jon Cohrs; Back Water

Executive Producer, Technologist and Media Artist

Jon Cohrs is a technologist, journalist, producer and media artist whose work uses story, collaboration and emerging technology to explore contemporary issues on health, technology and the environment. He spent 3 years exploring the future of journalism through research and emergent storytelling techniques on the R&D team at The New York Times. He’s now working on several documentary films mixing verite filmmaking and with RT3D open-worlds while also consulting on emergent technologies such as spatial audio and immersive media.

Previously he directed BACK WATER, a feature documentary about the anthropocene, follows a group who travel by canoe, exploring a strange landscape that tells the story of a civilization’s new frontier available on Amazon and Apple TV.

His project OMG TV, an analog TV station that went live during the digital transition, was used as a reference in a Supreme Court amicus brief on creativity and copyright and was commissioned by the Vancouver Olympics.

For 15 years, he was also the founder and lead audio mastering and post engineer at Bear Call Mastering.

His work has been shown at Vision Du Reel, Ars Electronica, The Total Museum Korea, Art in General, among others. He’s received grants from NYSCA, Media-Arts Assistance Fund, Mellon Grant, Experimental Televisions Center, Future-Everything and fellowships from Eyebeam, NYFA, and the Banff Centre for the Arts. He has taught at RPI, Parsons, Pratt Institute, NYU, SUNY Purchase, and Finish Academy of Fine Art.