Cinematography, Costumes And More: A Breakdown Of The Guilds

We’re in the final stretch before the Oscar nominations are announced next Tuesday. We’ve seen several guilds announce their nominees for the best of their field, and we have a general idea of what’s going to be Oscar nominated. A brief summary is that if your name is La La Land, you should feel safe, but if your name is Silence, you might be sweating a little bit. Now, because there were five different guilds that announced, I’m just going to provide a quick summary of the nominations, to give you an idea of where we are.

Visual Effects Society Nominations

Ahh, the Visual Effects Society. This is always an interesting category. While most people assume this applies only to the Big Budget Blockbusters, people forget that this guild even applies to the smallest effects. This means films like Rogue One and The Jungle Book can dominate, but films like Silence, Sully, and Kubo and the Two Strings can each get some love.

Other major recipients include Doctor Strange and Game of Thrones, representing film and television, respectively. This shows us that the expected nominations of Rogue One, Doctor Strange, and The Jungle Book, and indicates to love for Kubo, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and Deepwater Horizon. You can see the full list of nominations below, and the winners will be announced on February 7^th.

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature

• Doctor Strange
• Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
• Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children
• Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
• The Jungle Book

Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature

• Allied
• Deepwater Horizon
• Jason Bourne
• Silence
• Sully

Outstanding Visual Effects in an Animated Feature

• Finding Dory
• Kubo and the Two Strings
• Moana
• The Little Prince
• Zootopia

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Episode

• Black Mirror: “Playtest”
• Game of Thrones: “Battle of the Bastards”
• Stranger Things: “Demogorgon”
• The Expanse: “Salvage”
• Westworld: “The Bicameral Mind”

Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Episode

• Black Sails: “XX”
• Penny Dreadful: “The Day Tennyson Died”
• Roots: “Night One”
• The Man in the High Castle: “Volkshalle”
• Vikings: “The Last Ship”

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Real-Time Project

• Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare
• Dishonored 2: “Crack in the Slab”
• Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: “Virtual Reality”
• Gears of War 4
• Quantum Break
• Uncharted 4

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Commercial

• Coke Mini: “A Mini Marvel”
• For Honor
• John Lewis: “Buster the Boxer”
• Titanfall 2: “Become One”
• Waitrose: “Coming Home”

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Special Venue Project

• Dream of Anhui
• Pirates of the Caribbean: “Battle of the Sunken Treasure”
• Soarin’ Over the Horizon
• Skull Island: Reign of Kong
• Voyage of Time: The IMAX Experience

Outstanding Animated Performance in a Photoreal Feature

• Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: “Niffler”
• Rogue One: A Star Wars Story: “Grand Moff Tarkin”
• The Jungle Book: “King Louie”
• The Jungle Book: “Shere Khan”
• Warcraft: “Durotan

Outstanding Animated Performance in an Animated Feature

• Finding Dory: “Hank”
• Kubo and the Two Strings: “Kubo”
• Kubo and the Two Strings: “Monkey”
• Moana: “The Mighty Maui”

Outstanding Animated Performance in an Episode or Real-Time Project

• Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare: “Omar”
• Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
• Game of Thrones: “Battle of the Bastards,” “Drogon”
• Game of Thrones: “Home,” “Emaciated Dragon”

Outstanding Animated Performance in a Commercial

• John Lewis: “Buster the Boxer”
• Opel Motorsport: “Racing Faces,” “Lion”
• SSE: “Neon House,” “Baby Pixel”
• Waitrose: “Coming Home”

Outstanding Created Environment in a Photoreal Feature

• Deadpool: “Freeway Assault”
• Doctor Strange: “London”
• Doctor Strange: “New York City”
• Rogue One: A Star Wars Story: “Scarif Complex”

Outstanding Created Environment in an Animated Feature

• Finding Dory: “Open Ocean Exhibit”
• Kubo and the Two Strings: “Hanzo’s Fortress”
• Kubo and the Two Strings: “Waves”
• Moana: “Motonui Island”

