Human Lens #145: Craft Oscars Preview

Be ready for some possible surprises in what looks like a paint-by-numbers kind of year

Welcome to the first part of my preview for the 96th Academy Awards. This year I’m splitting the awards into multiple articles so that I can cover the craft categories and the major categories without the limitations of article length, and to make it a full week of celebration!

This year may draw more eyes because of the popularity of some of the Best Picture nominees (i.e. Barbie & Oppenheimer), so I’m here to tell you about the race leaders and what possible upsets to watch out for.

One last quick note: Certain awards may be omitted from this series out of respect for things I haven’t seen or races that are hard to discern one winner out of.

Cinematography

Will Win: Oppenheimer - Hoyte Van Hoytema

Watch For: Killers of the Flower Moon - Rodrigo Prieto

You can’t go wrong with any of the nominees for best cinematography this year, all of them delivering visual showcases that are, in some instances, of better quality than the film they’re shooting for. 4 out of the 5 nominees feature black and white photography, but only one of them developed a specific IMAX film stock to accomplish it. That, combined with shooting the entire film on IMAX film and cameras, and working with all departments to create the most in camera effects as possible, is why Hoyte Van Hoytema’s work on Oppenheimer is the easy frontrunner for this award. He’s one of two cinematographies nominated this year who have had a strangle hold on the department, with Hoytema previously being nominated for Dunkirk. Rodrigo Prieto, whose simplistically serene visuals compliment Killers of the Flower Moon, has been nominated 3 other times, making him the the possible upset to watch out for. Ultimately though, anyone nominated in the category this year deserves the praise.

Costume Design

Will Win: Barbie - Jacqueline Durran

Watch For: Killers of the Flower Moon - Jacqueline West

In a year where period piece costumes reign supreme within the nominees, the easy standout is Jacqueline Durran’s work on Barbie. The multitude of costumes that have been upscaled from real toys to vibrantly hilarious fashion is overwhelming, yet it never detracts from the wave lengths of tones that the movie requires. But the Oscars gives us surprises every year, and one of those period pieces could come away with a steal for this category. I think the runner up after Barbie is Jacqueline West’s work on Killers of the Flower Moon, which brings the photographs of the real life story to life through the blending of native patterns and luxurious attire for the wealthy during that time.

Film Editing

Will Win: Oppenheimer - Jennifer Lame

Watch For: Killers of the Flower Moon - Thelma Schoonmaker

Jennifer Lame’s first career Oscar nomination for Oppenheimer is poised to be the first of many. In her second collaboration with Christopher Nolan (after Tenet), she was able to bring the auteur’s script to fruition with its complicated use of sound, music, and non-linear approach to the most successful effect of Nolan’s filmography. Her work stands alone among a group of nominees whose movies are either too long or way simpler in their staging, which are important factors after last year’s winner. The only true runner up to keep an eye on is Thelma Schoonmaker for Killers of the Flower Moon, who also had the tough task of creating a focus on a broad and complicated script. The longtime collaborator of Martin Scorsese (well over 10 films!), Schoonmaker is the only person to convince the man that his movies should be shorter, and while they’re still long, they’re effective.

Original Score

Will Win: Oppenheimer - Ludwig Göransson

Watch For: Killers of the Flower Moon - Robbie Robertson

Ludwig Göransson is the industry’s freshest composer right now and his brilliant work continues with his second Nolan collaboration on Oppenheimer. The unique sounds and the volume his music is played at in the film alone can be watched with all other sounds in the film on mute. Utilizing a violin for all the themes, while omitting drums because of their alignment with battles and war, Göransson creates vivid senses of daydreaming, destruction, and turmoil that are wholly unique within the film landscape, redefining how composers should approach their work. He is the clear cut frontrunner of this year’s award with only Robbie Robertson’s work on Killers of the Flower Moon being noteworthy of a mention here.

Production Design

Will Win: Poor Things - Production Design: James Price and Shona Heath; Set Decoration: Zsuzsa Mihalek

Watch For: Barbie - Production Design: Sarah Greenwood; Set Decoration: Katie Spencer

While Barbie bankrupted the planet’s stockpile of pink paint in its construction of it’s gorgeously fictional world of dolls, it was the production design on Poor Things that showcased a more passionate exploration of a world through a child’s eyes. When Bella Baxter finally sees the world outside, it’s garnished with specific and grandiose architecture and wacky forms of transportation, while interiors are distractingly gorgeous and new. New is truly the key word here, as Bella and the viewer must feel amazed by something they’ve never seen before.

Sound

Will Win: The Zone of Interest - Tarn Willers and Johnnie Burn

Watch For: Oppenheimer - Willie Burton, Richard King, Gary A. Rizzo and Kevin O'Connell

The Zone of Interest isn’t for everybody, and that’s not because of the quality of film. The disturbing and gut wrenching nature of this film is dependent on the sound design, with torture, labor, and violence peppering the background of every single scene. It’s revolting, yet it’s without a doubt the greatest use of sound you’ll hear this year. It would truly be shocking if it lost the award, but the work on Oppenheimer to blend on set dialogue with explosions, music, and theory would be the only one I’d give a pass.

Visual Effects

Will Win: The Creator - Jay Cooper, Ian Comley, Andrew Roberts and Neil Corbould

Watch For: Godzilla Minus One - Takashi Yamazaki, Kiyoko Shibuya, Masaki Takahashi and Tatsuji Nojima

The visual effects Oscar is becoming a frustratingly confusing category. While ‘visual’ would imply any way to create something as an illusion to truth, the award has slowly become confusing by awarding heavily computer generated films one year and completely practical/complimentary digital films the next. This year’s field excluded Oppenheimer from it’s short list, and includes films with really murky showcases when it comes to seamless visual effects. The Creator should win the award as it would celebrate the fact that a mid-budget Hollywood production was able to create better, more seamless, visuals with an impressive sense of scale that the $300 million disgraces being manufactured can’t seem to achieve anymore. Along those lines, while Godzilla Minus One doesn’t look great, at a budget of $15 million, it’s the other most likely film to win in what’s one of the weaker categories this year.