Benjamin Pinsent

I am a current Post-Graduate Research Student at The University of East Anglia. While my current research project concerns film history, genre, special effects and media reception. My academic interests span much further than that, from Japanese Cinema to Animation. 

My Ph.D. research concerns the reception of the work of Rick Baker, the make-up artist that created the legendary werewolf transformation from American Werewolf in London. The thesis will encompass his work on lycanthropes and simians and is a historical reception study tied to a historical examination of the techniques that Baker used.

While I am currently working toward his Ph.D., I am also close to publishing a section my Masters' thesis, an examination of the auteur image of Japanese Director Naruse Mikio, and I have plans to publish articles about Akira Kurosawa's Throne of Blood and Ghost in the Shell. 

I not only have experience in academia, but through his professional career, I have dabbled in film production, radio broadcasting, marketing and criticism. 

Doctor of Philosophy in Film | University of East Anglia, Norwich | 2018 - Current

Provisional Title of Thesis: By the Light of the Moon: Comparing and Contrasting Critical and Production reception of practical effects in the films of Rick Baker

This project seeks to be both a historical reception study examining discourses surrounding Rick Baker. It aims to investigate and elevate the role of the Special Effects Artist. It also seeks to preserve a history of special effects that is slowly being ignored by other academics.

Master of Arts in Film | University of East Anglia, Norwich | 2015-2016

Grade: Distinction | Modules Studied: Film History Theory and Criticism: British Cinema: Effects Audiences and Media: Asian Cinema: Fantasy Genres: 

Award: Outstanding Effort for a Post Graduate Taught Student in the Department of Film Television and Media