From the Classroom

Year 5/6 Writing - The Lost Thing

Our Year 5/6 students have been exploring The Lost Thing by Shaun Tan as part of their English unit. Students analysed the picture book and compared it with the short film, investigating themes of belonging, being different and imagination. They also examined how colour, sound and a range of visual techniques are used in both texts to shape meaning and create impact. The samples of student work are parts of their compare and contrast essays that they have been working on in class.

In the story The Lost Thing in Back Shed scene we can see the use of visual elements and techniques to enhance and help build the story’s mood and meanings. Although the film and book use them in different ways, they still convey the moods and emotions needed for that effect. 

In the film and similar in the book, the golden glow coming from the Lost Thing sets the mood of magic and its happiness. The mystical and magical mood and element provided by the glow gives the scene the very much needed feeling. The glow makes it feel and look like the Lost Thing is happy because of the colour washing over the guy and itself. It gives the feeling of its happiness and shows it which is an amazing element.

The film shows multiple angle shots which shows the perspective of the guy and the Lost Thing. This is a great element as it shows what the characters sees. There are the ground level shots, high level shots, and the perspective shots.

In the lost creature world scene Shaun, the boy, is looking for the lost creature to have a new home. This is a really good scene but, in the movie, you can understand it more because in the book there is no movement but, in the movie, it has more motion. They move calmly and that is how the creature moves, so the creature will fit in well because everyone is like him and he won’t be the odd one out. The movement brings me the feelings of happiness and warmth because the creature is going to get a home and it fits into because in the other world, he was the only thing that has colour but in the lost world is not just the creature it’s everything. The theme of the scene is belonging because this is the only scene where it fits in and in the start of the book and movie, he was the odd one out. Now he fits like it belongs there because it used to be the only lost and weird thing, but now all the lost and weird objects are together.