Can you even begin to imagine Steven Spielberg’s “Jaws” without John Williams’s chugging theme? I bet you can’t. Williams’s creation of a character – the shark – through music is just one example of how, when utilized creatively and to its full extent, original music can bring a film to a level it never would have reached otherwise.

The music branch in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences gives out two awards each year – Best Original Score and Best Original Song. The former is one of the more high profile “tech” races on Oscar night. Precursor awards-dishing organizations like the BFCA and the HFPA give out awards for original score, and in recent years, the Academy has specifically showcased the five nominees for this award as they have done for directors and actors. I consider that a nice touch.

The category is nevertheless one of the most difficult to predict. Year after year, the branch seems to care little about what the precursors say. Nominees in the category tend to be an interesting mix of blockbusters, comedies, Best Picture nominees and serious-minded films not included in the Best Picture race.

The music branch earned a reputation between 1999 and 2003 of being very insular, with only two of the 25 Best Original Score nominations during going to new composers during that period. Yet in the last two years, the branch has welcomed five new competitors into the fold. But while this might be indicative of the branch opening up, the field in these past two years wasn’t exactly ultra-competitive.

One face that is almost always among the nominees is the aforementioned John Williams. He has not missed a nomination in a year in which he has been eligible since 1992. Alas, he is not in the running for any title this year, so that’s one shoo-in we can certifiably cross of the list.

The man who stopped Williams from achieving Oscar #6 last year – Gustavo Santaolalla – could make another appearance this year for Alejandro González Iñárritu’s “Babel.” His music for the film is beautiful and film serving. Paramount Vantage also deserves kudos for getting it out there (the soundtrack has been mailed out to various press and awards-voting bodies in the past few weeks). However, the score is also very minimalist and lacks an instantly iconic theme like the one that landed Santaolalla the nomination – and win – last year for “Brokeback Mountain.”

Classical composer Philip Glass ventured into cinematic efforts relatively late in his career. He managed an Oscar nomination for wonderful work on Martin Scorsese’s “Kundun” in 1997 (a year he was destined to lose to James Horner and the unstoppable “Titanic”). Glass probably came very close to the win for Stephen Daldry’s “The Hours” in 2002. But even with a wealth of exceptional work already behind him, Glass’s score for Richard Eyre’s “Notes on a Scandal” may very well be the crowning achievement of his career – loud at the right moments, eerily quiet at the appropriate times while ultimately memorable and haunting all the same. It is also the sort of score that the Academy loves to nominate. Glass also composed for Neil Burger’s “The Illusionist” this year, which may very well help his chances.

The person I expect to be Glass’s major competition for the win this season is Thomas Newman. With seven nominations to his credit over the past dozen years, Newman is clearly well respected by the branch. This year, he has composed a soaring, old-fashioned score for Steven Soderbergh’s “The Good German,” truly one of his most original compositions in years. This is exactly the sort of score the branch loves to recognize, regardless of a given film’s quality. It is worth mentioning that Newman also provided the effectively understated (if overly similar to “American Beauty”) compositions for Todd Field’s “Little Children.”

Glass and Newman are the two nominees I’m most confident in predicting. But thereafter things really open up.

Randy Newman, Thomas’s first cousin, finally won an Oscar in 2001, following a winless streak of 16 nominations, for “Monsters, Inc.” “Cars” is his most AMPAS-friendly effort since that film. It will be interesting to see if the branch is as fond of him as they were before he finally took home a statue.

Another branch favorite, James Horner, is reuniting with Mel Gibson this year on “Apocalypto.” This is the sort of effort that screams out as an opportunity for a musician to really show their talent. Gibson’s last two films have also received considerable love from the technical branches in the Academy. The path for Horner, who also composed “All the King’s Men” this year, seems like a clear one, pending “Apocalypto”’s critical fate, of course.

Horner had also originally been on board Robert De Niro’s “The Good Shepherd,” but the two have parted ways on the project. This has paved the way for Marcello Zavros to take over, who made some ripples in 2004 with specific work on Tod Williams’s “The Door in the Floor.” If De Niro’s film turns into a hit, there’s no telling what could happen to this talented young composer.

The person most are expecting to fill a “first-time nominee slot” is Alexandre Desplat. The great French composer ventured into American movies in recent years and has achieved much acclaim for “Girl With a Pearl Earring,” “Birth” and “Syriana”, among others. His delicate compositions in Stephen Frears’s Best Picture hopeful “The Queen” have already received considerable attention. Desplat is also composing John Curran’s “The Painted Veil,” which strikes me as the sort of vehicle more traditionally nominated. So which, if either, film will it be? Or might Desplat double-dip this season?

