Please join me in congratulating John Gibbs whose video essay Choosing Death Row Songs was part of the Official Selection at the Marienbad Film Festival and was the joint winner of the audiovisual essay competition. The essay is also about to be published in Music, Sound and the Moving Image.
John is Research Dean for the Heritage and Creativity theme at the University of Reading and an internationally renowned video essayist whose work has featured in many leading publications. While videographic criticism originated in film and media studies, it has evolved into a significant digital humanities method. John has been pioneering this innovative and interdisciplinary approach in other fields by leading a highly successful videographic summer school for colleagues here at Reading. I was very lucky to attend the summer school last year, where John, along with colleagues in FTT, created an incredibly supportive and safe environment that encouraged participants to explore their creativity. In the process, we all discovered a new research methodology that has allowed us to conduct and communicate new and innovative research.
Many congratulations John and thank you for your visionary and generous leadership.
Dr Mara Oliva
Associate Professor in History and Digital Humanities Champion