So what are these Oscars anyway?

OK, so you've obviously ascertained by now (if you didn't know it already) that I'm a ridiculous moviephile, and I'm an especially hopeless nerd when it comes to the Oscars. However, beyond the obvious major categories that are pretty self-explanatory, some of the other categories are a little less understood. What is the difference between an "original" screenplay and an "adapted" screenplay? Why are there two awards given for sound? What in the hell is "cinematography"? I've been asked those questions several times over the years, and sometimes even I have a hard time giving a concrete answer. So here, for those who may be interested (such as my wife, who's asked me the second and third question I listed above at one time or another), I felt it would be a good idea to clear the air and explain what these categories are exactly honoring.

BEST PICTURE is just that. It's honoring everything about the film as a whole, and the award goes to the producer(s) of the film. This category's nominations and eventual winner are voted upon by every single member of the Academy, the only category to be so.

BEST DIRECTOR honors the direction that goes into a film. Nominations are selected by the Directing Branch of the Academy, but the winner is voted upon by all. There are times when a director will win this award, but his film does not ultimately win Best Picture. The most recent instance of this was six years ago when Ang Lee won for "Brokeback Mountain", but "Crash" pulled the upset to take Best Picture.

BEST ACTOR/ACTRESS (IN A LEADING ROLE) is given to the man/woman who gave the best performance in a leading role. Nominations are made by actors and actresses, while the winner is voted upon by all.

BEST ACTOR/ACTRESS (IN A SUPPORTING ROLE) is the same as the above except for, of course, that these performances are not lead performances.

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE is the newest category, first given out in 2001 ("Shrek" took the prize). If there are 16 or more films submitted for the category that are of enough quality in the eyes of the nominating committee, there winds up to be five nominated films (as is the case this year). Otherwise, there are only be three nominated films. Motion-capture films were at one time deemed eligible (one such film, 2006's "Monster House", made the cut but lost to "Happy Feet"), but this is no longer the case. The film must be traditional hand-drawn, or computerized, animation. Nominations are determined by a specific committee within the Academy, and the winner is voted upon by all.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY is just that, a new and original screenplay written directly for a film. Nominations are determined by the Writers Branch of the Academy, while the winner is voted upon by all.

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY is for a screenplay that has been based on previously produced material, whether it be a novel, another movie, etc. This material does not necessarily need to have been published. (For example, if someone somewhere actually felt that this blog was worthy of being turned into a movie, and the screenplay for this movie got an Oscar nomination, it would be in this category. I would also consider it a sign of the Apocalypse.) Voting processes are the same as those for Original Screenplay.

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE is the music within a film that has been written and performed directly and specifically for its movie. Principal composers/songwriters receive the nominations. The Academy does not deem movie scores that contain a great deal of previously-performed music within as eligible. Nominations are determined by a specific committee within the Academy, and the winner is voted upon by all.

BEST ORIGINAL SONG has turned into a complete aberration, but I'm not going to go off on that tangent again here this time. I'll just print the verbatim definition from the AMPAS of what makes a song eligible:

"An original song consists of words and music, both of which are original and written specifically for the motion picture. There must be a clearly audible, intelligible, substantive rendition (not necessarily visually presented) of both lyric and melody, used in the body of the motion picture or as the first music cue in the end credits."

Yes, this is why Madonna's recent Golden Globe winner "Masterpiece" was not eligible for this award, because it was the SECOND song during the closing credits. Completely frigging stupid, isn't it? To muck things up even more (and also perhaps explain why there are only TWO nominations this year in this category), they have a complicated scoring system for the submitted songs that I will save both of us the torture from trying to type here and make sense of it. I will, however, print another item verbatim from the AMPAS:

"The category of Original Musical may be activated only by special request of the Music Branch Executive Committee to the Board of Governors in a year when the field of eligible submissions is determined to be of sufficient quantity and quality to justify award competition."

So basically, it's actually possible that NO nominations may be named in any given year. Wow. Just...wow.

At any rate, this specific committee garners the nominations and final voting is by all. Randy Newman, a recent winner in this category, didn't really hold back on some of his feelings about how the Academy treats this category.



BEST ART/SET DIRECTION is the scenery, imagery, etc. seen in a movie and on the movie set. While this includes the costuming of the performers, this element has a separate category. Nominations are made by the Art Directors Branch of the Academy (except for those involved with costume design) and the winners are voted upon by all.

