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Expertise Summary
My research concentrates on contemporary film, television and digital media culture. I have written extensively on branding and promotion in media industries, including the books Brand Hollywood (Routledge, 2008), Ephemeral Media (British Film Institute, 2011) and Promotional Screen Industries (co-authored with Catherine Johnson, Routledge, 2015).
In recent years, my leadership roles have focused on place-based, community engaged research and knowledge exchange. I am currently Academic Director of City as Lab, a creative engine for place-led research using digital and data innovation. This initiative connects researchers with the people, places and policymakers of the Nottingham city region.
Between 2016-2020, I was Director of the AHRC Midlands4Cities Doctoral Training Partnership (M4C), bringing together eight universities across the Midlands to support the development of the next generation of arts and humanities doctoral researchers. I have also been a lead for the Collaboratory Research Hub which is pioneering civic doctoral education in the place context of the East Midlands.
In national terms, I have been a member of the AHRC Advisory Board (2021-2025) and chaired funding panels for major AHRC investments in Creative and Digital (Xrtists) and Doctoral Futures (Landscape Award Regional Hubs).
I have served on the editorial board of top-ranked international journals including Cinema Journal, Screen, and Memory Studies.
My recent publications include (see publication tab for full list)
Books:
Teaching Summary
In past years, I have taught modules including Understanding the Cultural Industries, Film History, The New Hollywood, and Researching Culture, Film and Media. In designing Understanding the Cultural… read more
Research Summary
My research since the late 2000s has explored the promotional screen industries in a period of digital transformation. This emerged from an AHRC 'Beyond Text' workshop on 'ephemeral media' (2009)… read more
Recent Publications
In past years, I have taught modules including Understanding the Cultural Industries, Film History, The New Hollywood, and Researching Culture, Film and Media. In designing Understanding the Cultural Industries, I have been keen for students to reflect on the complex workings of the film and television industry: from the role of advertising and the rise of market research to issues surrounding copyright, media convergence and creative labour. This has culminated in students devising and pitching their own 'transmedia franchise,' a group project designed to provide hands-on experience of the dynamics and challenges of work in the media industries. This model of theoretical and applied learning, tapping the creativity of students, has been extremely rewarding and has produced some highly innovative film and TV ideas.
Current Research
My research since the late 2000s has explored the promotional screen industries in a period of digital transformation. This emerged from an AHRC 'Beyond Text' workshop on 'ephemeral media' (2009) that examined the role of promotional media such as logos, promos, idents, apps and trailers. The workshop led to a long-standing collaboration with the UK's leading broadcast design company Red Bee Media, and to an AHRC Follow-On Fund project (with Catherine Johnson) titled 'TV and Digital Promotion: Agile Strategies for a New Media Ecology.' This project explored how companies specializing in brand communication and promotional design are developing strategies to 'connect viewers to content' in a multiplatform world. Our work with Red Bee formed the basis of an REF2014 impact case study which became an AHRC impact case study (see future research for more details)
I have published a book with Cathy Johnson based on this research titled Promotional Screen Industries (Routledge, 2015). This has informed workshops and consultancy with local SMEs on 'spreadable marketing' as part of the University of Nottingham's award-winning 'Arts into Business' programme
For blogs on promotional and videographic practice, see contributions in Antenna on BBCiPlayer, in Flow on University video paratexts, and on YouTube, 'Why study television idents?'
Future Research
More recently, I have written the first book in the new 'TV and ...' series for Edinburgh University Press, edited by Karen Lury and Amy Holdsworth. TV and Cars looks beyond questions of speed, spoilers and cylinders to explore the small screen intimacy of cars - the way people interact, sing and dwell in the habitat of automobiles. Considering the industrial, cultural and aesthetic relation between TV and cars, I examine how comedy entertainment such as sitcoms, talk shows, web series and vlogs have been drawn to the practice of 'passengering'.