I thought you might be interested in seeing some of the development process for the old cinematics. Starting with the hand-drawn ones (what subchapter was that again?) through cinematic 7.1, they were outlined, scripted, and storyboarded by Paul Chadwick, compiled into voice cast scripts by Paul and captured in a series of recording sessions by WB, sent off to an animator/illustrator subchapter by subchapter, then off to a sound engineer/composer. Starting with 7.2, the outlines were provided by me, then Paul revised the script, storyboarded it, voice cast it, we had recording sessions with WB, and then subchapter by subchapter they were handed off off to the animator, then the sound engineer.
What we have here are first, my brief outlines for cinematics 7.1 through 9.3, and then Paul's scripts worked up from the outlines.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Outlines (some edits for spoilers--hah)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
7.2
Flying above the city in a helicopter, the General receives a transmission from his forces at "Stalingrad": the Machine Sentinel detachment has been detected on forward radar, ETA 3 hours. The General replies: "Right on time. Wait until they close within two miles, then launch the Seekers. I'm on my way." Switch to cloud of Machine Sentinels flying over devastated terrain in the Real. Concealed batteries rise out of ground rubble and launch volleys of missiles that home in on the Sentinel cloud, detonating with devastating effect. As the surviving Machine Sentinels fly out of the smoke, they are confronted by the General's own Sentinels, who cut them down with Zion-style lightning guns. Fade out.
7.3
The General's lightning-gun Sentinels inflict severe losses on the Machine force, but are torn to pieces by overwhelming numbers of hostile Sentinels, who then begin ripping apart the General's bunker-like "Stalingrad" fortress. The camera pulls back to show the scene being displayed on a video screen in a futuristic office of some sort, with hard metal alloy walls and floor. The camera continues to pull back, revealing the back of a man's close-cropped head in silhouette, as a tiny bug-like robot zips past. ([EDIT - omit spoiler]) Switch to the Matrix, where the General materializes in a besieged computer center, escaping into the sewers while his Elite Commandos slow down pursuing Agents.
8.1
A hovercraft descends through tunnels, its pilot guided by operators in the floating, white "holographic" control space seen in The Matrix Reloaded. It is clear that the pilot has never been this way, and is very nervous. The craft drops into a large cavern bristling with cannons, with a large shaft going straight down, covered by EMP fields. The pilot is instructed to shut down all systems and drop through the shaft. The crew panics, and the pilot boosts out of the cavern at full throttle, almost colliding with an incoming barge. Onboard the craft, the captain gets out a hurried broadcast to Cryptos before they are shorted out by an EMP mine, crashing into the tunnel wall in a massive fireball. Switch to the Architect in his monitoring room, watching an Agent reporting into his earpiece. The Architect switches off the monitor, scowls, and switches on another, of another Agent. Architect: "Agent Gray." "Yes, sir?" "Zion has broken the truce. No further awakenings are to be allowed." Gray hesitates a moment, then replies "Yes, sir." The Architect switches off the monitor. Fade out.
8.2
Zion operatives work frantically at a covert computer lab when Machine operatives burst in. They are cut down, but Agents follow. Transition to a flight of Sentinels through tunnels, knocked out of the air by a shoulder-launched EMP missile. Cut to a Sentinel flying across massive power lines headed into Machine City, scanning. Cut to the Merovingian, observing the readout on a computer screen, and laughing.
8.3
In the Matrix, two Agents watch a computer terminal. One says "The virus is running." Switch to Zion in the Real, where vast swarms of Sentinels engulf a hovercraft attempting to depart from old Zion, rip through the base's malfunctioning dock doors, sweeping unmolested past nonfunctional gun turrets, and easily finish off hastily assembled groups of APUs and foot soldiers. They then turn their attention to destroying a large quantity of loaded cargo containers filling the dock area. Cut to Neo confronting Deus Ex Machina, from the scene close to the end of The Matrix Revolutions, only seen from the side and slightly below, some distance away. A hand passes quickly across the screen, and the scene freezes, as a robotic bug begins to crawl across it--[EDIT - omit spoiler] someone ([EDIT - omit spoiler]) paused the video feed.
