James R Martin

James R. (Jim) Martin is an Emmy Award–winning producer, writer, and director of film, television, video, multimedia, and digital media. He led the Documentary Filmmaking program at Full Sail University for twenty years and previously taught film production for thirteen years at Columbia College Chicago; he has also taught directing at the University of Central Florida. Martin studied film at the London Film School.

Credits include two Emmy nominations and an Emmy Award for the nationally aired PBS documentary - Fired-up Public Housing is My Home, and a Chicago Film Festival, Golden Plaque for Best Network Documentary for Emmy nominee, Wrapped In Steel, also seen nationally on PBS stations—2008 Telly Award of Best Short Documentary on Make-A-Wish Foundation.

He brings rigorous research and narrative craft to his books. Drawing on state-of-the-art research, each project moves through outline, drafting, fact-checking, editing, peer review, and design. He writes and edits all his work himself and updates new editions to correct any errors. He leverages documentary methods—research, interviewing, and narrative structure—across his nonfiction work to explore a wide range of subjects with clarity.

He is the author of Create Documentary Films, Videos, and Multimedia (3rd Edition) and numerous articles and reviews of documentary films (Jrmatinmedia.com). He is the author of Actuality Interviewing and Editing, Documentary Directing and Storytelling, Listen, Learn, Share, and Silhouettes and Shadows -- a novel. He has recently translated, written, and edited two books from China—"Office and Home Tai Chi" and "The Shaolin Temple Story." The latest book is Dictatorship 101: Authoritarian Leadership Skills, featuring author-directed visuals created with professional design tools. He also designs book interiors and manages production at his imprint, Real Deal Press.

In 2016, he delivered the keynote at the 22nd China Academic Documentary Conference in Shenzhen. From 2017 to 2019, he returned to China for university talks, panels, and a presentation at the China Television Awards.