John V. Knowles grew up on exotic military bases all over the world (South Korea, Italy, New Jersey) and earned his BFA in graphic design from Drake University in Des Moines. After moving to Chicago he worked for five years as a designer and art director at Essex Two, Inc. Feeling the need to try something new and take a risk, he enrolled in local filmmaking workshops and rediscovered his passion for storytelling. After a couple years in the trenches on commercial and film productions in the Windy City, he set sail for Los Angeles to pursue directing full-time.

Since making the transition from graphic designer to filmmaker, John has directed six short films, most notably the award-winning SHADOW.NET, which has appeared in film festivals such as Dragon*Con (1st Place, Thriller), Cleveland International, Lake Arrowhead, Dances With Films, NewFilmmakers NYC, Taos Shortz, Action/Cut Short Film Competition (Semi-Finalist) and The Film Series at CineGear Expo (Finalist). He has also directed music videos for French techno artist Lewsor, L.A. musician Woz, and 80’s pop star Deborah Gibson. Clients for his directing, editing and design services have included Walt Disney Feature Animation, BellaPierre Cosmetics, Playboy Entertainment, and John Wells Productions, among others.