Cinematography
Bill Pope has had a great career working as a cinematographer on the likes of Sam Raimi's latter-two Spider-Man films, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, and most notably, The Matrix trilogy. The distinctive look that he gives the world - where Zion is washed-out grey, and The Matrix has a creepily unnatural green-ish hue about itself - helps to define the iconography of the series, and by combining his work with astonishing visual effects, it makes The Matrix one of the best-looking science-fiction films ever made. Inception's lenser, Wally Pfister, is no slouch himself, either, having made a name for himself working with Christopher Nolan, and also working on the likes of Moneyball and the documentary Marley. Pfister has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography four times, and aptly enough, won it for his outstanding work on Inception. Pfister and Nolan's working relationship seems absolutely water-tight - having collaborated together on 7 of Nolan's 8 films - and the result is an astonishing visual landscape that, like The Matrix, is wholly accentuated by wondrous visual effects. Pfister gives each of the dream "layers" its own look and feel, whether it's the warmness of the hotel lobby or the cold detachment of the snow fortress. Though it's a tough one, we have to give it to Inception, because it's such a diverse, challenging visual feat.
WINNER: Inception