozen moments in order to allow a viewer to observe imperceptibly fast events (such as flying bullets). It is often used to create a dramatic effect, as in the film The Matrix.

The concept also implies that only a "virtual camera," often illustrated within the confines of a computer-generated environment such as a game 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, flo mo, temps mort and virtual cinematography.

Contents

Technology

Universal Capture technique: The Next Level of Bullet Time
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Universal Capture technique: The Next Level of Bullet Time

In past films, the general effect has been achieved by a set of still cameras surrounding the subject. These are usually triggered at once or sequentially. Singular frames taken from each of the still cameras are then arranged and displayed consecutively to produce an orbiting viewpoint of an action frozen in time or as hyper-slow-motion. This technique is an artistic simulation of the limitless perspectives and variable frame rates possible with a virtual camera. However, since the still array process is done with real cameras, it is often limited to assigned paths. A conception of how this form of super-slow motion "bullet time" is done is to set up a ring of cameras around the person within the poses and taken all at once, with the set covered in the green skin for later editing, then the pictures are shown back in order from first to last. It is also possible that as the person does it, the cameras taking the pictures as the person is doing that are high-speed in order to take all the shots within a few moments, if not instantly.

Modern variations include the application of digital stills, motion picture, realtime video and high-definition cameras aligned in special arrays more favorable to immediate playback (such as sports events), as well as spatial configurations favorable to photo- and stereo-grammetric image processing (used for extracting a subject's form as well as its texture). Some new approaches attempt to three-dimensionally capture and simulate real-world events so that a true virtual camera can be used to show this event from limitless or "God's Eye" perspectives (as in a virtual reality simulation).

A still from The Matrix Reloaded
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A still from The Matrix Reloaded

In The Matrix, the camera path was pre-designed using computer-generated visualizations as a guide. Cameras were arranged on a track and aligned through a laser targeting system, forming a complex curve through space. The cameras were then triggered at extremely close intervals, so the action continued to unfold, in extreme slow-motion, while the viewpoint moved. Additionally, the individual frames were scanned for computer processing. Using sophisticated interpolation software, extra frames could be inserted to slow down the action further and improve the fluidity of the movement (especially the frame rate of the images); frames could also be dropped to speed up the action. This approach provides greater flexibility than a purely photographic one. The same effect can also be produced using pure CGI, motion capture and universal capture.

History

Bullet time in the cel animation era
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Bullet time in the cel animation era

Perhaps the first conceptualization of bullet-time occurred in the Dune series of novels, most notably in Children of Dune, in the scene where the Reverend Mother Lady Jessica dodges an assassin's bullet using her ultra-quick Bene Gesserit reflexes.

Long before the emergence of a technology permitting a live-action application, bullet-time as a concept was frequently developed in cel animation. One of the earliest examples is the shot at the end of the title sequence for the late-sixties Japanese animated series Speed Racer: as Speed leaps from the Mach 5, he freezes in mid-jump, and then the camera does an arc shot from top to sideways. The most renowned anime example can be found in the cult classic Akira. In one scene, the telekinetically inclined antagonist, Tetsuo, dodges bullets as a camera orbits around him.

While independent artists had been experimenting for years, the first concrete example of bullet time in the commercial domain can be found in the obscure 1981 action film Kill and Kill Again. The first music video to use bullet-time was Army of Me, released by Björk in 1995. It was also featured in Dario Argento's 1996 horror movie The Stendhal Syndrome (CGI, with a bullet), and the 1998 BBC documentary mini-series Intimate Universe: The Human Body with time-slice by Tim Macmillan. In 1994, Dayton Taylor invented a film-based system called TimeTrack that was used in many TV commercials [link]. The effect was also used in 1998's Blade and further developed in Blade II. Bullet time became popularized when John Gaeta and team expanded it temporally and into the digital arena through the incorporation of frame interpolation and image based CGI within the film The Matrix (1999) and through view-morphing techniques pioneered by the company BUF in music videos by Michel Gondry and commercials for, among others, The Gap. In 2003, Bullet Time evolved further through The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions with the introduction of high-definition computer-generated approaches like virtual cinematography and universal capture.

Other early applications of the concept:

Antecedents to bullet time occurred before the invention of cinema itself. Eadweard Muybridge used still cameras placed along a racetrack to take pictures of a galloping horse. Each camera was actuated by a taut string stretched across the track; as the horse galloped past, the camera shutters snapped, taking one frame at a time. (The original intent was to settle a debate the governor of California had started, as to whether or not all four of the animal's legs would leave the ground.) Muybridge later assembled the pictures into a rudimentary animation, by placing them on a glass disk which he spun in front of a light source. His zoopraxiscope was the direct inspiration for Thomas Edison's moving pictures. In effect, Muybridge had achieved the aesthetic opposite to The Matrix's bullet-time sequences.

