BIOGRAPHY

Shynola was conceived at the College of Art and Design in Maidstone, Kent when Gideon Baws, Jason Groves, Chris Harding, and Richard “Kenny” Kenworthy began working together on joint projects.

After graduation they moved to London where Chris worked as a CG animator and Gideon worked as a freelance illustrator, while Jason and Kenny continued their education at the Royal College of Art. Although their career paths seemed to diverge - they always continued to collaborate creatively. Their separation proved to be short lived.

When Kenny’s college film ‘The Littlest Robo’ gained recognition from the likes of Channel Four and Mo’ Wax, the collective knew they were on to something. Soon after, the foursome quit their day jobs to focus on collaborating under the name, Shynola (as in the opposite of s**t).

Shynola’s animated music videos for UNKLE, Morgan, and Grooverider quickly grabbed the attention of the music video world. However, it was their contribution to the “anti video” blip campaign for Radiohead that secured their current positions as one of the most groundbreaking, unusual and creative forces in directing.

Their innovative music videos for Stephen Malkmus, Morcheeba, and Queens of the Stone Age set their reputation in stone. Shynola’s diverse body of work translated seamlessly to advertising as illustrated in their campaigns for Nike Presto, Footlocker, and Sony PlayStation.

As animation directors, Shynola are not confined by the limitations that live-action directors face. Perhaps their most distinct quality is their remarkable ability to successfully change visual styles drastically from project to project.

Shynola’s ever-evolving style and vision has proved to be award winning. In 1999 the quartet won an MVPA award for ‘Best Video under $25K’ & a BBC2 award for ‘Best Music Video’ and in 2001 they received three CAD’s for as many different spots. In addition, they took home a 2003 Best Special Effects MTV VMA for their collaboration with Clear on the “Go With The Flow” video for Queens of The Stone Age.

Most recently, Shynola won the British Design and Art Direction 2004 Silver award for their Blur “Good Song” video as well as top honors for their MTV “Breakthrough Video” graphic which ran on the 2003 MTV VMAs.

In 2004 and 2005, Shynola tackled graphics and various effects for the live action feature “Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy”. Once that wrapped, they finished Beck’s “E-Pro” video, which was nominated for numerous MVPA and MTV VMA awards. Most recently, they completed directing an animated commercial for the Honda Civic Si.