A question comes up from a friend every time I’m watching the Oscars: “What’s the difference between the two sound awards?” Well, when I was speaking to Randy Thom a few weeks ago, he used an interesting analogy: The sound mixer is to the cinematographer as the sound editor is to the production designer.

Like a production designer, a sound editor must come up with the dressing of a film’s soundscape. Thousands of potential noises and audible effects are created to fit the needs of the script. These are generated from numerous original sources, just like a production designer needs to find props and sets to suit the film’s visual look.

The sound mixer, working more in tandem with the director, will ultimately decide what is to go in the film’s soundtrack, combining not only the work of the sound editor but also the dialogue, music and other non-artificial audio elements, just as a cinematographer works with the director to decide what to actually shoot, combining the sets and props from the art department, adding lighting, camera positioning and, of course, the actors to the frame.

It’s a lengthy explanation, though you might just as easily consider a sound effect any sound manufactured and the sound mix to be the balance of everything you hear.

Sound editing is known for awarding blockbusters and loud films. Given that sounds have to be manifested, films with lots of “clinks, gurgles and rustles” – not to be overly simplistic – tend to show up here. Films heavy with action and animated endeavors, for which almost all sounds have to be created, show up with great frequency. Musicals, on the other hand, which have a great propensity to show up in the sound mixing category, seldom pop up here.

Like Best Makeup and Best Visual Effects, it used to be that this category would have seven finalists “baked off,” from which three nominees were chosen. But last year, the category was expanded to five nominees, and thus no bakeoff. This makes the category even more difficult to predict.

Going back to Thom, he is once again in competition this year. He won this award three years ago for “The Incredibles” and this year offered his talents to Brad Bird’s follow-up film, “Ratatouille.” Pixar movies are known for their sound effects, and there was certainly a lot of cleverness on display here. I sense it has a very good shot at earning Thom another nomination.

Thom’s co-nominee from “The Polar Express,” Dennis Leonard, is in charge of the sound editing on Robert Zemeckis’ “Beowulf” (on which Thom worked as a mixer). Here, again, we see a considerable amount of creativity from the sound artists, from dragon sounds to war effects. I suspect Leonard is looking at his second nomination.

I also had a chance a few weeks ago to speak to Ethan Van der Ryn, who along with Mike Hopkins, was in charge of the sound editing team on Michael Bay’s “Transformers.” Bay’s film has everything this category loves – lot of action, unique robot sounds…and it was a huge hit. The film’s use of sound is also novel when compared to other sequels floating around in this year’s race. I’d say Van der Ryn and Hopkins could very well be on track for their third Oscar (having previously triumphed for “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers” and “King Kong”).

Paul Ottosson, supervising sound editor of “Spider-Man 3,” also has a clear shot at another mention, following a nomination for the series’ first sequel. He had the chance to build on the already established sounds of Spidey and the Goblin, which have already gained Academy attention. But further, the addition of Sandman and Venom required original sound work, the sort that this category loves.

Another threequel in contention this year is “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End.” The sound editing duo of Christopher Boyes and George Waters II filled the film with explosions, sword fights, water noises and all around odd assortments of audio elements created on the first two. And new creativity was on display this time out. With the first two films having scored in this category, I’d be somewhat surprised if this one fails to follow suit.

The explosions and gunfights of James Mangold’s “3:10 to Yuma” combined with a construction of Old West audio flavor this year, and therefore it strikes me as not dissimilar to the work on “Blood Diamond” in 2006. That film, which created the chaos of war-torn modern Africa, was nominated by both the sound mixers and the sound editors. Don Sylvester has yet to score love from the Academy, but Mangold’s film could very well land somewhere. The old crowd of the AMPAS may have a soft spot for this exceedingly well-made, old-fashioned genre entry.

“The Golden Compass” might be one of the last great mysteries of this awards season. Some have seen it, more will in the coming weeks. But Glenn Freemantle has never had an opportunity like this one. Many fantastical situations, objects and beasts will need original sounds. So the question is: will the film catch on?

Frankly, these are the seven films I most suspect will ultimately show up in this category. But it’s become so much more unpredictable now that the bakeoff stage has been abandoned. So what else do I think is possible?

Several films we’ve seen have potential. “300” certainly had the type of sounds the category tends to embrace. But the film is the epitome of what the Academy typically avoids.

I’m surprised the magical sounds of the “Harry Potter” series have never managed to score here. It’s doubtful that “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” will be able to break that trend, but given the degree of attention Rowling’s world has received this year, I wouldn’t rule it out.

The car chases of the “The Bourne Ultimatum” were superbly crafted with the noise being incredibly realistic and LOUD. But given the failure of the series’ two predecessors to garner any nominations, it may simply be a franchise the Academy isn’t keen on. However, the guild has stepped up for Bourne in the past, and “Ultimatum” is the most critically acclaimed film of the series to date.

“The Kingdom,” meanwhile, is the sort of action-filled war movie that would normally be exactly what we’d see score. But it totally flopped, so I’m very doubtful.

We will be getting “I am Legend” in three weeks. The Will Smith spectacle could very well have notable sound effects. But the trailer provides little indication. We’ll have to wait.

But without the assistance of the bakeoff, this will remain a difficult category to predict until the nominations are announced. Your guess might be as good as mine.