MEMBERSHIP

Membership to the Academy is limited to film artists who are into the production of theatrically-released motion pictures. The Academy’s membership process is by sponsorship, and not as a matter of application.  For a candidate to gain admission to an Academy branch, he or she must be sponsored by two existing members from the branch of choice.

However, Academy Award nominees are automatically considered for membership and do not require sponsors. Nominees and sponsored candidates are subjected to review by branch committees and recommendations for membership are considered by the Academy’s Board of Governors. The Board decides which individuals will receive invitations.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is comprised of 17 branches. These branches are for the crafts ranging from Actors to Writers, and the Members-at-Large category. The members-at-Large category encompasses individuals who work in motion picture production but do not fit into any one of the 17 branches. Membership review takes place once a year, in the spring. 

NOMINATIONS

The Academy presents regular awards for outstanding individual or collective film achievements in a wide variety of categories. Most categories are nominated by the members of the corresponding branch-such that, actors nominate actors, film editors nominate film editors, and so forth. All voting members are eligible to select the Best Picture nominees.

This notwithstanding, some selected categories such as International Feature Film and Animated Feature Film have special voting rules which are spelled out by the Academy.

Voting for nominees is conducted using both paper and online ballots, with online voting being the preferred choice for the overwhelming majority of Academy members.  Voting for nominations begins in late December, and all votes are tabulated by PricewaterhouseCoopers- the firm mandated to collate the final ballots.

Nomination results are then announced at a live televised press conference in mid-January at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.

ELIGIBILITY

For a film to be eligible, it has to be exhibited in a theatre for at least a week in Los Angeles. But there is an exception to this rule.  Foreign language movies, which are submitted by their countries of origin need not be featured in the US. Also, documentaries and short films should officially be submitted by their producers, whereas the music category needs the artiste to submit a form to qualify to participate.

SELECTION

Members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences reserve the right to nominate and vote for winners. Nominees are chosen by the members of each branch just as film production is divided into various branches for its making.

FINAL BALLOTING PROCESS

During finals, all Oscar categories are presented on a ballot for final voting by members. Voting is conducted online. The results are kept secret by representatives from PricewaterhouseCoopers until finally disclosed onstage.

As a business advantage,  Oscar nominations and wins can give a film extra publicity, as well as attract international distributors. All these translate to more income for producers of a winning film. This effect is known as the ‘Oscar halo’. Moreso, awards, and nominations can also increase the market value of actors as well as directors in subsequent productions.

REFERENCE

Information from https://www.oscars.org/oscars, www.britannica.com/art/Academy-Award, www.business-standard.com/about/what-is-academy-awards, www.theconversation.com/the-oscar-halo-, was used in this story