Why ‘Uncanny Valley’?

Uncanny Valley is a festival of animation in the Calder Valley, West Yorkshire. It takes place at the end of June as part of Hebden Bridge Arts Festival 2013.

Organised by Magpie Cinema, we welcome submissions from across the range of animation styles and techniques: drawn, cut paper, stop motion, CG and mixed media. Go to the submissions page above for details on sending your work.

Why Uncanny Valley?

The term originated in robotics to capture the sense of unease generated by creations (robots) that are very human-like but NOT human. It surfaced again with developments in CGI and gaming. The idea and the existence of the uncanny valley, as a human response, has attracted a lot of debate. We like to think of it as a problem of empathy. Many people found it difficult to ‘like’ the hyper-real characters developed in films like  Pixars short animation Tin Toy, and the live motion capture of Warner Bros  The Polar Express.  Animation is a field of practice where the simplest techniques can literally breath life into mundane objects, creating a depth of connection with audiences that stems from the way these creations behave. To us, animation at its best is not about replicating a human – it’s about creation.  Or, as Reggae singer Winston Rodney puts it “It takes behaviour, to get along”.

The Uncanny Valley Festival takes place in Hebden Bridge, in the heart of the Calder Valley. Valley life can sometimes feel a little ‘uncanny’, familiar and foreign at the same time.