VOTING RULES

17th ANNUAL

ACADEMY AWARDS OF MERIT

For Achievement During 1944

ONE

The Awards Year

Academy Awards of Merit shall be bestowed for achievements in connection with motion pictures first publicly exhibited (previews excluded) in Los Angeles between January 1, 1944, and midnight, December 31, 1944, such exhibition being for a consecutive run of not less than a week after an opening prior to midnight of December 31, 1944, except that short subjects which shall have been first publicly exhibited in a regular theatre anywhere in the United States for any definite paid play date during the aforesaid period shall be eligible for consideration for the Awards.

TWO

The Annual Awards

Awards of Merit shall be conferred for the following achievements:

PRODUCTION:	For the best motion picture of the year.
ACTING:	For the best performance by an actor. For the best performance by an actor in a supporting role. For the best performance by an actress. For the best performance by an actress in a supporting role.
DIRECTING:	For the best achievement In directing.
WRITING:	For the best written screenplay. For the best original screenplay (the writer or writers of which are also the authors of the original story.) For the best original motion picture story.
ART DIRECTION:	For the best achievement in art direction of a black-and-white production. For the best achievement in art direction of a color production.
CINEMATOGRAPHY:	For the best achievement in cinematography of a black-and-white production. For the best achievement in cinematography of a color production.
SOUND RECORDING:	For the best achievement by a studio sound department.
FILM EDITING:	For the best achievement in film editing.
SPECIAL EFFECTS:	For the best achievement in special effects.
SHORT SUBJECTS:	An Award shall be given jointly for the outstanding productions selected in three classifications: (a) Cartoons, (b) 1,000-foot subjects, (c) Subjects between 1,000 and 3,000 feet.
MUSIC:	For the outstanding achievements in music in connection with motion pictures: (a) Best scoring of a musical picture. (b) Best music score of a dramatic or comedy picture. (c) Best original song.

THREE

The Special Awards

Special Awards may be conferred as follows:

1. SCIENTIFIC OR TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT: For a device, method, formula, discovery or invention of special and outstanding value to the art or science of motion pictures, and actually employed in the motion picture industry during the Awards year. (See Rule 15.)
2. IRVING G. THALBERG MEMORIAL AWARD: “To carry on the ideals represented by Irving G. Thalberg is the privilege of the Academy in sponsoring this Award. It shall be given each year for the most consistent high quality of production achievement by an individual producer, based on pictures he has personally produced during the preceding year. It shall be in the form of a specially designed trophy which will, each year, become the permanent possession of the producer to whom it is awarded.”

   The Board of Governors of the Academy shall determine the recipient of this Award, nomination and final voting being conducted at the same meeting.

3. DOCUMENTARY ACHIEVEMENT: For the best feature-length Documentary film and for the best Documentary Short Subject. (See Rule 18.)
4. OTHER SPECIAL AWARDS: For outstanding achievements not strictly within the categories listed in Rule Two. These achievements may be in connection with foreign as well as domestic productions, and are not limited to the Awards year.
5. Special Awards shall be in the form of gold statuette trophies or certificates of honorable mention, or in such other form as the Academy Board of Governors may decide.

FOUR

General Rules

1. Trophies for all general Awards shall be in the form of gold statuettes, emblematic of the motion picture profession, except that the trophies for Best Scoring of a Musical Picture, Best Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture, and Best Original Song Awards shall be plaques. The Award for Short Subjects production shall be a permanent statuette trophy conferred jointly for the three classifications of production, together with individual plaques.
2. Final voting for Awards shall be by secret ballot. Printed forms and ballots shall be supplied by the Academy and shall be returned unsigned.
3. Ballots shall be opened and counted by a firm of Certified Public Accountants designated by the Academy President. This shall be the firm of Price, Waterhouse & Co.
4. Awards shall be conferred at an Awards Presentation Ceremony.
5. In the event that an achievement voted an Award was done in collaboration, each of the collaborators shall receive an Award trophy.
6. In the nominations vote, except where otherwise specified, the marking and tabulation of all ballots shall be according to the preferential or proportional system used in Academy elections. No “write-in” votes shall be counted on the final ballots.
7. In the event that two achievements by one actor, director, writing team or writer without collaborator shall receive sufficient votes to be nominated, only the one receiving the most nomination votes shall be placed on the final ballot. The nomination votes for the second achievement shall be redistributed and the candidates of the next highest standing included among the nominees.
8. The Awards Rules Committee shall provide for such meetings, sub-committees and special showings as may be desirable to insure a full and fair consideration of the merits of all eligible achievements.
9. It being the intention that motion pictures from all countries shall be eligible for consideration for the Awards, the rules shall be construed liberally to include such motion pictures, except that they must have been shown in Los Angeles within the Awards year, must be in English or with English titles, and the producers or distributors shall provide prints when necessary for review showings.

