The Fanimatrix

September 29, 2003 6:42 AM

The Fanimatrix is an amazing zero-budget amateur MATRIX film made by some great folks in Auckland, NZ. Finally, somebody gets it - The Matrix is an action film.
posted by anser (23 comments total)

The film was shot on the Sony Mini-Digital Video format and edited on a PC editing suite utilizing Adobe Premiere, After FX and AlamDV Special FX.

I guess "zero-budget" means "we warezed the video editing software."
posted by zsazsa at 7:20 AM on September 29, 2003

Or, since they said they were all pros making an am film, they, you know, borrowed (legally) time from their companies.

MeFi: Everything's a conspiracy.
posted by swerdloff at 8:04 AM on September 29, 2003

What? I thought the Matrix was a really deep philosophical thought-experiment writ large.
The MetaFilter has you.
posted by insomnyuk at 8:36 AM on September 29, 2003

With such thought-provoking lines as "You think that's air you're breathing?"
posted by FormlessOne at 9:04 AM on September 29, 2003

It's about time somebody "gets it." However, I'm sure the people who have enjoyed the films for other reasons will be disappointed to learn that they have not, in fact, "gotten it." It's hard to argue with such an arbitrary conclusion, but I'm sure they'll get over it.
posted by subgenius at 9:08 AM on September 29, 2003

I was under the impression that the Wachowskis finally "getting" that The Matrix was an action film was why Reloaded had about two too many kung-fu sequences, and not enough of the witty banter that made the original so much more than an action film.
posted by digaman at 9:10 AM on September 29, 2003

Everyone knows the real sequel to The Matrix was Agent Bush landing on that aircraft carrier anyway.
posted by digaman at 9:17 AM on September 29, 2003

Although the photography is slightly amateurish at times, this is very neat. The fight scenes are especially good. I'd guess zero-budget means that they have budgeted zero income from the project.

Also, bittorrent is great for distributing this kind of stuff.
posted by ikalliom at 9:21 AM on September 29, 2003

Everyone knows the real sequel to The Matrix was Agent Bush landing on that aircraft carrier anyway.

The Republican Matrix
posted by homunculus at 10:14 AM on September 29, 2003

Maybe it's called zero-budget because their server is slow as hell...
posted by hoskala at 10:17 AM on September 29, 2003

BiTTorrent is the answer, at least in this case.

I thought the fan film was almost unbearably cheesy, but let's face it, so is the original at times. I was amazed by the off-the-shelf effects and the production costs.

Agent Smith's suit was a little big in the fan film. I guess this snippet made me appreciate the originals a little bit more. I suppose that these people could be the next "garage kubrick".
posted by mecran01 at 10:36 AM on September 29, 2003

MetaFilter: "you should have taken the blue pill."
posted by ZachsMind at 11:59 AM on September 29, 2003

I guess maybe I expected too much.. there was no storyline or plot saying why they were on this little mission.. it was just one mostly-action sequence ...

It was cool for what it was, and very well done, but I was expecting some kind of a story from the fan film... Didn't need to be philosophical or whatever.. just .. you know.. "xyz is why we're here.. " behind that sequence...
posted by twiggy at 12:50 PM on September 29, 2003

I guess twiggy doesn't "get it". The Matrix is an action film -- stories, characterization, or any hints of deeper meaning are for chumps and pantywaists.
posted by jjg at 1:43 PM on September 29, 2003

Reprazentin' pantywaists here.
posted by digaman at 1:53 PM on September 29, 2003

That scene where Dante re-sets his own dislocated arm is lifted straight from the Jet Li classic "Fist of Legend".

Not that I mind. All art is best learnt through copying. Might as well rip from the masters.
posted by PsychoKick at 2:57 PM on September 29, 2003

I thought it was good, in fact the fight scene here had more drama (I thought) then most of the action scenes in Reloaded.

The intresting thing about the action, there were all sorts of times that the main character 'faultered'.

I wonder how much this movie really cost. If they paid for everything (software, people's time, clothes, location fees) I think it would have cost a lot.
posted by delmoi at 3:43 PM on September 29, 2003

fuck jet li. did jet li ever reattach his own arm to his shoulder using only his teeth?
posted by jimmy at 4:13 PM on September 29, 2003

Not too bad.
posted by kavasa at 9:47 PM on September 29, 2003

Pretty fun. But to be honest, I was more impressed by the latest rev of Bittorrent, which was giving me 700+KB/s. I have a new toy.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 1:23 AM on September 30, 2003

The problem with Reloaded's kung fu sequences isn't the number of them, it's that they make no sense. A good action film weaves combat into plot and vice versa. I liked the way "Run Program" (the real title of the Fanimatrix film) did that.

Zero budget means nobody paid them, they paid nobody. Obviously they are people who work in film and have some stuff lying around. You may have noticed that happens in the computer industry too. :)
posted by anser at 6:06 AM on September 30, 2003

I watched about a minute and had to give up. They managed to replicate the fight scenes and the effects admirably well, but what makes the Matrix films great (which, IMHO, they are, but I understand some folks disagree) is the great camera work, the style, the editing, and the dialog (yes, even when it's over-the-top and corny). That's something they didn't (and probably couldn't) copy.

Fan films in general tend to leave me cold for just that reason, one of the few exceptions being Troops.
posted by RylandDotNet at 9:37 AM on September 30, 2003

If Troops didn't have the comic value of mixing in a COPS parody, it would be at least as guilty of lamitude as Fanimatrix gets. Fanimatrix plays it straight, which is a much bigger risk on their budget.

What's cool to me about the NZ film is even though it's unmistakeably an amateur production, they still generate real excitement and the right Matrix "feel."

I think it helps if you've seen the Animatrix, a similar (in concept if not budget) series of short Matrix-world films that "bridged" 1 and 2. The Fanimatrix is like an extra episode.
posted by anser at 2:39 PM on September 30, 2003