Thomas Brennan

What subject do you teach at SKH and at which education?
I teach post production tools, methods, and aesthetics to undergraduate, masters, and doctoral candidates who work with mediated images. My focus is in on the art and techniques of visual storytelling from a color perspective. I teach a fristående course, Authentic Color in Film, which offers color tools training and explores the history, theory, aesthetic, and archival concerns of color in film and media.

Is there anything you would like to highlight within your area?
A lot of the magic happens in postproduction, the edit reveals the turning point, the sound warns us, the color sets a mood, and the cinemascope framing helps to immerse us in the story. Understanding your role and the choices you have in relation to your collaborators is critical for a successful project and career. While the media field is open to individual explorations, for the most part the work is collaborative and therefore planning, communication, and critical thinking are valuable skills to acquire as students move into the film, media, and communications industry.

Anything else you think is important within your area and your role as a teacher?
As an assistant lecturer I see my role as that of a guide for student learning. I encourage student self-empowerment and advocate for democracy in the classroom with more freedom (and thus, more responsibility) for students to shape the content and structure of their education.

In addition to my work as an assistant lecturer, I am also the Head of the Bachelor’s Program in Film and Media. In this role I am responsible for the how the courses connect with each other as pedagogic progressions, the staffing of courses, coordination of larger exam projects, the technical and location infrastructure, and a sounding board for students and teacher concerns. I also coordinate our department’s Erasmus exchange program and am a member of the local, university teacher’s union board (SULF).

When I’m not teaching, I am the cook and the gardener; travelling, art-making. I like to bike and kayak and sauna.