Ethnography

I will be primarily investigating interviews with Michael Giacchino to study his specific musical process, specific scenes from the show to demonstrate how that process is reflected on screen, and then posts and polls by LOST fans on the internet which should reveal whether or not Giacchino's intentions are a) being received by the fans as he intended them to be and b) enjoyed by the fans on an emotional level.

Scenes from the show

This is one of Giacchino's themes he created for the character Ben. He is one of the more interesting characters on the show because you're never quite sure of his true intentions, and whether or not at his core he is a moral person. Giacchino mirrors the essential bipolar nature of Ben through his character theme. Most of the main characters on the show have their own musical theme or motif, and many of them have multiple themes. Notice how different the music feels from 1:40 to 2:20, and then from 2:20 onward. They are the same exact notes, but they are presented in a completely different manner in order to reflect the two sides to the character. Giacchino begins by employing a booming, ominous trombone, but finishes the song with sweeping, yet soft strings. LOST is one of the only shows in the history of television to have such specific character themes.

In the final scene of LOST, Giacchino combines various character themes, motifs, and the infamous piece "Life and Death" to close out the series. Essentially the embodiment of the finale, Giacchino creates a conglomeration of many of the themes we've heard throughout the series. The theme "Life and Death," elements of which are sprinkled throughout this piece, is typically played whenever a character has died or is about to die. So not only does Giacchino create themes for specific characters, he creates themes for specific plot developments and actions. Giacchino's ability to combine various themes into a single piece has earned him much praise.

Giacchino's Process

In this video, Giacchino discusses his process for creating music on LOST. Giacchino highlights how he wanted to use instruments that you wouldn't expect, creating an atypical orchestra. He refuses to read scripts in advance because he feels that he can write better music "as a fan," reacting to the show just as everyone else does and then writing music based on how he is feeling. He makes sure that the producers do not spoil any elements of the show because that could potentially compromise the integrity of his work, which he says should feel natural.

More on Giacchino's philosophy on writing music for LOST:

"I think bad music tells you how to feel, and good music takes what you are already feeling and enhances it. And Giacchino is always clearly in the latter category." - Damon Lindelof, co-creator of LOST (video 3/3 @ 5:10)

Fan reactions, polls, and reviews

http://lostpolls.blogspot.com/2010/03/do-you-like-michael-giacchinos-new.html

In this poll, 606 fans like Giacchino's new themes for season 6, while only 59 do not. Clearly, the fans enjoy the music that he creates for the show. But more importantly, they notice when he makes changes to his work. User _cliff writes, "anything michael shoots out is great. even the bad ones are good compared to most tv shows out there." It's crucial to note how aware the fans are of Giacchino's work compared to the music on other television shows. They do not take his originality for granted.