Student filmmakers detail locations and camera choices for 'Lost' on IB Film Show

On the IB Film Show, host Mr. Shotwell interviewed Jack Productions cinematographer Jaden Agnet and director Alex Mate about production choices for their student film Lost, including locations and camera technique.

Agnet said the team scouted multiple sites and “went into the forest, Hempstead Lake State Park” before settling on a log area “where the logs are kind of in a circular pattern” for the outdoor sequences. He described the interview footage as intentionally restrained: “All the interview shots are on tripods. Mhmm. And there's some simplistic panning down and panning up to kind of get a look at their environment. But other than that, it was really simple.”

Agnet said the forest material was shot differently to suggest found footage: “they're all handheld shots to kinda seem like the footage was from a documentary,” a choice intended to make the outdoor sequences read as immediate, on-the-ground recordings rather than studio-produced scenes.

Shotwell noted the contrast between locations and camera style during the interview; Agnet confirmed the production also recorded interview segments at two houses—one belonging to editor Christian Kennedy and another belonging to “one of our other actors.” Christian Kennedy was described as the editor but did not appear on the show.

Alex Mate, the film’s director, described the production as collaborative and said he relied on input from Agnet and Kennedy to shape the final product. The pair said those location and camera choices were made in preproduction and executed to support the film’s blend of testimonial-style interviews and forest footage.

The on-air segment concluded with the host introducing a screening of Lost on the program.