9.1
Halborn, a white, glowing being radiating immense power of a previously unseen type, materializes in the Matrix. As he strides down a street, frightened bluepills fleeing before him, Agents arrive and attempt to head him off. He waves his hand, and the Agents fall to the ground, convulsing. He steps over them and continues down the street, looking for "[EDIT - omit spoiler]."
9.2
Halborn materializes on the edge of a windswept skyscraper rooftop, beside the Morpheus simulacrum. He scans the simulacrum, and snorts in disgust as it addresses him with a Morpheus-like platitude.
M: "Do you believe in fate, my friend?"
The Architect appears nearby, and the Oligarch wheels on him.
O: "A program cobbled together from memories of a man? Pathetic!"
A: "Yes, the feeble effort of an amateur. Not at all like you."
O: "*CENSORED* you, if I thought that was a joke, I'd have you deleted! Where is it? You know what I want!"
A: "As we explained previously, we do not--"
O: "Bah!"
The Oligarch leaps away. The Morpheus simulacrum, who observed the exchange between them, turns to the Architect.
M: "There is a difference between knowing the path, and walking the path."
The Architect purses his lips and cocks an eyebrow. Fade out.
9.3
Carlyne, similar to Halborn's glowing white appearance, but of a thinner body type, materializes in the Matrix, and confronts Halborn at a temporarily secluded spot deep in the slums.
Halborn: "What the hell are you doing here, Carlyne?"
Carlyne: "You looked as though you were having such fun; I thought I'd join you."
Halborn: "Mind your own *CENSORED* business."
Carlyne: "Oh, I am."
Carlyne punches Halborn through several buildings. Halborn flies out of the rubble and tackles Carlyne through another building. When the dust clears, they stand on top of a rubble heap, exchanging blows.
Carlyne: "Haven't found what you were looking for, eh?"
Halborn: "Huh! I know about [EDIT - omit spoiler]. It's just a matter of time..."
Carlyne: "Then I'm afraid I'll have to cut your time short."
Carlyne punches Halborn into another building. Halborn, laying in wreckage, props himself up on his elbow and looks out through the large hole his body made in the wall.
Halborn: "*CENSORED* it. I can't let him distract me."
Halborn, still propped up on the wreckage, disappears. Switch back to Carlyne, standing on the rubble heap outside.
Carlyne: "Hm!"
Carlyne smiles to himself, then disappears as well. An Agent steps out of the shadows some distance away, looking at the spot where they had been fighting. He puts his finger to his right ear.
A: "Targets lost. We may have a problem."
["*CENSORED*" were all the "D" word.]
What we have here are first, my brief outlines for cinematics 7.1 through 9.3, and then Paul's scripts worked up from the outlines.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Outlines (some edits for spoilers--hah)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
7.2
Flying above the city in a helicopter, the General receives a transmission from his forces at "Stalingrad": the Machine Sentinel detachment has been detected on forward radar, ETA 3 hours. The General replies: "Right on time. Wait until they close within two miles, then launch the Seekers. I'm on my way." Switch to cloud of Machine Sentinels flying over devastated terrain in the Real. Concealed batteries rise out of ground rubble and launch volleys of missiles that home in on the Sentinel cloud, detonating with devastating effect. As the surviving Machine Sentinels fly out of the smoke, they are confronted by the General's own Sentinels, who cut them down with Zion-style lightning guns. Fade out.
7.3
The General's lightning-gun Sentinels inflict severe losses on the Machine force, but are torn to pieces by overwhelming numbers of hostile Sentinels, who then begin ripping apart the General's bunker-like "Stalingrad" fortress. The camera pulls back to show the scene being displayed on a video screen in a futuristic office of some sort, with hard metal alloy walls and floor. The camera continues to pull back, revealing the back of a man's close-cropped head in silhouette, as a tiny bug-like robot zips past. ([EDIT - omit spoiler]) Switch to the Matrix, where the General materializes in a besieged computer center, escaping into the sewers while his Elite Commandos slow down pursuing Agents.