Alberto Iglesias finally earned his first nomination last year for his lively and ranging compositions in Fernardo Meirelles’s “The Constant Gardener.” He finds himself collaborating once again this year with the director who made him famous: Pedro Almodóvar. To be perfectly frank, I did not much care for Iglesias’s work on “Volver.” But I recognize that I seem to be in the minority on this front, and a nomination is certainly feasible. Exotic, foreign-sounding scores often find a home here.

Also in the world of foreign-language features is Shigeru Umbayashi, who again has composed the music for a Zhang Yimou feature: “Curse of the Golden Flower.” Sony Pictures Classics is poised to give this film a significant Oscar shove, and Umbayashi seems like the sort of talent who will be recognized eventually.

Craig Armstrong has had quite the run in the past few years for blending original score with famous songs, most notably on Baz Lurrhmann’s “Moulin Rouge!,” Richard Curtis’s “Love Actually” and Taylor Hackford‘s “Ray.” His themes in “World Trade Center” are poignantly used throughout the movie. It is admittedly rather short for an Original Score nod, but if they like the film, one never knows. Last year’s winner in this category had less than 20 minutes of original music. (EDITOR’S NOTE: And Mr. Armstrong showing up at Morton’s in Los Angeles a few months back amidst a “World Trade Center” event to play his works live on the piano is the sort of thing that stays in a person’s memory.)

Speaking of 9/11 films, the prolific John Powell (who has marked 26 films to his credit since 2001) gracefully blended music into Paul Greengrass’s “United 93” this year. However, this is not really the sort of score that the Academy tends to nominate. Powell also did “Happy Feet” this year, though that score might be deemed ineligible due to too many songs filling out the soundtrack.

Speaking of animated efforts, Douglas Pipes provided fantastic compositions this year for “Monster House.” The music was scary, joyous and fun. But the film didn’t really catch to the degree necessary to make nominations beyond Animated Feature likely.

Hans Zimmer has 7 nominations and one win to his credit. He’s really struggled with getting Academy love this decade, however. His original work in Ron Howard’s “The Da Vinci Code” was highlighted quite clearly in the film, and Columbia Pictures is placing ads strictly for him. While the music branch is not necessarily opposed to nominating critically maligned films, I’m doubtful that this is the feature to bring Zimmer back into the fold.

Speaking of critically maligned films getting Oscar nominations, James Newton Howard managed a nod here two years ago for “The Village.” But I can’t see him pulling that trick again for “Lady in the Water,” with “Blood Diamond” probably marginally more likely – but the fumes seem to be rising off of that one, given the hints here and there. (EDITOR’S NOTE: *sniff* *sniff*)

I’ll end the original score discussion by mentioning a very famous person, but one whose claim to fame is certainly not music – Clint Eastwood. After composing the main theme to “Unforgiven” 14 years ago, Eastwood has increasingly risen to the task of crafting the music for his films. “Flags of Our Fathers” and “Letters from Iwo Jima” mark the fourth and fifth films for which he has composed the score this decade, and though similar to his past work, the music is nonetheless memorable. Paramount Pictures has already placed a full-page “for your consideration” ad for the “Flags” score. So if the Academy likes these films, one never knows where that will take their Oscar tally.

Best Original Song is a category where the manner of choosing nominees changed last year. A list of contenders will be announced beforehand, and the branch will then grade them, with a minimum grade being necessary for a nomination. If less than five films achieve the necessary score to be nominated, then there will only be three or four nominees (as happened last year).

A film that is not eligible in score may try to dominate this category. Henry Krieger has co-written three original songs for the film adaptation of his stage play “Dreamgirls.” While “Patience” and “Love You I Do” could sneak nods, it’s ultimately “Listen” which seems most likely to get a nomination with ease – and contend for the win. Beyoncé Knowles, who also co-wrote the song, is at her best when singing ballads, in my opinion, and this one seems to be everything the Academy loves to award.

Another film with multiple original songs is “A Prairie Home Companion,” the appropriate swansong to the career of director Robert Altman. “Bad Jokes” and “Goodbye to My Mama” may not be the sort of ditties that traditionally garner Oscar nominations, but Picturehouse Films is kicking up the Oscar campaign for this sweet and nostalgic film nonetheless.

