In this week’s issue of the magazine, I have a Profile of the film composer Michael Giacchino, who recently won an Oscar for his work on “Up.” (Subscribers can read the full text; others can buy access to the issue via the digital edition.) For the past several months, I’ve been watching Giacchino as he writes and records music for the much-discussed and -puzzled-over TV show “Lost,” whose finale airs on May 23rd. In this video clip, I point out a few of Giacchino’s signature techniques and tics. (I use the terms sul ponticello, meaning that a string player places the bow right at the bridge of the instrument, making a ghostly sound; and tremolo, meaning that the bow is moved rapidly back and forth, creating a flickering effect. For more on the trombone glissando, see my February blog entry.) The footage in the video comes from “Sundown,” the sixth episode of the final season of “Lost.” As for the ending, I can offer an exclusive clue: the key of C major will play an important role.

Hear Ross discuss movie music in the New Yorker Out Loud podcast.