Last week we began our dissection of potential first-time nominees here at “Tech Support.” We addressed the art direction and cinematography categories. Today we round things out with hopeful first-timers in the costume design, film editing and music branches.

In the world of Costume Design, 30 year veteran Penny Rose was responsible for two of the most memorably expansive wardrobes of the last decade: Alan Parker’s “Evita” in 1996 and Gore Verbinski’s “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl” in 2003. This year she follows up her work on the original “Pirates” flick in “Dead Man’s Chest,” the year’s biggest box office success story. It would be somewhat odd if Rose were to score a nod for the inferior sequel, having missed out for the original. But one never knows. She at least seems assured for another guild nomination.

Louise Frogley has been offering memorable work for over two decades. Last year, she crafted the contemporary wear of Stephen Gaghan’s “Syriana” as well as the highly fashionable period wardrobe of George Clooney’s Best Picture nominee “Good Night, and Good Luck.” Frogley was awarded two Costume Designers Guild nominations for her work in 2005 and…was snubbed by the Academy. This year, however, she is once again fashioning a period piece starring Clooney in black and white. Steven Soderbergh’s “The Good German” might be the chance to make it up to her.

Mark Bridges is an unsung hero of Paul Thomas Anderson’s films. Who can forget Adam Sandler’s electric blue suit in 2002’s “Punch-Drunk Love?” What about Tom Cruise’s sleek leather sleaziness in 1999’s “Magnolia?” And let us not forget the singular and outrageous wardrobe of 1997’s “Boogie Nights.” Bridges also managed a somewhat surprising guild nomination for Ted Demme’s otherwise dreadful “Blow” in 2001. Stills would suggest that his work on Steven Shainberg’s Diane Arbus biopic “Fur” is glamorous, memorable and certainly period. Could that elusive first nomination be on the way?

Next we come to Film Editing, in lieu of which – it goes without saying – your cinema experience would be an utterly incoherent one.

While the category celebrating the craft of film editing has traditionally been more welcoming of “newbies,” Christopher Rouse and Richard Pearson never really got any traction for Paul Greengrass’s “The Bourne Supremacy” in 2004, despite the film exhibiting some of the best visual juxtaposition of that year. This time around, the duo accomplished even more memorable, and certainly more detailed work on Greengrass’s “United 93”. Clare Douglas, who pieced together Greengrass’s breakthrough effort “Bloody Sunday” in 2002, joined the team on the 9/11 procedural. The work put into the recreation of that day’s dizzying and confusing effect could afford this collaborative talent the attention it deserves.

Virginia Katz managed an American Cinema Editors nomination for Bill Condon’s “Kinsey,” despite the film’s overall loss of traction in the 2004 film awards season. She also gracefully edited Condon’s Oscar-winning effort “Gods and Monsters” in 1998. This year, Katz will have her best Oscar chance to date with Condon’s Broadway musical adaptation “Dreamgirls.” When musicals are good, nominations for Film Editing follow. I expect this one to be good.

Lastly we come to the composers, the individuals awarded in the categories of Best Original Score and, sometimes, Best Original Song. This lot tends to stick to their own, only nominating two new faces among the 25 nominees from 1999 to 2003. Yet during the last two years, when veterans were less apparent than in years past, the branch welcomed five new talents into the fold.

This year, Craig Armstrong is seemingly leading the way for such a spot for his work on Oliver Stone’s “World Trade Center.” Perhaps best known for combining original score with famous songs in films like Taylor Hackford’s “Ray,” Richard Curtis’s “Love Actually” and Baz Luhrmann’s “Moulin Rouge!,” Armstrong has received awards attention in the past, but his work has always been deemed ineligible by the Academy. The original score that amplifies the spirit of “World Trade Center” has certainly received the necessary attention, so this could very well be Armstrong’s hour.

Harry Gregson-Williams and John Powell are two of the busiest musicians in Hollywood. Both have cranked out several scores per year for quite some time. Gregson-Williams is responsible for the music of such titles as Andrew Adamson’s “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” and Ridley Scott’s “Kingdom of Heaven.” Powell, meanwhile, has struck a chord in Doug Liman’s “The Bourne Identity,” Paul Greengrass’s follow-up, “The Bourne Supremacy” and Peter Lord and Nick Park’s “Chicken Run.” Both composers collaborated on the hugely successful “Shrek” franchise.

This year they each take on a high profile animated movie (“Flushed Away” for Gregson-Williams, “Happy Feet” for Powell) while also having more traditional Oscar opportunities in David Von Acken’s “Seraphim Falls” and “United 93” respectively. The score in “United 93,” however, is pretty minimalistic, while the quality of “Seraphim Falls” remains to be seen.

Carter Burwell has amassed a filmography of over 60 films in just over 20 years. Best known for being the composer of choice of the Coen brothers, he also scored “Adaptation,” “Being John Malkovich,” “Gods and Monsters” and “Kinsey.” His musical contributions tend to be sparse, and not necessarily Oscar fodder, but Steven Shainberg’s “Fur” has received positive, though touch and go press thus far. If the film turns into a surprise contender, technical citations ought not to be ruled out.

Clint Mansell is included on this list for one film and one film only – his previous collaboration with Darren Arofonsky on “Requiem for a Dream.” His work on that film was so memorable, original and haunting that it sticks with the viewer (or should I say listener) forever, regardless of one’s opinion of the film on the whole. If the quality of his work on the upcoming Arofonsky effort “The Fountain” is anywhere near as good, one can only hope Oscar notices.

Even those not overly accepting of the films of David Lynch tend to acknowledge that Angelo Badalamenti’s scores are nothing if not singular. His work on “Blue Velvet,” “Mulholland Drive” and “The Straight Story” jumps to mind. These are just three of the over 70 compositions he’s put forth in the past 20 years. It wouldn’t be unreasonable to expect his hand in Lynch’s “Inland Empire” to be equally superb. But with the film lacking a distributor as late in the year as it is, I’m not confident it will actually be the film that leads Badalamenti to that elusive first nod.

Finishing up today, we turn to possibly my favorite composer of the last few years. The musical intricacies of Alexander Desplat’s “Birth,” “Girl With a Pearl Earring” and “Syriana” scores have been at once haunting and elevating. This year, Desplat composes for director John Curran on “The Painted Veil,” which on paper looks like it could certainly be a force come awards season, but has very little buzz compared to other high profile films releasing later in the year.

To close things today, let’s take one more look at the 16 hopeful first-timers profiled in the introductory installments of “Tech Support”:

Best Art Direction
K.K. Barrett (“Marie Antoinette”)
Philip Messina (“The Good German”)
Nathan Crowely (“The Prestige”)

Best Cinematography
Lance Acord (“Marie Antoinette”)
Harris Savides (“Zodiac”)
Tom Stern (“Flags of Our Fathers”)

Best Costume Design
Mark Bridges (“Fur”)
Louise Frogley (“The Good German”)
Penny Rose (“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest”)

Best Film Editing
Clare Douglas, Richard Pearson, Christopher Rouse (“United 93”)
Virginia Katz (“Dreamgirls”)

Best Music – Original Score
Craig Armstrong (“World Trade Center”)
Angelo Badalamenti (“Inland Empire”)
Carter Burwell (“Fur”)
Alexandre Desplat (“The Painted Veil”)
Clint Mansell (“The Fountain”)