Communications and Media

The 82nd Annual Academy Awards were hosted by actors Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin. As in all Hollywood related awards shows, this years Oscars, as they are more commonly known, were extravagantly glamorous. Beginning with the teasers that showcased the nominations for the various categories of awards, almost a whole week before the actual event, the Oscars managed to spark interest in a significant population of TV Viewers.

The Red Carpet entrances of all the celebrities were as stunning as they always are with a mix of the daring and of the tasteful. Considering that this is a favorite opportunity for most females to gawk at their favorite actors andor actresses in their entire splendor, the hosts this year spared no chance of getting some one-on-one time with the all-time favorites of the television audience. In addition to which, it seems that audiences around the world love it even more when celebrities are criticized, as evidenced by the growing popularity of the E News show Fashion Police. It is the job of this show to showcase the best and the worst dresses of the Awards, and they did so with aplomb.

The Awards Show itself was pleasantly wittier than its previous attempts, thankfully, without having to resort to toilet humor. Apparently, the termination of the writers strike played a bigger role in the success of the Oscars than we previously would have predicted. The on-stage jokes and comments hit their mark more often than not, and credit must also be imparted to the various celebrities who presented the various sections of the show  nominations, movies, tributes. In addition, the nominations too were tastefully selected, and seemed more than just a politically correct attempt at judging the various categories, which further increased interest in the show.

Music
Ever since the Awards have been plagued by a myriad of unneeded curses and inappropriate remarks, a few seconds delay has been introduced into the televised version to allow time to censor the offending phraseword. Apart from that, it was often witnessed that the show would prolong for more than its required time slot, largely due to the long, winding thank you speeches of the winners. There has been a trend towards using the music to cue the entrance and exits of whoever is on stage at the moment so that the schedule can be met, and interest kept on the show. Having said that, the music itself was, again, tasteful the harmony of the music with the events happening both on and off the stage was tastefully managed by the relevant people. There was hardly a point where the music became too annoying or monotonous. It is always a task for the composers to create music that is, at the same time, both separate from other shows, and keeping in line with the theme of the fact that it is an Awards Show.

Graphics
The Gorillaz are a cartoon music band that performed live on stage for the Grammys in 2006. By breaking the barrier between virtual and real world most of the Awards Shows have ushered in a new era of graphic capability at one point virtual creatures from the movie Avatar made their way on stage and had to be sprayed away by Steve Martin. Even dispensing with this recent outflux of 3D virtual graphics into the real world on-stage, the graphics involved in creating an almost poetic frame within which to run the nominations were also sublime. It is hardly surprising though, that an Awards Show in its 82nd year that recognizes the achievements of the graphics of a moviefilm would have its own plethora of capable and competent professionals. This was proven by the quality showcased throughout the Show.

Personality
Acceptance speeches, introducers to new segments, giving out awards, tributes, and presenting the more impactful films, there were a multitude of celebrities who walked on to the big stage on Oscar night. Neil Patrick Harris, Ben Stiller, Penelope Cruz, to name a few, all left their mark on the nights festivities. While the kick-off with Neil Patricks song-and-dance routine served the intended purpose of raising the energy level of the audience, he was overshadowed by the dual-combo of Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin  they managed to exude a level of chemistry that somehow enhanced their comic timing. This is not the first time that Steve has hosted the Oscars, but somehow his performance was better this time around. Having two hosts allowed them both with the opportunity to feed off of each other and be able to carry the show forward even when they were taking potshots at the celebrities. A daring change in format from the original one host to two granted the show the leeway to maintain creativity while not making the viewers tired of seeing the same host again and again of course, this was helped by the fact that the hosts were used sparingly, and then only to move the show onwards.

SpecialsSurprises
The absence of live performances by the best song nominees this year around was a surprise to many. In their place, the Show had interpretive dance routines, which still did not allow the show to end as per schedule, as was expected this time around. No surprise as far as the over-shooting of the schedule was concerned, of course.

With regards to the winners of the various nominations there were no surprises involved. For some, though, Avatars losing the best picture award was surprising but for most, the history of the Oscars was enough to predict that a science-flick would not win that particular award. Other than that, the winners were easily predictable they were mostly based on commercial success.

When the Best Short Documentary Award was given out there was an incident of awkwardness involved. There were originally two Directors involved in the Documentary, but they split up due to various reasons. However, when the nominee won, the female crashed the stage and took over most of the time for the acceptance speech.

Ben Stiller showing up as a character from the Avatar to hand out the Best Award for Makeup. His blue faade and tail were accentuated by his use of the native language of the film. His antics were a pleasant deviation from the, normally, more formal aspect of the Show.

Lighting
Judged on its own the lighting was a show in itself. The stage was highlighted at all the necessary angles to enhance its impressiveness. An important aspect of show business, good lighting can be the difference between an oily faced celebrity and a natural looking celebrity as such, it must be ensured that the makeup and the lighting are in tandem.

Apart from making the celebrities look good, as is a necessary aspect of Hollywood in general, the lighting also highlighted the various parts of the on-stage show effectively, so that the millions of television viewers at home would be able to see what the audience can see live and in person. The shimmering, crystalline, curtain-like faade of the stage, and the rings at the back, were all adequately lighted to allow them to be an integral part of the stage, yet not noticeable enough to outshine the celebrities on stage.

Opinion
As far as I was concerned, the 82nd Academy Awards lived up to its name, again. The Oscars are perhaps the most famous awards show amongst all others, especially for television viewers. An Oscar nod can greatly enhance the commercial success of a film, as well as the individuals involved in the making of it, irrespective of if the film won or was just a nominee. Of course, for the stars concerned, winning is an important part of the Show, however, their marketability is increased nonetheless.

Having said all that, this years Oscars were different in several aspects from its predecessors. The two host format, the absence of live song performances by the nominees are just a few examples of the daring new changes introduced this year, and they worked. The Show was gripping enough to keep the interest of the viewers for the length of its duration, which in my opinion, was largely thanks to the pairing of Steve and Alec as the hosts. With regards to the winners, there were few surprises, but that is not the real reason people watch the Show they can find out the names of the Winners online soon enough. The spectacle of the Show is what interests the audience, and in that the Oscars hit the mark.