I am grateful to those filmmakers who include a final, “surprise” scene after the credits. It’s the hope of seeing something extra – that others might miss – that keeps my kids in the seats until the very end. This allows me to see the music credits, which often include the names of Finale users I’ve met through my work at MakeMusic.

Last month even our jaded, grade school-aged boys were a little impressed to see my friend Tim Davies credited twice at the end of Frozen (as both an orchestrator and conductor). Since I’ve yet to figure out how to claim movie tickets as a business expense, I also have to rely on less entertaining ways of learning who worked on which film.

Once the Oscar nominations are announced, I ask several music preparation contacts to help me identify the Academy Award nominated films in which Finale was used. Due to the informal nature of my information gathering system, I’ve likely overlooked a few, but here are some of this year’s nominees in which Finale played a part:

• The Book Thief – for Music (Original Score)
• The Croods – for Animated Feature Film
• Despicable Me 2 – for Music (Original Song) and Animated Feature Film
• Frozen – for Music (Original Song) and Animated Feature Film
• The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug – for 3 awards
• Iron Man 3 – for Visual Effects
• The Lone Ranger – for 2 awards
• Philomena – for 4 awards including Best Picture and Music (Original Score)
• The Wolf of Wall Street – for 5 awards including Best Picture
• Captain Phillips – for 6 awards including Best Picture

Know of other nominated films in which Finale was used, or how I can write off movie tickets on my tax return? Please let us know (and share your thoughts on Finale and the Academy Awards) by clicking on “Comments” below.