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Dream Academy Award Nominations 2013! Part 1 – The Technical Categories

The nominations for the 85th Academy Awards will be released on January 10th, one week from today, and will, as history has taught us, provide endless frustration for cinephiles everywhere. Why? Because the Oscars are silly. In concept and execution, they are a frivolous exercise, a largely substance-free attempt for Hollywood to congratulate itself, defined by industry politics and campaigning. The Academy Awards are not a bad thing, but they are also not worth putting much stock in, especially if one is a rampant film lover who probably sees twice as many films in a given year as most Academy voters. The Oscars are obnoxious because they make claim to definitiveness, but are really nothing more than a simple set of opinions, no different or superior to yours or mine.

Best Sound Editing

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Django Unchained

The Grey

Skyfall

Wreck-It Ralph

Zero Dark Thirty

The difference between “Sound Editing” and “Sound Mixing” is a subtle but important distinction, and very much worthy of separate categories. In short, “Sound Editing” refers to the way sound functions in the movie; which sounds have been captured and how they are arranged, used, and delivered to create an aural experience. “Sound Mixing” is about properly balancing and orienting a wide variety of sonic elements to create an immersive and effective soundscape.

With that in mind, Zero Dark Thirty defines good sound editing. Just looking at the raid on bin Laden’s compound at the end, the number of nuanced sound effects – boots crunching on dirt, ruffling uniforms, shuffling guns, loading ammunition, firing bullets, etc. – is vast, and they are all arranged to sonic perfection. The rest of the movie is equally precise in its sound design, and to my mind easily earns this award. Django Unchained is similarly detailed and nuanced, while Skyfall does all this and more on a much grander scale. It is hard to pinpoint whether the incredibly evocative sound design of The Grey is an exercise in good editing or mixing, but I feel it belongs here, as it is the specific sound effects and elements assembled, and the ways in which they are combined and presented, that seems to give the audio its power. Finally, I always wish animated movies got more attention in this category, as their entire soundscape is built from the ground up. Wreck-It Ralph is a particularly good example of this process, and should be recognized as such. 

Dream Winner: Zero Dark Thirty

Best Sound Mixing

 The Avengers

The Dark Knight Rises

Django Unchained

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Les Miserables 

Going back to what I said about sound mixing, The Avengers is a great example of the process. Looking at the final action sequence in New York, there is a wide variety of sonic mayhem going on at any given moment, and yet the cumulative effect is not muddled, but rich, immersive, and powerful. The same goes for any of the major action sequences in The Dark Knight Rises or The Hobbit, and all three films feature quiet moments that exemplify top-notch sound mixing. Django Unchained is an all-around technical knockout, as I have explained before, and deserves a nod in this category too. But I would give my hypothetical award to Les Miserables, which had the tough task of mixing live vocal performances, orchestral backing music, and sound effects into one cohesive, cinematic package. It pulls that off in spades, and sounds a little bit different – and superior – to most movie musicals ever made.

Dream Winner: Les Miserables 

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