The Visual Effects Society (VES) announced its nominations for the 6th Annual Awards, with PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD'S END capturing seven nods and TRANSFORMERS grabbing five, both from Industrial Light & Magic.

Following close behind with four nominations were SPIDER-MAN 3 and I AM LEGEND from Sony Pictures Imageworks, SURF'S UP from Sony Pictures Animation, HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX and RATATOUILLE.

This year the VES added the new category, Outstanding Effects in an Animation Motion Picture, making a first-time distinction between vfx for live action and animation. RATATOUILLE earned two nominations (for Food and Rapids), and is joined by BEOWULF (Dragon Chase), SHREK THE THIRD (Effects) and SURF'S UP (Riding Wave).

The 6th Annual VES Awards will take place on Feb. 10 at the Kodak Theatre Grand Ballroom in Hollywood. This year the VES will present Steven Spielberg the VES Lifetime Achievement Award.

"We received hundreds of submissions from around the world and we are proud to present nominees that push the boundaries of how visual effects can enhance the storytelling process," said Jeff Okun, VES chair. "Looking at the level of complexity and creativity of this year's nominees, it is clear that the VES is the single most important pool of talent, experience and knowledge in the visual effects world."

The nominees for the 6th Annual VES Awards are:

* Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects Driven Motion Picture

I AM LEGEND (Janek Sirrs, Mike Chambers, Jim Berney, Crys Forsyth-Smith)

TRANSFORMERS (Scott Farrar, Shari Hanson, Russel Earl, Scott Benza)

THE GOLDEN COMPASS (Michael Fink, Susan MacLeod, Bill Westenhofer, Ben Morris)

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD'S END (John Knoll, Jill Brooks, Hal Hickel, Charlie Gibson)

SPIDER-MAN 3 (Scott Stokdyk, Terry Clotiaux, Peter Nofz, Spencer Cook)

* Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Motion Picture

RATATOUILLE (Michael Fong, Apurva Shah, Christine Waggoner, Michael Fu)

ZODIAC (Eric Barba, Craig Barron, Janelle Croshaw, Chris Evans)

WE OWN THE NIGHT (Kelly Port, Julian Levi, Brad Parker, Olivier Sarda)

THE KITE RUNNER (David Ebner, Les Jones, Todd Perry, Leif Einarsson)

BLADES OF GLORY (Mark Breakspear, Randy Starr, Shauna Bryan, Kody Sabourin)

* Outstanding Visual Effects in a Broadcast Miniseries, Movie or Special

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA - Razor (Mike Gibson, Gary Hutzel, Sean Jackson, Pierre Drolet)

RACE TO MARS - Getting to Mars (Manon Barriault, Jacques Levesque, Olivier Goulet, Benoit Girard)

DOCTOR WHO CHRISTMAS SPECIAL 2007 - Voyage of the Damned (David Houghton, Will Cohen)

BEN 10: RACE AGAINST TIME - VFX Compilation (Dina Benadon, Evan Jacobs, Brent Young, Chris Christman)

TIN MAN - Night One (Lee Wilson, Lisa Sepp-Wilson, Sebastien Bergeron)

* Outstanding Visual Effects in a Broadcast Series

HEROES - Episode 208 - "Four Months Ago" (Eric Grenaudier, Mark Spatny, Diego Galtieri, Mike Enriquez)

DOCTOR WHO "The Last Of The Time Lords" - Series 3, Episode 13 (David Houghton, Will Cohen)

STARGATE ATLANTIS - "Adrift" (Mark Savela, Shannon Gurney, Erica Henderson, Jamie Yukio Kawano)

FIGHT FOR LIFE - Episode 4 (Philip Dobree, Nicola Instone, Marco Iozzi, Matt Chandler)

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA - Episode 316 - "Maelstrom" (Mike Gibson, Gary Hutzel, Michael J. Davidson, Kyle Toucher)

* Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Broadcast Program

GREY'S ANATOMY - "Walk On Water" - Ferryboat Crash (Sam Nicholson, Scott Ramsey, Valeri Pfahning, Mike Enriquez)

MARIE-ANTOINETTE - Miniseries (Richard Martin, Pierre Raymond, Sebastien Rioux, Nadine Homier)

DRIVE EPISODE 101 "THE STARTING LINE" - Driving Sequence (Raoul Yorke Bolognini, Loni Peristere, Steve Meyer, Chris Jones)

ROME 2 - Episode 6 - "Philippi" (James Madigan, Barrie Hemsley, Duncan Kinnard, Gary Broznich)

PUSHING DAISIES - Pilot Episode (Craig Weiss, Toni Pace Carstensen, Brian Vogt, Jimmy Berndt)

* Outstanding Visual Effects in a Commercial