Movies and Television. The effect of Integrated Media

With all the technological advancements in the past decades, the film and television industries have lost all limitations. It is possible to create almost anything on camera. With incredible special effects, nearly unbelievable computer generated characters and a touch of suspense; viewers are instantly drawn to the screen.

We like cliffhangers, not knowing what is going to happen next, any little thing that leaves us guessing and wanting more; and technology these days makes that easier to happen.

JJ Abrams is a young producer and director who uses all these ingredients in his films and television series. He knows how to keep the viewer interested every second of the story, visually and intellectually.

In his “TED” conference he tells us how he achieves that and what inspired him.

Jeffrey Jacob "J. J." Abrams (born June 27, 1966) is an American film and television producer, screenwriter, director, actor, composer, and founder of Bad Robot Productions. An Emmy and Golden Globe-winner, he is known as the creator or co-creator of the television series Felicity, Alias, Lost and Fringe, and as a director of films including Mission: Impossible III and the 2009 feature Star Trek. Source: “wikipedia.org”

First of all I am a huge fan of “Lost” so Abrams immediately intrigued me, and second of all, the whole concept of the mystery box is so true, and the way he cherished his box, I thought it was beautiful.

We, the viewer, love to be surprised, it is what keeps us glued to the monitor, whether it’s a TV show, a movie, or real life situations, we are drawn to suspense, not knowing what will come next.

Now days, we have incredible digital media to help us do this, we can create great explosions, character generated monsters, fictitious characters, or polar bears living in a jungle (from LOST), and this creates even more mystery in a story because when we least expect it…BOOM! A plane crashes right before our eyes, or a 50-foot dinosaur is running through the city streets.

But its is not only special effects, it’s the way you use technology, as Abrams explains, while shooting Mission Impossible, he was caught on a scene were Tom Cruise has to be injected in the nose, something that bothered him, because the other actor was being a little too rough. His solution was to use Cruise’s own hand to inject himself, so it wouldn’t hurt anymore, and shoot it in an angle were the viewer couldn’t notice this; so there are lot’s of tricks that you can do, its only a matter of imagination and using digital media to your advantage.

Febuary 2^nd 2010… “Lost” the final season premiere. I know I’m only one of thousands who are counting down the days…