FIVE

General Rules for Nomination

1. Five nominations shall be made for each Award (unless otherwise specified). In all cases nominations shall be announced and placed on the final ballot in alphabetical order.
2. All nominations shall refer only to the motion picture in which the achievement was made, and not to any individual responsible except in the case of nominations for Acting which name both the individual and the one picture in which the achievement occurred.
3. Performances by an actor or actress in any leading role shall be eligible for nomination only for the Best Acting Awards. Performance by an actor or an actress in any supporting role may be nominated for either the Best Acting Award or the Award for Supporting Player.

SIX

Special Rules for the Production Award

Nomination and final ballots shall be sent to all members of the Academy, to Class A and AJ Members of the Screen Actors Guild, to Directors eligible for senior membership in the Screen Directors Guild, and to Writers eligible for active membership in the Screen Writers Guild to determine the Award for the Best Motion Picture of the Year.

SEVEN

Special Rules for the Acting Awards

1. Only Class A and AJ members of the Screen Actors Guild and members of the Academy Actors Branch shall be invited to take part in the nominations voting.
2. Final Ballots for the Acting Awards shall be sent to the same groups who participate in the final voting for the Production Award. (See Rule 6.)

EIGHT

Special Rules for the Directing Award

1. All Directors fulfilling the minimum qualifications for senior membership in the Screen Directors Guild and members of the Academy Directors Branch shall be invited to take part in the nominations voting.
2. Final ballots for the Directing Award shall be sent to the same groups who participate in the final voting for the Production Award. (See Rule 6.)

NINE

Special Rules for the Writing Awards

1. All writers fulfilling the qualifications for active membership in the Screen Writers Guild and members of the Academy Writers Branch shall be invited to take part in the nominations voting.
2. Final ballots for the Writing Awards shall be sent to the same groups who participate in the final voting for the Production Award. (See Rule 6.)

TEN

Special Rules for the Art Direction Awards

1. One picture shall be nominated for this Award from each studio Art Department, each nomination to be made by the Supervising Art Director concerned, in consultation with such Art Director members of his department and such of the executive staff of his studio as he may deem fit.
2. The one production to receive the Art Direction Award shall be chosen from those productions nominated in accordance with Paragraph (1) above, by a Committee to be known as the Art Direction Award Committee which shall consist of one representative and one alternate from the Art Department of each studio nominating a production for consideration for the Award. Each studio’s representative and alternate on this Committee shall be chosen by the Supervising Art Director of that studio in consultation with the Art Director members of his department.
3. In order that each member of the Art Direction Award Committee may judge all nominated productions upon the same basis, arrangements shall be made for a series of runnings during the Awards period, at which the Committee may view the entire group of nominated productions. It is specified that to be qualified to vote upon the final selection of the production to receive the Award, each member of the Committee must view all of the nominated productions under the same conditions in the same theatre. The alternate members of the Committee may take part in this voting only in case of the absence of the regular Committee member, but in order to be qualified to vote must have seen all of the nominated productions as specified above. It is further specified that all voting by the Art Direction Award Committee shall be by the preferential system of voting and shall be governed by the regular Rules set up for this system of voting, with the exception that a Committee member may not vote for the production nominated by the studio which he represents.

The production to receive the Award for Color Art Direction shall be chosen by the same procedure as specified in the Rules above governing the Black-and-White Art Direction Award. It is further specified that all members of the Art Direction Award Committee who view all of the nominated color productions, under the same conditions and in the same theatre, shall be eligible to vote for the Award for Color Art Direction, whether or not their studio may have nominated a picture for the Color Art Direction Award, with the exception that a Committee member may not vote for the color production nominated by the studio which he himself represents.

