Ok, I know for the preview of "The Long Con" that they had to have a stand in for charlie, lest the whole episode be ruined for us. That Doesn't explain why the two clocks (the one in the preview and the one in the actual episode) were different. Either way there was a clock counting down. Any Ideas on why they did this? Opinions about it?

Probably as the original wasn't built to have the weird symbols, so they had to build a new one to go with the plot. Most likely when being built they changed the design to make the symbols easier to read or something. Thats my opinion on it.

The previews aren't done by the people who actually make LOST, they are done by the TV company that shows it. so my suspicion is that one or more of the other hatches also has a timer, and when making the preview, someone messed up and put a pic of one of the other timers in the preview of this episode.

that doesn't seem plausible.

It is most likely, after making the original clock, they changed the storyline, and needed a new clock. It would be too hard to remake the old one, so they started fresh. End of argument.

Welli found this on thetailsection.com and i just put it on my own website, so you ddin't have to look for it so check out this (http://members18.freewebs.com/MembersB/editPage.jsp?token=35542626efc3ecac1097541121c&pageID=45488581). Is this just an error or is it a clue?

Javi said it was a props error on the promo people's part.

Yeah, Thats the point. The clock in the preview that hits Zero and the clock in "One of them" hits Zero are two completely different clocks. Is this just because the promo team had to make their own? that doesn't make sense because they could just use the footage from the show, which they had (the jack/Locke showdown and "I am Sayid Jarrah, and I am a torturer" scenes were both shown). What gives? Did they do this to purposely mislead us? Because if they did then they really do care to keep us Board junkies on our toes because the average viewer wouldn't notice something like that. Another possibility is that it is footage from another episode and another hatch and they just made a mistake.

kuwong is right, abc does the previews. this is talked about on the pod cast at abc.com as the writers got upset at abc for showing too much in the preview.

Easiest thing to do is avoid the previews. :) Even Damon and Carlton showed a little regret at how much was revealed in last night's episode.

That withstanding, I wonder if it had something to do with CGI effects for the clock. It's hard to believe that the clock in the episode was in fact a real clock (at least the symbols part of it). So perhaps some polishing was still being done when they sent over the promo footage? Other that, it just seems very strange to substitute another clock for no real reason.

Props error as per Javi's comment.

Seriously Kuwong, how can you say end of argument when one is a 3 digit analog and the one we always see if a 5 digit analog. It has to come from somewhere, doesnt make sense for them to make a mockup for a preview.

We'll probably see it someday I am sure, serving some OTHER function. No pun intended. LOL

Yeah, because:
Props error as per Javi's comment.

Prop error means for whatever reason, they have a 3 digit clock somewhere in props. Abc does the previews, but they make them with the footage provided by Bad Robot.

I say we will see that clock in future episodes

Although, having said that, Javi doesn't actually mention a props error. He places the blame on ABC's promo editing.

http://www.thefuselage.com/Threaded/showthread.php?t=37038

http://www.thefuselage.com/Threaded/showthread.php?t=36975

http://www.thefuselage.com/Threaded/showthread.php?t=36859

Nobody's asked him this question since the show aired though.

That withstanding, I wonder if it had something to do with CGI effects for the clock. It's hard to believe that the clock in the episode was in fact a real clock (at least the symbols part of it). So perhaps some polishing was still being done when they sent over the promo footage? Other that, it just seems very strange to substitute another clock for no real reason.

This could be the case. The people creating the previews may well have had the proper footage from OOT, but, when trying to get a decent CGI effect for the promo, they found they were unable to use the real footage, and so constructed a new clock that looked better CGI-ed in the promo than the actual footage (they just screwed up and created a clock that wasn't identical). It's not at all implausible.

Not disagreeing with you Ahimsa - it all does seem a little strange.

I do agree that could be a possibility, and maybe that is part of the reason why Damon was upset at the promo department. Seems like a such a silly mistake.

I wonder whether another question to Javi might resolve it once and for all, or whether he'll just be tired of the same question over and over.

I'll think overnight and maybe I'll ask nicely.

What happened to that different counter we saw on last week preview for this episode? On the preview the counter was clearly different from the one we saw in the final episode. I remember that people were even thinking that the Losties were taken to a different third hatch.

??? They looked the same to me...

Here is the pic: http://img245.imageshack.us/my.php?image=timerpromo9tc.jpg

I think the number color and the background color switch in the final 10 seconds or so that is why we thought it was a different counter.

