Dr James McLean

Dr James McLean

Lecturer in Media Production

Faculty and Department

  • Faculty of Arts Cultures and Education
  • School of The Arts

Qualifications

  • BA
  • MA
  • PhD / DPhil

Summary

I am the programme director for the Media Production and Media & Communication undergraduate degrees at the University of Hull. I have experience working in various creative pre-production and production roles across the media sectors, on multiple franchise products, including Doctor Who, Star Wars, and High School Musical. My industry experience has included working on video game productions for Disney, BBC, and Lucasfilm franchises. I have experience in writing, design development, and storyboarding for commercial adverts and promotions in the UK and overseas. I have also illustrated for comics, television shows, books, journals, and DVDs.

My research interests focus on the processes of professional media production. I have publications that consider production through the lenses of adaptation, genre, transmedia storytelling, and the transnational movement of media works. My research seeks to make sense of ongoing creative practices, commercial decision-making, and the risk management strategies of media producers. I'm currently in the early stages of co-planning an edited collection focusing on video games. My research has widened in the last few years looking at the role of storytelling and its benefits to society. I have been working regionally applying my skills to local communities, exploring the benefits of media storytelling to groups with learning disabilities (VOICE) and mental health (ERNI). I am in the early stages of a project that will tie explore storytelling in tourist intensive regions, in particular for those identifying as neurodivergent.

I continue to contribute to media projects, including work in visual design, storytelling, and podcast hosting, with expertise on shows such as Doctor Who, Star Trek, and Millennium. I have television expertise that centres around US/UK cult television, and I have been engaged in multiple media projects that have engaged with creators and professionals within the industry. I have interviewed industry professionals, including BAFTA award-winning documentary producer Neil Grant, Chris Carter (The X-Files), Phillip Hinchcliffe and Graeme Harper (Doctor Who), and Hollywood actors such as Lance Henriksen and Barbara Bain.

I am programme director for both Media Production and Media & Communication at the University of Hull. I also teach on the Graphic Design degree.

As the programme director for the Media Production degree, I am keen to continue the university's good relations with its industry professional contacts and stakeholders. In doing so, the Media Production degree can provide students both media industry opportunities and professional engagement that can complement and inform their academic projects. This is a critical contribution the degree's goal to produce graduates that are prepared for employment and appealing to media employers.

As the programme director for Media & Communication, I continue to support its diversity of module opportunities. The diverse range of optionality provides different career pathways, from media creative practice to media analysis and research. It aims to enrich the critical thinking skills of its students and in doing so, supports employability within – and beyond - the media industries.

My research interests are in production cultures, storytelling, adaptation theory, transmedia studies, and genre theory. These concepts speak to the ongoing and necessary tension between the creative and commercial demands on producing media content. This engagement underpins my teaching and programme development for Graphic Design, Media Production, and Media & Communication degrees.

I teach undergraduate students on pre-production, post-production, genre and adaptation, and short film making. I have experience in teaching the history of film, design, digital media, reception studies, and the media industries.

My teaching has been informed by my experiences of working as a professional freelancer artist in media, having worked in pre-production and production for television, film, advertisements, and video games. I identify as being neurodivergent, and a strong proponent of recognising and accommodating the different ways students learn and experience university.

Research interests

Media production; Media practice; Transmedia storytelling; Television studies; Storytelling; Genre within television; Factual television; Media-Mix theory; Transcultural media franchises; Fan studies; Video-games; Inclusivity; Mental Health; Ethnography

Lead investigator

Project

Funder

Grant

Started

Status

Project

Self Advocacy through Story-telling: VOICE

Funder

Wellcome Trust

Grant

£1,500.00

Started

1 January 2023

Status

Complete

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