That sound you heard after the end of the Toronto Film Festival was the starting gun for the awards season race.  A number of contenders emerged out of TIFF, as they do every year, and the Academy has now announced the key dates for the 85th Academy Awards to officially get things started.  The nominations will be announced on January 10th this year, five days earlier than previously expected, giving voters more than a month to see all the nominated films before their ballots are due (February 19th).  This also puts the Oscar nominations announcement in front of the Golden Globe Awards, as in the past the nominations have always followed the Golden Globe ceremony.The Academy also announced that they will begin the process of phasing in electronic voting this year.  Hit the jump to check out the full list of key dates for the upcoming Oscars, including when voting begins/ends, the Sci/Tech Awards presentation and more, and be sure to look out for our Oscar preview coverage here on Collider soon. The 85th Academy Awards will be presented on Sunday, February 24th.oscars-statues-image-1Here are the key dates for the 85th Academy Awards:

Friday, November 30, 2012: Official Screen Credits due

Saturday, December 1, 2012: Governors Awards presentation

Monday, December 17, 2012: Nominations voting begins

Thursday, January 3, 2013: Nominations voting ends 5 p.m. PT

Thursday, January 10, 2013: Nominations announced 5:30 a.m. PT, Academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater

Monday, February 4, 2013: Nominees Luncheon

Friday, February 8, 2013:  Final voting begins

Saturday, February 9, 2013: Scientific and Technical Awards presentation

Tuesday, February 19, 2013: Final voting ends 5 p.m. PT

Sunday, February 24, 2013: 85th Academy Awards presentation