“A Father’s Way” from “The Pursuit of Happyness,” performed by Seal over the closing credits, will also try to garner traction in this year’s race. I haven’t heard the song, so I can’t comment on its quality. But Columbia Pictures has big plans for the film (with a Lead Actor nod looking like a good bet for Will Smith). A tag-along nomination for a song certainly wouldn’t seem out of the question, but will the usage of the song over credits be deemed less film serving than other tunes in play?

Chris Cornell contributed the latest title song in the James Bond series with “You Know My Name.” I did not care for the song, but my opinion is hardly Gospel on these matters. “Casino Royale” was, without a doubt, the best Bond movie in a very long time, so some Oscar recognition would be nice. But title James Bond tracks have tended to miss the boat in recent years.

Emilio Estevez’s “Bobby” may have taken a critical beating of sorts so far, but I really don’t think that will have much of an affect on the chances of Bryan Adams’s “Never Gonna Break My Faith,” sung from the gut by Aretha Franklin and Mary J. Bilge. Adams is a three-time nominee, after all. Plus, one can be sure The Weinstein Company will defiantly push all corners of this project toward Oscar glory.

Animated features are frequent nominees here. If the branch doesn’t find a home for him in score, Randy Newman could easily garner a nod for “Our Town,” performed in “Cars” by Americana favorite James Taylor. It’s the sort of sweet lament I suspect the branch will love. Meanwhile, Prince will try to follow up his Oscar win 22 years ago for “Purple Rain” with a Best Original Song citation in “Happy Feet,” for “Song of the Heart.” Both Newman and Prince certainly have the profile to garner nominations, and everyone loves to see them perform.

In the realm of children’s films, we also have “Ordinary Miracle” from “Charlotte’s Web” by the very well known David A. Stewart and Oscar-nominee Glen Ballard (“The Polar Express”). This is certainly a title that should be considered.

Sheryl Crow definitely possesses high profile in spades, and she has also contributed a song to the movies this year, “Try Not to Remember” from Irwin Winkler’s “Home of the Brave.” However, Winkler’s directorial filmography is not exactly awe-inspiring, and I don’t expect this film to break that trend (EDITOR’S NOTE: It doesn’t.). So Crow’s tune might have an uphill battle here.

I’ll finish with a genre of films that have never traditionally found a home in the Best Original Song category, but will seriously contend here this year for sure – documentaries.

“Shut Up and Sing” hasn’t really caught on to the degree that might have been necessary to get awards traction outside of its staple Best Documentary Feature category. But the Dixie Chicks have the profile that might be good enough to get their song “The Neighbor” into contention.

“An Inconvenient Truth,” on the other hand, did very well indeed at the box office for a documentary effort. This is not to mention the fact that it’s one of the best-reviewed films of the year, and is likely to return to a lot of people’s lips come year-end top ten lists. Melissa Etheridge’s “I Need to Wake Up” is also a fantastic and film-serving song. Moreover, Paramount Vantage is making sure the track makes the rounds to press and voting bodies. So if Etheridge can’t get nominated, it might be indication of the true ghettoization of documentaries to their own category.

So that completes a lengthy first glance at all technical categories. Next week, we’ll shake things up a little (as precursors are already beginning to fall).

Sound mixing is the multi-faceted art of compiling, engineering and balancing what we hear in a given film’s soundtrack. It is not the integration of artificially created sounds into said soundtrack (that would be sound editing), but the mixing of recorded sounds into the overall audible template of the film. Up to three sound re-recording mixers and a production sound mixer can share an Academy Award nomination for Best Sound Mixing, which had simply been known as “Best Sound” prior to 2003.

It goes without saying that films often recognized in this category are of a louder breed. Musicals are always threats, as are war films and action films of varying tonal degrees. At least a couple of Best Picture nominees tend to find their way into the category, with last year being a very noticeable exception. On the flipside, the category can be the refuge of films relegated to technical merit above and beyond anything close to major category consideration (“The Mummy,” anyone?).

