Oscars: Short Films Shoot For The Big Prize

Hollywood is awash with film posters and multimillion pound ad campaigns with studios spending big to persuade Academy members to vote for them.

An Oscar win obviously means acclaim and credibility for those that pick them up, but it also equates to box office returns.

But some of the nominees have got to Los Angeles on a shoestring, with no real backing and big budgets.

Michael Lennox is a young British filmmaker who has been nominated for his short film Bugaloo and Graham, which has already won a Bafta.

He's out in America with the star of his movie - nine-year-old Riley Hamilton - and told Sky News the experience has been amazing.

"To come to the Oscars, it's sort of a validation - something I'm doing... that's working," he said.

"Hopefully I can continue and have a career as a filmmaker. Just to see your film travel 6,000 miles across the water, and to see people are enjoying it because ultimately that's why you make it."

Like Michael, Daisy Jacobs is a recent graduate of the National Film and Television School.

Her film The Bigger Picture also picked up a Bafta.

The stop-motion movie about the death of her grandmother may be a small project, but as she explains it's had a big impact.

"Before I made the film I didn't realise how many people had gone through what I had," she said.

"I've had so many people come up to me and say, 'That's my story' and that really helped me and I'm incredibly proud."

The publicity machine behind these smaller films may be non-existent, but Amy Nicholson from LA Weekly believes that means its purely their quality that they are judged on.

"That's the sort of the benefit of being in the shorts category - people aren't paying that much close attention to them, so you at least know that when you pick up your award, at least you've earned it," she said.

"There's real talent there but people aren't paying as much attention, so it's almost a more artistic race."