The Animated Performance: Animation Invades Live Action December 6, 2005

Since the early days of motion pictures, there has been a unique fascination with combining animation and live performances. Today's film makers are telling stories and creating characters and worlds that could not have been realized a decade ago. But now, due to advances in digital imaging technology, the capability of animation to complement or even replace live action is completely changing the dynamic of ?blended? cinema.

Now that synthetic images look real, and move as if they are real, they are changing the way movies are made. What does this mean for the animator? The live actor? The director?

This Science and Technology Council program will explore how animators, directors and actors are using today's cutting-edge technology to create great performances, compelling visual imagery and unique audience experiences.

Panels with noted experts and Academy Award winners will discuss the dynamics of using animation in live-action; directing and creating characters without a live-action set, and the seamless combination of a live-action actor and an animated performance to create one photorealistic performance utilizing both digital and practical sets.

This duality of animation and live-action has effectively created a new arena in the art of motion pictures, the blended cinema. Join us as we explore this new age of motion picture making.