Robert Small

Robert Small comes to our school as an industry professional who started teaching at Macaulay in 2013.  He has a BA from Lehman College and has studied at NYU School of the Arts. He operates his own New York based media production company creating several successful television and internet series as well as independent documentaries. In the past, Mr. Small   created the RLAB program for Macaulay students in the field of augmented, mixed and virtual reality through a joint venture with the NYU Tandon School of Engineering and NYC Media Lab.

The Macaulay New Media Lab also creates student opportunities with the UN SDG program and the Center for Communication in New York. He is currently teaching a course titled “Can You Believe This?” A Look at Impact Media. The class is an overview of the evolution of modern impact media and it’s explosive importance due to the growth of social media.

To his many credits are the creation of the award-winning international music series MTV Unplugged, the televised version of NPR’s “Wait, Wait Don’t Tell Me” for BBC America,­ over 30 biographies for the A&E network, specials for Viacom, HBO, BET and Showtime.  He has produced and directed 5 independent documentaries including “Something Out of Nothing” which explores the growing theater culture in the Hip-Hop community, and “I Ain’t Scared of You” about the life of Bernie Mac which he received Best Director at the Harlem International Film Festival.  He is currently completing a feature length documentary about the anthemic song “You Don’t Own Me”. It highlights the difficulties of women and the LGBTQ community in the music industry over the past several decades.

Mr. Small has received multiple awards for his work including the coveted George Foster Peabody Award, prime time Emmy nominations, multiple Telly Awards and an honorary MTV Video Music Award.

His class explore short and longform documentaries, social media, and online news content with a focus on media ethics.