John Maclean studied BA drawing and painting at Edinburgh college of Art and MA at The Royal College of Art in London. After graduating, he formed The Beta Band from 1997 to 2004 and The Aliens 2005 to 2008. John directed many of the band's music videos. In 2009 John made the short film Man on a Motorcycle starring Michael Fassbender, Pitch Black Heist in 2011, starring Fassbender and Liam Cunningham winning the best short film Bafta. Maclean's first feature film Slow West won Sundance Film Festival and was released internationally in 2015. John's second feature film is in development.