Professor Tim Smith

Biography

Audiovisual media and digital technologies are pervasive in modern human life. Our brains and behaviours develop from birth to adulthood shaped by the media around us whilst rapid technological evolution enables new media experiences that are increasingly symbiotic with human cognition. In my Cognition in Naturalistic Environments (CINE) Lab (www.cinelabresearch.com) we study the relationship between media and minds across the lifespan. Utilising advanced experimental and computational techniques (including eye tracking, EEG, fNIRS, computational modelling and AI) we endeavour to study this relationship from the frame-by-frame effect of directorial decisions on viewer attention and comprehension to the long-lasting impact of everyday media exposure on brain and cognitive development via randomised controlled trials. In collaboration with our creative industry and charity partners (e.g. BBC, Hopster, Dreamworks, Tate, AMPAS, BFI, NCT, EYA, The Sleep Charity) we ensure our scientific findings further public understanding and impact creative practice and policy.