How does The Matrix use film making technique to move effectively between narratological containers?
I am going to closely analyse a fragment or clip from the 1999 film The Matrix to demonstrate how it uses film making technique to move effectively between complex narratological containers while still allowing the audience to follow the story line. The particular scene that I will be analysing is the Construct scene (1) where Morpheus (played by Laurence Fishburne) explains to a bewildered Neo (Keanu Reeves) what the Matrix of the title is.
The clip opens with an establishing two shot of Morpheus and Neo. Morpheus is confirming to Neo whether he does really want to know what the Matrix is. We then switch to a camera perspective of Morpheus looking at Neo and over his shoulder to Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss). Morpheus then prompts Trinity (who looks Neo in the eyes to also confirm that this is what he wants) to take him to the seat where he will be plugged in. Our focalisation is through Neo with Morpheus acting as a homodiegetic narrator throughout.
Trinity is seen taking care that Neo is safely sat in the chair while Neo looks around with trepidation. As he looks around the camera changes and moves subtly so that we get a brief glimpse at what each of the characters around Neo is doing. These camera changes combined with Neo's expression also reflect the viewer's bewilderment of the narrative at this point in the story.
When Morpheus inserts the device into the back of Neo's head the relatively calm yet suspenseful music changes abruptly to a scream. The camera view also jumps to a close up overhead shot of Neo who looks like he is in pain. This sudden change informs us that something drastic is happening. In fact we are going to enter a completely new and unfamiliar container in the form of the Construct. The scream ends with a quick jump shot to Morpheus whose head turns to the right. We then see a shot of a computer screen upon which a finger presses the load button. The apparently non-diegetic screaming noise stops as abruptly as it began and we move to an audio diegetic of complete silence. At the same time all we see is Neo but this time in a completely blank space.
The camera shot that was close up above Neo's face smoothly pans up and back to a position in front of his face. This combined with the lack of noise and serene location signal to Neo and the audience that the pain of his travel to this new space is over and he looks around in order to work out where he is now. Still in a fluid (imitating a dreamy state) one take the camera spies Morpheus in the distance and slowly gets closer to him as he begins very calmly to explain what is happening. These careful directorial decisions help the audience and Neo to orientate themselves after the shock of space time travel. The slow panning camera also allows us to experience the blank canvas of their environment carefully and for Morpheus to show how anything can be loaded into this space. We see two chairs and a television.
Morpheus goes on to further explain the Matrix and while doing so we can notice a green tint to both Morpheus and Neo. Throughout the film this green tint is applied whenever any of the characters are in the Matrix. This helps the audience to subtly understand which environment the narrative is currently working within. Morpheus then uses the television to show Neo how he believes the world is in comparison to how it actually is. The camera moves and goes toward the TV screen. At this point I was reminded by the camera movement of how the machines that control the Matrix actually move (elsewhere in the film) which, in addition to the green tint, also reinforces that we are currently in a non-natural environment. As we move in toward the television Morpheus slowly sits down (docile body) and we are heavily reminded of the post modern concept of Hyperreality that the bombardment of images and information we face from such objects as the TV and internet (ostensibly and presciently the Matrix) provide.
After Morpheus has explained the dream world Neo has been living in he then sits back in his chair abruptly and clicks the remote control so that the television shows us the world that he has been blinded from. At this point the camera moves completely through the television screen (here a type of portal) signalling another transfer through which the characters and the audience are going. The use of a kind of warping special effect is also employed to further reinforce that there is a transferal of space (and possibly time) occurring as the diegesis moves to a new container. This transfer is also signalled by the serene and silent diegetic audio being interrupted by non-diegetic discordant orchestral music. The single take camera shot is employed again calling back to the previous time it was used. This time the audience knows roughly what might happen which is reflected in the directorial decisions made of relatively less-abrupt camera edits and sound. Ultimately we swoop down the cliff face to Morpheus who then gets to deliver the memorable "welcome to the desert of the real" line (itself taken from the first page of Baudrillard's book Simulacra and Simulacrum).
Throughout this complex yet relatively short sequence the audience is both in the position of Neo learning about the Matrix whilst simultaneously being able to associate with the other characters of Morpheus and Trinity and their relative degrees of omniscience. For example, as a member of the audience watching the film we could easily be in the place of Trinity watching Morpheus and Neo on a monitor as they are in the Matrix. These various viewpoints are carefully interwoven during the sequence allowing the audience to keep a grip on the plot as it jumps between containers in order to tell the story. By allowing us to share the perspective of multiple characters the audience gets to experience bewilderment and omniscience simultaneously. These two positions are interwoven at a fast pace through this sequence (yet incredibly carefully as described previously) so we are fully able to understand the conflicting perspectives that Neo also undergoes during the scene.
The mise-en-scène of the sequence rapidly changes from the space ship where Neo is being plugged in, to the blank Construct area and then finally onto the simulation of the real world within the Construct area. Through a combination of sound and camera movements the audience is indicated to clearly that these changes in container are occurring. The oppositions of silence to a loud screaming and vice versa within the sound design and the location changes, from the darkly lit cramped conditions of the space ship to the completely open and bright construct area, are used extremely effectively and deliberately to keep the audience on board with the progress of the plot.
Despite all of its complexities The Matrix succeeds in telling its story. Even with all of its complicated non-mainstream themes, metaphors and narratological complexity the film was a huge box office success (2). By analysing in even closer detail as I have done we can see exactly how this was achieved so effectively.
