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.