Inspire Oakland 2021 Entry

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My entry for BRIDGEGOOD's 2021 Inspire Oakland design challenge.

I have decided to go with the idea of using movies that were filmed on location in Oakland to help bring my inspiration forward with this project. With my overall theme of Oakland in Cinema, originally, I was thinking about a strip of film with various titles that have filmed on location. After working on my concept for a bit, I thought it would be better to have a certain scene from one movie presenting city icons and locations to help immerse my audience into Oakland as the setting. I went with the 2003 film The Matrix: Reloaded because it is a film with an amazing pursuit and highway action sequence that was filmed throughout the city’s streets and tunnels. With its next level action and inspiring visual effects, I decided to have the film accompany what inspires me about Oakland. Being in the Bay Area my whole life, and having visited Oakland, it is a city that must be experienced by its visitors. With the main title “Inspire Oakland,” I added the last part of one of the best quotes that Morpheus speaks in the Matrix Films. That quote being: “Unfortunately, no one can be told what the Matrix is. You have to see it for yourself.” I found this quote to be a great addition to my message because with Oakland, it is such a unique city that it truly is a place where “You have to see it for yourself.” On the left, you have Laurence Fishburne’s Morpheus with the matrix code descending upon him and shifting right into the matrix world (Oakland). The Bay Bridge helps connect the code and the matrix to present its different appearances based on where you are in the movie. With the gaze of his circular spectacles, he looks out at the audience to hook their attention. In the foreground, you have another character from the sequence, Trinity, on the motorbike that she drives throughout the scene. She is accompanied by the Webster Tube exit and the building that sits atop its opening. The Webster Tube was also a location where the energetic chase scene was filmed. With the tube being the main connection between Oakland and Alameda, I thought it would be both a nod to the film and cool for locals noticing a building they may drive under during their commute. In the background, you have silhouettes of Tribune Tower and the Ronald V. Dellums Federal building to present Oakland's unique skyline. To bring Oakland and The Matrix together, the piece is overlaid in the infamous green tones from the movie.