Musicals are obviously an opportunity for a sound mixer to show their talent, with the task of blending a musical soundtrack into the film being essential for success. Within the songs, a mixer has to make sure the vocal work is balanced with the instrumental music in the most effective way possible. On "Dreamgirls", Bill Condon has Bob Beemer, Michael Minkler and Willie Burton on the job. These three men have accumulated 21 nominations and 6 wins between them, so if any other indication was needed…

As mentioned, war films are another genre that tends to bring attention from the sound design branch. Clint Eastwood’s “Flags of Our Fathers” fits this mold like a glove, given the noisy and chaotic battle sequences in the Americans’ raid on Iwo Jima. When one factors in the fact that John Reitz, Dave Campbell, Gregg Rudloff and Steve Pederson are all esteemed Oscar winners in the field, this nod begins to look quite assured indeed. But I must say I’m curious as to how the entrance of “Letters from Iwo Jima” into this year’s race will affect the Oscar prospects of “Flags of Our Fathers” on the whole.

There seems to always be room for a summer blockbuster in the Best Sound mix (no pun intended). In fact, at least one so-called "summer popcorn flick" has been nominated here for the last 13 years.

“Superman Returns” has aforementioned Oscar winners Dave Campbell and Greg Rudloff on board to form a soundtrack for a film that is very noisy indeed. But they are already working on the crew of Eastwood’s film, and I sense that the box office troubles of Bryan Singer’s film may sour its Oscar potential.

Despite a talented and revered crew (Andy Nelson and Anna Behlmer are perennial favorites), I have real problems seeing “Mission: Impossible III” scoring where its predecessors failed – even if it is a very loud film.

Nevertheless, I see a genuine contender in “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest.” There’s no denying the great track record of films in this category from producer Jerry Bruckheimer (typically due to Oscar’s biggest “loser,” multi-nominee Kevin O’Connell being in the hunt). And this film is not only Bruckheimer’s most financially successful to date, but it's also noisy and somewhat epic in scope. Gregg Orloff, Paul Massey and Christopher Boyes are all usual suspects in the category. The only hesitation I have is that it the film is widely seen as an artistic disappointment. But frankly, that doesn’t always matter.

Speaking earlier of Andy Nelson and Anna Behlmer, their talents will also be on display this year in Edward Zwick’s “Blood Diamond.” Along with Ivan Sharrock (another Oscar winner), they are responsible for crafting the sound of war-torn Sierra Leone. This strikes me as a possibility depending on how effective the terribly uneven Edward Zwick is on his latest effort (which early word seems to indicate it was a miss).

Recent weeks have shown that Paramount is hard-core about promoting "World Trade Center" with their strategic DVD release and their high profile screenings. The sound in the film is also eerily effective. Michael Keller (heinously snubbed for Oliver Stone’s “Any Given Sunday”) is on the sound crew with Oscar nominee John Pritchett and Oscar winner Scott Millan, so this strikes me as great possibility, Best Picture or not.

The other 9/11 film this year, Paul Greengrass’s “United 93,” had a very effective sound design. It’s almost as if you can close your eyes and hear the story told quite effectively still. But the work strikes me as awfully subtle for a nomination, and it’s lacking major name recognition on the crew to sell it.

Tom Fleischman and Danny Michael are both past nominees who have this year lent their talents to Martin Scorsese's "The Departed," a film that had very memorable and effective sound work in its action scenes, not to mention a loud and rambunctious musical soundtrack. With the film looking more and more like a Best Picture contender, I suspect we'll see Fleischman and Michael in the running again.

Animated films tend to be noticed more for their sound editing than for their sound mixing. Yet both "The Polar Express" and "The Incredibles" were nominated here two years ago, a tribute to the great integration of music, sound effects and dialogue to create two very loud, exciting films. The crew on Pixar’s “Cars” has, for the most part, not experienced Oscar love to date in this category (with the notable exception of Gary Summers, a 7-time nominee and 4-time winner). Considering the very loud race scenes and the cleverly chosen musical soundtrack, a nod is still clearly possible.

The crewmembers on Warner Bros.’s “Happy Feet” are veterans of the Australian awards circuit, but they’re hardly known here in the States. The sound work on the film is still exceptional, so we'll see if it can build on its mega hit status to the point of garnering Oscar attention.

“Monster House” is yet another animated treat with great sound design. Rick Kline is a 11-time nominee and Gary Rizzo was nominated for an animated feature here in 2004 (“The Incredibles”). But Sony’s film was not exactly a huge hit, and it’s really more of a sound editor’s film than a sound mixer’s.

A film I felt had excellent sound design was “Babel,” effective in the most unexpected of ways. But considering the subtlety of the work, and the fact that the crew is unseasoned Oscar-wise, I wouldn’t bet on a nomination – especially without Best Picture placement.

