Dr Alex Nevill
Job title:
Lecturer in Film and Moving Image
Role:
Programme Director, BA (Hons) Film and Television
Office:
North-East Studio Building, Room L.24
Research Output:
Edinburgh Research Explorer linkBiography
As a cinematographer and filmmaker, I have been involved with several independent feature films and numerous short projects with a focus on creative non-fiction and artist's moving image work. My previous films include commissions from Creative England, Channel 4, Film London and have screened at major film festivals such as BFI London, Edinburgh, Palm Springs and IDFA.
My main areas of research and teaching are cinematography and film aesthetics. I am the author of a short book Towards a Philosophy of Cinematography (2021) and my writing has been published in the Journal of Artistic Research, the Journal of Media Practice and Alphaville Journal of Film and Screen Media. I am also an associate editor of Screenworks, an online practice-research publication.
Before joining Edinburgh, I was programme director for film degrees at Kingston University and the Arts University Bournemouth. Prior to this, I was an Assistant Professor in the School of Cinema at San Francisco State University for three years. I have also worked as a visiting lecturer at the Paris College of Art, University for the Creative Arts and Ravensbourne University London.
Research interests
- Practice-research in film
- Artist's moving image
- Cinematography
- Film aesthetics
- Film philosophy
My teaching and film practice go hand in hand. Ongoing filmmaking experiences equip me with a range of relevant production approaches, industry knowledge and creative techniques that I draw upon during my work with students.
I have taught film in both academic and industry contexts through a range of methods including leading several undergradaute and postgraduate degree programmes. In conjunction with this, I became a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy in 2023.
I have delivered certificate courses accredited by ARRI and BAFTA Albert and also tutored numerous BA and MFA graduation films across a variety of forms and styles, guiding students through development processes, supporting their final practical work and degree show participation.
I am currently the external examiner for MA Film & Television at the University of Bristol and BA Filmmaking & Screenwriting at the University of West Scotland.
My specialist courses at ECA include:
Visual Aesthetics in Cinema (Year 2, BA)
Advanced Narrative Filmmaking (Year 2, BA)
Sustainability in Film (Year 3, BA)
Research
Research
My research focuses on intersections of film practice and theory.
Selected work:
Notes from Brook House (2025), short film as director.
Up The River With Acid (2023), feature film as cinematographer and co-producer.
Ferroequinology (2022), feature film as director.
Hôtel de la Comète (2018), short film as cinematographer and co-producer.
Léthé (2014), short film as cinematographer and producer.
Fishcakes & Cocaine (2013), short film as director.
Selected publications:
Towards a Philosophy of Cinematography (Palgrave Macmillan, 2021)
'Passages of Light: Analogue and Digital Moving Image Installation', Journal of Artistic Research (Vol. 18, 2019)
'Publishing screen media practice research' Journal of Media Practice and Education (Vol. 19.3, 2019)
'Cinematographic affordances: creative approaches to lighting in moving image practice' Journal of Media Practice and Education (Vol. 19.2, 2018)
Current PhD students
PhD Supervision Topics
- Film (practice-research)
- Artist's moving image
- Cinematography
- Film aesthetics
- Film philosophy