I think it was a prop mistake for the previews. Apparantely either Javi or Carlton had said something before saying they were not too happy with some previews. I really think it was just a prop mistake, as we found out since their hatch timer reach 0. I just want to find out what will or would happen. We heard something open, like a hatch under ground that holds missiles or nukes.

Prop mistake? C'mon.

(Why is everyone obsessed about missiles?)

it's definitely a different counter. Even assuming they cropped the the seconds digits from the preview clock, there's still the concrete 'padding' between each digit that doesn't exist on the 'real' clock.

Possibilities:

There is a different clock prop. Perhaps this 3 digit prop was the original design and made it into some footage. Then afterward, they decided to add a 5 digit prop to show seconds to make it more 'dramatic'. 3 digit prop gets canned, but the footage doesn't. Then somehow that footage of the 3 digit prop gets mixed with the other 'One of Them' preview material.

OR

From the main episode footage, they couldn't get the shot they wanted for the preview. So they tell someone to rig up the clock to reach zero. They do, but they mistakenly use 3 digit clock instead, but no one really notices.

I believe there's a 3 digit clock prop. Whether it'll be featured in upcoming episodes or is just a 'leftover' prop, I don't know. However, I don't think the difference shown in the preview was anything intentional or sinister.

people please! there is NO conspiracy, it's all very easily explainable (Ockham's Razor doesn't seem to have much pull in this show but i think it's finally making an appearance here)

These promos are put together well before the episode airs, in fact, well before the episode BEFORE it airs since it has to be ready to be tacked on to the end of episode preceding it.

There is only one physical analog clock that this show uses, and it is the one that we see as the "promo timer" in that famous comparison pic. That's the one up on the wall, thats, physically, in the real world; the one that the actors respond to and use for their cues.

That clock is the one that gets filmed while any given particular episode is in production. When a rough final cut of an episode is done, it is sent to the ABC promo team so they can whip up a decent promo in time to show at the end of the episode that airs before the one they need the promo for.

The same raw footage makes its way through the Lost post-production team who add things like the music and CGI effects (like a smoke monster ;) ) and in this case, the face of the clock in order to make it more 'dramatically appealing'. (Notice the cases that contain the digits of the clock are identical, same blemishes, scratches, etc...) It's here that CGI techs can very easily place a more appealing face on the clock, and yes, make it so believable that you all think it must be a second clock (CGI technology is THAT good ;) ) the one we see in the final version of any episode is the polished version 'CGI clock'

Do you really think an old-time analog clock can count down to zero, then start turning colours, and then start randomly selecting a new set of symbols to display? i'm not an expert on these old time analog clocks but im certain they can't do this, which means the face of the clock has been digitally added in post production to that stand in 'promo' clock that's rigged up to give Terry his cue to react to what he is "seeing".


So, what happened here? Well let's employ Ockham's Razor for once and say that the raw footage sent to the ABC promo team did not have the polished CGI clock but rather the real-world stand in. For whatever reason, Post-production and editing occured AFTER the raw footage was sent to ABC (which also explains why in the promo the countdown is a close up of the clock from like 5 seconds down to zero BUT in the episode, there is no close up, we see it count 2-1-0 from over locke's shoulder... post-editing!)

this is nothing more than crossed wires between the post-production team and the promo team at ABC. We were never meant to see the 'promo' clock because it doesn't exist in the world of our characters, it was just supposed to be the CGI clock the whole time.


Thank you, remember to tip your waitress, I'll be here all week.

people please! there is NO conspiracy, it's all very easily explainable (Ockham's Razor doesn't seem to have much pull in this show but i think it's finally making an appearance here)

These promos are put together well before the episode airs, in fact, well before the episode BEFORE it airs since it has to be ready to be tacked on to the end of episode preceding it.

There is only one physical analog clock that this show uses, and it is the one that we see as the "promo timer" in that famous comparison pic. That's the one up on the wall, thats, physically, in the real world; the one that the actors respond to and use for their cues.

That clock is the one that gets filmed while any given particular episode is in production. When a rough final cut of an episode is done, it is sent to the ABC promo team so they can whip up a decent promo in time to show at the end of the episode that airs before the one they need the promo for.

The same raw footage makes its way through the Lost post-production team who add things like the music and CGI effects (like a smoke monster ;) ) and in this case, the face of the clock in order to make it more 'dramatically appealing'. (Notice the cases that contain the digits of the clock are identical, same blemishes, scratches, etc...) It's here that CGI techs can very easily place a more appealing face on the clock, and yes, make it so believable that you all think it must be a second clock (CGI technology is THAT good ;) ) the one we see in the final version of any episode is the polished version 'CGI clock'

Do you really think an old-time analog clock can count down to zero, then start turning colours, and then start randomly selecting a new set of symbols to display? i'm not an expert on these old time analog clocks but im certain they can't do this, which means the face of the clock has been digitally added in post production to that stand in 'promo' clock that's rigged up to give Terry his cue to react to what he is "seeing".


