We bring you an exclusive peek at the latest Lost shoot! August 2008 saw a new look and feel to the Sky 1,2 and 3 channels but also a batch of innovative channel idents featuring Sky1 stars.  The latest ident stars Naveen Andrews of Lost fame as he is captured by an alternative smoke monster. Read our exclusive interview with creator and director Jon Yeo and take a look behind the scenes with Jon's photo album.

 Sky1: Are you a fan of Lost?

JY: Yes, I’m a fan of the genre and a fan of J. J. Abrams.  I’m looking forward to seeing what he does with the Star Trek franchise. Loved Cloverfield too.

Sky1: Did you have Naveen Andrews in mind when you came up with the concept?

JY: Well we knew we wanted to make an Ident based around Lost, but initially we didn’t know which actor or actress we could get time with.  There were a few concepts on the table, but having our logos turn into homages to ‘The Smoke’ seemed really strong.  When we got confirmation that we could film with Naveen Andrews, we started designing a sequence where he would be lifted up by our logos, (although ours are much more passive than ‘The Smoke’!)

Sky1: Where was the ident filmed?

JY: The Idents were filmed in a studio in Acton. We built a 70ft set which takes it’s design cues from the hatch environments in the show.   We looked at lots of reference shots of The Swan and other interiors from the show and created our own take on it, as if Sayid had stumbled across another underground bunker on the island.

Sky1: How long did the shoot take?

JY: The set was built over about 3 days, then we had a days rehearsal without Naveen. This was critical because we needed to figure out quite a complex camera move involving both the artist and camera operator being levitated on wires.  We then had a day of actual shooting with Naveen, it took 17 takes to get it right as the shoot was quite challenging technically.  Naveen was very patient and professional, and it was a pleasure to work with him. 

Sky1: Lost likes to plant easter eggs within it’s episodes, are there any hidden things in the hatch for people to look out for?

JY: Yeah, I was conscious of that when we were in pre production.
When we were dressing the set the art department guys did type out some cryptic messages onto the retro computer screen on the desk. I think we might have put the number sequence on there from the show.

                                                        Sky1: What was the best part of the shoot?

JY: All of it really.  But working with Naveen was a thrill for me, I had just seen him in Planet Terror not long before the shoot. Also just Directing a sequence which was technically challenging was very satisfying.

Sky1: What was the most challenging part of the shoot?

JY: Definitely the wire work, it’s not easy to control or choreograph.  Especially when the actor and the Steadicam operator are both suspended, it was very tricky.

Sky1: What was the most challenging part of the post production?

JY: Well the VFX team at MPC have taken on all the challenges I’ve thrown at them with all the Idents.  They are extremely experienced and talented as a group, but I guess the biggest challenges with this one where the interactions between the CGI and the actor. Especially with the fluid dynamic simulation, liquids are notoriously difficult to simulate in the computer. We also only built the physical set to a certain height, it was finished off in post with the addition of a geodesic dome.

Sky1: Are there any plans for other idents using Sky1 talent?

JY: Yes there are plans for new Idents both with and without talent.  We are in production on our Christmas idents currently, then in the new year there will be a new set of Idents to add to the ones we’ve done so far.  I’ll have to keep you guessing on the content though.

Take a look at our behind the scenes gallery below featuring the set build, 3D storyboards and the finished product!