Outstanding Created Environment in an Episode, Commercial or Real-Time Project

• Black Sails: “XXVIII,” “Maroon Island”
• Dishonored 2: “Clockwork Mansion”
• Game of Thrones: “Battle of the Bastards,” “Meereen City”
• Game of Thrones: “The Winds of Winter,” “Citadel”
• The Man in the High Castle: “Volkshalle

Outstanding Virtual Cinematography in a Photoreal Project

• Doctor Strange: “New York Mirror Dimension”
• Game of Thrones: “Battle of the Bastards”
• Rogue One: A Star Wars Story: “Space Battle”
• The Jungle Book

Outstanding Model in a Photoreal or Animated Project

• Deepwater Horizon: “Deepwater Horizon Rig”
• Rogue One: A Star Wars Story: “Princess Leia”
• Rogue One: A Star Wars Story: “Star Destroyer”
• Star Trek Beyond: “Enterprise”

Outstanding Effects Simulations in a Photoreal Feature

• Alice Through the Looking Glass: “Rust”
• Doctor Strange: “Honk Kong Reverse Destruction”
• Rogue One: A Star Wars Story: “Jedha Destruction”
• The Jungle Book: “Nature Effects”

Outstanding Effects Simulations in an Animated Feature

• Finding Dory
• Kubo and the Two Strings: “Water”
• Moana
• Zootopia

Outstanding Effects Simulations in an Episode, Commercial, or Real-Time Project

• Game of Thrones: “Battle of the Bastards”
• Game of Thrones: “Battle of the Bastards,” “Meereen City”
• John Lewis: “Buster the Boxer
• Spy: “Q”

Outstanding Compositing in a Photoreal Feature

• Doctor Strange: “New York City”
• Independence Day: Resurgence: “Under the Mothership”
• The Jungle Book
• X-Men: Apocalypse: “Quicksilver Rescue”

Outstanding Compositing in a Photoreal Episode

• Black Sails: “XX,” “Sailing Ships”
• Game of Thrones: “Battle of the Bastards,” “Meereen City”
• Game of Thrones: “Battle of the Bastards,” “Retaking Winterfell”
• Game of Thrones: “The Door,” “Land of Always Winter”

Outstanding Compositing in a Photoreal Commercial

• Canal: “Kitchen”
• John Lewis: “Buster the Boxer”
• Kenzo: “Kenzo World”
• LG: “World of Play”
• Waitrose: “Coming Home”

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Student Project

• Breaking Point
• Elemental
• Garden Party
• Shine

Cinema Audio Society Nominations

There’s really not many surprises when it comes to the Audio Society, aka the Sound Mixers. War and musicals always dominate here, and that’s not going to change this year. It’s an exciting nomination for Kevin O’Connell, who helped create the sound design for Hacksaw Ridge, which would make for his own-record-breaking twenty first Oscar nomination, despite never winning. It seems that Ridge is going head-to-head with La La Land for the top prize, and it’ll be interesting to see if the war film can beat the musical (it won’t). You can see the full list of nominees below, and the winners will be announced on February 18^th.

Best Sound Mixing on a Live Action Motion Picture

• Doctor Strange
• Hacksaw Ridge
• La La Land
• Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
• Sully

Best Sound Mixing on an Animated Motion Picture

• Finding Dory
• Kubo and the Two Strings
• Moana
• The Secret Life of Pets
• Zootopia

Best Sound Mixing on a Documentary Motion Picture

• 13^th
• Eat That Question: Frank Zappa in His Own Words
• Gleason
• J.: Made In America
• The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble

Best Sound Mixing on a Television Movie or Miniseries

• 22.63: “The Rabbit Hole”
• Black Mirror: “San Junipero”
• Sherlock: “The Abominable Bride”
• The Night Manager: “Episode 1”
• The People v. J. Simpson: American Crime Story

