The "For Your Consideration" section of RopeofSilicon.com's "The Contenders" is dedicated to listing the films I've determined to be in the running for an Oscar nomination at the 2012 Academy Awards.

As of right now the list contains 57 films, plus those contending for Best Documentary, Best Animated Feature Film and Best Foreign Language Film. Over the next few months this list will grow and shrink as the tides shift. So if you don't see a film listed that you think should be, drop me a line and let me know about it. After all, your input is invaluable.

As you navigate the list of films to the left you will notice some film titles have a small ("BP") icon next to them. I have not begun predicting Oscar nominees, but instead have dubbed a group of films as the most likely Best Picture contenders as I see it based on history and gut instinct. This too will change as the year goes on, but I felt it added a little something seeing how we are very early in the game.

ACADEMY INFORMATION

Members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences represent 15 general areas - actors, animators and short film makers, art directors and costume designers, cinematographers, composers and songwriters, documentary filmmakers, directors, executives, film editors, makeup artists and hairstylists, producers, public relations specialists, sound artists and engineers, visual effects experts and writers.

Here is the most up-to-date list of members in each branch:

• Actors Branch
  Chair: Annette Bening
  Members: 1,183
• Art Directors Branch
  Chair: Rosemary Brandenburg
  Members: 364
• Cinematographers Branch
  Chair: Caleb Deschanel
  Members: 202
• Directors Branch
  Chair: Kathryn Bigelow
  Members: 367
• Documentary Branch
  Chair: Rob Epstein
  Members: 157
• Executives Branch
  Chair: Robert Rehme
  Members: 442
• Film Editors Branch
  Chair: Michael Tronick
  Members: 220
• Makeup Artists & Hairstylists Branch
  Chair: Leonard Engelman
  Members: 118
• Music Branch
  Chair: Bruce Broughton
  Members: 236
• Producers Branch
  Chair: Mark Johnson
  Members: 446
• Public Relations Branch
  Chair: Marvin Levy
  Members: 366
• Short Films and Feature Animation Branch
  Chair: Jon Bloom
  Members: 343
• Sound Branch
  Chair: Kevin O'Connell
  Members: 407
• Visual Effects Branch
  Chair: Bill Taylor
  Members: 289
• Writers Branch
  Chair: Frank Pierson
  Members: 375

This is important because the nominations for each category are not determined by the entire Academy, but but the branch members representing each category, which means a film only needs approximately 17% of the branch to vote for it to secure a nomination.

Of course there are exceptions, such as a writer/director that has won in both Directing and Screenplay categories allowing them to cross over, but for the most part the facts of the matter remain. Of course, once the nominations are announced, the entire group of active and life Academy members are allowed to vote for the winners (except for Foreign Language Film, Documentary and Animated and Live-Action Shorts where those are voted on by those that have seen them).