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Agent Training Program part 2, Westin Sydney stairwell, Morpheus interrogation
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- 12/31 11:54 PM
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...so hopelessly dependent on the system... ...that they will fight to protect it.
Amber was kind enough to pose as the "woman in the red dress" (too bad we were short one red dress :) in front of the fountain in the final scene in the Agent Training Program.Matrix DVD time index 00:57:05
Matrix DVD time index 00:57:06
Freeze it. This isn't the Matrix? No.
There is a view of Morpheus, Neo, and the Agent-former-woman-in-red-dress where you see them all in front of the fountain, along with the rest of the training program characters, all frozen, including the birds. However, in the movie, there is a missing cross-walk signal (that Eric is standing in front of in the photo). It's possible that the signal was placed there since the filming, or I suppose they could have removed it in post as well.Matrix DVD time index 00:57:17
Deja vu.
We decided to check out the Westin Sydney one last time, and found a stairwell which we had previously missed. The shape, number of floors, and where the stairs were vs. where tiles were, as well as the shape and color of the tiles were the same as the "Deja vu" scene. The view in this photo is 90 degree rotated from the shot in the movie, but it is remarkable how similar it looked, standing there in person. However, as mentioned, there was one big difference. In the Westin Sydney hotel, the tiles were rotated 45 degrees relative to the axes of the stairs, where as in the Matrix, they're aligned with the direction of the stairs. And of course the Westin Sydney is a brightly lit clean and welcoming hotel, whereas in the Matrix, they're in some sort of dilapidated apparently abandoned building.Matrix DVD time index 01:20:01 and Matrix DVD time index 01:20:34 is similar too.
It was a clear day, blue sky and all, almost like the shot in the Matrix which was just a bit cloudy. These two in particular look very similar to the frame in the movie where they first show us the building that Morpheus is building held in, except obviously the obligatory black helicopter is missing from the photos I took.
Matrix DVD time indices 01:31:22 and 01:31:25.
Have you ever stood and stared at it?
In the first shot showing Morpheus's POV, looking out the window, there is a very distinctive "Mulpha" building, which we were very happy to find.Matrix DVD time index 01:31:32
In that same frame from the movie, there is a white cylindrical/round building, which we found as well. Unfortunately, we couldn't actually get into the building where Morpheus had been held (much less the particular floor and room) and were thus unable to get the precise perspective shots that you see in the Matrix. What was interesting though, is that based on where we found the buildings in that view, it looks like they actually did film from inside the same building that they filmed the outside of.
Matrix DVD time index 01:31:35
Update: while rewatching the Matrix, I noticed that this very same cylindrical building first shows up near the beginning when they show where Thomas A Anderson (Neo) works: "METACORTEX".
Matrix DVD time index 00:12:02-00:12:04
In fact you can see the METACORTEX building on the right side of the cylindrical building in that photograph (note added). It shows up again when Neo climbs out of the window of the office at:
Matrix DVD time index 00:16:06-08, 00:16:20-22, 00:16:32-33
Billions of people...
Discontinuity check! The very next shot in the Matrix shows a view down upon a plaza, which happens the be the very same plaza where the fountain was from the Agent Training Program. Of course the building where they held Morpheus is NOT adjacent to that plaza, so this is a physical discontinuity in the film as compared the the actual layout of Sydney. If you're watching along with your Matrix DVD and check out the following time index, note that the building in the top right is the Westin Sydney. You can see details of the outside of the bottom floor of both that building and the one across the street, as well as the plaza on the left in this photo as well, though the view street level, not 20th story level.Matrix DVD time index 01:31:44
...where everyone would be happy. It was a disaster. No one would accept the program. Entire crops were lost.
Somehow they decide to change what Morpheus is seeing out the window, and on the right side there is a building with a particular balcony sticking out quite far from its left side. While it looks flat from the perspective as high up as they were, from the street level, you can see the circular nature of the balcony.Matrix DVD time index 01:32:04
Where we go from there... ... is a choice I leave to you.
