bullet time

English

Etymology

First used with reference to the 1999 film The Matrix, and later to the slow-motion effects in the 2001 video game Max Payne.

Noun

bullet time (uncountable)

1. (film, video games) A visual effect in which the camera pans around a slowed-down object, such as a flying bullet.
   • 2006, Dani Cavallaro, The Cinema of Mamoru Oshii: Fantasy, Technology and Politics:

     ...particularly in the use of the bullet-time technique...

2. (video games) A mode in which gameplay slows down to allow the player to observe and maneuver around bullets or other fast moving objects.

Translations

visual effect

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 子弹时间 (zǐdànshíjiān) 子彈時間 / 子弹时间 (zǐdànshíjiān)

• French: bullet time