Gifts of the Matrix (2008)

Gifts of the Matrix is a 2008 Australian stop-motion animated science fiction short film set in the Transformers universe. The film was written and directed by Jimbo the Cheese and co-produced alongside El Gringo.

Cast and Crew
Jimbo the Cheese (VOICE): Megatron, Soundwave, Starscream, Scavanger, Scrapper, Thrust, Optimus Prime, Red Alert, Mirage, Hod Rod.

El Gringo (VOICE): Hightower

Release
Only one copy of Gifts of the Matrix was produced - This DVD contained no bonus features and was used solely for a single screening of the film during a student event.

The digital copy of Gifts of the Matrix was kept by Jimbo the Cheese. During the Hard Drive Data End Disaster, it was permemently lost. Jimbo however was able to recover a copy, using a version uploaded to youtube.

2019: Remastered Edition:
In late 2019 El Gringo released a remastered version of the episode featuring heavily updated special effects improved picture quality and a completely new stereo sound mix. The remastered edition fixed many small issues with the stop motion including the removal of people from the background of individual frames and replacing the green screen at the beginning of the episode with a fresh copy of the G1 Transformers Cartoon opening.

For the moment only one copy has been released in the form of a lossless file on a USB thumb drive sent to Jimbo the Cheese as a birthday gift. It is unknown at this stage whether Jimbo will formally re-release Gifts of the Matrix to Youtube.

Possibility of an Ongoing Series
When originally concieved, Jimbo the Cheese fully intended to produce a full "Gifts of the Matrix" series. Plans were for 13 full "episodes", with a climatic finale even reaching the script stage.

Due to ongoing changes in his life. Jimbo shelved the idea of a full series late in 2008. In 2009, he formally announced that Gifts of the Matrix had been formally scrapped, and there were no plans to continue it in any capacity.