Moving on to a film very hot at the moment, “Casino Royale” has the best reviews of the Bond franchise in AGES (deservedly so, might I add). It has nevertheless been over two decades since a 007 effort tickled the Academy’s fancy, and even if the sound design on the film was quite accomplished, there aren’t any strikingly recognizable engineers on the crew.

I’ll finish up today with the aforementioned Kevin O’Connell, whose name is among the nominees almost every year. O’Connell has been cited in this category an astounding 18 times in the past 22 years. Shall we call him the John Williams of the sound design arena? Yet, unlike Mr. Williams, O’Connell has never managed a win – which is rather unfortunate. He’s working on Mel Gibson’s “Apocalypto” this year with longtime collaborator (and 12-time loser) Greg P. Russell. As I highly doubt this will be a quiet endeavor, I suspect O’Connell and Russell are headed towards their 19th and 13th nods respectively. And with a fair bit of luck, I could perhaps see them in the running for the win next year for Sam Raimi’s “Spider-Man 3.”

Next week, we turn to Music and finish up the first glances at the categories.

The Academy Award for Best Makeup really recognizes makeup and hairstyling. The hairstylists might be largely forgotten on account of the title of the award, but this is nevertheless the category in which their work is noticed by the AMPAS. Both makeup and hairstyling help create a character, specific to time, period, setting and persona, whatever these factors may be.

Like visual effects, there are two stages to choosing the nominees in this category. Seven films are announced before nomination morning as finalists, known as the “bakeoff.” A committee then views the films and chooses three nominees from the lot.

The category is also one of the most difficult to predict, largely because the bakeoff often has shockers in store, omitting films considered good bets for nods and including titles often not considered. As expected, however, makeup that is most noticeable tends to garner the most attention.

Perhaps the biggest question mark in this year’s race surrounds “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest.” Ve Neill (three-time Oscar winner) and Martin Samuel were nominated for their work on the original film three years ago, losing to the “Return of the King” juggernaut. They could also run into trouble this time around if the branch feels there is not enough new work, especially when a character like Davy Jones is created through visual effects rather than practically. I personally feel their work is easily worthy of a nod given all the battle wounds, distinctive looking new characters and, most notably, Stellan Skarsgård’s Bootstrap Bill, a character whose look was almost completely the result of makeup. I suspect the branch will see this as I do and give the film the nod, on its way to the win. But if it were not to make the bakeoff, I would not be shocked.

After “Dead Man’s Chest,” the film which strikes me as the best opportunity this year for makeup artists to shine is Mel Gibson’s “Apocalypto.” We all know of Gibson’s rather – how shall I put this politely – “odd” behavior as of late. However, “Apocalypto” will feature ritual makeup, battle wounds and memorable hairstyles, all attempting to fashion a piece of history seldom recreated. Moreover, his makeup crew includes Oscar nominees Daniel Parker (“Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein”) and Keith VanderLaan (Gibson’s own “The Passion of the Christ”). All things considered, this nod is up to the film to lose.

The makeup branch loves aging famous actors. See the nomination for “The Sea Inside” two years ago for essentially aging just one character in particular. And Daniel Phillips did this exquisitely and memorably this year on Stephen Frears’s “The Queen” for a far more famous individual. Helen Mirren looks doesn’t exactly resemble Britain’s reigning monarch, but Phillips’s work, on both makeup and hair fronts, aided in convincing us that she was. Moreover, there was also the task of turning Sylvia Syms into the 97-year old Queen Mother. Ms. Syms is, after all, a spry 72!

Also dealing with queens this year was Sofia Coppola’s “Marie Antoinette.” Though not necessarily a makeup showcase, the range in the hairstyling was rather incredible. A nomination is not out of the question though color me skeptical as to the number of nods the film will receive on the whole.

“Dreamgirls” is another movie where the hairstyling may be able to pull the film into contention in this category. I would not bank on a nod here, but if the film starts scoring across the board, one never knows how much love it will receive.

Gritty makeup that serves the situations of the characters can find a home in this category. Witness “Saving Private Ryan”’s nod here in 1998. Through makeup, both “World Trade Center” and “Flags of Our Fathers” captured the horror of the situations in which the films’ protagonists were immersed. However, neither crew has received plentiful Oscar love to date (only Mike Smithson of “World Trade Center” has been nominated before, for “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me”).

Makeup and hairstyling have been key to the success of the “X-Men” franchise. So far, however, none of the films have even managed to make the list of finalists. And Brett Ratner’s “X-Men: The Last Stand” was nowhere near as good as Bryan Singer’s previous efforts in the series. Then again, “Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith” managed to be the first movie in its franchise to score a makeup nod last year.