Bibliography
1. https://youtu.be/VVro5wxqh4U
2. "The Matrix (1999)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb.
The clip opens with an establishing two shot of Morpheus and Neo. Morpheus is confirming to Neo whether he does really want to know what the Matrix is. We then switch to a camera perspective of Morpheus looking at Neo and over his shoulder to Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss). Morpheus then prompts Trinity (who looks Neo in the eyes to also confirm that this is what he wants) to take him to the seat where he will be plugged in. Our focalisation is through Neo with Morpheus acting as a homodiegetic narrator throughout.
Trinity is seen taking care that Neo is safely sat in the chair while Neo looks around with trepidation. As he looks around the camera changes and moves subtly so that we get a brief glimpse at what each of the characters around Neo is doing. These camera changes combined with Neo's expression also reflect the viewer's bewilderment of the narrative at this point in the story.
When Morpheus inserts the device into the back of Neo's head the relatively calm yet suspenseful music changes abruptly to a scream. The camera view also jumps to a close up overhead shot of Neo who looks like he is in pain. This sudden change informs us that something drastic is happening. In fact we are going to enter a completely new and unfamiliar container in the form of the Construct. The scream ends with a quick jump shot to Morpheus whose head turns to the right. We then see a shot of a computer screen upon which a finger presses the load button. The apparently non-diegetic screaming noise stops as abruptly as it began and we move to an audio diegetic of complete silence. At the same time all we see is Neo but this time in a completely blank space.
The camera shot that was close up above Neo's face smoothly pans up and back to a position in front of his face. This combined with the lack of noise and serene location signal to Neo and the audience that the pain of his travel to this new space is over and he looks around in order to work out where he is now. Still in a fluid (imitating a dreamy state) one take the camera spies Morpheus in the distance and slowly gets closer to him as he begins very calmly to explain what is happening. These careful directorial decisions help the audience and Neo to orientate themselves after the shock of space time travel. The slow panning camera also allows us to experience the blank canvas of their environment carefully and for Morpheus to show how anything can be loaded into this space. We see two chairs and a television.
Morpheus goes on to further explain the Matrix and while doing so we can notice a green tint to both Morpheus and Neo. Throughout the film this green tint is applied whenever any of the characters are in the Matrix. This helps the audience to subtly understand which environment the narrative is currently working within. Morpheus then uses the television to show Neo how he believes the world is in comparison to how it actually is. The camera moves and goes toward the TV screen. At this point I was reminded by the camera movement of how the machines that control the Matrix actually move (elsewhere in the film) which, in addition to the green tint, also reinforces that we are currently in a non-natural environment. As we move in toward the television Morpheus slowly sits down (docile body) and we are heavily reminded of the post modern concept of Hyperreality that the bombardment of images and information we face from such objects as the TV and internet (ostensibly and presciently the Matrix) provide.
After Morpheus has explained the dream world Neo has been living in he then sits back in his chair abruptly and clicks the remote control so that the television shows us the world that he has been blinded from. At this point the camera moves completely through the television screen (here a type of portal) signalling another transfer through which the characters and the audience are going. The use of a kind of warping special effect is also employed to further reinforce that there is a transferal of space (and possibly time) occurring as the diegesis moves to a new container. This transfer is also signalled by the serene and silent diegetic audio being interrupted by non-diegetic discordant orchestral music. The single take camera shot is employed again calling back to the previous time it was used. This time the audience knows roughly what might happen which is reflected in the directorial decisions made of relatively less-abrupt camera edits and sound. Ultimately we swoop down the cliff face to Morpheus who then gets to deliver the memorable "welcome to the desert of the real" line (itself taken from the first page of Baudrillard's book Simulacra and Simulacrum).
Throughout this complex yet relatively short sequence the audience is both in the position of Neo learning about the Matrix whilst simultaneously being able to associate with the other characters of Morpheus and Trinity and their relative degrees of omniscience. For example, as a member of the audience watching the film we could easily be in the place of Trinity watching Morpheus and Neo on a monitor as they are in the Matrix. These various viewpoints are carefully interwoven during the sequence allowing the audience to keep a grip on the plot as it jumps between containers in order to tell the story. By allowing us to share the perspective of multiple characters the audience gets to experience bewilderment and omniscience simultaneously. These two positions are interwoven at a fast pace through this sequence (yet incredibly carefully as described previously) so we are fully able to understand the conflicting perspectives that Neo also undergoes during the scene.
The mise-en-scène of the sequence rapidly changes from the space ship where Neo is being plugged in, to the blank Construct area and then finally onto the simulation of the real world within the Construct area. Through a combination of sound and camera movements the audience is indicated to clearly that these changes in container are occurring. The oppositions of silence to a loud screaming and vice versa within the sound design and the location changes, from the darkly lit cramped conditions of the space ship to the completely open and bright construct area, are used extremely effectively and deliberately to keep the audience on board with the progress of the plot.
Despite all of its complexities The Matrix succeeds in telling its story. Even with all of its complicated non-mainstream themes, metaphors and narratological complexity the film was a huge box office success (2). By analysing in even closer detail as I have done we can see exactly how this was achieved so effectively.
Bibliography
1. https://youtu.be/VVro5wxqh4U
2. "The Matrix (1999)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb.
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