Dr Jane Barnwell

Jane Barnwell makes, teaches and writes about film. Jane is Reader in Moving Image at University of Westminster - where she teaches practice and theory. Graduating from Leeds University and the Northern School of Film & Television she began her career at the BBC, before working freelance in production. 

Her artist films have received commissions from The Unicorn Theatre, The Women's Library, The Place, Battersea Arts Centre, Chisenhale Gallery, TAP and the Truman Brewery. She has developed learning initiatives including organising student festivals and creating student commission/live project opportunities. Jane has published articles and interviews for a range of publications including - The Converstion, The Guardian, The Scenographer, International Journal of Production & Costume Design, Journal of British Cinema and Television and Widescreen. With sole authored books - Production Design: Architects of the screen, (2004, Wallflower Press), The Fundamentals of Film Making (2008, AVA publishing), Production Design for Screen: Visual Storytelling in Film and Television (2017, Bloomsbury) and Production Design & the Cinematic Home (2022, Palgrave Macmillan).  Jane is Co-Founder of the Production Design Research & Education Network. 

The Production Design Research & Education Network (PD-REN) addresses production design’s critical yet overlooked role, by establishing an international network of researchers and educators we are bridging the gap between academia and industry.  The appetite for this network is evident with members from 33 countries across 6 continents.  PD-REN’s close ties to industry guilds, universities and film schools worldwide strengthens our mission to build much needed research capacity in the field.  The new knowledge produced contributes to how the subject is framed, researched and taught globally. Our forchcoming edited collection, Perspectives on Production Design (UoW Press, 2026) brings together voices from across industry and academia to reframe production design as central to storytelling and screen culture.

For details of all my research outputs, visit my WestminsterResearch profile.