The American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) had their annual awards ceremony was held this past Sunday, and Garth Davis’ Lion surprised by winning the feature film award. The film beat out awards season heavy-hitter La La Land, as well as the other fantastically shot films Arrival, Silence, and Moonlight.
In an awards season made boring by La La Land sweeping up wins wherever and whenever possible, this might be the first Continue reading Can Lion Win the Oscar for Best Cinematography?
The Directors Guild Awards (DGAs) are this Saturday, February 4. Ignoring television, as I do not watch it, there are three film categories that could act as precursors to the Academy Awards.
Surprisingly, Ava DuVernay did not receive a nomination in the documentary category for 13th. Without this competition, there is no feasible scenario where Continue reading What to Expect From the Directors Guild Awards 2017
Nine films received honors at the 2017 Academy Awards for Best Picture. That means the Academy deems these films to be the best of the year. Hands down. Are they right about this distinction? An argument can be made to the opposite. But that is a conversation for a different day.
For now, let’s look at what they did pick as the best of 2016. More importantly, let’s rank the nine from worst to best. Continue reading Ranking the Academy Awards Best Picture Nominees
Production Design is great. It is necessary. Without it a film would be like Neil Breen taping garbage bags up in his garage as a set. But it is also not an easy Oscar category to predict.
Continue reading Academy Awards Predictions 2017 – Best Production Design
It is perhaps serendipitous that the second anniversary of the CineFiles website coincides with the Christmas of film nerds: the announcement day for the Academy Awards nominations. This is also, quite coincidentally, the site’s 500th post.
It is only fair then that I do my best to roll out predictions for who or what will win in every category.
Below are links to articles on who will win in each category.
Continue reading 2017 Academy Awards Predictions – All 24 Categories
The Academy Award sound categories are always very interesting. Where many of the other Oscar categories share many films, Best Sound Mixing and Best Sound Design allow for other films to get some Oscar love.
This year is no different (although, the major films are still more likely to win).
Continue reading Academy Awards Predictions 2017 – Best Sound Mixing & Best Sound Editing
Certain Academy Award categories are hard to predict simply because each use of the given film technique can be so different. Best Original Score is one of these categories in my mind. A sonic complement to a film can be so unique to the experience of a given film that it is hard to compare that score to scores of other films. It is a qualitative comparison that can be quite difficult in Oscar predicting.
Luckily, this year’s Academy Awards has a strong musical.
Continue reading Academy Awards Predictions 2017 – Best Original Score
Oscars 2017. Best Original Song. So…which La La Land is going to win?
Continue reading Academy Awards Predictions 2017 – Best Original Song
Cinematography may be the most fundamental aspect of filmmaking, but editing is its complementary rudimentary component. The shot and the edit work together to create the feeling of dynamism and movement in film (aside, of course, from the physical projection that creates the actual “movement” in a film image).
Editing is great. It is important to create a seamless experience, and it can be an excruciating task depending on the footage given. An edit can be subtle and incredibly meaningful, or a scene can be expertly sliced to create a fast paced action scene. In the case of the 2017 Oscars, we have examples of both.
Continue reading Academy Awards Predictions 2017 – Best Film Editing
The fundamental element of a film. Cinematography. What is captured and how it is captured. It’s basic, but some films make you forget that it’s basic. Some films project imagery that seems impossible to capture on camera.
Camera work is a beautiful thing, and the five films nominated for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography in 2017 are all visually stunning. Obviously, only one can take home the award. But how obvious are the odds?
Continue reading Academy Awards Predictions 2017 – Best Cinematography
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