Recognition in the form of Certificates of Merit shall be given the Interior Decorators of the pictures which receive the Art Direction Awards.

ELEVEN

Special Rules for the Cinematographic Awards

1. Each Director of Photography shall be given the opportunity to submit one black-and-white production on which he has received single or joint screen credit, which shall be included on a nomination ballot to be sent to all Directors of Photography In the industry.
2. From those productions submitted in accordance with Paragraph (1) above, each Director of Photography shall vote for ten productions in the order of his preference. The ten productions receiving the greatest number of votes shall be considered nominated for the Black-and-White Cinematographic Award. This voting shall be by the secret ballot, by the preferential system, and shall be governed by the regular rules applying to this system of voting. The ballots shall be tabulated by a committee to be known as the Cinematographic Awards Tellers Committee to be appointed by the Chairman of the Photographic Section.
3. The one production to receive the Award shall be chosen from the ten nominated productions by a vote of all Directors of Photography in the industry who shall be given an opportunity to view these productions in advance of the voting procedure. In the final voting, each Director of Photography shall name only that production which he believes to be the best Cinematographic Achievement of the year. Ballots shall be sent directly to the Academy auditors in line with the regular Academy Awards voting procedure.
4. As outlined in Paragraphs (2) and (3), all Directors of Photography in the industry shall be eligible to participate in the nomination and final voting to select the production to receive this Award. In order that the list of Directors of Photography shall be complete, individual lists of the Directors of Photography in each studio shall be obtained from the heads of each studio camera department and/or any other available sources, and shall be checked and approved by the Cinematographic Awards Eligibility Committee to be appointed by the Chairman of the Photographic Section. This committee will be charged with the responsibility of the preparation of a full and complete list of Directors of Photography.
5. Cartoons shall not be eligible for this Award.

1. The production to receive the Award for Color Cinematography shall be chosen by exactly the same procedure as specified in the rules above governing the Black-and-White Cinematographic Award, with the exception that only six productions instead of ten shall be nominated for the Color Cinematographic Award.
2. Cartoons shall not be eligible for this Award.

TWELVE

Special Rules for the Sound Recording Award

1. One picture from each studio Sound Department shall be nominated for this Award, each nomination to be made by the Director of the Sound Department concerned.
2. The one production to receive the Sound Recording Award shall be chosen from those productions nominated in accordance with Paragraph (1) above, by a Committee to be known as the Sound Recording Award Committee, which shall consist of two representatives and an alternate of the Sound Department of each studio nominating a production for consideration for the Award.
3. In order that each member of the Sound Recording Award Committee may judge the recording of all nominated productions upon the same basis, arrangements shall be made for a series of runnings during the Awards period, at which the Committee may view the entire group of nominated productions. These viewings are to be held at different locations convenient to the geographical groupings of the studios. It is specified that, to be qualified to vote upon the final selection of the production to receive the Award, each member and alternate of the Committee must view all of the nominated productions under the same conditions and in one of the theatres or projection rooms designated for these viewings. It is further specified that all voting by the Sound Recording Award Committee shall be. by the preferential system of voting with the exception that a Committee member may not vote for the production nominated by the studio which he represents.
4. Such other Rules as may be necessary for the proper conduct of this Award shall be put into effect by the Sound Recording Award Committee, subject to the approval of the Academy Awards Rules Committee.

THIRTEEN

Special Rules for the Film Editing Award

1. The Film Editors associated with each studio shall select one production produced by their company, which shall be included on a Nomination Ballot to be sent to all Film Editors in the industry.
2. From those productions selected in accordance with Paragraph (1) above, each Film Editor shall vote for five productions in the order of his preference. The five productions receiving the greatest number of votes shall be considered nominated for the Film Editing Award. This voting shall be by secret ballot, by the preferential system, and shall be governed by the regular rules as applying to this system of voting.
3. In the event that two achievements by one Film Editor (having a single, not joint, credit on both such achievements) shall receive sufficient votes to be nominated, only the one receiving the most nomination votes shall be placed on the final ballot. The nomination votes for the second achievement shall be redistributed and the candidate of the next highest standing included among the nominees.
4. The one production to receive the Award shall be chosen from the five nominated productions by a committee to be known as the Film Editors Award Committee, five of whom shall be appointed by the Chairman of the Film Editors Section and five by the President of the Society of Motion Picture Film Editors. The membership of this committee shall be subject to the approval of the Academy Awards Rules Committee.
5. In selecting the one production to be given the Award, the Committee shall use the personal knowledge of its members as to technical excellence, etc., and in addition shall screen each of the nominated productions and/or utilize any other means which it may consider necessary in order to arrive at a correct judgment.

