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The point at which Warner finally gave the film the greenlight was when The Wachowski’s handed in what was in essence a 400-page comic book. With Skroce and Darrow having storyboarded detailed sequences, it showcased the style that The Wachowski’s were aiming for, be it a dramatic jump from a building or a multitude of bullet casings falling in slow motion.

The technology had to be created in order to achieve the effects that The Wachowskis wanted. Supervised by John Gaeta, three visual effects companies were involved, Manex, Animal Logic and Dfilm. One of the most memorable things about the film was bullet-time photography. Many may recall the Khakis Swing GAP adverts before the release of the film, where the camera moved around a frozen frame of action. The main difference with The Matrix was that this time the camera was rotating a full 360 degrees and the action was moving. Groundbreaking for its time, other films followed with their own variations in trying to replicate the same effect. Some worked (Swordfish), some failed (Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle), and some were just plain weird (Shaolin Soccer). Where The Matrix set a trend, the imitators and (in my opinion) the film’s own sequels failed to deliver the same kind of thrill; the feeling that we were seeing something new for the first time.

With some of the most insane action sequences ever conceived, when it came to the fights The Wachowskis fought for realism. Being fans of Fist of Legend (which the film pays homage to), they turned to Hong Kong fight choreographer Yuen Wo Ping to train the actors. Such was the commitment from the actors that they trained with Wo Ping for around four months. They could have gone and shot another film in that time if they wanted to. Though The Wachowskis were persuaded to use doubles, having the actual actors performing martial arts not only benefits the story, it’s also far more captivating for the audience knowing that it’s really them and that the camera hasn’t cut away to a stunt double. So in "most" cases the actors are doing the fighting. Since The Matrix, other action films such as Charlie’s Angels, Daredevil, Bulletproof Monk and Kill Bill followed through by having their actors, not necessarily known for martial arts, put through similar training.

With the film in post-production, there came the task of trying to sell it to the masses. The marketing for the film was incredible. Whoever was in charge here clearly "got it" and knew exactly what to do. “Unfortunately no can be told what the matrix is,” Morpheus tells Neo. “You have to see it for yourself.” That this line was incorporated in the trailer, and even some of the TV spots, was absolute genius. In helping to build up the mystery that surrounded the film, anyone hearing that was certainly curious. The tagline, “Believe the unbelievable,” was also a winner, prompting the thought, “What could be so unbelievable?” It all contributed to the feeling that audiences were letting themselves in for a different kind of movie, the likes of which they had never experienced before.

Of course there was the official website, with the URL itself playing on the cryptic nature of the film by being a question. The site had multiple screens set up, made to look like the inside of Morpheus’s ship, the Nebuchadnezzar. Unlike many official movie websites, it had its own message board where people could come together and talk about the film. One section on the site allowed users to enter secret codes to gain access to a hidden section offering extra goodies, be it artwork or videos. The official site is unfortunately no longer running.

The soundtrack included Rage Against the Machine, Rob Zombie, Marilyn Manson, and The Prodigy. Unlike some films that just throw some songs in because they sound cool, here were some tracks that actually felt relevant to the story. There were other tie-ins, as during the film’s release everyone wanted that Nokia mobile phone and a pair of official Blinde sunglasses.

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