Oscars 2013: Updates on eight awards that make or break your ballot

By Scott Sandell

Feb. 24, 2013 12 AM PT

Part of the spectacle of watching the Oscars is being reminded of all the people who contribute their own brand of excellence to a film, beyond the directors, actors and actresses who are in the limelight most of the time.

You may not have considered who did the sound editing on “Zero Dark Thirty” when you watched it. But come Sunday night, you will.

That’s because the 85th Academy Awards honors 24 categories. In addition to being an education in what makes up filmmaking, figuring out who will win both above and below the line is the key to doing well on any respectable Oscar ballot.

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As the Oscars unfold in Hollywood starting at 5:30 p.m. Pacific Sunday, check back for live updates of the winners in eight categories: cinematography, costume design, film editing, makeup and hairstyling, production design, sound editing, sound mixing and visual effects.

6:07 P.M. CINEMATOGRAPHY

“Life of Pi’s” Claudio Miranda won his first Oscar for cinematography. Miranda beat out “Django Unchained’s” Robert Richardson, “Skyfall’s” Roger Deakins, “Lincoln” cinematographer Janusz Kaminski and “Anna Karenina’s” Seamus McGarvey. Deakins won the American Society of Cinematographers’ top award earlier in February.

6:10 P.M. VISUAL EFFECTS

“Life of Pi” won the Oscar for visual effects, with the honors going to Bill Westenhofer, Guillaume Rocheron, Erik-Jan De Boer and Donald R. Elliott. Westenhofer previously won the Oscar for visual effects for “The Golden Compass” in 2008 and was nominated for his work on “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.” This was a first-time nomination and win for Rocheron, De Boer and Elliott. “Life of Pi” topped a field that included “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” “Marvel’s The Avengers,” “Prometheus” and “Snow White and the Huntsman.”

6:17 P.M. COSTUME DESIGN

“Anna Karenina’s” Jacqueline Durran won the Academy Award for costume design. Durran competed against “Les Misérables’ ” Paco Delgado, “Lincoln’s” Joanna Johnston, “Mirror Mirror’s” Eiko Ishioka and “Snow White and the Huntsman’s” Colleen Atwood.

The 85th Academy Awards are being held at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood on Sunday night, in a televised ceremony hosted by Seth MacFarlane.

6:19 P.M. MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING

“Les Misérables’ ” Lisa Westcott and Julie Dartnell won the Oscar for makeup and hairstyling in the film based on the Victor Hugo novel and musical of the same name. It was the third Oscar nomination for Westcott and the first for Dartnell. Only two other films received nominations in the category: “Hitchcock” and “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.”

7:12 P.M. SOUND MIXING

“Les Misérables’ ” Andy Nelson, Mark Paterson and Simon Hayes won the Academy Award for sound mixing in the Tom Hooper-directed musical. Nelson was nominated for two Oscars this year, for “Lincoln” and “Les Misérables.” He previously won in the sound category for “Saving Private Ryan” and has 14 nominations total. This was a first-time nomination and win for Paterson and Hayes. “Les Miz” competed against “Argo,” “Life of Pi,” “Lincoln” and “Skyfall.”

7:16 P.M. SOUND EDITING

In a rare tie, the sound editing award was given to “Zero Dark Thirty’s” Paul N.J. Ottosson and “Skyfall’s” Per Hallberg and Karen Baker Landers. Ottoson’s previous collaboration with director Kathryn Bigelow, “The Hurt Locker,” netted him Oscar wins for sound editing and, with Ray Beckett, sound mixing. This is the fourth nomination for Hallberg and second for Baker Landers; they were both nominated for 2007’s “The Bourne Ultimatum.”

The two edged out “Life of Pi’s” Eugene Gearty and Philip Stockton (who won last year for “Hugo”), “Argo’s” Erik Aadahl and Ethan Van der Ryn and “Django Unchained’s” Wylie Stateman.

7:33 FILM EDITING

“Argo’s” William Goldenberg took home the Academy Award for film editing. Goldenberg, who was also nominated with Dylan Tichenor for “Zero Dark Thirty” this year, defeated “Life of Pi’s” Tim Squyres, “Lincoln’s” Michael Kahn and “Silver Linings Playbook’s” Jay Cassidy and Crispin Struthers.

7:48 P.M. PRODUCTION DESIGN

“Lincoln,” which has a leading 12 Oscar nominations, won the Academy Award for production design. Rick Carter (production design) and Jim Erickson (set decoration) share the award for “Lincoln,” which topped a field that included “Anna Karenina,” “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” “Les Misérables”and “Life of Pi.”

Times staff writer Christie D’Zurilla contributed to this report.

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