In the next to final scene of the movie where Neo is walking out of the phone booth, to the right of him in the shot behind him is a building with angular struts/supports. I remember walking right by that building but didn't manage to take a photo of it. Something for next time. However, in the birds eye view shot that looks down upon Sydney building tops, just right of middle near the top is the aforementioned round building, and on the far left of the shot is an octagonally shaped building which I managed to snap from ground level here. The short round building a block to the right of the octagonal building can be seen right here, which means if you follow the street next to it a block towards the top of that final frame you can see the intersection with the Westin Sydney, and the Agent Training Program crosswalk and fountain (neither of the latter are visible since they are eclipsed by a building across the street).Matrix DVD time index 02:09:13
Having actually walked the streets of downtown Sydney, viewed the DVD, taken the photos, and then reviewed the photos while rewatching the DVD, I found many more shots from the movie of buildings and other things that could easily be reshot in person on the street. My challenge to the Sydney Matrix fans out there: go out and take some photos of your own of scenes from the movie, blog them, and tag them with both Matrix and Sydney.
And with that, this blog is closed for 2005. See you in the new year!
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Agent Training Program part 1
- created
- 12/31 7:55 PM
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Cue Rob D's Clubbed To Death (Kurayamino Mix). Just outside the Westin Sydney hotel, we found the crosswalk, the sidewalk, and the fountain from the "Agent Training Program".
Matrix DVD time index 00:56:28
The Matrix is a system, Neo.
Since the Agent Training Program takes place in the daytime it was easier to find the right spot and take photos from similar angles. Of course the difference between this shot and the scene from the movie is the crowd (or lack thereof) on the other side of the crosswalk (and crossing the sidewalk).Matrix DVD time index 00:56:31
There is a discontinuity in the physical world between the "facing the cross-walk scene" and when the camera switches to Morpheus's point of view (POV) looking behind him at Neo. The crosswalk crosses Pitt Street, and starting with the "Morpheus looks behind him" POV shot, they are walking along Pitt Street. This definitely took a us a few minutes to figure out when we were standing there and trying to understand where they walked to.
That system is our enemy.
This is the shot from Neo's POV looking back towards Morpheus. The key detail that clued us in to the location was the white arrow painted on the window of the bank building.Matrix DVD time index 00:56:36
But when you're inside, what do you see?
As they continue walking down Pitt Street, you can see the lower round parts of the columns on the right side, and the flag poles on the left side of the street.Matrix DVD time index 00:56:40
In the real world, if you stand at that point and looking down Pitt Street in that direction, you can clearly see Sydney's famous iconic Harbor Bridge in the background, peeking through in the small vertical slit of sky between the buildings. Of course none of us had ever noticed this in the movie, and yet, while standing right there and playing back the DVD on my iBook, we realized that if you look closely just a second later in the movie (you may have to frame-by-frame advance it), just as Neo is dodging a long blonde haired woman, you can see the Sydney Harbor Bridge peeking through.
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Sydney Westin: Not the Matrix hotel
- created
- 12/30 11:30 PM
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We had read on some website that the stairwell and "deja vu" scenes in the Matrix were filmed in the Sydney Westin at No.1 Martin Place. So we took a cab to get there which by coincidence had an ad for Trilogy Smash Repairs. I don't suppose they were referring to the Matrix trilogy?
Now the Sydney Westin is quite fancy. They have one of those waterfall walls where it looks like a shimmering mirror, and if you touch it, your hand is instantly covered in water. Not unlike Matrix DVD time index 00:31:28, though it doesn't creep all the way up your arm and down your throat thankfully.
Anyway, quite fancy. So we weren't about to bother the concierge with questions that clearly indicated that we were tourists off the street rather than hotel guests. So we decided to go urban spelunking and attempt to find things for ourselves. We walked confidently towards where the elevators should be (and they were), and got in.