FOURTEEN

Special Rules for the Award for Special Effects

1. The President of the Academy shall appoint a Committee of at least 15 technicians, which shall contain representation from each of the various Special Effect fields. This Committee shall be charged with the responsibility for selecting, from all productions eligible for Awards recognition, the one production to be recommended to the Academy Awards Rules Committee.
2. In selecting the one production to be recommended for this Award, the Committee shall give final consideration to five or more productions, representing in its judgment the Best Special Effect Work (picture or sound or both) of the Year. The Committee shall view the special effect sequences from these productions before voting to select the one production to be recommended for the Award.
3. The following basic requirements shall be used to judge all Special Effect achievements under consideration for this Award:
   1. Dramatic necessity of the effects, pictorial or sound, or both to the picture.
   2. Economic necessity to the picture; it should be physically or economically impossible to produce the picture without the effects.
   3. Illusion of actual reality should be accomplished with such skill that the mechanism by which the effect is achieved is not apparent in the final result.
4. Voting to select the one production to be recommended for this Award shall be secret, by the preferential system, and shall be governed by the regular Rules set up for this system of voting. It is further specified that to be qualified to participate in this voting, each member of the Committee must view all of the special effect sequences under final consideration. A Committee member may not vote for the production nominated by the studio which he represents. Any member unable to attend the meeting at which this viewing takes place may send a technically qualified representative to participate for him.
5. It is further specified that if, after the group of productions under final consideration is selected, any studio producing any of these productions is not represented by at least two members on the Committee, the President of the Academy shall increase that studio’s representation by an additional appointment or appointments.

FIFTEEN

Special Rules for Scientific or Technical Awards

Awards for Scientific or Technical Achievement shall be made upon recommendation of the Academy Research Council for a device, method, formula, discovery or invention of special and outstanding value to the art or science of motion pictures, and actually employed in the motion picture industry during the Awards year. This Award shall be known as the Award of the Academy Research Council for Scientific or Technical Achievement. This Award shall be made in accordance with the following Rules:

1. Any individual, organization, or company may submit to the Research Council nominations in writing for this Award.
2. The closing date for nominations for this Award shall be noon of January 12, 1945, and consideration of achievements for an Award in this classification shall be limited to those nominated in writing on or before this date.
3. The Research Council shall consider all nominated achievements, and fully acquaint itself as to the merits of each such achievement.
4. The Chairman of the Research Council shall appoint Committees consisting of representatives of the various professional fields within which nominations are submitted, to assist the Council in appraising the nominations.
5. The Research Council shall recommend to the Academy Awards Rules Committee the person, persons, group and/or corporation on whom an Award shall be bestowed, and the manner in which such recognition shall be accorded.
6. It shall be within the discretion of the Council to recommend no Award, if in their judgment there has been no sufficiently outstanding achievement worthy of recognition in this classification.

