E-Journal Entry 2- February 20, 2009

Exploring the Secrets Behind the Island

Americans loves to watch themselves on TV and in the movies. We watch our lives relayed back at us in more interesting and dramatic story lines and we love how easy their lives look. However, film and television is more complex and deeply thought out than most of us understand. There is more to a film than it's story; in fact, producers and designers make thousands of decisions on camera shots, clothing, casting, editing, music and more. This concept of "form" allows us to take a deeper look into American culture and what is being shown on our media. In my second E-journal I will analyze the hit TV drama "Lost" from ABC.

Lost is in its fifth season and is still leaving viewers with unanswered questions and surprising plot twists. In the following paragraphs, I will analyze clips and characters from the show and try to understand better how the visual design, cinematography, and sound design influence the story and theme.

Lost (2004) is about the 48 survivors of Oceanic Flight 815 after the plane mysteriously crashed miles off track on a deserted island. However, their island holds many secrets and in order to survive the characters must learn to not only live with each other but with the many other unexpected events. Viewers not only watch their journey on the island but witness flash backs that interconnect many of the main characters. Characters come and go on the island, but one thing I find interesting is the diversity of the characters.

Major Characters on Lost: Current and Past

Mr. Eko

Sun Kwon

Jack Sheppard
Desmond Hume

Hurley
Kate Austen

Sayid Jarrah

Juliet Burke
John LockeMike Dawson and Walt (son)Ana-Lucia Cortez

Of the nine characters shown above (which are only some of the main characters) only five of them are white, and they all come from very diverse backgrounds. Also, Hurley, an overweight character, isn't cast as a "typical overweight man". His weight isn't a major issue in the story line and when it is, it is never a joke, unlike many mainstream television shows.

The producers chose to use a VERY diverse cast yet kept all of the characters interconnected. All of the characters are tied together throughout the episodes. This is purposefully done by the writers and is an example of visual design. They chose to keep these characters as a dominant part of the show despite their race or religion. They are not presenting a white power view, instead, they show a multicultural view with their characters and react against many shows who "subconsciously" leave Mexican and black actors as villains or low class roles. In Season 3, Ana Lucia is shown as a hero who saves the survivors of the other half of the plane and connects them with their fellow castaways. I applaud Lost for casting diverse roles in race, gender, and religion and matching this aspect of visual form with their editing, sound and lighting to create nontraditional multicultural characters that are portrayed in a positive light.

Cinematography and Sound Design in Lost

Yet, it is more than the character and casting choices that help send out the message of Lost. However, one warning once you realize the impact of form in films, you ALWAYS realize the impact. Nonetheless, it still is important to understand the underlying influences in a media clip and cinematography and sound design play huge roles in the overall theme of the message.

Griffen and Benshoff explain cinematographic design as, "...how the camera records the visual elements that have been dictated by the literary design. The cinematographic design includes things like the choice of framing, lenses, camera angle, camera movement, what is in focus and what is not." (p. 4)

The following clip is from season 3 and it depicts how the "Others" witnessed the plane crash. It is important to focus on the last minute and a half of the clip and how the camera changes to emphasize the message.

This clips uses stunning camera focus and angle to keep the tension in the clip and drag the audience along. After the "earthquake" the camera comes to the center of the yard and captures all of the "Others" running out of their houses from all directions. It then focuses in on Ben, who the camera angles make the leader of the group. The most effective camera angle is in the last :30 seconds when the camera veers away from the whole group and focuses in on the man running to meet the plane. He becomes smaller and smaller until he is a blur, and at that point the camera zooms out to show just the village, then the clearing the village is in and continues to progressively zoom out until the whole island is in view. This shows how this one small action is affecting the whole island. It forces the audience to think about the man's role and how it has and will effect the survivors. Depending on where the camera points or focuses it helps allow the viewers to understand what and who is important right now.

The following clip is from an episode when John Locke tries to convince everyone that they do not need to press the numbers in the hatch, as they have been for every 108 minutes. The show uses excellent sound design to display the power and effects of the John's decision.

The clip immediately starts out with a brisk, all-business female voice that is repeating "system failure, system failure." Her voice is just the beginning of the strained sound effects in the hatch. The camera constantly switches back and forth between Locke and Desmond and the dark, dim scenery is countered by dramatic music. Even more, when the objects start flying in the background, the sound of their movement overpowers the whole scene. In fact, the only time the dialogue is a focus is when Locke admits his mistake. At that point, he becomes the center of attention and the music dies out. This emphasizes the critical decision he made, and the producers are showing how important and maybe poor it was. By making his statement clear, they are forcing the audience to listen.

The clip ends with Desmond inserting the key and the bright light covering the island. Accompanying the light, is a loud, blaring noise to show the confusion and momentum of Locke's decision. Finally, it ends with silence. The sound effects with this clip make it much more powerful than just the dramatic lightening and camera changes.

Analyzing form is vital in a complex and confusing show like Lost, where the content doesn't explain everything to the viewers. The producers must use design, visual, and sound effects to clarify their message. I analyzed visual, cinematography, and sound design in specific clips of Lost; however, I still don't understand everything yet...and it's almost guaranteed that Lost has another new trick for the next episode that will leave us with more questions. But, at least now we have a few tools to help us find the answers.