‘Matrix’ visual effects supervisor John Gaeta on ‘Ninja Assassin’ and the future of interactive digital media

John Gaeta

Geek tech news site Boing Boing has published a video interview with John Gaeta, the Academy Award-winning visual effects supervisor of the MATRIX trilogy and upcoming NINJA ASSASSIN film. Gaeta has been a key innovator in the development of advanced digital effects merged with live-action human motion. His most notable achievement to date has been the development of the “bullet-time” effect first displayed in THE MATRIX.

In the interview, Gaeta describes the concept for NINJA ASSASSIN as a “super psycho horror ninja movie” with “supreme stunts and martial arts.” He also elaborates on his relationship with the film stunt team, 87eleven.

“We’re friends with the action design firm 87eleven,” said Gaeta. “They’ve worked alongside [Yuen Woo-ping] for many years, after the MATRIX trilogy they did KILL BILL, 300, they’re fantastic. It was really their show. They were told they could be very creative and so they were. Lots of inventions!”

Gaeta points out that he was not the visual effects supervisor for NINJA ASSASSIN and only had a hand in assisting with some special unit directing.

From there Gaeta discusses how emerging technology might be used in the future to create more interactive, real-time cinematic experiences, as well as the evolving relationship between films and video games. He suggests that the focus will be on creating more interactive experiences in home entertainment, at least until theaters begin to catch up with the pace of technology advancement.

From the perspective of a film fan and a gamer, what I found intriguing was Gaeta’s suggestion that video game engines won’t be game engines for long. They will become “content simulation engines,” which is something that we’re already beginning to see in limited “sand box” games like GRAND THEFT AUTO IV and FALLOUT 3. He suggests that average kids will be able to use these engines to generate reasonably good movies, which again, is already happening with original machinma films created almost entirely with digital assets found within games like WORLD OF WARCRAFT and HALO.

Taking Gaeta’s suggestions to the extreme, I could imagine a future where a film like NINJA ASSASSIN could be viewed in a completely three-dimensional world where the audience would be able to choose the angles and perspectives to watch the unfolding action. Audiences might also be able to go in and change or add to a film, maybe replace Rain with a digital recreation of Bruce Lee complete with his fighting style.

As Gaeta points out, digital technology will never replace humans. To me it looks increasingly like humans will become intertwined with visual technology, increasingly eroding the barriers between reality and entertainment as seen in film and video games.

Tags: Ninja Assassin (2009), The Matrix (1999)

danmye

I think CG has its place only in the gaming community (of which I am a part). There is no way a CG performance, even thirty years from now, will capture the spirit of martial artistry exhibited by Lau Sifu ("Pops") or Tony Jaa. The excitement of the martial arts film genre is precisely because the performer IS performing the spectacularly designed movements displayed. The movie 300, unfortunately, also reveals two things:
a. Actors w/o martial arts skill still look like actors unskilled in martial arts and,
b. CG animation cannot, accept for Gran Turismo 5 racing it seems (or Mass Effect) capture the nuances and subtelties of human movements (which still look exaggerated compared to real movement).
300 showed uncoordinated, bash and hack, unathletic looking actors that would probably make the actual Spartans RFLOL! The stunt team's action designs were waisted there (complete difference between 300s performers and that of Rain and the accompanying stunt performers! The "Spartans" cut with swords like they were swinging tennis racquets).

Anonymous

What John Gaeta is talking about is no less then a medium format revolution in the making. Maybe as big as the invention of cinema or video games themselves.

He seems to be connecting dots between what he has learned about with total performance and image capture in the Matrix Trilogy(which is basically vr shot to film), and focusing it into interactive gaming platforms. He is talking about making common universe settings in game and film and making them the exact same in quality and visual presentation with "trapdoors" between... and if I am reading it correctly, he is talking about laying "filmed" or digitized? 2d or 3d performances of real humans/actors and placing them into some form of hybrid scenery that you can also play inside.

That's mind blowing in it's implications and at the same time absolutely a common sense idea. Sounds like the film industry should jump on this now while they still have a young audience to steer.

- ms. gmr

Mark Pollard

But what if CG is used not to enhance a screen fighter's natural ability but to enhance his environment or supernatural ability? I'm playing devil's advocate here as I generally prefer to see what humans can do unassisted by effects but should martial arts movies limit themselves only to what is humanly possible? I think we're still in the infancy of digital effects and as yet we have not begun to see how sophisticated and subtle their use can be without taking away from a stunt actor's live performance.

Mo Kraak

I sound like a broken record but I have watched thousands of films. While it was fun watching CG mature into reality, the honeymoon is over for me. Since realism is no longer an issue with CG and its (over)use has become commonplace, what more can it offer--more fantasy perhaps?

Martial arts and fantasy mix only to a certain point. Film stars without physical skills depend on wires and CG. These beliefs are why I am slack-jawed whenever I watch a Tony Jaa film. When that knee meets the chest of an opponent--unnhhh! You can almost feel it yourself--CG not required.