Every year I say it again: our cinematographers are the heart of filmmaking. It is, after all, the use of the camera to capture a director’s vision that, more than anything else, separates cinema from every othe...
Welcome back. Today marks the beginning of the sixth year of Tech Support here at In Contention. I am delighted about the new collaboration with HitFix, which will doubtless result in even more comprehensive awards co...
It’s not usually appropriate for journalists to speak of how their personal experiences affect their views on particular events. But my experience watching the 2012 Academy Awards affects my analysis of it to su...
Welcome back. Today marks the beginning of the seventh year of Tech Support here at In Contention. If I may compliment Kris, this blog has come a long way in seven years. And if I may toot my own horn for a moment, th...
When Tech Support first launched at In Contention five years ago, Alexandre Desplat had proven his talents with top-notch scores for “The Girl With a Pearl Earring,” “Birth” and “Syriana....
In five days, the nominations for the 84th annual Academy Awards will be announced. It seems extraordinary that another season has nearly passed. And with a silent film and a somewhat fantastical (not-so-) children&rs...
In part one of this feature, we spotlighted the fields of Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing and Best Makeup. Now to round out my final predictions in the crafts fields wit...
Rather like that dully nice party guest whose name refuses to stick in the memory, "Bel Ami" is a film of which I have had to be reminded more than once this year. I saw it back in February, in the wilting d...
Lindy Hemming -- who surely has the best name ever for a costume designer -- may have won an Oscar over 12 years ago for the fussy Victorian finery of Mike Leigh's "Topsy-Turvy," but the Welsh-born veteran's...
LOS ANGELES - Cinematographer Ben Richardson was living in the Czech Republic in 2003 working on an animated film with a friend when he moved into a building full of interesting, creative filmmaker types, a salon...
