Another Oscar season is coming to a close. On Sunday, the 80th Annual Academy Awards will wrap up an exciting and unique season. Here’s my final look at the state of affairs in the crafts categories.

Best Art Direction

This strikes me as a race between Sarah Greenwood, BAFTA winner for “Atonement,” and Jack Fisk, guild winner for “There Will Be Blood.”

I think it’s a close call, but I give the edge to Fisk, as his film seems to have more love overall and the work has been acclaimed since people laid eyes on the film. It would be a long time coming for Fisk, even though this is his first nomination after a career spanning almost four decades. Even so, the work is awfully sparse for the typical winner here so I’d say Greenwood has a great chance to upset.

Prediction: “There Will Be Blood”
Alternate: “Atonement”
Preference: “The Golden Compass”

Best Cinematography

Now this is the race to watch. Strong cases can be made for any of the five nominees. The real question is whether Roger Deakins will be able to finally win in what was undoubtedly “his” year, having been responsible for two of the nominees in this category, one of them a likely Best Picture winner.

But which one of his two films is he more likely to win for? “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” is a beautifully unique accomplishment and perhaps the more traditional winner of his two efforts. But I nevertheless think that the more widely seen, more Oscar popular “No Country for Old Men,” for which he won the BAFTA award, is his better shot.

However, I think Deakins will ultimately lose to guild winner Robert Elswit for “There Will Be Blood.” Elswit’s lensing of Anderson’s epic was filled with explosive (literally) shots of oil and California as we’ve never seen it before (from locations in Marfa, Texas, no less), and the use of light was integral to setting the mood. I’m pegging him for the win (with hesitation).

If they’re looking for gorgeous, “Atonement” could certainly fit that bill as Seamus McGarvey’s photography was breathtakingly haunting and real, not to mention beautiful. Janusz Kaminski ought not to be totally ruled out for his incredible showy work on “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” either, though I sense he’s least likely to be holding the statue on Sunday evening.

Prediction: “There Will Be Blood”
Alternate: “No Country for Old Men”
Preference: “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”

Best Costume Design

Another category, another very open race. Colleen Atwood triumphed at the guild for “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.” Atwood is a guild favourite – this is her fifth win here. She’s a real threat to take the Oscar as well. But the film does not appear to be the most beloved of the nominees by AMPAS, nor does it have the showiest costumes. So I think odds are against her.

Marit Allen posthumously took the BAFTA for “La Vie en Rose,” but I suspect the factors working against Atwood are working against Allen even more.

Rather, I think the favorite in this category should be Jacqueline Durran for “Atonement.” Keira Knightley’s green dress is already considered iconic in some circles but, more importantly, the work is memorably period, memorably showy and ranges from army uniforms to upper-class dinner dress to working class servant wear. When also considering it’s the most nominated of all the contenders, it seems like a solid bet for the win.

However, if AMPAS is merely looking for extremely showy costumes, Alexandra Byrme should not be ruled out for “Elizabeth: The Golden Age.” This is Byrne’s fourth Oscar nomination – despite being just her seventh feature.

Prediction: “Atonement”
Alternate: “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”
Preference: “La Vie en Rose”

Best Film Editing

Christopher Rouse has won both the ACE Eddie award and the BAFTA for his edge-of-your-seat cutting of “The Bourne Ultimatum.” Rouse, who should have won last year in my opinion for “United 93,” would fit in well with past winners such as “The Matrix” and “Black Hawk Down” that triumphed in this category without Best Picture nominations.

Even so, winning without a Best Picture nod remains very rare indeed, having been accomplished only four times in the past forty years. Meanwhile, “No Country for Old Men” is the sort of intense (likely) Best Picture winner that would also make sense as a winner in this category.

So I’m still giving the edge to “Roderick Jaynes.”

Prediction: “No Country for Old Men”
Alternate: “The Bourne Ultimatum”
Preference: “No Country for Old Men”

Best Makeup

That “Norbit” managed to earn the moniker “Oscar nominee” may very well be the makeup branch’s most memorable decision from this year – regardless of who wins in the end. In any case, I think the transformation of Marion Cotillard into Edith Paif, plus aging her and bringing her through Piaf’s illness, should make for a pretty easy win for “La Vie en Rose” in this category.

“Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” is the obvious alternate given the importance of makeup to the series and the possible desire to give a tip of the hat to Ve Neill.

Prediction: “La Vie en Rose”
Alternate: “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End”
Preference: “La Vie en Rose”

Best Music – Original Score

With Jonny Greenwood disqualified, I think Golden Globe winner Dario Marianelli should have a pretty clear path to victory for “Atonement” here. Not only is the score the sort of transcending memorable beauty which normally wins in this category, but it is also from a Best Picture nominee, which almost always triumphs here.

The other nominees strike me as equally unlikely to upset, for various reasons.

Prediction: “Atonement”
Alternate: “3:10 to Yuma”
Preference: “Atonement”

Best Music – Original Song

“That’s How You Know” is the most likely of the three “Enchanted” songs to take this award, given that not only is it the most show-stopping number, but it also was a BFCA and Golden Globe nominee. However, I think it more likely that the presence of three songs from the same film will ultimately hurt the movie’s chances.

Ultimately, I think that Fox Searchlight’s campaign for the beautiful “Falling Slowly,” already a BFCA winner, will pay off.

Prediction: “Falling Slowly” from “Once”
Alternate: “That’s How You Know” from “Enchanted”
Preference: “Falling Slowly” from “Once”

Best Sound Editing

I’ve been predicting Ethan Van der Ryn and Mike Hopkins to take this for months for their eardrum-shattering work on “Transformers.” I still think they are likely to triumph.

Even though I doubt AMPAS wants to give “Transformers” a great deal of statuettes, I’m doubtful that the car chases of “The Bourne Ultimatum” or the kitchen noises of “Ratatouille” will be able to compete with the robots in Michael Bay’s film. A win for “No Country for Old Men” would show that the film is a sweeper.

Prediction: “Transformers”
Alternate: “Ratatouille”
Preference: “Transformers”

Best Sound Mixing

I’ve had the suspicion for a long time that Kevin O’Connell and Greg P. Russell would finally win this year for “Transformers.” But a BAFTA win by the more respected action blockbuster “The Bourne Ultimatum,” and a guild win by the likely Best Picture winner “No Country for Old Men,” has resulted in reconsideration on my part. Both titles are much more respected as films than Bay’s latest, and the mixing in both films was memorable indeed.

Even so, the loudness, size and box office tally of “Transformers” leads me to believe it still has the edge. So I’m sticking to my guns.

Prediction: “Transformers”
Alternate: “No Country for Old Men”
Preference: “No Country for Old Men”

Best Visual Effects

I’ve been saying that “Transformers” has had this in the bag since August. I’m sticking by that.

Prediction: “Transformers”
Alternate: “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End”
Preference: “Transformers”

The plight of sound mixer Kevin O’Connell has become surprisingly well known. With the arguable exception of composers, crafts artists are rarely featured in the mainstream media. O’Connell’s 20 Academy Award nominations make him one of the most unlikely prolific individuals in the Academy’s history. His zero wins give him the dubious distinction of having the most accumulated nominations without a win. His longtime partner Greg P. Russell has shared 12 of those nominations with him, giving the duo a total of 32 tips of the hat without a win. But that is something that could very well change this year with a cult-TV-classic-turned-blockbuster-cinema-sensation.

I spoke with O’Connell last week to get his take on media exposure, the elusiveness of Oscar and, of course, the work.

O’Connell acknowledges this year has been a little different than every other year, saying that he’s actually nervous and hasn’t been nervous for a long time. “I don’t really see any clear frontrunner,” he says. “Maybe that’s why I’m nervous. I think we have a shot.”

That said, O’Connell is quick to say that all the films nominated this year are more than worthy of such acclaim. “This is a close community and I’m very close to all the nominees; I’m happy for anyone or everyone if they win,” he says. “I really do believe that everything happens for a reason.” The notion caters to the present as much as to the past:

“I haven’t won in the past but I haven’t begrudgingly lost. I believe films that won were worthy.”

