Data Story
The Spotlight
A theater of beams: departments become lights, and award wins sharpen the focus.
filmimdbtmdbcrewdepartmentsawardscraft
Dataset scope
4081
films1914–2024
years1001
wins4028
post-prodDepartments here are presence, not quality. The goal is to see which craft “shows up” most often in winners.
Loading spotlight data
Hypothesis
Films with strong post-production footprints correlate with higher award win rates.
Question: Which crew departments correlate with award wins?
Method: Measure department presence by film and compare win rates across departments and decades.
Prediction: Certain departments over-index on wins, especially in post-production heavy mixes.
Test: Compare win rates by department and inspect shifts over time.
Narrative Arc
Act I
Departments line the stage as faint beams.
Act II
Wins tighten the focus; the brightest beams reveal repeat craft signatures.
Act III
Hidden craft departments sharpen when you filter to winners and post-production.
Datasets
- imdb.film_crew
- imdb.film_awards
- tmdb.movies
- 03_spotlight.json
Limitations
- “Award win” mixes different award types and prestige levels.
- Department labels are unevenly normalized across eras.
- Presence ≠ quality; this is correlation, not causation.