Roy Bigcrane began his higher education at Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute, then Haskell Indian Nations University, later moving on to the University of Kansas.   He holds a bachelor’s degree in film studies from Rocheville University.  Roy returned to the Flathead Reservation in 1984, attending Salish Kootenai College.  In 1987, he worked for the media department as a media specialist and operated the colleges offset press.

Roy’s production experience began as Director/Editor of a 5 part series for the Tribal Vocational Rehabilitation Program at Salish Kootenai College.  He was also a Production Assistant for the PBS American Experience episode: Last Stand at Little Big Horn filmed at the Little Big Horn Battlefield, Crow Reservation, Montana.  In the late 1980’s Roy was Co-Director, Videographer, and Cultural Advisor to the Salish Kootenai Documentary Project for The Place of the Falling Waters. This program won the Native Filmaker award at the Parnu International Visual Anthropology Film Festival in Estonia, A Silver Apple at the National Educational Film and Video Festival and was screened at the Smithsonian Wind and Glacier Voices Festival in New York.  Roy was also Director/Editor of two 5 part series for SKC Early Childhood Education Department on Native American perspectives on parenting and childrearing. 

Roy was a Member of the Advisory Board, Native Voices Public Television Workshop, Montana State University, Bozeman and a member of the Planning Committee for the Native American Film Category, International Wildlife Film Festival, Missoula.

Roy has also presented at the International Wildlife Film Festival and been a judge and a panel member at the Portland Film Festival.  Roy makes numerous presentations to classes in the University of Montana system and Salish Kootenai College classes on culture and media.