Okay, even though I am a total movie geek-a-zoid and Oscar crazed lunatic, I can actually relate and sympathize with folks who find the Oscars a bit boring at times. In truth. Yes. It can be VERY boring. Especially if you haven’t seen many of the nominated films… and if the producers insist on airing interpretive dances based on the movies you haven’t seen… or have seen.
However, there is a way to control this part of your Oscar experience… go see movies. But honestly, there is only so much you can do, because even if you’re able to get out there and see the nominated movies… maybe even some of the Foreign Films or Feature Length Documentaries… no matter how well you prepare, there are still a few segments the normal viewer is going to find extremely boring:
1) The summery of motion picture science awards. “Blah, blah, blah, blah…” People complain about this segment ALL the time. But listen, there is no way the Academy is ever going to figure out a way to jazz this part of the telecast up… and listen, you shouldn’t complain about it either. There folks are laying the foundation of our movie watching experience. Where would we be if the motion picture camera was never invented? What if no one had tried to advance the technology? Once a year, the Academy takes a time out to read aloud a list of seemingly inconsequential names in front of millions of viewers around the world. Why? Because they are the folks that are shaping the new technologies fueling our ever growing appetite for quality films. These folks are creating the cameras, 3D and special effect technologies, and computer software’s that allow our directors to push their boundless imaginations into theatres around the world. Is the segment boring? Yes. Are these inventors worthy of recognition? YES!
2) The technical awards. What the heck is the difference between Sound Editing and Sound Mixing? Why is it two different categories? What in the world is good cinematography? ‘The Wolfman’ was a horrible movie, why is it nominated for Best Makeup? Besides, wasn’t the transformation scenes CGI? Why are they wasting my time with awards that I don’t understand and don’t care about?
Yeah… the technical awards are tough. Not to sound pretentious… but I don’t think I fully understood the nuances of these categories until I attended the NY Film Academy. And as far as the telecast goes… there are a seemingly endless number of these technical awards and if all you’re going to do is look at each film from its surface (good film v. bad film) it’s going to be very hard to follow what’s going on… thus, the longest segment of the telecast will be VERY boring. And a bit frustrating.
However, like its big brother, the scientific awards, the technical awards honor the artistic use of the available technologies. Without these artists, where would we be? Still utilizing stop motion special effects and mono-track sound?
That said, over the course of this month I’ve been trying my best to break these categories down for you and I hope I’ve been some help in making your Oscar viewing experience a little more enjoyable.
3) And finally, one of the most, personally, frustrating parts of the Oscar telecast is the inclusion of the short films… mainly because I’ve never been able to see them. For years, the nominated shorts were only available to Academy members… begging the question, ‘why are you wasting my time with something I’m not able to see?’
Well, over the years the Academy has been trying to make these short films more accessible. They started holding public viewings of these films in random cities, but most of the time it’s for only one night with a limited number of tickets… it’s almost impossible for average movie goers to score tickets and participate.
HOWEVER! Superman, in the form of Steve Jobs, has swooped in and saved the day. A few years ago, Apple made a deal with the Academy. I’m not sure what the details of their contract is… I only know the result. One week before the Oscar telecast, all of the Oscar Nominated shorts (animation, live action, and documentary) are available on iTunes. Today is the day my little buttercups! Time to watch some short films!
2 comments:
It doesn't look like the documentary shorts are available on iTunes. :(
I know! It also looks like The Gruffalo (Animated Short) isn’t available either. VERY annoying and disappointing. I’m also disappointed at the $1.99 per video price tag… but I’m a cheap bastard.
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