Freeze, Move, Immerse – Bullet Time and Volumetric Capture in Action

MZed Education

by Mascha DeikovaJanuary 30^th, 2026

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What if we could linger inside a single moment a little longer? And what if this moment was not just something we watch, but a space we could move through? The bullet time technique asks the first question. Volumetric capture is all about the second. These are very technical tools, yet they can also become parts of your film’s narrative grammar. How? We’ll learn from examples in modern movies and series that seem to have answered the questions above.

Cinema has always been obsessed with time. Stretching it, compressing it, jumping through it, and almost freezing it. In previous articles, we examined some of the fundamentals in this context. (Head over here to understand the basics of experimenting with your frame rate. And over here, you will find a deep dive into super slow motion used for storytelling purposes.)

Now let’s take it a step further by introducing bullet time and volumetric capture into the mix.

Bullet time and volumetric capture are not the same

Bullet time and volumetric capture are two cinema techniques that are often confused, and for good reason. Both rely on arrays of multiple cameras. Both allow motion within a shot that would be impossible to achieve with a single lens. However, their approach to reality is fundamentally different.

Bullet time creates the impression that time is frozen or dramatically slowed, while the camera moves freely around the action. Volumetric capture, on the other hand, records the scene (the performance, mostly) as a three-dimensional time-based volume. Sounds complicated? No worries. We won’t get too technical here. The concepts become much clearer once you see how each technique works behind the scenes.

What is bullet time?

Even if you’ve never heard this term before, you probably know what it is. The textbook example (as well as the invention) of this effect comes, of course, from “The Matrix.”

To break down “bullet time” in simple words, imagine your subject performing a movement. (In Neo’s case, he is dodging Agent Smith’s bullets.) Now place dozens or even hundreds of cameras around them in a carefully designed arc or circle, like the 120 still cameras for The Matrix’s epic shot. These cameras fire either simultaneously or in a precise sequence. The resulting images are stitched together to create the illusion of a moving camera within a suspended moment. For the seamless motion in the Neo scene, the filmmakers also relied on specialized rigs, frame interpolation, extensive VFX work, and compositing. At its core, however, bullet time is about camera arrays capturing a single moment from multiple angles and using that data to “freeze” time while moving through it.

The scene does feel three-dimensional, doesn’t it? However, bullet time is built from 2D imagery. The camera path is predefined by the physical placement of the cameras. Meaning: You cannot truly change perspective beyond what was captured. We’ll return to this topic a bit later. For now, let’s enjoy the bullet time’s striking effect.

In case you are curious, VFX artists from “Corridor Digital” recreated this exact shot from The Matrix, but by implementing some modern tech for the same process:

Bullet-time effect for highly intense and visceral scenes

What does the bullet time scene in The Matrix make us feel? Suddenly, we jump into Neo’s head and see reality through his eyes. What he does in that moment is not conventionally human. The unusual visual effect externalizes his inner transformation, his heightened awareness, his awakening. That’s how bullet time is often used today, to signal something supernatural or transcendent about a character. But it can also serve other storytelling and visual goals.

For instance, let’s rewatch one of the scenes from the first part of “28 Years Later,” where the protagonist, Spike, and his father go out into the wild to kill a few Infected and fulfill a coming-of-age ritual. We’re particularly interested in a shot at around 04:55. (Trigger warning: please don’t watch the subsequent video if you cannot stand moments of blood and gore in films.)

Yes, bullet time! In this example, however, it’s not epic. It’s jarring, hyper-detailed, super visceral, and dirty. There are a lot of similar intense moments in the film that use the same technique. As you probably know, 28 Years Later was mostly shot on an iPhone. This allowed the creators to build a considerably lightweight, mobile rig with an array of 20 synchronized iPhones mounted along a curved ramp. It was pretty easy to carry around, even on rugged terrain, and to attach it to, say, a crane.

In one of the “Making-Of” featurettes, the director Danny Boyle explains his narrative intention for this technique. Beyond allowing you to emphasize and freeze some of the brutal moments, bullet time pulls you right into the scene, as if it were indeed three-dimensional. To him, it is a perfect example of what the word “immersive” means. Bullet time heightens the intensity and allows you to see details you would never see with the naked eye. Well, I’m not sure I wanted to, as the world of the “28 Years Later” franchise is truly horrible. Yet, the effect is definitely on point.

Volumetric capture in a nutshell

Volumetric capture (also known as VolCap) does not fake camera movement. It is a 3D recording method that fuses digital video and depth-sensor data rather than stitching together flat images.