BEST COSTUME DESIGN, as noted above, has its own separate category and award. Nominations are determined by the costume designer members amongst the Art Directors Branch, and the winners are voted upon by all.

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY is what I've always best described as the overall look of the film. Basically, the director of photography (called "DP" for short. No jokes, please.) is another name for the cinematographer. He is in charge of the camerawork and the lighting for the sets, and is directly the person who is responsible for how the movie looks. The sweeping landscapes of past winners of this award such as "Lawrence of Arabia" and "Legends of the Fall" are two great examples. If you've seen those films, you probably understand what this category means. Nominees are determined by the Cinematographers Branch of the Academy, and winners are voted upon by all.

BEST FILM EDITING is pretty self-explanatory. And yes, there is a Film Editors Branch of the Academy too. They compile the nominations with the winner voted upon by all.

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM goes to a film produced outside the United States with a predominantly-foreign language track. It does not have to be completely in that foreign language, but certainly the majority of it does. "The Artist" is a French production, but it was filmed in Los Angeles, so it does not qualify here. Each foreign country is allowed to submit one film of their choice for consideration in this category. The film must also have been released in that foreign country before September 30 for consideration. It does not have to have been yet released in the United States, and even does not have to be before December 31. Also, the film must have accurate subtitles in English. This is sometimes only done specifically in prints given for submission to the Academy. Nominations are determined by a specific committee within the Academy and go through a multi-level elimination process until reaching the final five actual nominations. The winner is voted upon by all Academy members who have officially viewed all five final nominations.

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS is self-explanatory, but likewise goes through a multi-level elimination process within the Visual Effects Branch of the Academy. Submissions are a series of film clips no longer than a total of 10 minutes showcasing the visual effects of the film. The effects creators also provide a written explanation of their work. The final list of nominations is often whittled down to five, but on occasion has been just three. Final winner is voted upon by all.

BEST SOUND MIXING is the natural recorded soundtrack of a film. By "soundtrack", I don't mean the musical CD, but the actual dialogue and noise of a film. I also specifically said the natural recorded soundtrack because sound effects fall into a separate category. Nominations are determined by a specific committee within the Academy, and the winner is voted upon by all.

BEST SOUND (EFFECTS) EDITING is that separate category I just mentioned above. This is postproduction and often in relation to special/visual effects. Nominations are determined by a specific committee within the Academy, and the winner is voted upon by all. This is often a category I'm fond of because I just love Foley artistry. I could watch Foley artists at work for hours. Those are the people you sometimes may see in a behind-the-scenes featurette standing in an editing room with hundreds of props, making noises to sync with the movie showing in that same editing room.



BEST MAKEUP is just as it sounds. Nominations are determined by a specific committee within the Academy, and the winner is voted upon by all.

BEST ANIMATED/LIVE-ACTION SHORT FILM must have a running time of no more than 40 minutes, including the end credits. It must also be a new and original work, excluding items such as unsold TV pilots. Unlike Best Animated Feature, stop-motion animation is eligible in this category. To be considered, the short must either have been publicly released before September 30 in some environment (not necessarily a theater) in which paid admission was required for viewing, or the short must have won a qualifying award in an officially-designated film festival. Nominations are determined (and undergo the multi-level elimination process until whittled down to a final list of five actual nominations) by a specific committee within the Academy, and the winner is voted upon by all Academy members who have viewed the final nominations in a theatrical setting.

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT has a rather convulted list of requirements to be considered for eligibility, but the most important is that the film must complete a minimal one-week theatrical run in Los Angeles and/or Manhattan, NYC. Only individual and original documentary shorts are eligible. The short cannot have had its initial exposure in a non-theatrical environment (for example, if it airs on HBO before it did so in a theater, it's not eligible). Final nominations are determined via a specific committee within the Academy, and winner is voted upon by all Academy members who have viewed the final nominations in a theatrical setting.

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE is the same as above, only for full-length films as opposed to those with a running time of under an hour. Nominations and winners occur the same as above.

And that, my friends, are the 24 categories in which awards are given out by the AMPAS. Hopefully you've gotten some answers and clarifications on categories you may have been puzzled about. If nothing else, you may find yourself seeing movies quite differently in the future. The dialogue may capture you, the sets may wow you, even the subtle nuances of one's hair and makeup may catch your eye. This is why I love the movie industry and all that goes into it.