in this first episode of lost, or more so the opening scene, we look at Jack. Jack overall is given an image of a leader or someone who can take charge and responsibility when needed. we can see this through the things he does in the scenes, such as collecting himself quickly after re-gaining consciousness and medically helping those in danger at the crash site as soon as he noticed them.
the first scene i want to look at is the scene when Jack wakes up in the jungle after the plane crash. right from the start i'm curious as to why he ended up so far from the plane and not be in worse shape. granted he does have a wound which is revealed when he picks himself up but it still seems like he should be more hurt. the scene starts from an extreme close up of Jack's eye, this is a trademark thing that Lost do to start off an episode. his eye is wide which shows he is in shock and confused because it darts around a little bit so he can re-gain some sense of knowing where he is and what's going on. the extreme close up also throws the viewer off a little because we don't know who's eye it is until the camera becomes a birds eye view mid shot showing Jack's upper body. Jack is dressed in a suit, which shows that he was dressed for something formal when he got on the plane in the first place. however, we still haven't seen the plane yet, which again throws the viewer off but also hooks them in order to keep watching to find out why Jack is there, why he's wounded, and so on. we then see a high angle of him when he stands up to show he's re-gaining control of himself. he checks out an apparently painful wound which could raise ideas that he was in a plane crash. he also pulls out a small shot bottle of vodka, the type that you'd get on a plane. the camera cuts to different angles frequently to again throw the viewer off to emphasise Jack's confusion and shock.
the next part of the scene which is interesting in terms of camera shots is the part when Jack starts making his way through the jungle. the tracking shots, which keep his speed consistent and give a better impression of his speed than a panning shot, start of slow but they gain speed as Jack's running gains speed to emphasise it. there are also a lot of transitions and you can only partly see Jack through all the bamboo and vegetation; this again throws the viewer off and disorientates the viewer to create tension and again continue to hook the viewer through confusion in the hopes the confusion will be ended through an explanation or Jack emerging a short time later on the beach. the beach creates an oxymoron for the situation as it looks like a photogenic paradise yet there's Jack's current situation and you can hear screams of terror in the distance. Lost aimed to create a lot of disorientation for the viewer to emphasise Jack's in the first scene, they do this again by breaking the 180 degree rule on the panning shot of the beach. they do, at the end of this part, show that Jack can re-gain himself quickly as he reacts very quickly to the distant screams and runs to where they are coming from showing that he clearly aims to help who is in danger.
the next part of the opening scene i want to look at is when Jack arrives at the crash site and, while helping a man stuck under debris, notices the pregnant Claire across the beach and goes to help her. he immediately starts talking in watered down medical terms to show that he knows what he's doing but also that he's taking in to consideration that Claire may not be educated in medicine. he works very quickly under the preassure of the situation which gives a very vivid impression that he may be a doctor. a lot of close ups and mid shots and wide shots are used together with each other to both give the viewer a clear view of what's happening between Jack and Claire (and Hugo because Jack calls him over to help her, which is also where we first learn Jack's name) and the immense panic and danger everyone is in.
the last scene i will look at is when Jack notices Barnard's unconscious wife and that a lifeguard is performing CPR the wrong way on her. they way he handles getting someone to watch Claire for him so he can help another person shows that he is both capable and willing to help multiple people at the same time, despite the pressure and danger of the situation. close ups of Jack and the life guard show their conversation but also how they are reacting with everything going on. Jack's knowledge of CPR also reinforces the idea that he's a doctor. Jack also doesn't waste time explaining that he's a doctor, he just gets straight in to reviving Bernard's wife. this makes a nice change to the cliche "out of the way i'm a doctor" we see so often in movies and TV. wide shots are again used to reinforce the obvious danger and panic going on around them. Jack also has no problem telling the life guard what to do which reinforces the idea that he is a leading figure right from the first scene of the first episode.
there are many things that support the idea that Jack is represented as a leader in the opening scene of the first episode. things such as how he can work so well under pressure and how he helps multiple people at the same time. also the fact that he tells people what to do without hesitation because he knows it's for the best. later episodes show that he's more of a failed leader but the opening scene gives a clear impression that he's willing to take responsibility for a group of people.
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