2026 Craft Honors Showcase: Makeup Artist for "Obsession," Visual Effects Supervisor for "Project Hail Mary," Composer for "La Bola Negra" and More

In 2026, moviegoers returned to theaters and filled seats to watch box office hits such as "The Odyssey," "Project Hail Mary," "Spider-Man: Brand New Day," "Toy Story 5," "Michael" and "The Super Mario Galaxy Movie," as well as low-budget films like "Backrooms" and "Odyssey." However, all of those films, including those featured in Variety […]

In 2026, moviegoers returned to theaters and packed theaters to see blockbusters like Odyssey, The Hail Mary Project, Spider-Man: All New Day, Toy Story 5, Michael and Super Mario Galaxy, and low-budget movies like The Backroom and Odyssey. But all of those films required skilled artisans to complement the directors' visions, including those on Variety's 10 Craftsmen to Watch list. Winners will be honored at the SCAD Savannah Film Festival, which runs from October 24-31.

Past winners have often been nominated for Oscars. Last year, Durald Arkapaw, "KPop Demon Hunters" composer EJAE, and "One Battle After Another" editor Andy Jorgensen all won Oscars.

Supervising Sound Editor, "The Mosquito Bowl"

With a focus on authenticity, James approached the World War II Pacific setting and researched specific weapons used by Japanese and American military forces, including the M1 Garand rifle.

Its distinctive metallic "ping" was more than just an accurate historical reference. "It adds a sense of urgency, and it's a moment of decision," says Jimeks.

The voice of the soldiers was a priority. Breaths and physical reactions recorded on stage were projected against the chaos of battle to establish the humanity of the characters. Even in the quieter scenes, the jungle setting was alive with sound, creating a sense of pressure around the soldiers.

Blending these elements together is a process Jameks refers to as the "sound parade," adding, "Your brain can only process so many sounds at once. However, it's very good at processing sounds in quick succession."

Sound was necessary to advance the story. For Jaimex, this meant determining which voice should take precedence at any given moment, while never losing sight of the people at the center of the film's story. - Tanya Fedak

"Hail Mary Project" animation supervisor

Despite having no face, eyes, or traditional way of conveying human emotion, Rocky became the emotional heart of the Hail Mary Project.

Licinio did this by developing a physical language for the alien rock creature. Lissinio led a team of animators who studied the physical puppet used for filming and used its on-stage movements as reference while developing Rocky's mannerisms. "James Ortiz [Rocky actor and voice actor] did a great job of getting the expressions out of this rock," he says. "How can we strengthen it in a way that we can use in reference? How can we tie up the loose ends?"

Lissinio and his team focused on the early puppetry and exaggerated performances of silent film stars such as Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. With no features to convey human emotion, Rocky instead uses his distinctive elbows, body and head movements, sometimes bending just five degrees more to express his emotions. For example, when he's shy, he tucks his elbow in front of him as if to hide. Some of Rocky's behavior originated on set, including a tapping gesture to answer Ortiz's questions that the animators incorporated into the final character. Other movements, such as Rocky's computational finger movements, were created in CG. "It's a collaboration at the end," Lisinio says. "That's what I like to say about movies." - T.F.

SCAD alum Lott recalls that "Pluribus" production designer Denise Pizzini reached out to help develop a completely staged Norwegian ice hotel. "The brief was to create a hotel that had an authentic feel and was entirely sculpted from ice, while designing it around the practical constraints of setting the scene," recalls Lott.

Lott saw it as a great opportunity to bring together his background in illustration, architecture and set design.

Lott says of his process: "The initial scope of the set was actually larger than what ended up on screen, and included the hotel lobby, foyer, bar and individual hotel rooms. This meant thinking of the hotel as a complete environment from the start, creating ways to connect the spaces and give each its own identity while making sure they all felt part of the same place."

Lott knew that many details were carved by ice sculptors. "I was basically designing works of art that should also function architecturally, work within the realities of a scene and give the sculptors something tangible to interpret and bring to life," he says. So he turned to real ice hotels across Scandinavia, particularly the ICEHOTEL in Sweden and hotels in Norway and Finland for inspiration - Jazz Tangcay.

For McClendon, film editing is a lot like music. It's all about finding rhythm, texture, speed and cutting where the beat drops. Sometimes that groove is deliberate and difficult to find, and sometimes, like in "Clarissa," the experience is full of happy accidents. "It's like a rooster crows at just the right moment to keep the shot interesting and keep it going, and we're like, 'Oh, great, that guy's got to stay,'" McClendon says.