“Eragon” is another blockbuster which will undoubtedly be heavily reliant on makeup. Oscar winner Trefor Proud (“Topsy-Turvy”) leads the department so I wouldn’t call this nod impossible. But the film will need hit status and reviews that aren’t horrid. (Stefan Fangmeier hardly guarantees quality filmmaking after all). Proud also headed up the makeup department on “Copying Beethoven” this year, transforming actor Ed Harris into the famous composer.

I’ll end the discussion of this category with the same way I began it – by discussing a film whose fate here may be reliant on the branch’s perception of makeup being downplayed by visual effects work. I’m speaking of Guillermo Del Toro’s “Pan’s Labyrinth.” I unfortunately have not seen this film yet, so I can’t comment on where makeup ends and effects begins. But it certainly looks like a visual feast with the opportunity for a makeup artist to really shine.

So there’s another category covered. Next week, we turn to Best Sound Mixing.

Film Editing necessitates a story being told at a reasonable length with smooth transitions and, of course, applicable structure. Some genres, such as action films, musicals and non-linear stories, naturally tend to be opportunities for an editor to really show their stuff. But such an opportunity does not make the task exceptional in and of itself. It can even prove itself distracting at times.

On the other hand, films that flow seamlessly can be demonstrative of some of the best editing in the field. Less is more is by no means out of style. I recently had the opportunity to speak with two editors whose subtle work was integral to the success of two 2006 awards hopefuls: Lucia Zucchetti, who concisely and gracefully pieced together Stephen Frears’s “The Queen,” and Leo Trombetta, charged with the task of blending satire, drama and suspense in Todd Field’s “Little Children.”

Zucchetti’s career has been on the rise for a number of years. She began her career in the usual fashion, taking on shorts and independent films. This year she finds herself in the hunt for Oscar recognition on one of the most critically acclaimed films of the year.

“I can say I’ve been lucky,” Zucchetti says. “If I look back I’m very pleased with the choices I’ve made and the people I’ve encountered.”

”The Queen” marks Zucchetti’s third collaboration with Stephen Frears, following television’s “The Deal” in 2003 and last year’s Oscar-nominated “Mrs. Henderson Presents.”

“Meeting Stephen has been very marking experience,” she contends. “He focuses a lot on performances, so that’s his number one interest in the cutting room. He will sometimes have an opinion on certain concerns, such as rhythm, and he makes that known to you. Though he will say ‘You’re the editor, it’s up to you; you figure it out.’”

Zucchetti greatly appreciated this independence, adding, “He will allow you to use your skill, and he does so with all department heads.”

Leo Trombetta (who can be seen briefly in “Little Children” in the role of a documentary editor) also found the highest profile film of his career to date in Todd Field’s latest effort.

“Every other feature I’ve worked on was independent,” he begins, “in the sense that it had no distributor from the beginning. But New Line was amazingly hands-off.”

It becomes clear that Field had a different approach in his relationship with his Trombetta than did Frears with Zucchetti, but he is equally appreciative of the experience.

“Others like to give notes and let you execute,” he says. “Todd’s not that way. He was very, very hands-on. He’d be in at nine and stay until eight and was with me every step of the way.”

Length is always an issue when it comes to cutting a film. Both editors acknowledge as much, but do not overstate it.

“I think we always said the film should be the length that it needs to be,” Zucchetti says. With respect to the film’s conciseness (it runs just 97 minutes), she notes, “Stephen prefers to be concise rather than overstay his welcome, and we knew from the script that this wasn’t going to be a long movie.”

“Length is a concern,” Trombetta offers. “We knew New Line wasn’t going to release a 3-hour movie, and the first assembly was 3 hours and 20 minutes. But my feeling was not to focus on the time element until the end. It wasn’t until around mid-way through that we had to ask ‘How long is it now?’”

Both “The Queen” and “Little Children” are notable for blending light moments into serious material. Zucchetti and Trombetta each remark on the importance of achieving an appropriate balance of these tones.

“I think it was one of the challenges,” Zucchetti says. “I remember the word ‘tone’ was a very important word in the early stages as we were finding out what it should be. I’d like to think we succeeded in getting it right. It was a process of discovering, because obviously it’s a serious film with a light, humorous touch.”

