The ODI

Hey All,
I was one of the lucky few who got a chance to go to the special reveal of Poster 16 for the LOST Underground Art Project in Hollywood, CA at Gallery 1988.

Thanks to several of you who convinced me to go including my podcast partner Karen who called me throughout the day and a special thanks to SNLFanForever for letting me join her and her friend Jessica in line to get in.

It was a really cool event with tons of LOST fans, the Writer/Producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, and several other members of the producing team and staff.

The art was amazing and I was able to get several autographs on my Season 6 Poster.

NOTE: Poster 16 that was revealed tonight apparently has two clues for Season 6 and Damon Lindelof confirmed one of them when he signed the poster.

You can find the post in the spoilers section here:

http://lostspoilers-odi.blogspot.com/2009/12/season-6-clues-revealed-on-new-lost-arg.html

Check out all the pics I took here:

(Click to Enlarge)

Here is a LIVE stream for tonight's reveal of the 16th poster and LOST Art from the ongoing ARG (The Lost Underground Art Project).

I will see if I can make it, but for those across the world that want to experience what other local LA fans are experiencing, here you go:

The stream should go live at 7PM PST.

I know this ARG was probably the worst run LOST ARG we had, but hey it won an Emmy!!

Congratulations to the whole team behind it!

Thanks to 803er for the video again!

Here’s the latest on DamonCarltonandaPolarbear.com

FRAME 5 revealed the newest work of art!

Will we really find answers following the carrot through the maze or will it all end up being a fool’s errand and the prize "fools gold", bringing us right back to the "con" of it all just to be left with the preverbal LOST paradox.

You can check out clues & insight over at Karen's LOST Notebook. The "This is not a game", game.

Are you playing? Check out Karen’s LOST Notebook for a write up on this season’s hiatus ARG/ORG.

1). LOST UNIVERSITY.
2). Mysteries of the Universe: The Dharma Initiative
3). A couple of video commercials and a segment from America's Most Wanted. {Shown at Comic Con.}
4). DamonCarltonandaPolarbear.com

Are they separate entities or do all roads lead to “The Island”?

Head over there and check out "Ars gratia artis"

*UPDATED* It seems like this is all just a part of the S5 DVD Promotion, but will keep you all updated with anything new.

Thanks to Erin who found this whilst at Comic-Con.

Anyone know what it is? it was found among the items at the LOST auction booth.

http://www.lostuniversity.org/

From Erin:

Make sure to check out the photo that comes after the Lost University card; that's the back of the card, and it's on every card, it's NOT a random scribble!



I called the number and below is the message you hear, nothing revealing as it confirms that the Prof. is on sabbatical until Sept 22

Hey All,
A few days ago, one of my good friends and super LOST friend called me and she said that she saw and Ajira Airways truck!!

She flipped out and thought perhaps LOST was filming in LA, but I told her that it was just another way ABC is marketing the show.

Well she was able to get a picture of it and well here you go!!

Thanks to Amber.

(Click to Enlarge)

**UPDATED** This email is now live and the link below reveals the new email. Here is a screencap of the email and also a screencap of the DWY site announcing that testing will begin on 8/19.

Thanks to everyone that sent these in.



Hey All,
Many of you have speculated over the last couple of days that hopefully the ARG will finally begin today which is August 15th (8/15) based purely on the date and it semms like you all are right.

Well thanks to The Others and Jungle Jim who decided to try 0815 in the email link field and sure enough they received the good ole' login box.

Soooo solve away. I have tried a few of the obvious choices, but no luck yet. If someone figures it out. Please let us know.

Here is a little screencap I made to show you what it looks like:

http://www.dharmawantsyou.com/site/emails/0815.php

Hey Losties,
I know you all have been waiting patiently for something new from Ocatagon global or the Dharma Wants You site, well it seems like we will finally get a new email sent to us starting Friday which provides us with some sort of plan and direction for the ARG.

Thanks to LBDG@DarkUFO who uncovered the new email from Hans Van Eegan and DI that looks like it will be released on Friday.

Only read if you don't want to be spoiled.

(Click to Enlarge)
http://www.dharmawantsyou.com/site/emails/0808.php

Finally, thanks to an inside source and friend at the OGR booth, we were able to secure a video taped version of the Secret "hacked" video that was being sent out via Bluetooth.

Sorry for the quality, but for now this is the best we can get because the BT was not working.

The audio unfortunately is noise from the exhibit floor, but think of RM 23, when the images pop into the scrambled video.

The OGR was confirmed today as the new AGR and it seems like RuckusGuy was trying to send some message to us.