So, what happened here? Well let's employ Ockham's Razor for once and say that the raw footage sent to the ABC promo team did not have the polished CGI clock but rather the real-world stand in. For whatever reason, Post-production and editing occured AFTER the raw footage was sent to ABC (which also explains why in the promo the countdown is a close up of the clock from like 5 seconds down to zero BUT in the episode, there is no close up, we see it count 2-1-0 from over locke's shoulder... post-editing!)

this is nothing more than crossed wires between the post-production team and the promo team at ABC. We were never meant to see the 'promo' clock because it doesn't exist in the world of our characters, it was just supposed to be the CGI clock the whole time.


Thank you, remember to tip your waitress, I'll be here all week.

while I can't offer a reason for the alternate clock... I have to disagree with your theory.. There is a handheld tracking shot that goes behind Locke as he is rushing to enter the #s and we see the lock reach zero in the background of the same shot. No way can they CGI that clock on there and make it look convincing, not on that kind of footage.

And WHY would the real timer be SO different from the CGI one?

As you see, I agree that there is a CGI timer and that's the one they use to show the numbers in movement... but I don't see why they can't have a static real timer that looks like exactly the same as the CGI timer. It wouldn't be too hard to build one.

I believe that the promo people made a serious mistake by using footage of episodes that are yet to be released. Maybe the 3-digit time does belong to another hatch (and maybe that's why Javi is so evasive about it).

while I can't offer a reason for the alternate clock... I have to disagree with your theory.. There is a handheld tracking shot that goes behind Locke as he is rushing to enter the #s and we see the lock reach zero in the background of the same shot. No way can they CGI that clock on there and make it look convincing, not on that kind of footage.

Oh yeah? Locke himself is 100% CGI and is way better than Jar Jar Binks.

All kidding aside, though.

I think they could do it, no problem. First, it's moving quickly enough that it doesn't have to be perfect. Second, a clock like that would be pretty easy to make with CGI these days. Computers are filling in details all over the place in film anymore. It's kind of incredible how little we notice (unless George Lucas is involved, then you might as well have giant flashing lights saying "this is a computer generated image" that point to his effects)

And WHY would the real timer be SO different from the CGI one?

As you see, I agree that there is a CGI timer and that's the one they use to show the numbers in movement... but I don't see why they can't have a static real timer that looks like exactly the same as the CGI timer. It wouldn't be too hard to build one.

I believe that the promo people made a serious mistake by using footage of episodes that are yet to be released. Maybe the 3-digit time does belong to another hatch (and maybe that's why Javi is so evasive about it).

There is a promo pic out there from Orientation I believe, on the Talies beach when Eko is beating up Michael and Sawyer. There are two people standing there that are NOT on the show, they are stand ins. Sometimes preview shots we get have not much to do with what we see. In that particular shot, there is a guy standing in for Bernard that is thinner and taller, and the woman standing in for Libby is wearing a wig. So why is it hard to believe that the clock is just that, a prop shot for the promo?


BTW Javi was so evasive about it because the previous poster who initially asked the question was so rude and obnoxious about it, Javi was not happy. Not the way to get answers from a writer of the show.

So why is it hard to believe that the clock is just that, a prop shot for the promo?

It's hard to believe beacause that would be a grotesque error!

So why is it hard to believe that the clock is just that, a prop shot for the promo?
If it was just a prop shot for the promo, why would they go through the trouble of making a prop that doesn't look like the actual clock in the bunker?

There is a promo pic out there from Orientation I believe, on the Talies beach when Eko is beating up Michael and Sawyer. There are two people standing there that are NOT on the show, they are stand ins. Sometimes preview shots we get have not much to do with what we see. In that particular shot, there is a guy standing in for Bernard that is thinner and taller, and the woman standing in for Libby is wearing a wig. So why is it hard to believe that the clock is just that, a prop shot for the promo?


BTW Javi was so evasive about it because the previous poster who initially asked the question was so rude and obnoxious about it, Javi was not happy. Not the way to get answers from a writer of the show.

:hesaid:

Check out the comparison photos again. The promo clock has little visible washers between the numbers. (It's a real physical clock). No such on the show version, and the "unreal perfection" of the numbers. I never realized they were CGI'd till now. That still photo kinda shows that this is the case though.