McClendon explains that it also helped the actors deliver great performances.

Stars David Oyelowo, Sophie Okundo and Ayo Adebiri worked with directors Ari Esiri and Chuko Esiri to allow scenes to unfold naturally and used editing to enhance the characters' emotions. For McClendon, that's the way it's meant to be. One of the biggest misconceptions he shares about editing is the idea that it's a place for refinement as opposed to fine-tuning.

To arrive at the final cut, McClendon and the directors discussed their wishes and ideas for what the film would be, and McClendon's goal was to realize as many of them as possible. He knew he was done when they had "emotionally exhausted the ways of doing what you're trying to do." In the end, he could happily admit that “it is what it is. It's not about me or Choko or Ari's head or the producer's head or the DP's head, but you start to realize that, no, this is how the film plays out." - Isabel Farina.

Cinematographer of "Davoot", "Club Kid"

The Newport-Berra spectrum has been featured in two films this awards season: "The Invitation," directed by Olivia Wilde, and "Club Kid," directed by and starring Jordan Furstman.

"I tend to enjoy working with actor-directors because we get this dynamic experience on set where they can direct the film both from the outside and from the inside during the set, which I think is a special opportunity for the director to be in the moment," says Newport-Berra.

"The Invitation" takes place in one night and follows two dynamic couples in an apartment. This premise provided a creative challenge for Wilde and Newport Bra. We loved the script, but we thought, "How can we actually read this on screen?" It can't just look like a play. It can't just be about presenting content. It should be dynamic."

Newport-Berra looked for ways to release his camera into the confines of space.

Without a large crane available, the lens and composition must tell the story. "Olivia and I looked at a lot of resources, took a lot of pictures, and talked about why certain images made us feel awkward, seductive, anxious, or in love," she explains.

We really used the composition and focal lengths of our lenses to squeeze people in and make things look flat and claustrophobic or use a wider lens to make it feel very intimate, soft, sexy and seductive.

"Club Kid" emphasizes character dynamics. After years of partying in New York's clubs, first-man Peter finds his life turned upside down when he discovers he has a 10-year-old son, Arlo (Reggie Absolum). Newport-Berra wanted to carefully manage the relationship between the characters of Reggie and Jordan. "It was through rehearsals, and every morning, Jordan and I would review together, read the script together, and feel whatever we were feeling that day," says Newport-Berra. - J.T.

When composing Netflix's La Bola Negra, Refry knew he wanted to pursue a timeless, orchestral, avant-garde sound.

The film tells the story of three generations of queer men whose lives are linked through love and loss.

The referee tied his work to characters rather than periods. Sebastian (Guitarricadelafuente) plays trumpet, so his scenes rely heavily on the brass section. Carlos (Milo Quifes) plays the piano, so his music has piano along with the string section. Finally, the story of Alberto (Carlos Gonzalez) takes place in the present day, and because he is going through a personal crisis, his music relies more on silence."

As the three floors intersect, the music reaches its final climax by combining these different colors and tones.

The film contains several songs, including "La Nieve", sung by Sebastien. "Guitarricadelafuente brings La Nieve tribute to Los Javis (film directors Javier Ambrosi and Javier Calvo).

They liked it and asked me to include it in the soundtrack, so I adapted his original concept to the rest of the soundtrack. - J.T.

Acting for "Elsinore" was a special feat for Ronan. He felt responsible for the truth. He was forced to star in a film based on real events at the National Theater in London in 1989.

To do this, Ronan says, Ronan and "Elsinore" director Simon Stone worked closely together, scouring their network of actors and creating a "story map of all the real people" and then instinctively starting to think about who was the soul of the character, and how we were going to identify the right actors to cast.

Ronan's instincts led him to focus on performers with theater experience. When Andrew Scott was confirmed for the role of Ian Charleson, Ronan quickly thought of David Dawson to play Derek Jarman. He had seen the pair perform together in a play in 2014 and couldn't shake their chemistry. "Seeing the two of them in a small scene together in a really intimate setting, when we talked about David Dawson in this role, I couldn't help but think of that," says Ronan.

The casting of Olivia Colman as Margaret also made Ronan's "sensitivity, wit and wisdom and a kind of edginess" a natural choice for the role, says Ronan.

"It's incredible to be able to build on your instincts like that, to be able to really feel that your taste is appreciated by colleagues who want more," says Ronan. - I.F.

Head of Makeup and Hair Department / Head of Special Effects Makeup "Osvas"