B i o g r a p h y
THE
VISUAL ARTIST
A native of Atlanta, Georgia, James Gideon's interest in visual art began with drawing at the age of 4, initially inspired by his father's artistry in drawing and painting. Growing up in the 1990s, Gideon also drew inspiration from the animated movies of Don Bluth, as well as the highly popular films produced during the Disney Renaissance. As a teenager, Gideon experienced his first paid experiences as a visual artist under the Art At Work program in Atlanta, GA, where, for six weeks during the Summers of 2000-2002, he, along with several other Artist Apprentices, produced numerous pieces through different media in expression of a specific theme, all to be featured and sold in a show at the end of each term. It was also during this time that he was introduced to popular anime IPs like Dragonball Z, Gundam Wing, Ronin Warriors, Tenchi Muyo and more. All of these would inspire his efforts, ultimately resulting in the creation of his own original characters and story.
THE
MUSICIAN/FILMMAKER
Growing up, Gideon was exposed to the music of some of the great contemporary composers in film, such as John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith, Terence Blanchard, Thomas Newman, Danny Elfman, Hans Zimmer, James Newton Howard and more. As a singer, he was very active musically in church, gleaning creatively from the music of the gospel group Commissioned and the solo career of original Commissioned member Fred Hammond. All of these would significantly influence him musically in the years to come.
In 2004, he began his education at Morehouse College, majoring in music with a concentration in composition (Dr. Robert Tanner) and applied lessons in voice (Dr. Mel Foster). During these four years, he also served as a member of the Morehouse College Glee Club, under the direction of Dr. David Morrow, where the group shared the stage with the likes of Take 6 and Shirley Caesar, as well as annual engagements with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, just to name a few. Graduating in 2008, he attained his BA in Music Composition.
In 2009, Gideon continued his music education at Columbia College Chicago, where he learned composition and orchestration techniques for film and television under the tutelage of Hummie Mann, composer of scores such as Mel Brooks' Robin Hood: Men in Tights and Dracula: Dead and Loving It. In the Summer of 2011, Gideon completed his final semester in Los Angeles, where he recorded and completed his thesis score at Capitol Records and received his MFA in Music Composition for the Screen.
Since graduating from Columbia, Gideon has scored the music for numerous short film projects, two of which he has written, produced and directed. In 2012, Gideon, along with his brother, filmed and scored his first independent film project entitled Smoke Patrol. In 2013, he produced and directed his second independent film entitled Without Spot Or Blemish, an experimental, Biblical narrative about the Rapture. In conjunction that same year, he also wrote, directed and composed music for the walk-through dramatization of the same name for Greater Christ Temple Church in Nashville, TN. In addition, Gideon has provided orchestrations for several song projects over the years. In 2018, he independently produced, recorded and released his debut gospel album, Awesome & Mighty. And in 2020, Gideon did orchestration and vocal work for several projects with Living Soul Productions, including directing the music video for gospel rapper LivinProof for his single "Take Back My Life".
THE
WRITER
In addition to his original scriptwriting, Gideon is currently in the throes of revision for his first fantasy novel. He is pursuing the traditional publishing route, in hopes of the soon release of The Jaier Chronicles: The Children of the Achren.