If anyone is able to figure anything please let us know and we will get it posted.

Enjoy and namaste.

Many of you most likely have already seen the commercial and know about Octagon Global Recruiting (OGR), but for those of you that have no idea what I am talking about...!? Well during the LOST Season 4 Finale last month there was a commercial that ran for OGR.

WTF is OGR??

Well according to the website it is a Division of the Dharma Initiative and is actually a fake company that ABC will be using for some online viral marketing for Season 5. Many are actually expecting this to be the beginning of a new LOST ARG like The Lost Experience and Find815.

So far there is no confirmation of a new ARG, but what we do know is, that OGR will have a booth at this year's San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC08) where fans will be able to take some "tests" to become a member of the Dharma Initiative. Yup, that is right, depending on how you perform on the tests, you will be considered a Dharma Scientist or Workman (there will be plenty more positions available)!!

Personally I think that is pretty cool and will make sure to keep you all informed with anything new that breaks.

I will be at SDCC with a few other Losties and we will make sure to take some pictures and post some details for those of you that will not be able to attend.

Well to stay up to speed on all OGR news, just use the button on the top right hand side of the site and it will bring up all the posts about OGR.



Also for those of you that missed the commerical here it is:

Here is a great article from Variety about LOST and the mediums that the show has moved into because of us hard core fans!!

The article mentions the video game, books, ARGs (TLE and Find815.com) and viral sites, but the key to the article is that LOST producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse are planning another ARG for the upcoming off-season that will lead into Season 5. However, they also said they do NOT plan any mobisodes because of how time consuming they are.

Well here is the article enjoy and always thanks for stopping by!!

Namaste.

Maybe they should rename it "Lost, Inc."

It's still a hit TV show, first and foremost. But "Lost" has also spawned mobisodes, videogames, books, viral videos, interactive Internet sites and much more.

For the exec producers who run that enterprise -- Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof -- the show's timing couldn't have been more perfect. "Lost" came along right when the ability to create video for multiple platforms exploded. Among primetime series, few shows are better suited than "Lost" to embrace the brave new world.

But there have been a few bumps along the way.

"We've learned some things worked better than others," Cuse says. "We've enjoyed the opportunities 'Lost' has given for us to try to expand the brand on other platforms. (But the) skill set involved in running a TV series does not translate directly to success in other platforms."

Lindelof and Cuse say their experience with ancillary products and platforms has varied depending on whom they've collaborated with.

They loved what Australia-based Hoodlum, for example, came up with for the show's recent "Find 815" interactive campaign. But the duo was less thrilled with some of the products that emerged early in the show's life, including a series of studio-commissioned "Lost"-themed novels that had little to do with the actual show.

"Us realizing we were managing a brand started early in season one," Lindelof says. "ABC business development came to us ... but we said all those conversations will be moot if we don't have a hit show."

A year later, after getting rid of those novelizations, the "Lost" team came up with the idea for "Bad Twin," a book discovered on the show by one of the characters. Created for the show and distributed in bookstores, the novel wasn't about what was happening on the show, but it tied into the world of "Lost."

That's become the mantra for all of "Lost's" extracurricular activities, be it mobisodes or videogames: The other platforms can't be considered canon, or required for "Lost's" TV audience.

"Our criteria is, everything you need to know about 'Lost' is contained in the mother ship," Cuse says. "There are definitely large segments of the audience that want more. And the ancillary media platforms give us opportunities to put out stories that might be interesting to some but not all."

For example, the show's first alternate reality game centered on the Hanso Foundation, the shady "Lost" organization responsible for the show's "Dharma Initiative." Rabid fans -- particularly those on the Internet -- feasted on that more in-depth mythology.

Those off-season interactive experiences also specifically feed into that season's plot points. This year's focus on the mysterious discovery of Oceanic Flight 815 at the bottom of the sea was foreshadowed by the "Find 815" campaign.

Lindelof and Cuse are already busy plotting the off-season interactive campaign for season five of "Lost." But they also employ a brand manager to handle at least 30 different outgrowths of the show, including mobile games and player platform games to more obscure licensing.

"We're very involved in certain things and uninvolved in others," Lindelof says. "Just running the show takes an enormous amount of time."

That's one reason "Lost" won't be producing another batch of mobile episodes in the near future.

The "Lost" producers are proud of the fact that they managed to strike a deal between ABC and the labor guilds in order to produce the short-form segs with "Lost's" top stars, scribes and helmers.

"They came out great," Lindelof says. "But the process of breaking those 13 two-minute stories and editing them was enormously time consuming. In terms of doing them again, creative has to drive it."

