Kris Hayden

Role

Kris Hayden is a Senior Lecturer & Course Leader in the Nottingham School of Art & Design.

Career overview

I am a Senior Lecturer within the Film & Television team at NTU’s Department of Design and Digital Arts (DDA) with over two decade of industry experience, including 8 years as a Senior Lecturer. My teaching philosophy is rooted in providing students with real-world, industry-relevant experience. I aim to ensure graduates are fully prepared for careers across the creative industries, including film, television, and other lens-based media roles.

As Course Leader for the FdSc in Film Production Technology, I oversee curriculum development and deliver teaching across not only that course, but I also am involved with BSc Film Production Technology, BA Design for Film and Television, and BA Filmmaking.

Although I enjoy teaching many areas across these courses, my specialist area is audio and visual technologies, where I work extensively with cameras, sound, and lighting equipment on a wide range of shoots and live productions, this hands-on approach ensures students are able to develop technical proficiency and confidence in scenarios that mimic real world working environments.

External activity

I am an avid traveller and champion the use of available and entry level film making technology in varied and extreme environments.

Between December 2024 and November 2025 in conjunction with my role here at NTU, I spent three weeks in Finland, and eight weeks in the Pyrenees, shooting content with a variety of equipment from temperatures as low as -38 to highs of 45.

From the northern lights to medieval forts, to dog sleds ride to music festivals and beyond, I’m always on the look out for the next amazing event or environment to document.

Previously I’ve travelled and shot content in the ancient streets of Morocco, the interiors of the Vatican, I took a 4000-mile Road Trip across Europe crossing eleven countries in 18 days, all documented with a variety of camera and grip equipment.

Sponsors and collaborators

Beyond the classroom, I have collaborated with leading industry clients such as the BBC, Boots UK, Skate GB, The Women’s British Basketball League (WBBL) and a whole host of different charities and smaller organisations. These partnerships have allowed me to bring authentic industry insights into the classroom, but also to take learners out of the classroom and into the workplace. My work bridges theory and practice, equipping graduates with the creative and technical skills required to thrive in today’s competitive and ever-changing media landscape with real world production credits to add to their resume’s.