Shooting a Frozen Frame! Wolverine Visits the Set

Shooting Day by Day! Wolverine Visits the Set

Filming proceeded day by day.
The most difficult parts were exterior scenes combined with visual effects.
This required a massive amount of green screen work, and the camera crew also had to shoot plenty of environmental reference material to keep on hand for backup.

For this particular scene, Morpheus was continuing to explain the Matrix to Neo.
The two of them had to walk through a crowd while talking, which called for a large number of extras.
Teaming up with the local actors' guild, Gloria had already gathered over two hundred background performers.
With the right techniques and camera angles, those two hundred-plus people could be made to continuously stream through the frame.
The costume and makeup artists dressed the extras to represent people from various walks of life.
The production crew had to close off an entire street for shooting during the time slot permitted by the local government.
Filming didn't begin until three o'clock in the afternoon.
The road closure lasted for only three hours.

"B037, Scene 4, Take 1! Get ready... Action!"

The extras began to walk down the street.
The camera followed close behind Morpheus and Neo.
Morpheus explained the Matrix:
"The Matrix is a system, Neo. That system is our enemy. But when you're inside, you look around, what do you see? Businessmen, teachers, lawyers, carpenters. The very minds of the people we are trying to save."
Neo dodged past a pedestrian.
"But until we do, these people are still a part of that system, and that makes them our enemy."
"You have to understand, most of these people are not ready to be unplugged."
The camera angle shifted; Neo looked around curiously at the police officers and office workers passing by.
"And many of them are so inert, so hopelessly dependent on the system, that they will fight to protect it."
The camera cut away as a woman in a red dress walked past. She was striking and graceful, her eyes fixed on Neo.
Neo turned his head to look back at her.
"Were you listening to me, Neo? Or were you looking at the woman in the red dress?"
Neo turned his head back to look at Morpheus in front of him.
"I was..."
"Look again."
Neo turned around.
The camera shifted to a medium shot.
Suddenly, Agent Smith appeared right behind him! Swiftly drawing his gun, he aimed the barrel straight at the camera.
Neo was startled!
At that moment, Morpheus called out: "Freeze!"

Whoosh—!

A wide shot: everyone within the frame froze in place!
Only Neo and Morpheus could move.
This sequence required green screens and visual effects.
First, the same scene was filmed with the walking extras until a certain moment when they froze.
The camera position remained locked, a green screen was pulled into place, and the two lead actors were filmed.
Once composited in post-production, the envisioned effect would be achieved.

Within the frame, Neo asked, "This isn't part of the Matrix?"
Morpheus replied, "No, it's another training program designed to teach you one thing: if you are not one of us, you are one of them."
Neo looked at the frozen Agent Smith. "Who are they?"
"Sentient programs. They can move in and out of any software hard-wired to their system. That means anyone we haven't unplugged is potentially an agent."
"Inside the Matrix, anyone can be an agent. You bump into them, you can only hide, you can only run."
"But they are the gatekeepers. They guard all the doors, they hold all the sooner or later, someone's going to have to fight them."
"Many have tried to fight them, and many have died. But you are different. You will succeed."
Neo asked, "Why?"
"An agent's strength and speed are still constrained by the rules of the Matrix. Because of that, they can never be stronger or faster than you."
Neo asked, "What are you trying to tell me? That I can be stronger and faster than them? That I can dodge bullets?"
Morpheus smiled meaningfully. "No, Neo. I'm saying that when you're ready, you won't have to."

Qin Feng picked up the walkie-talkie: "Cut! We've got a few more setups, let's keep the momentum going and get a few more takes."
With only three hours of time, the crew had to make the most of every single second.
Not to mention, there was also a complex visual effects sequence involving frozen pedestrians within the scene.

***

On the fifth day of shooting, Scarlett flew in from Los Angeles as well.
To avoid stirring up gossip and discussion among the crew, the two stayed apart and weren't even checked into the same hotel.
Only after wrapping up for the day would Qin Feng slip away to find Scarlett.
The two of them would take a cab a bit further out to enjoy some private time together.

Meanwhile, news that a Hollywood crew was shooting a sci-fi film in Sydney had spread like wildfire.
Many filmmakers wanted to come and observe the production.
As everyone knew, Australia was renowned for producing handsome men, gorgeous women, and A-list stars, though some of these actors traveled the globe and rarely lived in Australia year-round.

That day.
During a break in filming, Qin Feng was reviewing storyboards and pre-visualization animations.
Gloria came running over. "Director, Director, someone's here to visit the set!"
Qin Feng glanced up at her. "Gloria, we're in the middle of work. Visitors will have to wait until after we wrap."

"But..."
Gloria looked a bit troubled. "This person is a well-known local movie star. Wouldn't it look bad if we turned them away?"
"A local star? Who?"
"Wolverine—Hugh Jackman."
"Oh? Uncle Wolverine??"

A thought flashed through Qin Feng's mind as the film database in his head spun into action.
Hugh Jackman, a native of Sydney and a famous Australian male star.
In this lifetime, he had already starred in the sci-fi action film *X-Men*, portraying Wolverine.
Fans affectionately nicknamed him "Uncle Wolverine."
However, the visual effects and storyline of that film had been rather lackluster, falling short of the original version from his past life.
Aside from that, he had also starred in acclaimed works like *Leap of Faith*, *Swordfish*, *The Prestige*, and *Australia*.

Thinking of this, Qin Feng stood up.
"Since Uncle Wolverine has personally made the trip, we certainly must meet him."
Gloria smiled and followed behind him.

The two walked to the perimeter of the set and spotted Hugh Jackman standing in the distance.
He was tall and athletic, wearing a dark gray t-shirt and jeans, with a warm and approachable smile.
He had short hair, his facial hair cleanly shaved, with bright eyes and a straight nose bridge.

Qin Feng walked over with a smile and greeted him, "Hello, Mr. Jackman!"
Gloria introduced them, "Mr. Jackman, this is the director of *The Matrix*, Qin Feng."
Hugh Jackman shook hands with Qin Feng.
"I'm sorry to drop by without giving you a heads-up, Director Qin."
"I just heard that a Hollywood team was shooting a sci-fi action film here in Sydney, so I rushed over to take a look."
"Not at all, Mr. Jackman. To be honest, I'm a huge fan of your portrayal of Wolverine."

The three of them walked further onto the set together.
"Thank you, Director Qin, but that film received a lot of criticism, which is why the moment I heard someone was making a sci-fi action movie, I wanted to come and learn a thing or two."
"You're too modest. As an actor, whether it's the script or the filming, certain things are simply out of your control."

Arriving on the main set, Qin Feng called Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss over; today's scenes belonged to the two of them.
Hugh Jackman was extremely polite, shaking hands and exchanging pleasantries with both actors.
He turned to Qin Feng and asked, "Director Qin, I hear you're particularly skilled at directing sci-fi films. Would it be all right if I observed a scene or two of your shooting today?"