Digital Reality Fly-through

Digital Reality Fly-through will offer a critical exploration of representations of CG reality in cinema, gaming and animation. Artists, programmers and designers will address the concept of uncanny valley', the point at which animated characters seem so real that they are disturbing.

Speakers will examine the desire that games designers and film directors have to achieve realism and look at examples of excellence or uniqueness in the CG field. What is the fine line between an unnerving experience and that of pure pleasure in the 'real' when we engage with environments and characters in CG? Is the viewer's response a reflex action or is it learnt through environmental, social and age-related factors?

Speakers will talk about their own work from a variety of perspectives, and will include artist group Igloo talking about their new installation Summerbranch; Martin Parker from Framestore CFC on realism in animation; Tanya Kryswinska on realism and the interface in games design; Marco Gillies from University College London on the uncanny valley'; and David Surman from the University of Wales, who will outline the importance of the analysis of stylistics in the understanding of game characterisation and worlds.

Moderators: Hannah Redler and Helen Sloan

Co-curated by SCAN, the New Media Art Agency in the South of England, and Science Museum Arts Programme