Inside "The Matrix" computer (2) at DVinfo.net

Jim Schweer · November 16th, 2006, 01:51 PM

Do you remember the scene in the movie "The Matrix," when Morpheus and Neo are standing in the middle of blank white space? My video artist friend wants to recreate that in her apartment living room.

I have done this on a modest scale with a single standing 6-foot-tall person framed from the knees up by placing him far enough in front of a white wall that no shadows are thrown on it and lighting the wall separately. I placed two 100w clamp lights below and outside the frame shining up at the wall to flood it with light, then lit the person in front of the wall with a 60w clamp light and a sheet of foamcore for fill. I dialed in the exposure until the wall was all zebras, and there was my picture. And I did it at 2 a.m. when I controled all the light.

So, how could she duplicate my results on a somewhat larger scale? Or does it become a big expensive project when you scale it up a bit?

Declan Smith · November 17th, 2006, 03:36 AM

Have you considered chromakey and putting in the white background in post ?

You would only need a small set, and could film lots of people separately and composite the shot.

November 16th, 2006, 01:51 PM	#1
Jim Schweer Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Kansas City KS Posts: 60	Inside "The Matrix" computer (2) Do you remember the scene in the movie "The Matrix," when Morpheus and Neo are standing in the middle of blank white space? My video artist friend wants to recreate that in her apartment living room. I have done this on a modest scale with a single standing 6-foot-tall person framed from the knees up by placing him far enough in front of a white wall that no shadows are thrown on it and lighting the wall separately. I placed two 100w clamp lights below and outside the frame shining up at the wall to flood it with light, then lit the person in front of the wall with a 60w clamp light and a sheet of foamcore for fill. I dialed in the exposure until the wall was all zebras, and there was my picture. And I did it at 2 a.m. when I controled all the light. So, how could she duplicate my results on a somewhat larger scale? Or does it become a big expensive project when you scale it up a bit?

November 17th, 2006, 03:36 AM	#2
Declan Smith Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Gloucestershire, UK Posts: 187	Have you considered chromakey and putting in the white background in post ? You would only need a small set, and could film lots of people separately and composite the shot.