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Mr Tom McGorrian

ROLE: Senior Lecturer in Television Production

DEPARTMENT: Media

EMAIL: T.Mcgorrian@mdx.ac.uk

Biography &
Qualifications

Tom comes from a background in Broadcast and Business TV production. He started his career with BBC Documentary Features as a Researcher before moving into roles as an Assistant Producer and Director. Subsequently, his key posts of responsibility include EMEA Producer / Director for Unisys, the global IT Solutions company, where he led and delivered award-winning programme content across Europe; and Business TV Producer/Director for Halifax plc. His main areas of interest and expertise are factual programmes – both documentary and current affairs. Credits include the Royal Television Society award-winning series Close-up North; (BBC1); The Boarding House (BBC2 '10x10'); Bridge Builders (BBC2); Mirror Image (BBC2); Into The Music (ITV); and Not on a Sunday (Channel Four). He was also awarded the US 'Telly Award' for his corporate social responsibility documentary, Project Raja – An Embassy for Elephants.

Tom joined the Television Production department at Middlesex University in 2010. As well as teaching both Documentary and Client-led Video modules, he is actively involved in developing media practice, and in creating links with partners from the broadcast and business industries, whilst building students' employability skills. Recent partner links include: Saracens TV, Zig Zag Productions, Transport for London and OBTV. He has also run specialist media industry short courses such as Research for Factual Media Production for organizations including Creative Skillset.

Selected production credits:

Emmaus (2015 - 2016) - Director / Producer

Directed and co-produced a series of short documentaries for the UK homelessness charity, Emmaus.

Families and Schools Together (2014 - 2105) - Producer / Director

Produced & directed a series of Families and Schools Together (FAST) videos.

The Unisys Security Index (2014) – Co-Director.

Informative video, which provides a recurring, statistical measure of consumer concern about four areas of security: national, financial, Internet and personal safety.

Forward!, Italy (2014)– Director

Case-study video for a more secure, scalable and cost effective computing platform called Forward!

Project Raja - 'An Embassy for Elephants' (2006) – Producer/Director

A corporate social responsibility documentary for the Woburn Estate.

Winner of the US Telly Award, 2006

Unisys (2001 -2009) – Producer/Director

Produced and directed a wide range of business television programmes for clients around the globe including:

UK: Met Police; Centrica; StorageTek; Kent County Council; Isle of Man

Government; Lloyds of London

France: Credit du Nord; Frans Bonhomme ; Global Future Forum

Belgium: Belgian Ministry of Justice

Italy: Fincantieri ; Provincia di Roma

Spain: Telefonica; Cegasa

Switzerland: CIBA; UBS, Landis & Gyr

Germany: Amadeus; Bavarian Ministry of Justice

Norway: Telenor; Color Line Ferries

Sweden: Swedish Tax Office

Australia: Westpac

New Zealand: Auckland Savings Bank; TSB

Live Events: Service Excellence Management Awards (2002 – 2007);

Global Challenge Yacht Race (2005 -2007)

Business Television Producer, Halifax plc (Tx: Halifax Television Channel, 1996 – 2001)

Produced and directed a series of weekly news and monthly marketing employee programmes for the Halifax Building Society; Clerical Medical Ltd; Intelligent Finance (IF) and St James Place Capital.

Into the Music (Tx. Anglia TV, 1992) – Director

Documentary on pioneering music therapy methods used in a Hertfordshire psychiatric hospital.

The Boarding House (Tx. BBC2 1992) – Director

Film documentary on the last Yemeni seaman of South Shields.

Lords of the Rink (Tx.BBC2 1990) – Assistant Producer

Documentary featuring the rivalry between two dynastic ice-hockey families in North East England

Close-up North (Tx. BBC1, 1988-1992) Researcher / Assistant Producer

Weekly current affairs series reflecting life in the North East of England.

Mirror Image (Tx. BBC2, 1989) – Researcher

Two-part film documentary illustrating the contrasting worlds of twin Bishops.

Bridge Builders (Tx. BBC2, 1989) – Researcher

Archive-based documentary looking at the men who built the Tyne & Sydney Harbour Bridges.

Languages Spoken
Learning &
Teaching Interests

Teaching interests include: Documentary Television Production; Research and Development (factual programmes); Single-Camera Directing and Video Ethnography.
Tom is a member of MeCCSA, BECTU and the NUJ.
Research Outputs &
Interests

Tom's research interests include developing documentary and moving image content with a factual narrative for broadcast and other platforms, particularly directed towards charity and business sectors. Academically, his main subject area for current research is his ongoing Doctorate in Professional Practice (expected 2018), which uses video ethnography to learn from patient and staff experiences in the UK hospice sector.
Publication Feed
Emmaus research history project (2015-16)
McGorrian, Tom (2016) Emmaus research history project (2015-16). [Film/Video]
FAST video series
McGorrian, Tom (2014) FAST video series. [Film/Video]
The Unisys security index
McGorrian, Tom (2014) The Unisys security index. [Film/Video]
Forward! Italy
McGorrian, Tom (2014) Forward! Italy. [Film/Video]
Project Raja - an embassy for elephants
McGorrian, Tom (2006) Project Raja - an embassy for elephants. [Film/Video]
View more publications
Funded Research &
Knowledge Exchange Projects

Knowledge transfer:
Joint bid-writer for Skillset Course Accreditation (and Revalidation) for BA Television Production and BA Television Production Technical Arts (Jan – Feb, 2012)
Designedand delivered Build Your Own MA 'taster sessions' as part of London Media Skills Week (Nov, 2011)
Curriculum enterprise activities
Transport for London (2012). Having previously delivered directing workshops to TFL's Press and PR office, I was part of a more involved, fully funded, knowledge transfer / consultancy project, scheduled from July - September, 2012 involving Middlesex staff, graduates and current students.
Engagement &
Impact

Community engagement

Directed and co-produced a series of short documentaries for a major UK Oral History Research Project for the homelessness charity, Emmaus. The project deliverables include four online documentary-style films; an external booklet celebrating 25 years of Emmaus in the UK; plus 30 plus oral history interviews, with key personnel throughout Emmaus UK (2015 -16)

Produced & directed a series of Families and Schools Together (FAST) videos. FAST has been recognized for its established track record of high retention rates (80%) of parents who are socially marginalized, and across languages, cultures, religion, ethnicities, and socio-economic strata, in both urban and rural settings (2014 - 2015)

Executive Producer for a series of videos for the Ian Rennie Grove House Hospice (2010 – date)

Executive Co-Producer for a series of videos commemorating Coronation Memories of local people from the London Borough of Barnet. The project was Middlesex's contribution to Barnet's Diamond Jubilee celebrations and involves MU staff and students (2012)

Worked as a Creative Director with Pro-Active North London and the National Governing Bodies of Sport (Amateur Boxing Association, English Cricket Board, British Triathlon and British Judo) to capture their Sport Makers (volunteering) offer across a series of videos to showcase how people can get involved in specific sports in their local community.The project involves MU staff and students.

Administrative roles

External Subject Examiner for BA Filmmaking and BA Adventure Filmmaking, University of Wales, Trinity St David's (2018-22)

Validation Panel Member for BA Creative Film, TV and Digital Media Production, University of Northampton (2018)

Validation Panel Member for the Estonian Higher Education Quality Agency - Tallinn University, Baltic Film & Media School and the University of Tartu, (Nov, 2017)

External Subject Examiner for FdA Digital Media Production Degree, Plymouth University (2017-21)

Validation Panel Member for a new Foundation Degree being offered by the School of Media, University of South Wales (March 2015)

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