Obituary
Gideon David Baws 1975 - 2008
Here at UCA we would like to offer our condolences to the family and friends of Gideon Baws after his sudden death in 2008 at the age of 33. He passed away whilst in the USA after complaining of what was assumed to be simply muscular pain. Gideon was an extremely talented and well loved individual who will be missed by many. Gideon Baws graduated from UCA’s predecessor KIAD in 1997 with a first class BA (Hons) in Communication Media. At Maidstone he formed lasting friendships with Jason Groves, Richard (Kenny) Kenworthy and Christopher Harding with whom he later formed the successful company Shynola Limited.
(above) Gideon with Hulk Hands
At the start of his career Gideon co-wrote a short animated film with Kenny. ‘The Littlest Robot’ drew considerable praise and won Best Computer Animation Award that year at the Ottawa International Animation Festival.
The friendship forged at KIAD lasted up to, and beyond Gideon’s tragic and unexpected death. After attending the wedding of their USA agent in Palm Springs, Gideon, together with Kenny and his wife Mia drove west across America. On the way, they climbed in the Grand Canyon, Zion National Park and Boulder Dam. Gideon and Kenny had both swum five kilometres for the Swimathon charity earlier in the year, so their fitness was never in question. Gideon’s family and girlfriend would like to thank charity C-R-Y Cardiac Risk in the Young for their support.
Gideon David Baws | Obituary | Creative Update
obituary
After they had all completed their studies the four established Shynola Limited in order to pursue their unique vision of ground-breaking animation. They won a number of awards for their work including the MTV music award for Best Special Effects in 2003 for the Queens of the Stone Age video for their single ‘Go with the flow’, amongst many others for work with well-known music artists such as Radiohead.
In 2004, Shynola produced the on-screen link computer images for the Disney cinema film production of the Douglas Adams best seller ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’. More outstanding TV advertisements and music videos followed. In 2006, they produced the opening title sequence for the successful TV series ‘The IT Crowd’. Always in demand, Shynola’s innovative approach continues to attract copyists as well as admirers.
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