“The forty minutes after the title are satirical,” Trombetta affords. “It starts to change when Ronnie enters the pool. From that point on, it was a big challenge to keep these tones balanced. And the hardest thing was to realize a scene you really love had to be sacrificed to maintain the tone.”

In addition to length, each film was met with rather unique elements of structure. For Zucchetti, it was the integration of archival material, which she says made the experience particularly memorable.

“It was one of the reasons I felt it would be interesting to cut,” she states frankly. “Archive can affect storytelling so much. It opened up a number of possibilities which enormously affected our story and opened up debate among the filmmakers.”

For Trombetta, the challenge of structure came upon receipt of Field’s work on the page.

“The film had a completely different editing structure in the script,” he says. “We were originally supposed to have many scenes on screen at the same time in boxes, but it was sad to admit it didn’t work. I had to put my ego aside, and we decided to do it more straightforward.”

With the highest profile films of their careers bursting onto the cinematic scene last month, it is quite apparent Lucia Zucchetti and Leo Trombetta are approaching their futures in the business with optimism and openness.

“The success of ‘The Queen’ has been so wonderful, beyond any expectations,” Zucchetti explains. “I feel the past three years have been very exciting, but every single project I did taught me something different and challenged me in different ways. If you go for something you’ve done before, it might not pique your interest as much.”

“There’s no genre that I don’t want to have anything to do with,” Trombetta concludes. “I’m still at a point where I’d love to do every kind of film.”

And wherever they go from here, it seems certain that the experiences of “The Queen” and “Little Children” will stick with both editors forever.

The art of Costume Design involves a number of factors. Of course, the work must be appropriate to the era of the film (whether it be the present, the past or a fantastical time). It also must feel appropriate to the circumstances the characters are in (you can’t have every costume looking as though it’s come directly from the tailor).

The costume designer can add a lot to a film by creating costumes that express the character that wears them and designing wardrobes that add to the feel of a movie. This can best be done by blending the costumes into the film so that the viewer hardly notices them. Distracting costumes hardly serve the art of storytelling.

It’s not surprising that period films form the overwhelming majority of the nominees in the category of Best Costume Design at the Oscars. Period films necessitate the costume designer being loyal to the period in which the film is set while also drawing more attention to their work than they would if the costumes were merely the sort of clothes we see in everyday life. Fantasy films, however, also frequent the category, albeit to a lesser extent. Truly contemporary films are almost never nominated here.

The branch certainly has its favorites in names such as Colleen Atwood, Jenny Beavan, Sandy Powell and Milena Canonero, all of whom are frequent nominees. Yet the costumers nevertheless tend to find room for a new nominee or two every year (2002 being an exception).

Speaking of Milena Canonero, the legendary costume designer first gained fame fashioning threads for Stanley Kubrick in the early 1970s (“A Clockwork Orange” was her first feature). After winning Oscars for Kubrick’s “Barry Lyndon” and Hugh Hudson’s Best Picture winner “Chariots of Fire,” she has since gathered five more nominations bringing her career tally up to seven. Her last two citations came as the sole nominee from her films (“Titus” and “The Affair of the Necklace”), always an impressive feat in any category. This year, she’s fashioned one of the most memorable, showy and expansive wardrobes of the decade for Sofia Coppola’s “Marie Antoinette.” For all the film’s divisiveness, “the costumes are great” seems to be the catchall appraisal.

Another designer who is always a threat when he works is Anthony Powell. He has been nominated for six of his 21 efforts as a costume designer (including critically maligned films such as “102 Dalmations” and “Pirates”), winning for three of them (“Travels with My Aunt,” “Death on the Nile,” and “Tess”). “Miss Potter” should provide a fantastic period opportunity for him to be elegant and faithful.

Another favorite of the branch is Jenny Beavan, who has amassed 8 nominations over the last 22 years. Her work this year on “The Black Dahlia” certainly displayed a great deal of range and a feel for the period, but the film flopped with both critics and audiences alike. A nomination is not impossible, but it will still be a challenge.

Ann Roth’s career has been long and prolific, with over 90 films to her credit in 42 years. The AMPAS hasn’t really nominated her that often, however. Four nods and a win is certainly nothing to complain about, but it doesn’t really indicate to me that she’s a favorite of the branch. Regardless, she is outfitting Robert De Niro’s “The Good Shepherd” this year, which will necessitate the recreations of the
late 30s, 40s and 50s and the birth of the CIA.

