A Quick Peek From the Matrix Set In Sydney

We posted recently about the planned shutdown of part of Sydney for filming of the upcoming Matrix sequel. Now reader zobier points to a followup describing the shooting, and since he was on hand to see it first-hand, writes: "I went along to watch the filming, it was very cool (I love helicopters tho' ;) They didn't block off much city space, maybe (100 - 200m), and the chopper flew down the square (Martin Place) between the buildings about 5 - 10m above our heads. Many onlookers were videoing and photographing the scene. At about 5pm when it got dark the camera flashes started going off, this pissed off the director as it was interfering with his film." GoogolPlexPlex adds a link to coverage in the Sydney Morning Herald.

Comments

Realism?

[URoRRuRRR]

At about 5pm when it got dark the camera flashes started going off, this pissed off the director as it was interfering with his film.

Y'know, if I'm on the street and a helicopter goes flying by with people fighting on it, I'm going to take a picture.

Re:Realism?

[Jedi Alec]

Apparently you didn't quite get the first movie though.

There is no spoon. Or in this case, no helicopter....

Re:Realism?

[orthogonal]

I'm afraid you don't understand: you are a criminal.

You wish to take photos of a movie set; that set is the intellectual property of the movie studio. That the movie set is on public properrty, and that the public has been restricted from it in favor of the movie maker is immaterial. The MPAA will protect its intellectual property regardless.

In any case, allowing anyone to take photographs is dangerous. It is posible to violate copyright by photographing copyrighted works. Your camera, to be legal, should contain hardware than makes it impossible to take photos unless the subject of the photo is cleared with the MPAA or other competent quasi-governmental agency. If your camera is not so equipped, it's clear that you intend to use your camera for illegal violations of copyright.

Of course, since it costs money to combat piracy and to review applications for taking photographs, we must insist that you buy film or other recording media specially taxed to pay these costs. (Excpetion: professional producers, as of movies or commercials, are exempted under law, to promote American cultural hegemony.)

We know that you don't have a license for a camera, and that you haven't paid the recording media tax, because, in accordance with the Intellectual Property Protection Accountability Act, your computer recorded its Globally Unique Identifying Number when you posted your message. As all your commerical activity is recorded under your name to prevent fraud, it was a simple matter to cross-reference purchase records and computer records.

By the time you read this, you should be hearing the knock on your door.

Re:Realism?

[Disevidence]

"By the time you read this, you should be hearing the knock on your door."

It was only the pizza guy. Crisis Averted.

Camera flashes

[Ethelthefrog]

Oooooooh, it makes me giggle when those silly little automatic cameras go all flashy at night. A tiny little camera with a tiny flash isn't going to illuminate a large helicopter at a range of 20m.

The camera moments that really make me laugh are flash photographs of cityscapes at night taken through windows. Well, everyone needs pictures of bright reflected flashes. My album is full of them.

EtF

Re:Camera flashes

[CliveJones]

I was driving through Parliament Square (London, UK) on Saturday night. A tourist attempted to photograph the Houses of Parliament.

From a moving car.

With flash.

With the window closed.

Sigh.

Matrix pictures

[JPriest]

I took some pictures of the set but they turned out like crap, all you can see is a bunch of 111000110011001001101

Re:FP

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The Flashes...

[URoRRuRRR]

I don't think a lot of you are understanding why the flashes pissed of the director.

Yes, a camera flash at that distance won't illuminate a hellicopter. That's good for side views or shots shot angling up at the hellicopter shot from below (probably a 45 degree angle)

However, if the director wanted an overhead shot, or one angling down at the hellicopter, the street would be visible and that's where the flashes would be seen. The director probably wanted to see an average street so the distracting flashes were causing him lost time, film and money.

100-200 m2?

[Anonymous Coward]

So that means they blocked off an area of a whole 10x10 to 14x14 meters/yards then?

Roughly the size of a large apartment.

Amazing.

Matrix is a movie?

[frodo-nl]

I always thought it was a test for software DVD players... ;)

Realistic?

[roalt]

Mr Director, I think it would be quite unrealistic in a film if a helicopter flew 10 meters over your head in a city like Sydney and nobody would take pictures...

Heh

[ShooterNeo]

A line from the upcoming movie : Neo : "Whoa....check out all those flashes" Morpheus : "Concentrate on the task at hand; they are merely glitches in the Matrix caused by our presense in this place"

Re:Camera Flash

[Lumpy]

you forget 2 important things....

1 - very very few people understand good photography.

2 - Over 70% of the world's population is made up of morons and idiots.

dont agree with #2? Go drive at 5:00 pm in any major metropolitan area.

Humans as batteries.

[tjensor]

Lets face it, the whole idea is silly. Theres the whole laws of thermodynamics thing for a start but then theres this problem that they need some sort of artifical reality to make it work, and its really tricky, because they keep escaping and fighting and stuff. OK, so why not use Llamas instead. Or Cod. Problem solved - Next! Maybe its good that I'm nto a hyperintelligent machine ruling the world with an iron fist, er, manipulator.

Re:What's interesting about Matrix 2

[number one duck]

I don't get it either. Hotrod opened the matrix and stopped Unicron (Becoming Rodimus Prime in the process). I know they still have to bring O.P. back, but thats more of an episode thing,not a full film.

Photo (With Flash)

[Anonymous Coward]

For those that couldn't make it to the set ... here's a photo of the action.

Action Shot