Experience the digital age

If the idea of digital moving art sounds fresh, it's surprising to find the eight finalists in the inaugural Jerwood Moving Image Awards - celebrating the digital age - share old-school approaches to the art of the short film.

Whether it's the cartoonish animation of Johnny Kelly's Procrastination, a humorous paean to the art of dithering, or the hypnotic photography of Sea Change, a haunting portrait of a caravan park by Rosie Pedlow and Joe King, digital trickery largely takes second place to the emotion of the subject matter.

How you view the films certainly influences their impact.

The cut-out animated detail of Laurie Hill's moving My Life At 40, a bittersweet reflection on childhood idealism, works better on the large screens in Jerwood Space than on a laptop, so the destination of the three £10,000 prizes will depend on how the judges, led by Royal Ballet choreographer Wayne McGregor, do their viewing.

You can download the films (and view the other 21 shortlisted entries) at www.jerwoodmovingimage.org.

But try to get down to the gallery: it's the best way to sample a show highlighting the sheer diversity of the moving image, from visual poetry and social commentary to my winner, Norman Wilcox-Geissen's Jump.

It's the closest you'll get to experiencing the frozen fear of the ski jumper.

Jerwood Moving Image Awards
Jerwood Space
Union Street, SE1 0LN