The film editor’s task is not only to establish an appropriate length for a given film, but also to make sure the experience is well paced while remaining engaging throughout. Without quality juxtaposition, the viewing experience would certainly be a trying one.

Traditionally, the lineup for Best Film Editing closely mirrors the Best Picture lineup. A 4/5 crossover is common, with a 3/5 crossover being almost always the case. In 2002, the five Best Picture nominees were the five nominees here. Yet last year, only two of the nominees were for films cited for Best Picture: the great Michael Kahn for “Munich” and eventual winner Hughes Winborne for “Crash.”

Genres such as the musical and the action film tend to do relatively well here. Musical numbers and action sequences not only pose a special challenge for editors who seek to make them visually coherent, but these scenes also have to be well integrated into the film. But while such endeavors pose the opportunity for showy editing, I hardly feel that they warrant awards attention for that reason alone. Films where the flow feels truly seamless represent, in my humble opinion, some of the best film editing on display in a given year.

This is also perhaps the group in which the Academy that is most embracing of new nominees, with at least a couple of first-timers joining the ranks every year. In 1999, in fact, all nominees were first-timers. Directors David Lean and Joel Coen (with brother Ethan) have also both managed nominations for editing their own films, “A Passage to India” and “Fargo” respectively.

Last year’s winner, Hughes Winborne, will pop up once again this awards season with “The Pursuit of Happyness.” The film is not the sort that announces an editing showcase, but if it’s a hit, and especially if it’s an ultimate Best Picture contender, Winborne could ride goodwill from last year to a second nomination.

As mentioned above, musicals seem to be regular nominees. When they are Best Picture contenders, they are always in the mix. Bill Condon’s “Dreamgirls” certainly seems to fit this mold, and Virginia Katz has been developing a good relationship with Condon for years, having edited both “Gods and Monsters” and “Kinsey” for the director (earning an American Cinema Editors nomination for the latter). I think it would be a mistake to bet against her this time around.

Another favorite in the category is the war film, where drama must be blended with coherent and certainly thematically viable action sequences. This year, expect to see Joel Cox in the running for Clint Eastwood’s “Flags of Our Fathers.” Cox has worked with Eastwood on over a dozen occasions, winning the Oscar for “Unforgiven” in 1992 and being nominated again for “Million Dollar Baby” in 2004.

As previously mentioned, it is not uncommon for an action film to score a nomination for Best Film Editing. And when the editor responsible is none other than the legendary Thelma Schoonmaker, we have a bona fide contender on our hands. Martin Scorsese’s “The Departed” hardly plays like a traditional Best Picture nominee given the level of violence and mode of genre, but the critical acclaim has been immense. Schoonmaker’s work on the film also certainly ranks among the finest efforts of her career.

Ensemble films are another variety that the editing branch tends to gravitate toward. “Traffic” and “Crash” have both won the Oscar this decade for constructing vast narratives out of many characters that intersect in the most unlikely of ways. Emilio Estevez’s nostalgic “Bobby” is already considered a divisive film, but one cannot fault veteran Richard Chew (Oscar-winner for “Star Wars” 29 years ago) for his work piecing together many characters and sub-plots into the overall narrative.

Stephen Mirrione and Douglas Crise will also have the responsibility of fashioning a tight ensemble piece in Alejandro González Iñárritu’s “Babel.” The film increasingly looks solid for a Best Picture nomination, and Mirrione is a past winner in this category for another ensemble film as it is, the aforementioned “Traffic.”

“United 93” features what I consider to be some of the best film editing of the year. Not only is the film’s visual juxtaposition superb, but also the pacing is riveting and the sheer number of cuts is massive. The film credits three editors who are Oscar virgins – Richard Pearson and Christopher Rouse (who worked with “United 93” helmer Paul Greengrass on “The Bourne Supremacy”), as well as Clare Douglas (another former Greengrass collaborator on 2002’s “Bloody Sunday”). It’ll be interesting to see the degree to which the critics can revive the buzz on “United 93,” but the first place I’d expect to see the film earn awards attention would be in this category.

Meanwhile, Oliver Stone is a filmmaker somewhat infamous for his films’ editing. I personally consider “JFK” a showcase for the most accomplished film editing in the medium’s history. Like Greengrass, Stone has also explored the events of 9/11 this year. “World Trade Center” pieces together that fateful day with Julie Monroe on board, along with Oscar-winner David Brenner (“Born on the Fourth of July”). I don’t think a nomination is out of the question, but Paramount has a stacked plate this fall, so we’ll see if the film can get back in the game.

Tariq Anwar (Oscar nominee for “American Beauty”) will have the task of making “The Good Shepherd” compelling across many years of history with subject matter that could possibly be too dry. An elaborate flashback structure certainly won’t hurt matters. The film seems the sort that Oscar might eat up…if it’s any good. Time will tell.

Should the branch be in a fantastical mood, Alex Rodríguez’s piecing together of a futuristic world in “Children of Men” might just be up their alley. The project certainly sounds intriguing and a potential opportunity for an editor to shine.

“The Prestige” features the talents of Lee Smith, an editor I feel deserves more Oscar love than he’s received. Though cited for outstanding work on Peter Weir’s “Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World,” Lee missed for his clever pacing of Weir’s “The Truman Show” and last year’s riveting “Batman Begins” from Christopher Nolan. Smart editing will be integral to the success of Nolan’s “The Prestige.” Here’s hoping Nolan has given Smith another great opportunity.

Best Picture contenders should always be watched for in this category, so “The Queen” (concisely cut by Lucia Zucchetti) and, to a lesser extent, “Little Miss Sunshine” (Pamela Martin), ought not to be ruled out.

Elsewhere, Todd Field’s “Little Children” was a surprisingly tension-filled affair. And while the reviews have been good, they probably haven’t represented the wave of immediate acceptance New Line might have been hoping for. “Little Children” isn’t really the sort of film that would tend to grab a nomination for film editing without being a very strong Best Picture contender (which this film will have trouble becoming). But for some reason, Leo Trombetta’s work is sticking in my head as a dark horse contender for a nomination. I can’t put my finger on why, but there it is.

Then we have “Catch a Fire,” a film that is difficult to dislike yet obviously has factors preventing it from greatness. That said, veteran editor Jill Bilcock creates a surprising amount of suspense in the film’s narrative. She came up to promote the film during the Toronto International Film Festival (rare for a craftsperson), and Noyce said he “was lost when she left the set.” So if the film manages to garner any traction in the awards race, this might just be one of few spots.

Like last week, I’ll finish with discussing Steven Soderbergh’s “The Good German.” In the same manner that he shoots the film under the pseudonym “Peter Andrews,” he edits it as “Mary Ann Bernard.” The Coen Brothers were nominated here for “Fargo” despite being credited as “Roderick Jaynes,” so a mention for Soderbergh isn’t out of the question. Maybe it’s just a question of paperwork for eligibility, I’m not sure. But “The Good German” remains one of the few unknown entities in this year’s race.

That's it for this week. Next time, we take a look at one of my personal favorite categories – Best Art Direction.