Shawn Mitchell

Dr. Shawn P. Mitchell is a Faculty Associate teaching for the Film and Media Studies department at ASU as well as the head of the post-production track at Scottsdale Community College. Before arriving at ASU, he spent more than 10 years working as an editor and visual effects artist in both Phoenix and Los Angeles. His work includes Oliver Stone’s Fidel Castro documentary, Looking for Fidel, Leonardo DiCaprio’s environmental documentary The Eleventh Hour, films produced by multiple Academy Award winning editor Pietro Scalia and regular work on PBS’s flagship news show, “The Newshour.” His films have won awards at numerous festivals including Cannes, CineVegas and the Orlando, Nashville and St. Louis Film Festivals.

As a motion graphics and visual effects artist, he has: performed beauty cleanup for Prince, Mariah Carey, Usher and Counting Crows; created shots for the films Alexander, The Manchurian Candidate, and Spiderman; and the opening title sequences for the television shows According to Jim and ER. His advertising experience includes editing, graphics and visual effects work for Cold Stone Creamery, Ashley Furniture HomeStore and Ford Motor Company.

Shawn earned a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Delaware, a Master’s degree from the University of Southern California, and a PhD from Arizona State University where he studied Pokémon, zombies, documentary film, and fantasy football. He is a member of the Motion Picture Editor’s Guild, an FCC licensed amateur radio operator, an Avid Certified Instructor, a prolific guitar pedal builder, and a former beekeeper.