Ian Crook
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Ian is the Course Leader in BA(hons) Film Production and has taught all areas of film and media for many years. Ian is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Ian is also an external examiner for a number of film and media courses, both nationally and internationally.
As course leader for the Film Production course at the University of Central Lancashire, Ian is involved in teaching across all levels, from first year introduction to final year graduate projects. Ian has co-delivered the the successful feature film module for a number of years, in which, uniquely, our second years produce an entire feature film in less than a year. Building on his background in animation, Ian now specialises in post-production, visual effects, and Motion Graphics.
Ian trained, initially as an animator, working in both 2D and stop-motion. He was also co-director for 17 years of Showme Multimedia Ltd. an award winning media production company, based in Derbyshire. Whilst there he developed interactive content for many clients, specialising in child friendly medical information for groups like, the Health Development Agency and Channel 4. Ian began working at UCLan teaching multimedia alongside other forms of media production. During the 2015 / 2016 academic year Ian worked for HBU-UCLan in Hebei, China, a joint international partnership between UCLan and Hebei University, as head of Media for the three UCLan media courses (Media Production, Film and Animation). During that time he took over as Academic Head, responsible for the successful overseeing of all aspects of the partnership programme. Now returned to the UK, Ian is still involved with HBU and the partnership with UCLan with regular meetings and collaborations. On taking over as Course Leader for Film Production, Ian undertook and wholesale review of the course and instigated a major overhaul of the content offering, updating and strengthening the course in the process.
- PGCertHE, University of Central Lancashire, 2013
- MA Multimedia Design & Production, Liverpool John Moore's University, 1999
- BA (hons) Animation, West Surrey College of Art (now University of the Creative Arts), Farnham, 1991
- Ian's current areas of interest are in low budget film making and visual effects, animation and interactive storytelling
- He is currently in the process of writing a novel and learning to play the ukulele.
- Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
Ian's research interests revolve around the nature of interactive storytelling and collaborative filmmaking and media projects. He has worked on a number of participatory projects with young people as part of the Centre for Children and Young People's Participation, UCLan and Lancashire Youth Council.
- The Centre for Children and Young People's Participation
- Stories to Connect is an intense collaborative project in North West England, initiated by young people in UCLan, funded by the AHRC and in partnership with Barnardos
- Young researchers have collected stories of overcoming challenges (e.g. being in care, being disabled and facing discrimination) and these are being rewoven by children’s authors and animators, to be shared as inspirational stories through a multimedia project in partnership with Barnardo’s and Lancaster University
- Re-writing the Future is exploring young people’s views about living and learning in West Lancashire
- Funded by Future U, the project draws on Stories to Connect to investigate why young people do or do not envisage higher education as part of their life journey
- LYC and Knife Crime: Stop Blaming. Start Listening. Crook, D.J. and Crook, I. with Lancashire Youth Council
- Paper presented at ‘Collaboration, creativity and complexities: developing networks and practices of co-production with children and young people’ conference, Manchester Metropolitan University, 26th- 27th June 2019.
Telephone:+44 (0)1772 893309
Email: Email:Ian Crook