Most of the floors were access controlled, but there were adjacent floors that were accessible. As we explored some of the public access floors we came upon such gems as a sign for SOSUMI SUSHI TRAIN. My guess is that the System 7 beep sound came first.
Urban spelunker tip 1: When the elevator doesn't let you get to a floor, go to a nearby floor and take the stairs. In doing so, I happened to see a set of double-glass doors with an interesting network-like design above them. Behind them, another pair of doors, and behind them, some network infrastructure. Security by obscurity? Certainly not immune to curiosity.
After a bit more exploring, we happened across some particularly nice views of the hotel's atrium including a few mirrorshot opportunities. We did find some staircases, but we realized after viewing the DVD that the black and white square tiles were aligned differently in the hotel than in the movie. 45 degrees differently to be precise. So despite what that website claimed, the Sydney Westin was not filmed in the Matrix, though some of its staircases may have provided inspiration (as we'll see in a future post).
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Technorati is looking for a top notch web developer
- created
- 12/28 11:27 PM
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Technorati is hiring for a few key positions. There is one position in particular that I want to call out:
We are looking for someone who is extremely proficient in state of the art LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) development, with emphasis on PHP and Apache.
Are you a self-starter web developer who builds whole web services and sites not only for work but for your own convenience, necessity, and especially fun?
Have you independently kept up not only with server-side development, but modern client-side development tools and techniques such as standards-compliant CSS, semantic XHTML / microformats, unobtrusive javascript despite watching your co-workers (perhaps even superiors) stick with "old ways" that have "always worked for them"?
Perhaps you are working at one of those larger web companies.
Are you tired of years of following big company processes and bureaucracy? Do you find it excruciatingly painful to have to slow yourself (and your productivity) down to the slowest link in a large team chain which itself is hobbled by a variety of different types of managers, planners, directors who are motivated more by fear than opportunity?
In these closing days of 2005, take a look at your job, and ask yourself if you are truly happy where you are.
Or are you merely wasting away your most creative years in the confines of a comfortable campus, a gilded cage by any other name?
Or perhaps working in a culture of elitist secrecy in exchange for free lunches and dinners?
Are you fulfilling your potential?
One way to gain the freedom to pursue your potential is by doing your own startup. I've done this once, and I may do so again at some point (once you've tried it and tasted success on your own terms, it's difficult to not think about doing it again). By all means, if you're thinking about doing this, I encourage you to do so.
But just for a moment, imagine not only the freedom and opportunity to pursue your potential, but a small set of folks all similarly inspired to do so, all supporting each other in that pursuit.
No finely trimmed corporate campus. No fulltime chef. No onsite dry cleaning (though there is a dry cleaner a half block away, we are located in a city afterall).
Just you, your potential, and an inspired team that's changing the world.
So if you are such a modern web developer, contact us. Or perhaps you'll find some other way of getting our attention. Like blogging and linking to this post.
- Comments
- Jeffrey Zeldman
- Martin
- Douglas Clifton
Hey Doug, got the nudges! Now where is that link to your resumé? Alternatively, go ahead an email it using the abovementioned email link, and cc me: tantek at technorati.
- David Sifry
- Joakim Andersson
You know that road
- created
- 12/28 10:39 PM
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You can clearly see the ramp on the sidewalk on the right side of the street, the key distinguishing feature in this particular shot.
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Stop the car
- created
- 12/28 9:53 PM
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It seemed like a while in the movie, but the drive from the Adams Street bridge to where Switch asks Apoc to stop the car is literally only a few meters from the bridge. This photo is not quite from the same location in the street as the view of the street from where they stop the car, but it is readily recognizable by the square brick patterns with tiny square middles on top of marble covered square columns.