O’Connell truly loved working on “Transformers” and says that he thinks the film is demonstrative of one of the secrets to his success – that he’s been surrounded by talented people his whole career.

“This was totally a team effort,” he says, crediting the recordings of production sound mixer Peter Devlin, on the very loud set, the foley team of John Roesch, Alison Moore and Mary Jo Lang and especially sound editors Ethan Van der Ryan and Mike Hopkins.

O’Connell says the main challenge to him on “Transformers” was trying to tell the story through use of sound without it becoming a “train wreck” but rather creating a voice for the film. He cites the personal challenges of trying to make robots sound “robotty” enough while also still capturing the sincerity of their dialogue. He says he worked extensively with sound editor Mike Hopkins on that issue.

O’Connell has worked on every film Michael Bay has directed and says he’s “seen him mature into one of the finest filmmakers that I’ve worked with," admitting that "I realize I sound like an 80-year old man saying this.” In all seriousness, however, O’Connell explains that Bay does not bark orders to his crew but figures out what is best for the movie.

O’Connell is well known for mixing large action films but does admit to some desire to diversify the sorts of films he works on. “I love the action films but they are taxing on you and a lot of hours are put in." He says that he particularly finds suspense, thriller, horror and comedy movies to be fun.

In spite of this, I was surprised how quickly O’Connell was able to pick out a favorite film from his repertoire: Tony Scott’s “Top Gun.”

“I was only 27 when I mixed it and Tony Scott was taking a chance on me,” he recalls. “To make the jet sounds today would be a lot easier,” he explains, “but the lack of automation back then made it a huge challenge and due to a combination of working with Don Mitchell and Rick Kline, not to mention great sound editors, we ended up being able to be very proud of how it came out.”

When I mention that he’s probably the most known sound mixer in the eyes of the general population, O’Connell gives a groan but says he understands why there’s usually an anonymity to his work.

“I think it’s there in most of the crafts because people don’t quite understand what goes into creating the soundtrack,” he says. He also says he does not think the movie-going public understands crafts like art direction, cinematography or film editing either. He says there are many individuals who get no attention whatsoever for what he considers invaluable work. Dan Sharp springs to his mind quickly, the recordist and mix technician at the Cary Grant Theatre on the Sony lot, with whom O’Connell has worked for his last 10-12 nominations.

“He arrives an hour or two before me and Greg [P. Russell] and would stay an hour or two after us,” he says. “That I have been given a large audience because of these nominations sheds more light on what we do. If I had to lose 19 times to bring that to light, I’m fine with that. I’m not at the point where I’m frustrated. I’m the front man for a team of very talented people.”

“Transformers” was O’Connell’s last collaboration with Greg P. Russell after a working relationship of nearly two decades, and a partnership of over a dozen years. The two decided it was time to move on earlier last year. He recalls the partnership.

“Greg and I have been as close as any two people can possibly be. I’ve probably spent more time with him over the past twelve years than any other person in my life.”

So what would a win be like at this point in his career?

“Generally, in the past, whenever I don’t hear my name, the first thing I feel is relief,” he says. “Perhaps because I don’t want to stand up in front of those people and talk!” He concedes that the pursuit of the little golden trophy is something he has thought about but adds that he and Russell have joked that they are “clappers, not walkers.”

“It would be nice to not clap this year,” he admits, “and there’s no one I’d rather see take that walk with me than Greg Russell, with Peter Devlin alongside us.”

It would be premature to say that the duo is destined to finally become walkers this year. But I’d nevertheless venture to say they have their best shot in a very long time, perhaps ever.

As “No Country for Old Men” makes its seemingly inevitable way toward a Best Picture Oscar, and Javier Bardem and the Coen Brothers continue to receive considerable press attention, it’s easy to forget the crafts artists who contributed to the film and its eight nomination total.

“No Country” did, after all, receive four nominations in the “tech” categories. One of those was for “Roderick Jaynes” in the film editing field. Roderick is widely known as being a pseudonym for the Coens and could result in one of four wins for the brothers come Oscar night. The great cinematographer Roger Deakins, meanwhile, finds one of his two nominations this year for his work here. It marks his fourth nod for a Coen collaboration.

