The Matrix

Trailer


The Matrix. Andy Wachowski and Lana Wachowski . R. 1999

Thomas "Neo" Anderson (Keanu Reeves) discovers that what he thinks is the world is actually a virtual simulation called the Matrix designed to enslave humans. He must discover what the Matrix truly is and free the world from it once and for all.




The trailer for the movie The Matrix is exemplary because it develops the dystopian premise of the movie through artfully arranged clips, well-chosen words, and music. The director uses different speeds to illustrate the intensity and contrast of different clips. For example, when showing how unreal the world of the Matrix is, there are several short clips featuring the impossible feats that one can accomplish in the Matrix. These clips gradually increase in speed until they are incomprehensible, creating a very dramatic build up effect. This effect is repeated just before Neo breaks free from the Matrix, which also helps add to the intensity of the story. In contrast, at the end of the trailer, there is a clip of Neo dodging bullets by manipulating the Matrix that goes very slowly. The speed captures the audience's attention to this clearly illogical thing and draws them in. These elements are important to the premise of the story, because The Matrix's plot is based on the fact that what Neo perceives as the real world is not real. Another element that helps this is the director's choice of lines from the movie. The only words in the trailer are a few lines from different scenes in the movie that perfectly capture the essence of Neo's society. For example, Morpheus' line, "the Matrix is the world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth". This shows that the world Neo lives in is not the truth without going into too much detail, which keeps the trailer understandable and straightforward. Another line is one of the evil Agents', "Human beings are a disease. They are a cancer of this planet. And we are the cure." This demonstrates that their are the antagonists, and they reinforce the dystopian society of the Matrix. Lastly, the music and sound add to the clearness of the trailer. The music starts out relatively simple, and is mostly in the background. As the trailer gets more intense, the music builds and becomes more dramatic. It also punctuates important lines with rhythm and pauses. In our dystopian trailer, I would like to use different lines from the movie instead of a voice-over to convey the premise of the dystopia, as I think this makes the trailer more enticing. I also would like to use the music as this director does to create a build-up effect and punctuate important lines and actions.