Dr Alex Nevill

Job title:

Lecturer in Film and Moving Image

Role:

Programme Director, BA Film & TV, MFA Film Art

anevill@ed.ac.uk

Office:

North-East Studio Building, Room L.24

Research Output:

Edinburgh Research Explorer link

Biography

As a director of photography 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 University for the Creative Arts and Ravensbourne University London.

Research interests

Practice-research in film
Artist's moving image
Cinematography
Film aesthetics
Film philosophy

Teaching

My teaching and film work go hand in hand. Production experiences provide me with a range of creative approaches, industry knowledge and techniques that I draw upon when working with students. Developing course material and student projects often inspires me to pursue new areas of practice in my films.

I have taught in various academic and industry contexts. This includes leading several undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes and delivering certificate courses accredited by ARRI and BAFTA Albert. I have mentored numerous BA and MFA graduation films, guiding students through development processes, supporting their final practical work and degree show participation. In conjunction with this, I became a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy in 2023.

I am currently an external examiner for the BA Film degree at University of the Arts Singapore and MA Creative Documentary Filmmaking at Edinburgh Napier University. I previously served as an external examiner for MA Film & Television at the University of Bristol and BA Filmmaking & Screenwriting at the University of West Scotland, both for around 5 years.

At ECA, I have developed and taught the following specialist courses:

Visual Aesthetics in Cinema (Year 2, BA)
Advanced Narrative Filmmaking (Year 3, BA)
Sustainability in Film (Year 3, BA)
Cinema Lab 1 (Year 1, MFA)