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Nic Benns

Nic Benns

Areas of Interest

Arts, Alumni

Honorary Award

Honorary Doctor of Arts, 2013

Biography

Alumnus Nic Benns is an Emmy-award-winning and BAFTA-nominated director of film and TV titles and advertisements. His London studio MOMOCO, based in Carnaby Street, is arguably one of the most prolific UK producers of film and title sequences.

After graduating in Graphic Arts from Anglia Ruskin University in 1997, Nic has built a film and television career on both sides of the Atlantic.

In 2010, MOMOCO was nominated for a BAFTA for the main titles of E4's TV show Misfits. Then in the same year, the company won the Type Director's Club (New York) Excellence in Typography Award for the opening titles for An Education. Nic's success continued when, two years later in 2012, he was nominated for an Emmy for the main titles for Strike Back, the British action and military TV series. However, he actually won the Emmy that year for another piece of work - the BBC TV adaptation of Charles Dickens' Great Expectations. Emmys are the highest honour open to those who work in TV, and correspond to the Oscars for film; the Tony Awards for theatre; and the Grammy Awards for music.

Nic has collaborated on opening sequences with leading directors including Richard Curtis, Stephen Daldry, Lasse Hallstrom, Kevin Spacey, Dustin Hoffman and recently Ridley Scott. His film credits include many titles we will be familiar with: Contraband, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, The Three Musketeers, One Day, An Education, 30 Days of Night, Alien vs Predator and Love Actually.

His TV credits again include many familiar titles, including Ripper Street, Luther, Misfits, The Fades, and, of course, Great Expectations. He has also worked on Johnny English, The Day of the Triffids, Monroe, Episodes, DCI Banks, Fresh Meat and Hannibal.

As well as main titles, MOMOCO he has directed commercials for global brands such as Unilever, Virgin, EMI, O2 and Coca-Cola.



Citation

Vice Chancellor, it is my pleasure to read the citation for Nic Benns for the award of Doctor of Arts, honoris causa.

Brought up in Lowestoft, alumnus Nic Benns is an Emmy-award-winning and BAFTA-nominated director of film and TV titles and advertisements. His London studio MOMOCO, based in Carnaby Street, is arguably one of the most prolific UK producers of film and title sequences and has earned an enviable international reputation.

After graduating in Graphic Arts from Anglia Ruskin University in 1997, Nic has built a film and television career on both sides of the Atlantic. He won a scholarship to do a Master's degree at the California Institute of the Arts, soon switching from design to the film school, which was originally run by Disney.

His first break as a director came after he took his portfolio around the design houses in Los Angeles and was spotted by Garson Yu, who did the titles for Mission Impossible 2 and Hulk. He worked there, and for a few other motion-design studios, before co-founding MOMOCO in 1999, based in Hollywood and London. His business partner is Miki Kato, who had also been a graphic-design student at California Institute of the Arts.

In 2010, MOMOCO was nominated for a BAFTA for the main titles of E4's TV show Misfits. Then in the same year, the company won the Type Director's Club (New York) Excellence in Typography Award for the opening titles for An Education. Nic's success continued when, two years later in 2012, he was nominated for an Emmy for the main titles for Strike Back, the British action and military TV series. However, he actually won the Emmy that year for another piece of work - the BBC TV adaptation of Charles Dickens' Great Expectations. Emmys are the highest honour open to those who work in TV, and correspond to the Oscars for film; the Tony Awards for theatre; and the Grammy Awards for music.

Nic has collaborated on opening sequences with leading directors including Richard Curtis, Stephen Daldry, Lasse Hallström, Kevin Spacey, Dustin Hoffman and recently Ridley Scott. His film credits include many titles we will be familiar with: Contraband, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, The Three Musketeers, One Day, An Education, 30 Days of Night, Alien vs Predator and Love Actually.

His TV credits again include many familiar titles, including Ripper Street, Luther, Misfits, The Fades, and, of course, Great Expectations. He has also worked on Johnny English, The Day of the Triffids, Monroe, Episodes, DCI Banks, Fresh Meat and Hannibal.

As well as main titles, MOMOCO he has directed commercials for global brands such as Unilever, Virgin, EMI, O2 and Coca-Cola.

Despite early ambitions to become a comic-book artist, Nic is now a highly successful designer, director, animator and score-writer. Keen to share his tips for success and to nurture new talent, he has participated in master-classes run by BAFTA, the BFI and the Institute of Contemporary Arts to help those seeking a career in the creative industries.

We at Anglia Ruskin are rightly proud of Nic's success, and perceive him as an excellent role model for our own TV, film and media studies students.

For his outstanding international success in the world of film, Vice Chancellor, it is my pleasure to present Nic Benns for the award of Doctor of Arts, honoris causa.Honorary Doctor of Arts, 2013