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Project Team

Professor Charlotte Brunsdon (Principal Investigator)

Charlotte Brunsdon is Professor of Film and Television Studies at the University of of Warwick and Principal Investigator for the project. She is a former Chair of the West Midlands Arts Film and Video panel and was a founder member of the Birmingham Film and Video Workshop in the 1980s. Her research background in cultural studies and the study of British television and film means that she has particular interests in multi-method research projects, and her books include The Nationwide Television Studies (with David Morley), The Feminist, the Housewife and the Soap Opera (2000) and London in Cinema (2007). Charlotte is the key point of contact for project management, and has particular responsibility for the way in which the different parts of the project work together. She is working with the Project’s Research Fellow, Dr Richard Wallace, in the planning and analysis of the interviews with projectionists, and will be exploring ways in which the transition to digital is framed in discussions of cinema. Charlotte is also responsible for liaising with project partners and co-supervising the project’s PhD student, Claire Jesson.

Dr. Jon Burrows (Co-investigator)

Dr Jon Burrows is an Associate Professor of Film and Television Studies at the University of Warwick. He is particularly interested in silent cinema history, and is the author of Legitimate Cinema: Theatre Stars in Silent British Film, 1908-1918 (2003) and a range of articles and essays on different aspects of silent film culture in Britain. His new book The Edwardian Cinema Boom, 1906-1914, co-authored with Richard Brown, will be published by Palgrave Macmillan in 2016. For the Projection Project Jon will co-ordinate the historical strand of the research, which aims to investigate the development of the projectionists' profession from the 1890s onwards and throughout the 20th century. This archival research phase will begin in earnest in 2015/16. He is responsible for liaising with key associations related to the project (members of which are on the advisory board), and he will co-supervise the PhD research.

Dr. Michael Pigott (Co-investigator)

Michael is Associate Professor of Video Art and Digital Media at the University of Warwick. He is the author of Joseph Cornell Versus Cinema (2013). He has research interests in experimental film and video, and the relationship between moving images and urban space. Michael is also a practising artist by the name of Michael Lightborne (www.michaellightborne.com). He has exhibited video and projection works around the UK and internationally, and works regularly with Vivid Projects in Birmingham. His strand of the project will address the uses of digital projection as an artistic practice and his work will continue throughout the project. He will also lead a number of impact activities and co-ordinate the project’s digital presence.

Dr. Richard Wallace (Research Fellow)

Dr Richard Wallace has research interests in aspects of British film and television history, particular the ways in which historical research can cast light on contemporary technological, social and theoretical transformations. Before starting on The Projection Project he was the Senior Research Fellow in charge of the ‘Voices of the University: Memories of Warwick, 1965-2015’ oral history project. In addition he has been conducting archival research on the television engineer and freelance photographer John Cura, the man responsible for photographing thousands of hours of British television programmes between 1947 and 1968. It is hoped that this project will shed new light on a number of aspects (such as archiving policy) that remain important topics of debate for British broadcasters in the digital age. Richard has additional interests in international documentary, and screen comedy.

Claire Jesson (PhD Student)

Claire Jesson, who holds an undergraduate degree in Modern Languages, returned to university as a mature student to undertake a Masters degree in Film and Television studies having worked in communications and marketing for several public- and third-sector organisations. Claire’s Phd will examine the figure of the projectionist in cinema and she will be giving a series of presentations as this work develops, including one at the Warwick Arts Centre. With wide experience in public relations, including print and online publishing, press work and engagement events, Claire will contribute to disseminating the Projection Project’s work in progress.

Anne Birchall (Project Secretary)

Anne Birchall provides part-time administrative support for the duration of the project.


Partners

We will work with a number of partners to communicate our research to a wider public. Follow this link to find out more about: Birmingham’s Flatpack Film Festival, photographer Richard Nicholson and the British Film Institute.

 

Advisory Board

Our advisory board draws on the diverse expertise of members from a range of academic, heritage and industrial backgrounds. They will monitor progress and guide us via annual events and individual meetings and consultations.

Website

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