Nearly everybody agrees that the most revolutionary technical effect in The Matrix was the use of bullet time, which is the “super slow motion with dynamic camera movement” visual effect used by the Wachowski brothers to stretch and freeze time like taffy during the story. They went on to develop other revolutionary techniques for the Matrix sequels, particularly the “Burly Brawl.” But bullet time remains a viewer favorite.

However, you don’t need a sophisticated bank of rapid-fire still cameras to produce a good bullet time sequence. Turns out you can also get the job done using bunraku, an ancient Japanese form of puppetry in which three puppeteers – dressed in black, but completely visible to the audience – control one puppet. Sound weird? It is, as you can see in this clip of Matrix Ping Pong.