Lindelof says he's also aware of the show's saturation point.

"We spend the majority of our time saying 'no' to these things," he says. "There's something about the less of the show that exists, the more valuable it is. It makes it sexier to want to watch it on Thursday night if it isn't everywhere."

Source: Variety

Some what out of the blue, today there was an update to the LOST ARG Find815.com site...!?

When the game ended at the beginning of Season 4 it seemed like there could be more to the story and the latest update indicates that perhaps there might BE, because there is a new page in Sam Thomas's journal!?

At the same time it could just be something that was added to the site for all of the LOST fans that were playing during the season.

As soon as we know more info we will pass it on to you all.

Well here is a screencap thanks to Spooky

(Click to Enlarge)

Columbia Pictures and ABC have signed a deal to cross promote the new Matthew Fox movie Vantage Point and Season 4 of LOST. Apparently a new special "numerical" clue promo for Vantage Point will air during the Season Premiere of LOST which will lead fans to an online ARG site called WhatisYourVantagePoint.com and it will lead to unlocking special LOST content. Fans will also be able to find the special Vantage Point Super Bowl Ad.

Here are the full details:

In anticipation of Columbia Pictures' new action-thriller Vantage Point, in theaters February 22, two of this winter's most highly anticipated television events -- the season premiere of "Lost" and the Super Bowl telecast -- will be the launching ground for an innovative promotion. The immersive, interactive campaign begins with two TV spots providing clues and pointing the way to the film's unique website, which calls viewers to action by asking, Can You Solve the Puzzle?

A multi-platform, groundbreaking challenge, the Can You Solve the Puzzle Sweepstakes kicks off on January 31 during the season premiere of "Lost." Culminating a week of on-air and online promotion on ABC and abc.com, the network will air a sixty-second spot during the highly rated program. Hidden within the spot is a unique numerical clue that will lead web sleuths to WhatisYourVantagePoint.com to unlock special "Lost" content.

While also on the site, viewers can sneak a peek at the new thirty-second spot that will air during the Super Bowl pre-game show on Sunday, February 3, on Fox. Additional clues will be hidden in this spot as well. Participants will use the numerical clues to navigate an online mosaic composed of thousands of images from the film. The solution to the puzzle and the special "Lost" content are hidden among the mosaic pictures.

Commenting on the announcement, Valerie Van Galder, president of domestic marketing for the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, said, "We're incredibly excited about this multiplatform promotion, a unique marriage between event television and an immersive online environment. 'Vantage Point' is a film about deciphering different points of view to solve a puzzle or uncover the truth, and given this theme, an interactive challenge seemed a natural fit. Whether people are watching the season premiere of 'Lost,' going frame-by-frame on their DVR to check out the Super Bowl spot, or visiting the 'Vantage Point' site, they are interacting with the movie in the way that people consume media today. And while they're at it, they'll have the chance to enter a sweepstakes."

Visitors to the movie site will be able to enter the Can You Solve the Puzzle Sweepstakes for the chance to win eight grand prizes, each consisting of a Sony high definition Handycam video camera as seen in the film, or eight first prizes, each consisting of a high-definition TiVo box and a one-year TiVo subscription.

In Columbia Pictures' action-packed thriller Vantage Point, eight strangers with eight different points of view try to unlock the one truth behind an assassination attempt on the president of the United States. Thomas Barnes (Dennis Quaid) and Kent Taylor (Matthew Fox) are two Secret Service agents assigned to protect President Ashton (William Hurt) at a landmark summit on the global war on terror. When President Ashton is shot moments after his arrival in Spain, chaos ensues and disparate lives collide in the hunt for the assassin. In the crowd is Howard Lewis (Forest Whitaker), an American tourist who thinks he's captured the shooter on his camcorder while videotaping the event for his kids back home. Also there, relaying the historic event to millions of TV viewers across the globe, is American TV news producer Rex Brooks (Sigourney Weaver). As they and others reveal their stories, the pieces of the puzzle will fall into place -- and it will become apparent that shocking motivations lurk just beneath the surface. The film is directed by Pete Travis, written by Barry L. Levy, and produced by Neal H. Moritz.

Source: Coming Soon

So the second part of Chapter 1 in the LOST ARG Find815.com game began earlier today and most of us were ready in waiting. So much so it seems like all of us LOST fans were so eager we caused the site to freeze several times....!!

Well I know many of you have already completed the Clue Hunt and have seen the screencaps of all the clues. However, for those of you that want to re watch the video from this part of the game and see Sam's girlfriend's spirit once again here you go.

Thanks to Dark for the clip