SIXTEEN

Special Rules for Music Awards

1. Best Scoring of a Musical Picture. Each Music Department shall be invited to nominate the one musical picture representing its Best Scoring Achievement for this type of production.
2. Best Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture. Each Music Department shall be invited to nominate its Best Scoring Achievement of a picture in which the essential use of the music is as a background for action and dialog.
3. Best Original Song. Each studio Music Department shall be invited to nominate its Best Original Song written for and first used in a motion picture within the Awards year.
4. A written vote among the professional members of each Music Department shall be required to determine the above nominations, which shall apply to feature-length productions only.
5. Eligibility lists shall be supplied by Music Department heads. Uniform ballot blanks shall be sent from the Academy office directly to each individual eligible to vote on the nominations.
6. Before nomination ballots are distributed, the members of the Music Branch, acting as a special Committee, shall decide on the eligibility and the proper classifications of the scores and songs listed.
7. Nomination ballots shall be returned to the Academy office for tabulation. A return from two-thirds of the eligible voters in each music department shall be required to determine the nominations from each studio.
8. Final ballots for the two Scoring Awards shall be sent only to members of the Academy Music Branch. Each member shall be asked to vote for first, second, and third choices among the nominations for each Award, but no member may vote for a nomination from any Music Department of which he is a member, recognized as such by the head of that department. A freelance member may not vote on any production to which he has contributed during the Awards year. Eligibility of voters shall be approved at the meeting mentioned in Paragraph (6) above. A preferential ballot shall be used with first choice counting five points; second choice three points; and third choice one point. It shall be noted on the ballot also that the Awards are not intended to be limited to musical technicalities but to measure the effectiveness with which the musical score is used to enhance the production.
9. Final ballots for the Best Original Song Award shall be sent to all Academy members.
10. The same rules shall apply to feature-length cartoons as to other feature-length productions.

SEVENTEEN

Special Rules for Short Subjects Awards

1. Nominations shall be submitted in three classifications:
   1. Cartoons and other animation photography of inanimate objects, whether in color or black-and-white.
   2. Short Subjects of 1,000-foot length or less.
   3. Short Subjects between 1,000 and 3,000 feet in length.

   The above classifications shall include entertainment short subjects made with or without government cooperation but distributed on a rental basis to theatres for the profit of the producer and the distributor. Newsreels, films produced by any government and films made for advertising purposes shall be excluded.

2. Short Subjects shall be accepted for entry which have had a definite paid play date in any regular motion picture theatre in the United States during the Awards year.
3. Short Subjects producers shall be permitted to enter not more than one subject from any series.
4. Entry prints must be available for screening in Hollywood on dates to be specified.
5. Preliminary showings shall be held for the purpose of judging the best picture in each classification from each distributing company, when more than one subject is entered in any of the three classifications.

   The Judging Committee for these preliminary showings shall be composed of members of the Academy Short Subjects Branch. Each member shall be asked to vote for first, second, and third choices among the nominations from each distributing company in each classification (when there is more than one entry from each company), but no member may vote for a production from any Short Subjects Department in which he has been employed during the Awards year, or for a production from a unit affiliated with his company.

6. The final vote shall be taken at a special exhibition of the nominated subjects for Academy members and guests. All Academy members present shall participate in the final voting.
7. In both preliminary and final voting, the excellence of the entries shall be judged on the basis of entertainment, originality and production quality, without regard to cost of production or subject matter.

EIGHTEEN

Special Rules for the Documentary Awards

1. Documentary Films are defined as those with a factual background and realistic treatment (or a re-enactment of factual events) whether made by private companies, commercial film studios or government agencies. Only one entry in each classification will be accepted from each producing unit. No film presented for Documentary consideration shall be entered in the competition for other Academy Awards.
2. Documentary Short Subjects are defined as those outside the general entertainment Short Subject Awards Classifications, and specifically including but not limited to shorts and cartoons produced by or for a government. Length shall be limited to 3,000 feet or less.
3. To be eligible the Documentary films must have been first exhibited in the United States to the audience for which they were made, sometime during the calendar year.
4. Nominations in the Documentary field will be limited to those that either have been produced in or enlarged to 35 mm., so as to avoid strictly school and amateur production.
5. All nominations must first be made in writing, with a description of the subject, to the Academy office, 1201 Taft Building, Hollywood 28, California by January 31, 1945. Notification of acceptance by the Committee will be sent by telephone or telegraph, and prints may then be forwarded for viewing. This rule is intended to avoid unnecessary shipping during war time.
6. Prints of all accepted nominations must be received in the Academy office, 1201 Taft Building, Hollywood 28, on or before Monday, February 12, and must remain with the Academy for screening until March 15, 1945. Films should be shipped express prepaid and will be returned to sender express prepaid by the Academy.
7. The Documentary Awards Committee will sift the nominated films and the committee’s selections will then be viewed by the Academy Membership, whose balloting will determine the final awards.
8. Both Documentary Awards will be Gold Plaques.