The best of the rest

“The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers”

Ethan Van der Ryn, Michael Hopkins

This award – formerly sound effects editing – traditionally goes to the loudest nominee (“Pearl Harbor,” “The Matrix” and “Saving Private Ryan” are among recent winners). That may be because many voters really don’t know how to judge this technical field.

It was the first nomination and Oscar for Ethan Van der Ryn and Michael Hopkins; both are credited as supervising sound editors on the film, with Van der Ryn also credited as co-sound designer.

Both men were supervising sound editors on the trilogy’s first film, “The Fellowship of the Ring.”