Professor of Screen Industries · University of West London
Director of PRISM — the Public Research Institute of Screen Media. Mapping the hidden engines of Britain's convergent screen industries, from studio geographies to global advertising production.
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Research Institute · University of West London
PRISM is the Public Research Institute of Screen Media at the University of West London, bringing together research on the economics, geography, history and cultural impact of Britain's screen industries. It is the institutional home for the work on this site — from West London Screens to the Illuminations bid — and for a growing network of affiliated projects.
Read more about PRISM on UWL’s website →Affiliated Networks
Spatial analysis of convergent screen industries in West London — studios, post-production, advertising, and digital production clusters across nine boroughs.
Lead ResearchHistory and economics of British commercial production, including a forthcoming BFI Screen Stories book tracing the industry from its origins to the present day.
MonographFifty Years of British Music Video — an AHRC-funded project resulting in a permanent BFI National Archive collection and a V&A exhibition chapter.
AHRC FundedMethodological research on SIC codes and the visibility of screen industries in national economic datasets. Published in Media Industries.
Policy ImpactInterdisciplinary research on screen media as a vehicle for public health communication — including work with the Film and Public Health Network.
InterdisciplinaryTheoretical frameworks for understanding the blurring of broadcast, digital, and advertising production — drawing on Marshallian cluster theory and relational economic geography.
TheoryAHRC · Creative Industries Clusters Programme
A major collaborative bid led by Brunel University, exploring convergent creative industries with partners including the Advertising Association, IPA, APA, and JCDecaux.
Value up to £6.75 million
Policy Research · House of Commons Launch 2026
The Hidden Engine of the UK's Convergent Screen Industries — a landmark report covering 6,842 companies and £74.5bn turnover across nine boroughs, launched at the House of Commons.
Launched June 2026
BFI · Screen Stories
A monograph tracing the history of commercial screen production in Britain, forthcoming from Bloomsbury as part of the BFI Screen Stories series.
Publisher Bloomsbury
PRISM · University of West London
Ongoing methodological and empirical work examining under-counted sectors of the UK screen economy, continuing the legacy of the original AHRC-funded Hidden Screen Industries project.
Institute PRISM
Emily Caston is Professor of Screen Industries at the University of West London and founding Director of PRISM — the Public Research Institute of Screen Media. Her research maps the hidden economic and cultural geography of Britain's convergent screen industries.
Before her academic career, Emily was Managing Director and Executive Producer at Black Dog Films / Ridley Scott Associates USA (Harry Nash Productions), giving her distinctive dual expertise in screen industry practice and research.
She holds a PhD from Cambridge and an MA from the University of London, and has served as a board member at Film London and the Film and TV Charity.
For research enquiries, media, speaking invitations, or collaboration opportunities.