Sharen Davis ought to have a fantastic opportunity in “Dreamgirls” to fashion memorable threads in show business atmosphere. In particular, Eddie Murphy’s James Thunder Early, Jennifer Hudson’s Effie White and Beyoncé Knowles’s Deena Jones are all characters that necessitate the creation of expansive and character-serving wardrobes. Davis was nominated for relatively understated work on “Ray” two years ago. If “Dreamgirls” is as good as the sight-unseen hype would have us expect, then Davis could very well challenge Canonero for the statuette.

Julie Weiss’s work on “Bobby” is not what one would necessarily describe as showy. But it actually blends extremely well into the film’s period. That is really a tribute to this designer’s talent. But designing threads for a cast of stars might turn the trick with the Academy and lead to Weiss’s third nomination (after “Frida” and “12 Monkeys”).

Louise Frogley has been getting high profile efforts lately, earning Costume Designers Guild nominations for “Traffic,” “Syriana” and “Good Night, and Good Luck.” She has another black-and-white George Clooney film this year to draw attention to her work – Steven Soderbergh’s “The Good German.” The film seems to be taking a very stylized approach to its story, which could inspire nostalgia in the costumers’ branch. (An interesting tidbit: Frogley is the sister of directors Tony and Ridley Scott.)

Next up we have the films about magicians in the past, both of which have done well with both the critics and the public.

Ngila Dickson (of “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Last Samurai” fame) got into the swing of things this year with Neil Burger’s “The Illusionist.” The Yari Film Group is apparently going to give this film a solid awards season push. Should that pay off anywhere, it just might be here.

Joan Bergin, meanwhile, also got the opportunity to outfit turn of the century magicians on Christopher Nolan’s “The Prestige.” Bergin, best known for her collaborations with Jim Sheridan, fashioned everyday wear, upper class suits and magical outfits. I’d say she’s genuinely in contention.

Penny Rose is a 30-year veteran of costume designing and she probably just missed nominations for “Evita” and “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.” This year, she did more creative and memorable work for Gore Verbinski on “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest.” It would be odd for the inferior sequel to score where the original missed so I wouldn’t bank on a nomination. But one never knows.

Another designer who will get a fantasy gig this year is Kym Barrett. She did incredibly memorable work on “The Matrix” and this year gets to lend her talents to “Eragon,” which will likely be a great opportunity for creativity on design fronts. But I can’t help but wonder if this film is headed towards a critical beating.

Deborah Hopper has designed threads for five films this decade, each and every one of them for Clint Eastwood. “Flags of Our Fathers” is her most AMPAS-friendly effort to date, but the costumes are hardly the most memorable of the film’s craft accomplishments, and I doubt the film is headed to across-the-board nominations.

Ruth Myers (Oscar nominee for “The Addams Family” and “Emma”) did fantastic work on Douglas McGrath’s “Infamous.” But the film seems on its way to becoming a footnote with respect to the legacy of Bennett Miller’s “Capote.”

Meanwhile, Renée April was given an opportunity to fashion three distinct eras in Darren Arofonsky’s “The Fountain.” However, the film seems to be extremely divisive, and only the 1500 portion of the film could be described as a real showcase for costumes.

Contemporary films, as mentioned, are a tough sell in this category. Despite Sandy Powell’s immense talent and great Oscar track record, “The Departed” is not a vehicle to get her a nomination. And though the costumes in “For Your Consideration” are fun and film serving, I doubt the branch will notice Dorinda Wood’s work.

Two possibilities, however, emerge in Consolata Boyle for “The Queen” and Patricia Field for “The Devil Wears Prada.” Both have been rewarded for television work in the past: Boyle took the Emmy for Andrei Konchalovsky’s “The Lion in Winter” while Field won an Emmy (and four CDG awards) for “Sex and the City”. More importantly, both got extremely high profile gigs this year. Boyle designed threads for the most photographed family in the world, trying to recreate some historical moments as closely as possible, while also trying to reconstruct their private lives elegantly and appropriately. Field, meanwhile, took on a film about fashion itself, where not only were characters’ outfits memorable, but they were integral to the plot! It’ll still be a tough sell on account of the contemporary setting, but I’d call them possibilities nevertheless.

On a final note, I’d like to mention “The Painted Veil,” which seems to be the sort of film that this branch would love. But I haven’t been able to hunt down who the costume designer even is, so I’ll put it on hold for the moment.

Next week we’ll take a slight break from the category rundowns (they’ll be back on the 16th) as I talk to a couple of editors whose subtle work was key to the success of their films this year.