The start of the film begins almost in a paradox of pixels, numbers and computerized features. The special effects used make the viewer feel uneasy as the camera constantly aligns and tilts to a canted angle. The actual idea of the film going from one pixelized setting in a paradox world to another more real, human world actually fits with the entire story line of the Matrix because the main theme revolves around dreams and if dreams are actually reality...once again a shift between two different worlds. Typically, people would connote the color green with nature, environments, even money or harmony- however we see the green here used in a completely contrasting manner as a computer screen. this possibly foreshadows how technology and knowledge and the outside natural world may intervene throughout the film.
even within the animated opening of the film, there is a prominent soundtrack that acts as the 'theme' for the matrix which most fans will immediately recognize. we can hear the synthesized melody in the backing sound sounding almost computer generated, synthetic and new. this links in with the plot of the film being innovative, almost unreal and futuristic.
usually, with a computer generated opening like this, without the introduction of characters, we would be given names of actors and production team members on screen as the film draws in, usually deterring our attention from the animated background and instead onto the names. however effectively, here we don't see any names...indicating all our attention should be on the green pixels, which seem inanimate and irrelevant.....until you continue to watch the film. the pixels brusquely fade away at 1;20 to reveal the face of a watch, filmed with an extreme close up shot. this is effective because the pixels are what create the watch face, once again showing us how real world and the technological paradox interact. straight after this, we get a long shot of an office seen, typically boring..especially when the only synchronous dialogue us 'see you tomorrow' however almost immediately at 1;30, we see a motorbike appear to be descending a high rise building rooftop! we get a brief close up of one of the office co-workers faces to frame his shocked expression as the motorbike soars through the air, but this shot changes very quickly as our attention is devoted entirely on the speed and height of the motorbike. diegetic sound of the motorbike reinforces what exactly the mode of transport is, as because the lighting is fairly low and the vehicle is fairly modernized and obscure- the audience may not immediately know what it is without the sound effect. we can see from what the office worker is wearing and the mise en scene that perhaps he is a police officer, and he is working in an office alongside other policemen or detectives. this is suggested by his baton (an effective prop to tell us who a character is) and smart uniform as well as the ID passes. The inclusion of the police is a typical convention of an action movie as often the police are portrayed to be corrupt or incapable of the work that other detectives/action characters can do. often, our main protagonist will be able to capture the antagonist better than the police ever could. also, the police are a common part of society and viewers will be able to relate to and recognize any inclusion of the police.
The black, glinting motorbike descends the building with a rider in matching outerwear that back flips off the bike- in mid air- as it falls. the slinky, delicate manner of these processes hints to us that the motorbike rider is in fact a female,however the dark disguising costume may suggest this character is our enigma. this creates a clear contrast because typically people would associate motorbikes with males, and as this is a action movie- it tends to be male protagonists and impressively talented characters, not females. Joe Queenans screen review even suggests'women never get to drive'. the black tight costume that the female wears disguises her and her features but not her figure, possibly allowing her to be agile and quick, and additionally still alluring and attractive, especially to a male audience. her slender toned figure and inclusion in the opening scene is very effective to draw in masculine lure and attention however a possible sub plot with this female love interest for any female viewers. the black bike and costume connotes darkness, mystery and disguise...it also makes her appear like a shadow- almost unreal...linking to the plot again with not everything being as real as it seems. a shot from a low angle is used to look up upon the girl riding the motorcycle possibly to make her appear powerful and authoritative. she actually even appears to fall from the sky! we would connote someone falling from the sky with danger and confidence- typical values a protagonist of an action movie would have. in another perspective, you could liken someone falling from the sky with angelic features, a saivure and create a context with heaven and angels. this directly contrasts with a hidden darkly suited woman with the contrast almost with heaven and hell, dark and light, good and evil. when the woman back flips, we look down on this from a high angle, i think rather than portraying her looked down upon- this looks down upon society beneath her...and the small irrelevant man that runs away from the action in the bottom right hand corner. the camera then pans down from here to reveal an intense and dramatic fire explosion...combined with loud, enticing synchronous sound affects to increase the dramatic intent.
all of this action (from the man shockingly noticing a motorbike is zooming off from a high rise building to the female back-flipping off it in slow motion so the bike falls alone and starts an explosion) happens between 1;29-1-39...that's ten seconds. this abnormally fast pace of the course of action in the scene gives the audience an idea that there will be cyclic action throughout....reinforcing its genre of an action movie.
one of the onluy phrases of dialogue in the entirety of the opening two minutes is 'oh my god' a typical cliche phrase of an action movie that is framed as a close up shot frames the officers face. just after this, we see the woman remove her helmet- this action is combined with non diegetic sound to make the ordeal seem more exciting and revealing as the music reveals more about how this is a revealing and important moment. sound effects also make the fight scene between the woman and the officers seem more dramatic from 1.55 on-wards making the audience feel more like they are in the scene. This completely coverts to typical action films because a woman doesn't usually tend to permeate fight scenes or defeat all of the male opposition, especially considering they are all high position officers. the slow motion camera pace makes the audience notice minor details more, and ensures such a high pace energetic scene carries on for longer. The floor level shot of her boots when she is standing still shows her dominance over everyone else. over the shoulder shots cleverly almost seem to switch shoulders to portray how fast the fight is taking place, and it shows a different male subject each time from the over the shoulder view. a 360 degree tracking shot follows the action round the woman, as if all is revolving around her. this links in with the title 'revolutions'. a high angle shot looks down as the woman as she does a flip in mid air, i think this shot was most effective for framing her movements as any other shots would have made this flip look less dramatic and high up.
the fire in the background of the scene continually reminds the audience of the explosion. additionally fire would connote danger and fear, even tension in case there is another fire. the fire is the main source of light in the movie, which effectively brings light and shadow to the dark scene. if the scene used natural light it would be a lot less effective because the darkness makes the scene seem sinister, unknown and more thrilling. with darkness people can hide, be unseen, be stealthy- just like our female protagonist. Also this usage of mise-en-scene fits with her clothing of the dark black over-wear.
i think one of the most important scenes is the one that begins at 2;17. at this point a high a angle shot looks down upon a cityscape...a complete change of scene from the start which reinforces the non stop action in the film. This shot is still briefly, and we can only see the faint, small movements of cars below...however just seconds later the female we saw previously jumps from a building window. the entire shot is in slow motion, and we can hear the digetetic sound of the glass almost in slow motion too as if it is still shattering. as well as looking down upon the woman, we also get a shot which is mid level and looks frontally at her. we even get the bullet and gun shots in slow motion to reinforce the detail of the action, and a close up shot to see her cut face however content facial expression. the proxemics of Trinity and her shooter are quite far apart, however the bullets are not. although both characters are far apart in the air, the bullets are very close, as-well as being close to doing major damage throughout. this suggest that firstly, they are both on completely opposite 'sides', secondly that overall, even with the incredible fighting techniques we've seen flaunted previously- weaponry will always dominate.
when we see our female protagonist, trinity, finally get shot..the speed of the camera shot is much faster, and we see her fall, just as a normal person would, quickly to her death. this is the only realistic scene in the entirety opening scene, and shows how fragile life can really be. this scene is hugely prominent for fans of the matrix because Trinity's story was followed through the sequel so this is a huge moment, however when we receive the close up shot of Neo, her boyfriend, we realize it is only a dream. although dreams can be very cliche beginnings and endings to films, dreams are almost the most diverse and easiest basis to use for a start or end of a film because you can base them on almost anything to shock and draw in an audience and completely defeat reality.
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