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Then go to the Adams Street bridge
- created
- 12/28 12:23 AM
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First stop along our self guided Matrix tour: the Adams Street bridge. We saw it in the day time, not at night. On a clear day, not during a downpour. The graffiti on the walls had been removed and replaced (not surprising since it had been 6+ years). However, the calcium deposits streaking across the underside of the bridge were nearly identical. We knew there were several similar bridges in the area, and were worried that we wouldn't be able to tell which was "the one" (so to speak). All doubt was removed the instant we saw the deposits and they matched perfectly with what we saw in the DVD (I brought my iBook with me so we could check scenes in person in realtime).
Matrix DVD time index 00:22:35
N.B.: I wish there was some way I could hyperlink that "time index" so clicking it would take you to that point on DVD, assuming you had loaded it in your DVD drive. I don't suppose there is a "dvd:" protocol or some other such hack out there to do this? I wish we could share clickable bookmarks into realtime media using an open standard.
Update, I figured I might as well link the time index to a specific Flickr photo, as that way I can link to different photos with their respective specific time indices, e.g.
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Matrix photos coming up
- created
- 12/27 8:56 PM
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With When 2.0, Syndicate, and the holidays, it's been a very busy December. In the days remaining, I'm going to push through a few blog post drafts, as well as a ton of Flickr photos. Let's see if I can hit that 2GB limit.
The first Matrix movie was filmed on location in Sydney, Australia. After a successful Web Essentials 05, yours truly and close friends toured around downtown Sydney, and thanks to Amber's Web research, found numerous locations that were used in the movie. Eric Meyer's post on Matrix Madness provides a good sense of the level of detail we went to get as many framed-like-the-movie shots.
So point your browsers to my Flickr photo stream and prepare to enter the Matrix.
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From RFC4287 to hAtom
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- 12/18 7:09 PM
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Atom 1.0 is an Internet standard and its number is 4287.
Congratulations to everyone that worked so hard on Atom 1.0. You are to be commended for your efforts.
David Janes has picked up the torch and has been working hard on a microformat version, called, predictably enough, hAtom. It's still preliminary, with issues to be resolved, but already quite promising, with an XSLT to transform hAtom to Atom among other things. Perhaps I will try it out for my January blog rewrite...
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Happy Birthday to XFN!
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- 12/15 10:45 PM
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It was two years ago today that Eric Meyer, Matt Mullenweg and I introduced XFN to the world. Little did we know that it would be the first shot fired in the lowercase semantic web revolution, the first microformat (before Kevin Marks and I first presented about microformats), and the first "rel" attribute extension defined with a formal metadata profile, long before the popular rel-tag, and rel-nofollow extensions.
Happy Two Years XFN. Here's to many more.
And if you have a blog, ask yourself, why haven't you joined the XHTML Friends Network? After all you may already be a member.
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Microformats talk at Syndicate Microcontent panel
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- 12/15 10:42 PM
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As promised, here are my slides from yesterday's microcontent panel at Syndicate.- Comments
Syndicate Conference Speakers and Schedule
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- 12/13 11:47 AM
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I'm attending the Syndicate Conference today and participating in a panel tomorrow. I've mashed up the speakers list and the schedule of tracks & sessions with microformats:
- Syndicate Conference Speaker List marked up with hCard.
- Syndicate Conference Tracks & Sessions marked up with hCalendar.
Added to each page is a small link with a plus (+) to add the speakers to your address book, and to add the sessions to your calendar.
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When 2.0: time and microformats
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- 12/6 3:51 PM
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I just finished participating in a panel here at the When 2.0 conference. We discussed how time is becoming more relevant for search, as well as the need for open data formats, users owning their own data, and other such popular "Web 2.0" concepts.
Just before lunch I took the schedule and list of speakers from the conference and marked them up with hCalendar and hCard. The schedule portion is obviously purely explanatory at this point since the conference is nearly over, but adding the list of speakers to your address book is still quite useful. Take a look:
Notice that the pages look the same as they do on the original site, except for the couple of links I added at the top to conveniently import the events/contacts into your local application. One of key aspects of microformats is that they adapt to your existing content, without having to alter the presentation.
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