A still from The Matrix Revolutions
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A still from The Matrix Revolutions

In addition to the multiple-cameras effect which captures the actors, the surrounding scenery in The Matrix's bullet-time shots is a computer-generated rendering. These scenes use the photogrammetric modeling and projective texture-mapping techniques pioneered in Paul Debevec's 1997 film [The Campanile Movie]. George Borshukov, a collaborator of Debevec, was on the team at Manex Visual Effects that created the bullet-time shots for The Matrix.

The phrase "Bullet Time," is a registered trademark of Warner Bros., the distributor of The Matrix. It was formerly a trademark of 3D Realms, producer of the Max Payne games.

In games

Bullet time has been used in many computer and video games, particularly since the popularisation of the effect by The Matrix, and is technically trivial to implement (as all objects in the scene are generated and controlled by the computer). It is usually implemented as a power-up or "special" meter and when activated allows the player to temporarily slow down the game-world (usually also making individual bullets visible, making it possible to dodge enemies' shots), but retains the ability to look and aim at normal speed. Games such as Max Payne (2001), The Specialists, and Viewtiful Joe combine the effect with action movie-style special moves such as somersaults, dives and rolls.

The first computer game to use bullet time was probably the real-time rogue-like Rescue at Rigel published in 1980 by Epyx, which featured a protagonist with a bionic implant system called "A.M.B.L.E."

One of the first modern computer games to feature bullet time was the 1999 game ' which featured angels fighting demons in a dystopian future. Other notable uses of the effect include ' (2003), and F.E.A.R (2005). The videogames in the Matrix franchise (Enter the Matrix (2003), The Matrix Online (2005) and (2005)) have also utilised the effect. Even games where the effect would not logically exist within the setting, often feature it anyway, one such example is the western-themed third person shooter, GUN, where the bullet time mode is called "quick draw."

Bullet time is also featured in Star Wars & ; activated whenever a player kills a Reborn Jedi (both JO & JA) or a cultist (JA only) armed with a lightsaber, or if a lightsabered armed enemy kills a player. Bullet time can also be activated manually by entering "thereisnospoon" (an obvious reference to the film The Matrix, demonstrating that film's large impact on modern culture) in the console during the game. Additionally, the player can slow down the environment, while moving at normal speed, by activating the "Force Speed" power.

Another Game that uses Bullet-time is Sudeki, whenever a player opens up the items menu (default Q) the environment including the player slows down, enabling the controller rotate the view and look around. Also, when using certain techniques such as Tal's "Blade Dance" the environment and the enemy slows down significantly. Similar effect is used in the last battle with Talos, when Talos can cut through very quickly but your speed is decreased 5 times.

A situation similar to a bullet time can be found in the Grand Theft Auto games (only the games from Grand Theft Auto III and on) - when the player picks up an adrenaline pill, the character's and the game's speed is slowed down, while the aiming speed remains the normal.

The smash PS2 platformer Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus also featured some silky smooth "bullet-time" effects in which you could unlock an ability that allowed you to slow down all of your surroundings, yet move the camera around the character at normal speed. Not only that, but there was a creative feature in which when you move the right analog stick while the game was paused, the menu would disappear and you would be able to move the camera to get a good look at the surroundings. Another PS2 platformer to feature bullet-time was Jak 3 in which Jak is finally able to use Light Eco that allows for plenty of changes with time and Jak's surroundings. Also, the recent PSP title Daxter briefly features a bullet-time moment in the final boss battle where tubes of light eco come crashing down and freezes everything in mid air, except Daxter, who can move around freely.

also uses bullet time, if you jump whilst next to an enemy, Lara will jump off the character and go into bullet time, wherein one can shoot the targeted enemy.
Half-Life 2: Smod, a popular addon to Half-Life 2, implements a bullet-time function that allows the player to move at normal speed, while enemies and the environment move slowly.

For a short time bullet time became a "development fad" whereby many games had it added in for no apparent reason (the notoriously poor Charlie's Angels licensed game had the words "it also feature that popular bullet time thing" in its press release). This led to a backlash from critics with the Official UK PS2 magazine stating (in the context of the game Devil May Cry 2) "anyone caught cribbling from the Matrix gets a point [presumably from its review score] knocked off now".

In the summer of 2006, Superman Returns and featured bullet time shots. In Superman Returns, a scene involving a bullet colliding with Superman's eye and being crushed on impact was seen in many trailers for the film. In Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest, a musket ball is seen in bullet time as the camera circles around it after it is fired.

Parodies

The popularity of The Matrix has given rise to several parodies of bullet time:

The easy recognition and arguably heavy use of such parodies has led some to point out that bullet-time scenes are becoming a film cliché.

External links

 

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