My Awards nominations: Sound Mixing

My nominations for the best Sound Mixing of 2011 go to:

Drive (Robert Eber, Robert Fernandez, Dave Paterson):

The squeeling rubber and breaking glass of the action scenes are well handled, but its the suspenseful moments of silence, with only Cliff Martinez's tonal score boring through, that really get me. Oh, and the opening scene = perfect.

Transformers: Dark of the Moon
(Peter J. Devlin, Jeffrey J. Haboush, Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers):

Employing a sophisticated 7.1 surround-sound canvas, they somehow manage to lend sonic cognizance to Bay's visual cacophony with astonishing clarity and formidable bombast, KA-BAYs and all.

The Tree of Life
(Craig Berkey, Kirk Francis, Jeremy Peirson, John Pritchett, Christopher Scarabosio):

The extended creation sequence is the most obvious showcase of the sound in this film, but I also like how the voice-over narrations were blended in to yield an ethereal sonic quality that felt both natural and graceful.

War Horse (Tom Johnson, Andy Nelson, Gary Rydstrom, Stuart Wilson):

They may have amplified the music a tad beyond what was needed, but their handling of the battle and action segments more than compensates, immersing us in a variety of distinct sounds all in their right place.

We Need to Talk About Kevin (Paul Davies, Robert Farr, Ken Ishii):

Surely the film's most under-appreciated aspect, this ingenious sound mix is as essential to creating Eva's messy memories as the photography or editing. Sound takes on narrative meaning, becoming a device of foreshadowing and flashback before we even know it.

Just missed: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Hanna, Harry Potter,
Hell and Back Again, MI4, Tintin

One Category at a Time: Best Sound Mixing

Something the Sound branch has often showed us in recent years is that it has no problem lining up the Best Picture frontrunners for Best Sound Mixing. The Best Picture winner has been nominated here four years running, so you might do well to pick and choose titles from your pool of predicted Best Picture nominees as potential Sound Mixing contenders.

To that end, I'm making a somewhat experimental prediction for The Tree of Life, mixed by Jeremy Pierson, Christopher Scarabosio, and Craig Berkey. Call this a hunch, but there always seems to be a critically respected film whose sound design does not stand out as an obvious nominee in this field.

I'm also gonna make another outlandish guess for an not-so-obvious contender, David Fincher's The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. I don't know if this is exactly an Oscar movie, but his last two films (Benjamin Button and The Social Network) have earned nominations for Sound Mixing despite mixes that are comparatively subtle and don't draw much attention to themselves.

Conversely, there always seems to be a critically detested film whose sound design is the most obvious of nominees in this field. That could be any number of summer blockbusters this year, but I'm going with Transformers: Dark of the Moon. Fourteen-time nominee Greg P. Russell is at the mixing board once again, and despite working on projects that are seldom Academy-friendly, his peers in the Sound branch always seem to recognize the quality of his work.

Getting back to the Best Picture contenders with possible appeal to the Sound branch, it's hard to argue with War Horse. War movies are a reasonable bet for all the combat sounds they incorporate, and I wouldn't be surprised to see Spielberg enlist his Oscar-winning sound team from Saving Private Ryan, who are sure to do a bang-up job.

And what of the critically favoured summer actioner? There's always at least one, and it'll probably be the token blockbuster Best Picture nominee. I'm going with Super 8 (assuming it ends up being critically favoured). J.J. Abrams has proven that he can direct the soundtrack of loud sci-fi action very capably, and the film's trailer seems to boast plenty of it.

Predicted five:
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Super 8
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
The Tree of Life
War Horse

Also consider: The Adventures of Tintin, Captain America, Cowboys and Aliens, The Green Lantern, Thor (Damn, there are a lot of superhero movies this summer! Won't Hollywood run out at some point?)