Best Sound Mixing on a Television Series-One Hour

• Better Call Saul: “Klick”
• Game of Thrones: “Battle of the Bastards”
• Mr. Robot: “eps2.8_h1dden-pr0cess.axx”
• Stranger Things: “Chapter Seven: The Bath Tub”
• Westworld: “The Original”

Best Sound Mixing on a Television Series-Half Hour

• black-ish: “God”
• Modern Family: “The Storm”
• Silicon Valley: “Daily Active Users”
• Transparent: “Exciting and New”
• Veep: “Congressional Ball”

Television Non-Fiction, Variety or Music Series/Specials

• Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown
• Deadliest Catch: “The Widowmaker (Part 1)”
• Grease Live!
• Mars: “Novo Mundo”
• We Will Rise: Michelle Obama’s Mission to Educate Girls Around the World

Costume Designers Guild Nominations

The Costume Designers Guild is one of the click-iest guilds of all. They have particular taste, and rarely ever buck from traditional period garbs that make our characters look adorably twee. This year is not very different, with a few major exceptions.

Gone are the expected nominees Silence, Live By Night, and especially Love and Friendship. No, the CDG has gone its own way in many of these fields, and why none of the choices are particularly shocking, they do tend to indicate where universal love has fallen. Let’s start with Excellence in Contemporary Costumes, as these are the most simple choices. Flash and elegant Absolutely Fabulous, Nocturnal Animals, and La La Land (duh) have made the biggest headway. They are joined by Lion, a surprising choice due to the generic costumes, and Captain Fantastic, which is an offensively bad choice that leaves me angry. Ooh, look, they’re wearing funny clothes because they never dress fancy. How twee. I’m moving on before I get any angrier.

Choices for Period Costumes are not altogether unsurprising, but do tend to show us where the guilds’ taste lies. The most obvious choice is Jackie, which could be the frontrunner for the whole kit and caboodle. It is joined by the surprising, yet refreshing, Hail, Caesar! The Coen Brother classic has fallen off many people’s radar, but the technical guilds have kept it alive in the home stretch, implying the film could be a big technical player (which makes me incredibly happy). Also receiving love are Florence Foster Jenkins and Hidden Figures, which may not receive Oscar love, but clearly have support across the board from many Hollywood players. And then there’s The Dressmaker, a small Australian indie film that many people forgot about. But the Guilds never forget. Remember that, dear readers.

And finally, we have Fantasy/Sci-Fi films. Obviously the period piece Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them has some success here, combining the 1920s with the Wizarding community, but I don’t think many people saw Rogue One or Doctor Strange coming. Most critics dismissed Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, but Tim Burton is known for his costume design, so the film also makes an appearance. The major shocker comes from yet another nomination for Kubo and the Two Strings. Animated films don’t appear in the guilds outside of the animation field. Like, ever. I’m honestly not sure if there’s any precedent for this level of love. It’s very deserving-I absolutely adored the film, finding it to be an animated marvel. But this kind of reception tells me we may be looking at something truly astounding with this one. Keep your eyes on Kubo, folks.

You can read the full list of Costume Designers Guild nominees below, and the awards will be announced on February 21^st.

Excellence in Contemporary Film

• Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie
• Captain Fantastic
• La La Land
• Lion
• Nocturnal Animals

Excellence in Period Film

• The Dressmaker
• Florence Foster Jenkins
• Hail, Caesar!
• Hidden Figures
• Jackie

Excellence in Fantasy Film

• Doctor Strange
• Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
• Kubo and the Two Strings
• Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children
• Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Outstanding Contemporary Television Series

• American Horror Story: Roanoke
• Empire
• Grace and Frankie
• House of Cards
• Transparent

Outstanding Period Television Series

• The Crown
• Penny Dreadful
• Stranger Things, “Series”
• Westworld, “Pilot”
• Westworld, “Series”

Outstanding Fantasy Television Series

• Game of Thrones
• The Man in the High Castle
• Once Upon a Time
• Sleepy Hollow
• The Walking Dead