8.1
A hovercraft descends through tunnels, its pilot guided by operators in the floating, white "holographic" control space seen in The Matrix Reloaded. It is clear that the pilot has never been this way, and is very nervous. The craft drops into a large cavern bristling with cannons, with a large shaft going straight down, covered by EMP fields. The pilot is instructed to shut down all systems and drop through the shaft. The crew panics, and the pilot boosts out of the cavern at full throttle, almost colliding with an incoming barge. Onboard the craft, the captain gets out a hurried broadcast to Cryptos before they are shorted out by an EMP mine, crashing into the tunnel wall in a massive fireball. Switch to the Architect in his monitoring room, watching an Agent reporting into his earpiece. The Architect switches off the monitor, scowls, and switches on another, of another Agent. Architect: "Agent Gray." "Yes, sir?" "Zion has broken the truce. No further awakenings are to be allowed." Gray hesitates a moment, then replies "Yes, sir." The Architect switches off the monitor. Fade out.
8.2
Zion operatives work frantically at a covert computer lab when Machine operatives burst in. They are cut down, but Agents follow. Transition to a flight of Sentinels through tunnels, knocked out of the air by a shoulder-launched EMP missile. Cut to a Sentinel flying across massive power lines headed into Machine City, scanning. Cut to the Merovingian, observing the readout on a computer screen, and laughing.
8.3
In the Matrix, two Agents watch a computer terminal. One says "The virus is running." Switch to Zion in the Real, where vast swarms of Sentinels engulf a hovercraft attempting to depart from old Zion, rip through the base's malfunctioning dock doors, sweeping unmolested past nonfunctional gun turrets, and easily finish off hastily assembled groups of APUs and foot soldiers. They then turn their attention to destroying a large quantity of loaded cargo containers filling the dock area. Cut to Neo confronting Deus Ex Machina, from the scene close to the end of The Matrix Revolutions, only seen from the side and slightly below, some distance away. A hand passes quickly across the screen, and the scene freezes, as a robotic bug begins to crawl across it--[EDIT - omit spoiler] someone ([EDIT - omit spoiler]) paused the video feed.
9.1
Halborn, a white, glowing being radiating immense power of a previously unseen type, materializes in the Matrix. As he strides down a street, frightened bluepills fleeing before him, Agents arrive and attempt to head him off. He waves his hand, and the Agents fall to the ground, convulsing. He steps over them and continues down the street, looking for "[EDIT - omit spoiler]."
9.2
Halborn materializes on the edge of a windswept skyscraper rooftop, beside the Morpheus simulacrum. He scans the simulacrum, and snorts in disgust as it addresses him with a Morpheus-like platitude.
M: "Do you believe in fate, my friend?"
The Architect appears nearby, and the Oligarch wheels on him.
O: "A program cobbled together from memories of a man? Pathetic!"
A: "Yes, the feeble effort of an amateur. Not at all like you."
O: "*CENSORED* you, if I thought that was a joke, I'd have you deleted! Where is it? You know what I want!"
A: "As we explained previously, we do not--"
O: "Bah!"
The Oligarch leaps away. The Morpheus simulacrum, who observed the exchange between them, turns to the Architect.
M: "There is a difference between knowing the path, and walking the path."
The Architect purses his lips and cocks an eyebrow. Fade out.
9.3
Carlyne, similar to Halborn's glowing white appearance, but of a thinner body type, materializes in the Matrix, and confronts Halborn at a temporarily secluded spot deep in the slums.
Halborn: "What the hell are you doing here, Carlyne?"
Carlyne: "You looked as though you were having such fun; I thought I'd join you."
Halborn: "Mind your own *CENSORED* business."
Carlyne: "Oh, I am."
Carlyne punches Halborn through several buildings. Halborn flies out of the rubble and tackles Carlyne through another building. When the dust clears, they stand on top of a rubble heap, exchanging blows.
Carlyne: "Haven't found what you were looking for, eh?"
Halborn: "Huh! I know about [EDIT - omit spoiler]. It's just a matter of time..."
Carlyne: "Then I'm afraid I'll have to cut your time short."
Carlyne punches Halborn into another building. Halborn, laying in wreckage, props himself up on his elbow and looks out through the large hole his body made in the wall.
Halborn: "*CENSORED* it. I can't let him distract me."
Halborn, still propped up on the wreckage, disappears. Switch back to Carlyne, standing on the rubble heap outside.
Carlyne: "Hm!"
Carlyne smiles to himself, then disappears as well. An Agent steps out of the shadows some distance away, looking at the spot where they had been fighting. He puts his finger to his right ear.
A: "Targets lost. We may have a problem."
["*CENSORED*" were all the "D" word.]
