Biographical Note

Justin Ascott is a British national film director, artist and educator. He is the son of new media art theorist Roy Ascott. Justin will soon be joining Norwich University College of Art (NUCA) from 1st September 2010 onwards, as a full-time lecturer on the BA (Hons) Film and Moving Image Production course. The course shares facilities with EPIC, a state-of-the-art commercial HD production facility, and the course is noted for its experimental Fine Arts ethos and focus on exploring the relationship between sound and image.

From August, 2008 to May, 2010 Justin was based in Mexico lecturing full-time within the Communications Department, at the internationally renowned Tecnológico de Monterrey (ITESM), Campus Querétaro. He was responsible for teaching classes in Digital Film Production, Hybrid Animation, Scriptwriting, Previsualization, Digital Design and Film Theory at undergraduate level.

Prior to this Justin lectured at several colleges in the UK including on the MA Digital Film and Animation course at London Metropolitan University from 2007 - 2008, where he encouraged radical experimentation.

For two academic years from 2006 through 2007 Justin lectured full-time within the Motion Media Design Department at Savannah College of Art & Design (SCAD), USA, where he developed and implemented a hybrid media animation class.

Justin has more than fifteen years professional expertise in conceptualizing, scriptwriting and directing special effects TV commercials and corporate brand image, information and training films on 35mm film and digital formats. He directed on a full-time or freelance basis for production companies in Hong Kong from 1990 - 1991, Singapore from 1992 - 1999, and Jakarta, Indonesia from 1999 - 2001. From 2001 - 2005 Justin was based in London directing corporate films throughout Europe for major multinational clients including Pfizer, Reebok, Orange, Johnson & Johnson (DePuy CMW) and Rolls-Royce Aerospace.

A Master of Science Degree in Digital Television Management & Production was gained from University of Brighton, UK in 2004. Justin researched and wrote a whitepaper on Interactive Television Advertising as part of a three month industry placement with Open TV in London, the leading industry provider of iTV applications. Justin developed and pitched a light entertainment, interactive television series proposal to BBC executives as a thesis project.

Prior to this in 1988 Justin gained a 2.1 Bachelor of Arts (Honours) Degree in Film & Video Arts from Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design, UK. Justin’s thesis film, a docudrama about a “gentleman of the road” was screened on a commercial basis at Watershed Media Centre Cinema, Bristol.

Justin is an active media artist producing personal short films, animations and digital collages that explore themes of consciousness, identity, inter-personal communications and consumer culture. His independent art works have been exhibited internationally.