Nominations for the 76th annual Academy Awards were announced today, with the design categories generally following in step with the overall nominations. Interestingly enough, however, Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, which garnered 11 nominations total, trails Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World in the design categories, with five for the former and seven for the latter. If there were any surprises, it may be the inclusion of cinematographer Cesar Charlone for City of God, and the virtual shutout of Cold Mountain. Interestingly enough, Ngila Dickson is competing against herself in the costume category, for both Lord of the Rings and The Last Samurai.

Here is the list of nominations in the technical categories:

Art Direction
Girl with a Pearl Earring, Ben Van Os (art direction), Cecile Heideman (set decoration)
The Last Samurai, Lilly Kilvert (art direction), Gretchen Rau (set decoration)
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Grant Major (art direction), Dan Hennah and Alan Lee (set decoration)
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, William Sandell (art direction), Robert Gould (set decoration)
Seabiscuit, Jeannine Oppewall (art direction), Leslie Pope (set decoration)

Cinematography
City of God, Cesar Charlone
Cold Mountain, John Seale
Girl with a Pearl Earring, Eduardo Serra
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, Russell Boyd
Seabiscuit, John Schwartzman

Costume Design
Girl with a Pearl Earring, Dien van Straalen
The Last Samurai, Ngila Dickson
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Ngila Dickson and Richard Taylor
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, Wendy Stites
Seabiscuit, Judianna Makovsky

Makeup The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Richard Taylor and Peter King
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, Edouard Henriques III and Yolanda Toussieng
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Ve Neill and Martin Samuel

Sound editing
Finding Nemo, Gary Rydstrom and Michael Silvers
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, Richard King
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Christopher Boyes and George Watters II

Sound mixing
The Last Samurai, Andy Nelson, Anna Behlmer and Jeff Wexler
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Christopher Boyes, Michael Semanick, Michael Hedges, and Hammond Peek
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, Paul Massey, D.M. Hemphill, and Arthur Rochester
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Christopher Boyes, David Parker, David Campbell, and Lee Orloff
Seabiscuit, Andy Nelson, Anna Behlmer, and Tod A. Maitland

Visual effects
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Jim Rygiel, Joe Letteri, Randall William Cook, and Alex Funke
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, Dan Sudick, Stefen Fangmeier, Nathan McGuinness, and Robert Stromberg
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, John Knoll, Hal Hickel, Charles Gibson, and Terry Frazee

The winners will be announced on Sunday, Feb. 29.