Oscars 2007 : the Visual

The first thing our minds turn to when we think of film, is the visual. The Oscar for Art Direction is prestigious to me because it is about the overall "look" of the film. I think the Oscar should go to Dreamgirls. The color pallets, the lighting, the costumes, the way they created the feel of the era through the look. For me, Superman Returns had the best Visual Effects this year. It looked 3D to me in it's normal format. There were so many scenes and shots that seemed to jump right off the screen. In Children of Men the Cinematography created a world of the future through lighting and camerawork. The one-take shots alone were award-worthy. I'm torn on the award for Editing between United 93, where the editing gave continuity to an otherwise chaotic circumstance, and Babel, which moves between four stories seamlessly. I was impressed with the Costumes in Marie Antoinette and the Makeup in Pan's Labyrinth was just amazing.