Despite those two sequels, the original The Matrix is still a visual feast with its action-freezing bullet time sequences. And just like with slow motion, everything is cooler when filmed in bullet time, so Japan’s NHK has developed a multi-viewpoint robotic camera system that can be easily setup at live events.
Previous systems used a series of fixed cameras so bullet time sequences could only be captured when the action happened where they were all pointed. But the NHK’s new system uses eight cameras mounted to remote control pan and tilt heads. So they can all be panned and tilted in unison from a master control panel, with custom software determining exactly how the remote cameras need to be positioned for smooth bullet time results.