Nathaniel's Ballot: Editing, Makeup, Visual Effects, Production Design
Monday, February 22, 2021 at 11:36AM by Nathaniel Rogers
Rooting for LOVE AND MONSTERS to get a visual fx Oscar nomination. Such a pleasantly fun surprise as mainstream movies go! It would have been a big sleeper hit in a normal theatrical year
Oscar balloting begins in 11 days so we'd like to finish our own Film Bitch Awards by then. Or at least the Oscar parallel portion. So in an effort to speed that up here are four categories. My take on the best in film editing, makeup & hairstyling, visual effects, and production design. Within these four categories there are surprisingly no repeat nominees.
Fascinating read --The Root on Ma Rainey's Hair and Makeup20 slots = 20 different films with honors for And Then We Danced, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, Emma, The Father, First Cow, Hillbilly Elegy, I Carry You With Me, Love and Monsters, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, Mank, The Midnight Sky, Mulan, News of the World, Nomadland, Palm Springs, Personal History of David Copperfield, Possessor, Promising Young Woman, Tenet, and Welcome to Chechnya.
This was not intentional. I didn't notice till after hitting "publish". But it's as good an example of any of how I approach awards each year. Though I do believe in "spreading the wealth" it happens organically, since I genuinely only try to think about that specific category when I "vote". Do you also agonize over your own "best of" choices? It's a niche affliction but I've met many other film fans who do!
Reader Comments (8)
Great pics. But there is room for The Invisible Man. Just remove The midnight sky which also has nothing new in terms of effects but it uses them in a uninspired way.
Do I agonize over my own "best of" choices? Ever second of every day. I'll keep a crystallized copy as a time-capsule, but I often find myself tweaking my lists for years after the fact.
Love these choices, both because I think they're pretty great and because they reinforce my own sense of this being a year where the biggest nominaiton leaders on my own ballot/most of the ballots I've seen are gonna be like, six nominations max. Lot of wealth-spreading this year.
@Nick Taylor - Yes, I think there will be a lot of wealth-spreading this year too. The AACTA nominations in Australia (where I am) were like that - with several obscure films popping up and getting 1 nomination each. You could say the same of the Globe nominations and the Oscar shortlists too.
Voters have time to watch more stuff this year and I think that will be reflected in some more under-the-radar films getting a stray nomination here and there.
Love these choices--especially Visual Effects. Can't wait for more!
This just shows how much is available out there, and yet I feel like it's just going to be Mank and Ma Rainey over and over again. Sigh.
VFX: I genuinely have never heard of this LOVE AND MONSTERS movie. MIDNIGHT SKY's vfx were, I thought, a bit shoddy in places. INVISIBLE MAN definitely deserves its spot, I say. But then I also don't know if I fully get the delineation between vfx and make up in POSSESSOR...
EDITING: Funny, I think the editing of MA RAINEY is that one film's one unimpeachable tech achievement. It knows exactly when to go in close and when to let the ensemble breathe. But those I CARRY YOU WITH ME and PALM SPRINGS nods are inspired choices alongside NOMADLAND and THE FATHER.
PRODUCTION DESIGN: All solid, although I love the true maximalism of BIRDS OF PREY and the the unique minimalism of THE PLATFORM.
MAKE UP/HAIR: I refuse to watch HILLBILLY but the rest seem unimpeachable. However, see my comments re POSSESSOR and BIRDS OF PREY above.
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