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Channel: In Contention » Gerard Kennedy
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TECH SUPPORT: Best Costume Design — Volume I

Costume design in many ways represents much about the Oscars: glitz, glamor, beauty. But obviously threads do much more than make movie stars look attractive.  They build character, set mood, define...

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TECH SUPPORT: Best Film Editing — Volume I

I still remember when I was 12 and getting into the Oscars for the first time. My Dad said, “How can you tell if the film has good editing?” To a very large extent, I had to concede his point, as the...

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TECH SUPPORT: Best Makeup — Volume I

Makeup and hairstyling builds characters by transforming actors with realism or imagination that would otherwise be lacking on the screen. With the announcement that the Best Visual Effects is...

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TECH SUPPORT: Best Original Score — Volume I

I am marveled by the accomplishments of all the crafts artists who elevate our films, but this is particularly the case with respect to music composers. Composing equals genius as far as I am...

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TECH SUPPORT: Best Sound Editing — Volume I

Now matter how many times I watch the Oscars, someone will always ask, “So what is the difference between the two sound categories?” The difference is quite significant.  It is so important that the...

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TECH SUPPORT: Best Sound Mixing — Volume I

Last week, while discussing the sound editing category, I explained the difference between that art form and sound mixing.  The Oscar for the latter is shared between two (or more) persons who...

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TECH SUPPORT: Best Visual Effects — Volume I

How often do you go to the movies to escape? To be immersed into a different world, whether it be fantastical, thrilling or action-packed? For many movie-goers, if not most, the answer is “frequently.”...

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TECH SUPPORT: Best Art Direction — Volume II

Oh how things have changed since I last wrote in this space. In the past four weeks, Tech Support has taken a break, allowing the dust from the festival circuit to settle, and other titles to open....

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TECH SUPPORT: Best Cinematography — Volume II

Today we take a look a second look at, well, certainly the most “cinematic” of categories: Best Cinematography. As I like to say, cinema is born out of the camera and those who wield these devices...

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TECH SUPPORT: Best Costume Design — Volume II

Glitz and glamor.  Period prestige.  Newbie talent and old favorites.  How is the race for Best Costume Design shaping up this year? In my opinion, Jenny Beavan is leading the way at this point in...

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TECH SUPPORT: Best Film Editing — Volume II

So important but so hard to notice. That’s how I would describe the work of our best film editors – those cutting artists who blend and juxtapose frames together to make films coherent, establish a...

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TECH SUPPORT: Best Makeup — Volume II

As I said last week (and have said several times before), no category is year-in and-year-out more perplexing than Best Makeup. Each year, this branch finds ways to turn otherwise dubious awards...

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TECH SUPPORT: Best Original Score — Volume II

A great score can take a film from memorable to unforgettable.  Whether it be Vangelis’s synthesizer on the beach in “Chariots of Fire,” Nino Rota’s haunting waltz from “The Godfather” or John...

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TECH SUPPORT: Best Sound Editing — Volume II

Last week we discussed how a movie’s soundtrack can be immeasurably improved by music.  This week, we turn to the sound technicians.  While next week will concentrate on sound mixing (the overall mix...

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TECH SUPPORT: Best Sound Mixing — Volume II

Sound mixing has a lot in common with sound editing, but the distinctions are still critical. While both clearly relate to what we hear in the theater, sound editing specifically relates to the...

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TECH SUPPORT: Best Visual Effects — Volume II

I find it somewhat appropriate to be ending my in-depth looks at the crafts categories with a discussion of Best Visual Effects. This is, after all, a category which awards the sort of...

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TECH SUPPORT INTERVIEW: The look of ‘Inception’

Christopher Nolan has become known for making the Batman films look, and consequently feel, “real.”  His latest film, “Inception,” despite being a visual treat, also seemed a far cry from the CGI...

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TECH SUPPORT INTERVIEW: The design of ‘Alice in Wonderland’

Tim Burton and Johnny Depp may well be poised to go down in film history as one of the famous actor-director duets.  Seven collaborations to date have delighted audiences for the past 20 years. They...

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TECH SUPPORT: Final analysis, part one

It seems hard to believe that it’s been more than six months since I wrote this year’s introductory Tech Support column ( a dissection of the art direction race). Much has changed since then,...

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TECH SUPPORT: Final analysis, part two

Yesterday I began a final look at the crafts categories. Today, a look at the four remaining fields: Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design and Best Film Editing. BEST ART...

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