With this project being based around Altered States I had two films instantly come to mind which explores this theme. 'The Matrix' and 'Interstellar' are movies that I love to reference when making my work and have what's widely regarded as some of the best visual effects in films upon their release.
Lilly and Lana Wachowski wrote and directed The Matrix, a 1999 science fiction action film. It stars the well known Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, and Carrie-Anne Moss. It depicts a dystopian future in which humanity is subconsciously trapped inside the Matrix, a simulated reality constructed by sentient computers to divert humans while exploiting their bodies as an energy source. When the computer programmer Thomas Anderson, who goes by the hacker nickname "Neo," discovers the truth, he is drawn into a rebellion against the machines, with other people who have been rescued from the Matrix. The Matrix is an example of science fiction's post apocalyptic subgenre.
In 1999, visual effects like photo-realistic CGI was far from the capabilities that we have today; and so to produce all of the mind-bending visuals in the script they had to come up with out of the ordinary filming techniques. For the slow-motion orbital shots they surrounded the set in camera's and took images in sequence at a very fast shutter speed to create the allusion of slowing down time.
Harvard Referencing:
Wikipedia Contributors (2019). The Matrix. [online] Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Matrix
Vudu (2014). The Matrix Behind The Scenes - Rooftop (1999) - Keanu Reeves Movie HD. YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kjcv-JtUOgA
Wachowski, L. and Wachowski, L. (1999). The Matrix. [online] IMDb. Available at: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0133093/
Interstellar is another film ,amongst many, that have influenced the way that I work. It is a stand-alone Sci-Fi film directed by Christopher Nolan; whom is best known for the Dark Knight Trilogy and Inception. Released in 2014; Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain and Michael Caine are just some of the notable actors that feature in the film. The movie follows a crew of astronauts who journey through a wormhole next to Saturn in hopes of a new home for civilization, in a bleak future where humanity is failing to exist.
The film's visual effects are so effective that they depict the most accurate representation of a black hole that we currently have on earth. The journey that the crew takes through the wormhole alters the state of reality and explores themes of time travel and space manipulation. In my final film for this project I would love to recreate some of the imagery and effects used in this movie.
Harvard Referencing:
Wikipedia Contributors (2019a). Interstellar (film). [online] Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstellar_(film)
Nolan, J. and Nolan, C. (2014). Interstellar. [online] IMDb. Available at: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0816692/
Studio Binder (2020). WATCH: Interstellar Explained — Unpacking that Insane Ending. [online] Available at: https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/interstellar-explained-meaning-plot-summary/
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