Question by David Gallagher: Academy Award for Original Score – short films?
Is it possible for a short film/documentary/animation to be nominated for Best Original Score, or is that category reserved solely for feature-length films?
Best answer:
Answer by Young Miss Sparrow
Hey there,
I’ve got a copy of the Academy Awards Rules Book (yes they actually have one) in front of me, and according to (and this is last year’s paper, but I assume that the rules stay mainly the same) Rule Sixteen which is Special Rules For The Music Awards, section A states:
‘An original score is a substantial body of music that serves as original dramatic underscoring and is written specifically for the motion picture by the submitting composer.’
They have not actually defined what a motion picture is, but i assume that it is self-explainatory. It a collection of many pictures that are placed together that move to show motion.
However google defines it as:
“a form of entertainment that enacts a story by sound and a sequence of images giving the illusion of continuous movement; “they went to a movie every Saturday night”; “the film was shot on location”
So there you go 🙂
In basic terms, because the Academy Awards give out the Best Original Score Oscars, documentaries cannot apply for that category. Great question though!
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