The Wachowskis are at it again. Refusing to settle at just telling stories, they are once again pioneering a technological breakthrough that will revolutionize cinema forever. All that stuff with The Matrix? Gimmicks. Magic tricks. There they simply redefined the toys with which filmmakers can make cooler looking movies. But many of those toys lost their luster after being used, over used and abused. I mean, come on. Raise your hand if you're still impressed by bullet time?

But this? This is BIG. HUGE. It will change the way movies are made.

So what's the big deal? The Wachowskis are using a layering technology that allows the background and the foreground to be in focus simultaneously. It's a form of hyper-clarity that will allow you to see the actors just as you would, but will be able to pick up sharp details in the background, rather than having them appear as something of a blur. The idea here on their new film Speed Racer is that it is like a cartoon. But the applications are limitless. This isn't just some cool gimmick; this is a fundamental change in the way movies will look.

Now, this will seem strange at first because this isn't how the human eye works. We focus on an object and refocus when we look at something else. But the objects blur as we refocus. You know what I'm talking about. Well, imagine a film in which the gorgeous vistas in the background weren't out of focus when our actors stand in front of them. What I'm getting from this is that it is the same location at the same time. Not some fake backdrop, but the real deal.

Then add to that the possibilities for indoor shooting. Right now it is possible to have two actors at a distance from one another in focus at the same time, but it usually requires some form of camera trickery. Imagine if we could be up close and tight on our main subject while any number of other actors in interesting actions are going on behind them, all filmed at the same time.

If this works, and if the technology is released to filmmakers across the world, the visual palate that directors and cinematographers can paint with has been broadened. What was created to simulate a live-action cartoon could in fact be a new revolution in 21st century technology. I for one cannot wait to see how this turns out, nor wait to see what other filmmakers do with it.

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C. Robert Cargill - - - Email Me

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