Ben Shedd, a renowned filmmaker, has had a prolific career spanning over five decades. Since 1970, he has directed, designed, and produced 30 films, co-writing 19 of them. He was part of the original production team for the PBS TV series NOVA, working on its inaugural production in 1972.
Ben's work on NOVA earned him a 1974 Peabody Award for his role as a producer/director-writer during the show's second season. He also joined the current NOVA staff in receiving the National Science Foundation's first National Science Board Public Service Award, honoring the show's 25-year milestone.
In 1976, Ben founded his own production company, Shedd Productions, Inc., and collaborated with Jacqueline Phillips Shedd to receive the 1978 Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject for their film The Flight of the Gossamer Condor (1978). This groundbreaking documentary told the story of the invention of the world's first successful human-powered airplane.
Throughout his career, Ben has produced films, live television, location video, and computer productions, effortlessly transitioning between various forms of media storytelling. He specializes in complex science subjects and has directed, produced, written, and co-edited four giant screen IMAX films, three of which were produced through his own company.
Ben's films have garnered over 40 international awards and have been showcased globally. In addition to his production work, he has taught film at his alma mater, the University of Southern California's School of Cinema-Television, as well as at the California Institute of the Arts and Art Center College of Design.
Ben has held various academic positions, including the 1989-90 PNM Endowed Chair Professor of Media Arts in the School of Fine Arts at the University of New Mexico. He was also a Senior Research Scholar and Lecturer at Princeton University from 1997 to 2003, conducting research, teaching, and developing design criteria for effective ways to use giant screen systems in informal science education.
Ben is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences and has served on its Documentary and Student Academy Award nominating committees. In 1989, he was awarded an Alden B. Dow Creativity Fellowship to research giant screen filmmaking, and he began working on a book and articles called Exploding The Frame, which explores the art of designing giant screen films and digital walls.