Excellence in Short Form Design

• Beyoncé: “Hold Up”
• Dos Equis: “The Most Interesting Man in the World-Mission to Mars”
• Dos Equis: “The New Most Interesting Man in the World Traverses the Sand and the Serengeti”
• H&M: “Come Together”
• Pepsi: “Momotaro, Episode Four”

American Society of Cinematographers Nominations 

I think that, if I’m being honest with myself, the Cinematographers’ branch of the Academy is my favorite. There’s just something so impressive about creating lush, portrait-esque images that also drive home the themes of the movie. It amazes me to no end. That’s why the Best Cinematography award is one of my favorites every year. And there’s no better indicator for Best Cinematography than the ASC nominations.

This is an award that has three contenders way out ahead of everyone else. The first is the flashy and luscious Cinemascope work done by La La Land. The second is the more subtle but extra gorgeous work done on Arrival. The third is the haunting and portrait-esque work done on Martin Scorsese’s Silence. After that, things become a little more shocking. The work on Moonlight has not received as much buzz so far this season, but luckily the gorgeous and electrifying film received a nomination for its cinematography. And then there’s Lion. I’m quite confused by this nomination. Lion is a fine film. However, nothing about its cinematography stands out in my mind. There’s a few scenes in the beginning showing the beauty of India, but the bulk of the film is a man staring at his computer screen. There’s not much else to it. And sure, that can be done stunningly (The Social Network comes to mind). But this film’s cinematography is very much paint-by-numbers, and the nomination baffles me. Ah well. The guild likes it, and this is what we have for our nominees. The winners will be announced February 4^th.

Best Cinematography

• Arrival-Bradford Young
• La La Land-Linus Sandgren
• Lion-Greig Fraser
• Moonlight-James Laxton
• Silence-Rodrigo Prieto

Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild Nominations

Which leaves us with the Make-Up Artists Guild. This is such a broad category. Sure, this means the art of making Emma Stone’s lips pop on camera, or making Emily Blunt seem as though she’s in the throws of a bout of alcoholism, but it can include so much more than that. This includes the incredible effects of alien creatures, or the eccentric look of a crazed sociopath. It’s such a broad category, but it’s so important to the film’s success.

Let’s cut straight to the chase, shall we? La La Land and Nocturnal Animals dominated here. I don’t know how they couldn’t. They were two films made for the importance of makeup. They have some…odd company, to say the least, ranging from Captain Fantastic to Zoolander 2. But for the most part, these are the two nominees you should focus on. In terms of period and character-driven pieces, you get mostly superhero and fantasy pieces, including Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Deadpool, and Doctor Strange, but there’s also appearances by Florence Foster Jenkins, Hail, Caesar!, and Jackie. This is a mostly wide open category, both here and at the Oscars (despite receiving the most nominations here, Jackie, Nocturnal Animals, Doctor Strange, and La La Land are all ineligible with the Academy). Things seem sewn up for the little musical that could (God, I could write a thousand word essay just on Emma Stone’s lips and Ryan Gosling’s little wisp of hair that hangs over his face. Mostly the hair. God, I loved that hair…), but don’t be surprised if Tom Ford’s thriller sneaks in, or we learn who the Oscar frontrunner is from the options still available (hi, Deadpool and Suicide Squad). The winners will be announced on February 19^th, and you can see the full list of nominees below.

Feature-Length Motion Picture – Best Contemporary Makeup

• Captain Fantastic
• La La Land
• Manchester by the Sea
• Nocturnal Animals
• Zoolander 2

Feature-Length Motion Picture – Best Contemporary Hairstyling

• La La Land
• Nocturnal Animals
• Sully
• The Girl on the Train
• Zoolander 2

Feature-Length Motion Picture – Best Period And/Or Character Makeup

• Doctor Strange
• Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
• Hail, Caesar!
• Loving
• Suicide Squad

Feature-Length Motion Picture – Best Period And/Or Character Hairstyling

• Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
• Florence Foster Jenkins
• Hail, Caesar!
• Jackie
• Loving