And yes, it also uses lots of specially-calibrated cameras, located in a 360-degree environment, that simultaneously capture the performance. The main difference is that the result is a 3D model with motion over time, which allows filmmakers to observe a given scene from anywhere within the recorded space. In other words, we are no longer limited to what the camera saw at the moment of capture. With VolCap, we can explore the moment and change the perspective even after the shoot.

Volumetric capture is commonly used in VR and AR, as well as in virtual production, immersive installations, and game cinematics. However, there are some creative film-related applications that I want to show you in two examples below.

Volumetric capture at scale

In filmmaking, volumetric capture can help achieve camera movement and angles that would be impossible in real life. It also simplifies some of the shots. An interesting example from recent years is the biopic about Whitney Houston, called “Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody.”

Instead of relying on traditional CG crowd simulations, the film’s creators chose to volumetrically capture real audience performances for the concert scenes.  

To achieve this, creators captured each performer using a full 360-degree camera array with more than 70 synchronized cameras. Every person reacted differently: cheering, clapping, waving, and moving at slightly different rhythms. Then they repeated the process with hundreds of individuals. The result: a massive library of three-dimensional performances that could be placed, reused, and recontextualized freely in post-production. (As you see in the behind-the-scenes above, they could also go for any camera angle and movement with these performances.)

Why was volumetric capture beneficial here, beyond giving the creators greater freedom in post-production? Well, because of the achieved realism, the scenes feel grounded rather than synthetic. By carefully planning emotional states and reaction variations, the team avoided the uniformity that often gives digitally generated crowds away. These are people within the scene, not just polished CG backdrops for Whitney’s performances.

Volumetric capture for character building

Another recent work that applied volumetric capture for creative purposes is the second season of the Netflix series “Wednesday.” There, the creators used the technology to create the disembodied head of Professor Orloff, kept in a jar underwater.

Christopher Lloyd, who portrayed the professor, performed all of his scenes on a volumetric capture stage. Here’s the really fascinating part: previously shot and pre-edited scenes were projected around him in 360 degrees, recreating how the world would feel from Professor Orloff’s perspective. So instead of standing in a void and imagining everything, Lloyd could actually react to the environments and to the performances of his fellow actors as they unfolded around him.

If you’re curious how the filmmakers pulled this off, here’s a behind-the-scenes look at their volumetric capture approach:

Of course, afterwards, they used the VolCap data to create a 3D model of his head, anchor it correctly, and place it underwater with the help of complex visual effects. So, yes, a lot of what we see in the final episodes is digitally constructed. Yet the authenticity of the performance, the timing of the speech, the subtle facial movements, the emotional core, all remain grounded in reality. That’s how Christopher Lloyd could create his unusual character without losing credibility. Professor Orloff doesn’t feel fully CG because his performance is genuinely anchored in every scene.

Gaussian splatting for volumetric capture

Do you know what contemporary tool reminds me of a volumetric capture technique? Gaussian splatting. We talk a lot about this technology and how you can create 3D environments by using your smartphone camera and user-friendly apps in my MZed course: “The Efficient Filmmaker: Scan and Plan.”

Basically, Gaussian splats are a way to store and display 3D information that is trained using AI or machine learning. But that’s not exactly the tool I’m referring to above. Some companies, including, for instance, 4DV AI, decided to take this tech to another level and turn simple videos into full 4D experiences. Meaning their application takes a filmed scene and brings it into a 3D space, where you can move your camera around, come closer, zoom out, and watch it from all possible angles. (You can even hear how the sound changes based on the point from which you observe the scene.) Allegedly, the developers also use Gaussian splatting but layer the GSplats over time, so the recreated 3D scene exists in both space and time dimensions. Does it remind you of anything? Yes, sounds like a volumetric capture, yet without the actual VolCap process.

Unfortunately, the 4DV AI tool is not yet available to the public (and I didn’t find any others), but you can check out some demo scenes directly in the browser on the company’s website, with real-time rendering. Interesting times we live in!

Your opinion?

What do you think about technically ambitious tools like bullet time and volumetric capture? When do they genuinely serve the story, in your opinion, and when do they risk becoming expensive eye candy? What are your thoughts on bullet time shots from “28 Years Later”? Captivating, or too eccentric? Let’s talk in the comments below!

Feature image: film stills and BTS materials from “28 Years Later” by Danny Boyle, 2025; and “Wednesday,” season 2 on Netflix.

Full disclosure: MZed is owned by CineD.