The other two crafts nominations came for Best Sound Mixing and Best Sound Editing. The sound work in this film was, in my opinion, phenomenal. The tension, suspense and even character creation (note the sound of a train whenever Bardem’s character appears) amounted to the creation of a particular mood throughout the film. The work has been a considerable favorite in the sound community, and now it has the opportunity to take things one step further: Oscar glory.

I was fortunate enough to speak with two of the sound artists on this film: sound re-recording mixer Craig Berkey and production sound mixer Peter Kurland. They share the nomination for Best Sound Mixing with Skip Lievsay, who is also nominated for Best Sound Editing, and Greg Orloff, his second nomination since winning three years ago for “Ray.”

Kurland is the first production sound mixer I’ve interviewed for “Tech Support.” His role can be defined as bearing the responsibility of recording sound while on the set. This is his second nomination, having been nominated two years ago for “Walk the Line.”

Berkey, on the other hand, is a sound re-recording mixer – one of the individuals who take the music, sound effects, dialogue and anything else recorded while filming, and produce the mix we hear while watching the film. Originally from Vancouver, Berkey moved to California 15 years ago and earned his first nomination with this feature. But with such a deep history in the industry, it wouldn’t be appropriate to call him an “overnight success.”

Kurland has been working with the Coens for nearly 25 years (he was the boom operator on “Blood Simple”) and loves their joint efforts.

“There’s never any hysteria or screaming on the set,” he says. “They are exceptionally well prepared. It isn’t that there aren’t surprises but there are very few completely unexpected elements.”

Berkey adds to the notion that the helmers know exactly what they want to do, having “the whole thing laid out as they’re writing the script. But they also listen to new ideas regarding sound, having the confidence to have a minimal score in a film like this.”

Having been on the set with the brothers on many occasions, Kurland says new challenges still manage to arise on each shoot. He says this was definitely the warmest set apart from “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” and that, being out in the desert, wind was a large problem (as it always is for production sound). But the work was particularly pivotal in this film and had to be recorded just right. He also notes a new and somewhat bizarre element on the production called “dusk panic.” Only about 10 takes were done in the daylight and the rest were done during sunset or sunrise, with very little time to get those shots right.

“It was very exciting to have an open palette to create from nothing whereas usually things disappear after we start,” Berkey adds. “It was great to know from the beginning that whatever we did, that was what it was going to be.”

Because Kurland has known re-recording mixer and supervising sound editor Skip Lievsay for so long, they had a regular opportunity to speak to each other during filming, adding to the sense of teamwork during the shoot and affording the ability to address specific needs. Despite having talked to Lievsay about the importance of recording everything exceptionally clean, Kurland admits he was surprised that the dialogue and effects elements ended up so exposed. But he says he loves having the work on display, almost taking the place of the absent score.

Berkey notes that he was challenged to come up with certain iconic-type sounds for key motifs in the film, such as the air gun. “We wanted to say, ‘Uh oh, this is not good,’” he recalls. “I treated the wind as if it was the score, akin to a cello playing. It was there and it felt right.” Berkey also says he and his colleagues attempted to keep the mix quiet, at the same time trying to create a “theme” of sound for Bardem’s character akin to what might be present in a score, notably in the fact that the sound of a train almost always accompanies, or slightly precedes, his presence. “We wanted to get the idea that a big bad freight train is coming,” he recalls.

Kurland says he enjoyed being on the set, having previously served as boom operator during his first seven films with the Coens. “I love to see how each thing is done, how lighting is set up, how actors are directed,” he says.

As for the anonymity of the occupation, Berkey says he’s just fine with that.

“I’m really fine with it as long as people enjoy watching movies. I’m not really worried if they know what I do or not so long as I enjoy it,” he explains, though he does add that, for people who really enjoy movies, they could probably get more out a film if they better understood the importance of sound. Berkey is regardless encouraged by the critical and audience approval of the film.

“It’s been interesting to read some reviews and hear mentioning of the sound, without the complaint of being too loud,” he says. “Sometimes in this movie, the sound wasn’t complicated to create but it made the story better, nor was it over-covered by music. “That’s the lesson for me: less is more.”