Feature-Length Motion Picture – Best Special Make-Up Effects

• Deadpool
• Doctor Strange
• Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
• Star Trek Beyond
• Suicide Squad

TV And New Media Series – Best Contemporary Makeup

• Empire
• Saturday Night Live
• The Voice
• Transparent
• Westworld

TV And New Media Series – Best Contemporary Hair Styling

• Dancing With the Stars
• Empire
• Scream Queens
• The Voice
• Transparent

TV And New Media Series – Best Period/Character Makeup

• Game of Thrones
• Penny Dreadful
• Saturday Night Live
• Stranger Things
• Westworld

TV And New Media Series – Best Period/Character Hairstyling

• Game of Thrones
• Masters of Sex
• Penny Dreadful
• Saturday Night Live
• Stranger Things

TV And New Media Series – Best Special Makeup Effects

• Game of Thrones
• Penny Dreadful
• Saturday Night Live
• The Walking Dead
• Westworld

TV Miniseries or Movie Made For Television – Best Contemporary Makeup

• Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life
• Mascots
• The Girlfriend Experience
• The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let’s Do The Time Warp Again
• The 10^th Date

TV Miniseries or Movie Made For Television – Best Contemporary Hairstyling

• American Horror Story: Roanoke
• Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life
• Mother May I Sleep With Danger
• 2016 MTV VMAs
• The Girlfriend Experience

TV Miniseries or Movie Made For Television – Best Period/Character Makeup

• American Horror Story: Roanoke
• Grease: Live
• Hairspray Live!
• The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story
• The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let’s Do The Time Warp Again

TV Miniseries or Movie Made For Television – Best Period/Character Hairstyling

• American Horror Story: Roanoke
• Grease: Live
• Roots
• The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story
• The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let’s Do The Time Warp Again

TV Miniseries or Movie Made For Television – Best Special Makeup Effects

• All the Way
• American Horror Story: Roanoke
• Black Mirror: “Men Against Fire”
• Roots
• The American West

Commercials and Music Video – Best Makeup

• American Horror Story: Roanoke: “Promo”
• Coldplay: “Hymn for the Weekend feat. Beyoncé
• Gwen Stefani: “Make Me Like You”
• Rocket Mortgage and Star Trek Beyond: “How To”
• Weird Al: “SundanceTV on DirectTV”

Commercials and Music Videos – Best Hairstyling

• Apple TV: “Father Time” with Kobe Bryant and Michael B. Jordan
• Dior J’Adore: “The Absolute Femininity” feat. Charlize Theron
• Prada Presents: “Past Forward” by David O. Russell
• Rocket Mortgage and Star Trek Beyond: “How To”
• Selena Gomez: “Love Your Hair Longer” with Pantene

Theatrical Production – Best Makeup

• A Chorus Line
• Akhnaten – L.A. Opera
• All the Way
• Theatre of the World

Theatrical Production – Best Hairstyling

• A Chorus Line
• Akhnaten – L.A. Opera
• All the Way
• Amadeus
• For the Record: “Scorsese-American Crime Requiem”

Children and Teen Programming – Best Makeup

• An American Girl Story-MaryEllen 1955: Extraordinary Christmas
• Henry Danger
• So You Think You Can Dance: The Next Generation
• The Thundermans
• Walk the Prank

Children and Teen Programming – Best Hairstyling

• An American Girl Story-MaryEllen 1955: Extraordinary Christmas
• Gortimer Gibbon’s Life of Normal Street
• Henry Danger
• So You Think You Can Dance: The Next Generation
• Walk the Prank

Daytime Television – Best Makeup

• Supersoul Sunday
• The Bold and the Beautiful
• The Real
• The Talk
• The Young and the Restless

Daytime Television – Best Hairstyling

• Supersoul Sunday
• The Real
• The Talk
• The Young and the Restless

I hope you enjoyed this breakdown of the Guilds. My predictions have been updated accordingly, and I hope to share these changes with you soon.