http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BulletTime

Killer Suit, Max Payne "You know what I'm talking about. In all the cool action movies, and I'm talking about the coolest of the cool, it always seems like time slows down in the middle of the action. You know, you can see the bullets flying through the air, the hero dodging in slow-motion. Oh man, it would be so cool to be able to do that. Bullet-time, that's what they call it."

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Bullet Time (sometimes referred to as time-slice photography) is a visual effect used to slow down time during an action scene, allowing high speed movements such as the flight path of individual bullets to be seen by the audience. The projectiles may leave visible streaks and trails as they fly through the air. It is a convenient way to depict Super Reflexes, by allowing the audience to experience the same powers of enhanced perception that the character is using to react to danger. The difference between this and a regular Slow Motion shot is that, in bullet time, the camera moves (often a significant portion of a full circle) around the subject rather than a static or simple tracking shot. It is often used to stop action at a dramatic point so that the audience can see a panoramic or surround view around the event being emphasized.

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In film, television and advertising, the effect is achieved by a set of still cameras surrounding the subject which are activated in rapid succession. The pictures in the still cameras are then displayed consecutively and spliced into movie frames, creating the effect of a single camera moving around a scene either frozen in time or moving incredibly slowly.

The first example of Bullet Time can be found in the obscure 1981 action film Kill and Kill Again. It was also later used in a commercial by The Gap and popularized by the film The Matrix to the point where most contemporary uses of it are parodies of, homages to, or ripoffs of The Matrix. Bullet Time is also used in computer games such as Max Payne and Enter the Matrix where it allows the player to slow the game world down, but still allows the ability to look and aim at normal speed.

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Antecedents to Bullet Time occurred before the invention of cinema itself. Eadweard Muybridge used still cameras placed along a racetrack to take pictures of a galloping horse. Each camera was actuated by a taut string stretched across the track; as the horse galloped past, the camera shutters snapped, taking one frame at a time (the original intent was to settle a bet the governor of California had made, as to whether or not all four of the animal's legs would leave the ground). Muybridge later assembled the pictures into a rudimentary animation, by placing them on a glass disk which he spun in front of a light source. His zoopraxiscope was the direct inspiration for Thomas Edison's moving pictures. In effect, Muybridge had achieved the aesthetic opposite to The Matrix's Bullet Time sequences; it may be a historical accident that no 19th century bullet-time animations were made.

An identical phrase, "Bullet Time", is a registered trademark of none other than Warner Bros., the distributor of The Matrix. It was formerly a trademark of 3D Realms, producer of the Max Payne games. It should be noted that the "Bullet Time" trademark refers specifically to the technique of using multiple cameras and a green screen to "freeze" the action and rotate around it, rather than just slowing conventional action down.

Note that while Bullet Time is often used to depict Super Reflexes, the two are not the same — the former is a visual depiction for the latter, not a synonym. Depiction of Bullet Time contained in imitative works should only be considered authentic if the effect is shown as being an element of the given environment's physics (i.e., the environment does actually slow down, at least for the individual experiencing it, with other distortions of physics, such as a limited absence/control of gravity as a consequence) rather than being purely visual/aesthetic in nature. As a result, this should not be considered the same thing as conventional slow motion.

See also Caffeine Bullet Time, Time Stands Still, Adrenaline Time, Overcrank, Hit Stop. Very High Velocity Rounds may ensue if your bullets aren't slowed but your enemies' are.

Examples:

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Anime & Manga

Films — Animation

Films — Live-Action

Gamebooks

Lone Wolf: In Book 9, The Cauldron of Fear, during an escape from jail, it is possible for Lone Wolf (on a very high roll helped by Huntmastery and the Circle of Solaris) to see time slowing down as arrows fly toward him, and cut them into matchwood with his sword in one strike.

Literature

Live-Action TV

Music Videos

The Japanese Electropop band Polysics parodied this one in one of their videos .

. The mostly animated music video for Ko Rn's "Freak on a Leash".

Sphere's video for "Future Stream" has scenes where one member walks around while the other three are frozen in place. As shown in the behind the scenes footage, this was done in the low budget way of everybody simply standing still, with the "floating" props hanging on strings.

Another parody of The Matrix can be seen in the clip for "Chihuahua" by DJ Bobo. Chihuahua in Bullet Time!

Sports

A version of the effect, simplified enough to be done live is sometimes used in NFL football games when an interception is thrown. This effect is emulated in the Madden series of video games, where action stops for a few seconds on changes of possession (interceptions, fumble recoveries or kick/punt returns) while the video rotates to take on the perspective from behind the team now in possession of the ball.

There are experimentations with camera technology to get Matrix-style bullet time replays into NFL and baseball games.

Tabletop Games

A tabletop example can be found in the Mutants & Masterminds supplement Mecha & Manga. Bullet Time is a power that allows you to spend a hero point while using extra effort to gain an amount of extra actions dependent on the power's rating. However, you may only get one extra attack through this method, though this is due to balance the damaging system of the game.

Exalted has some. Panoptic Fusion Discipline induces Bullet Time for the rest of a scene, improving your defenses and all of your attacks with a full "Aim" action.

Theater

Pulled off in an interesting manner in Hamilton. An ensemble member plays the role of the bullet that kills him in his duel against Burr by placing her thumb and forefinger an inch a part and following what would be the bullet's trajectory in slow motion as Alexander gives his final soliloquy. Same ensemble member also plays the role of a bullet that narrowly misses him in battle.

In recent productions of TheAddamsFamily, when Wednesday William Tells her fiancee as a test of his love to her. The arrow is transported through special "Bullet Time" staging, lighting, and sound effects before hitting the apple at Lucas's head.

Theme Parks

Happens in Transformers: The Ride at Universal Studios when Megatron fires at the riders but misses, and again when EVAC (the ride vehicle) fires at Bonecrusher.

Video Games

Web Animation

Used extensively Red vs. Blue season 12 episode "Long Time No See" when Epsilon is analyzing and preparing for the fight with the space pirates. It's not clear if that's how he always sees the world, or if he just sped up his perceptions for that situation.

The Shock Series follows Mr. Red's quest to earn the role of janitor, which for some reason involves beating up hordes of opponents. Aiding him is his "Shock" ability, which grants him a quick burst of Super Speed that includes this trope. "Shock 3" in particular uses a good deal of bullet time to frame Mr. Red's movements, and at the end, Mr. Green too .

Web Comics

Web Videos

Western Animation