Ryan Wieber
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Ryan Wieber (born May 24, 1984) is an Emmy-award winning professional compositor and amateur filmmaker, best known for his visual effects work in creating short Star Wars-related films. His lightsaber duel Ryan vs. Dorkman, which he co-created with Michael Scott, has received considerable internet recognition, including reaching #2 in Google Video's "Top 100" ranking in May 2006.[1]
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[edit] Ryan vs. Dorkman
Ryan vs. Dorkman (often abbreviated by fans as RvD) was first released to the internet on March 1, 2003. It was produced as an entry in a lightsaber choreography competition hosted by TheForce.net, a prominent Star Wars fan site noted for its fan film-making community. According to the official TFN entry for the film, the backstory involves Ryan and Michael, or "Ryan_W" and "DorkmanScott", as they are known on TheForce.net's forums, meeting after their friendly online rivalry over who is the better saber artist escalates too far. The fight to the death will determine once and for all who is the most skilled with a saber.
Though fan-made lightsaber duels were already commonplace on the internet at the time of its release, RvD gained attention due to the quality of the lightsaber special effects, which some compared to the visual effects created by Industrial Light and Magic.[2] It was also lauded for its careful and clear cinematography and its fight choreography, praised by some fans as being equal to or even surpassing the fighting showcased in actual franchise films.
In the spring of 2006, the short became a viral video after being posted on such websites as eBaumsworld, CollegeHumor, and (arguably the biggest boost in its popularity and visibility) the front page of YouTube as a "Featured Video." The YouTube video officially surpassed one million views on January 30, 2007, along with tens of thousands of hits at other sites.
A version of the film uploaded to Google Video also surpassed one million views.
[edit] Ryan vs Dorkman 2
After the sudden and tremendous resurgence in popularity of RvD, Wieber and Scott announced in May 2006 that they would be producing a sequel. Ryan vs. Dorkman 2 (RvD2) was shot in Atlanta, Georgia in August 2006. They released a sneak peek of the film online in December 2006.
The film's score was recorded with a 60 piece orchestra at Capitol Studios in Hollywood. To accomplish this goal, film composers Gordy Haab and Kyle Newmaster donated their time and talents to the project. The film's creators solicited donations from fans in order to pay the musicians. M.B Gordy (lead percussionist from Battlestar Galactica) provided the percussion.
The film premiered in February 2007 at the Wilshire Fine Arts Theatre in Los Angeles before being released on the internet on March 1, 2007. Because of RvD2, Ryan was able to appear in the music video Pork and Beans (song) by Weezer.
[edit] Other fan film work
[edit] Ryan vs Brandon
Ryan vs Brandon (abbreviated as RvB by some) is another lightsaber project in the vein of Ryan vs Dorkman; in this case, however, Ryan's opponent is Brandon Flyte, another fan film effects artist.
Like RvD, RvB was created for one of the Lightsaber Choreography Competition, in this case the third (LCC3), on TheForce.net/FanFilms.com forums. Originally released with few visual effects, including only those necessary for the choreography to make sense (such as masking the metal blades to create "ignitions" or "retractions"), it nevertheless won the competition.
After the competition, eighteen FanFilms.com forum members came together as a volunteer team and augmented the scene with full sound and visual effects. This team was headed by TheForce.net members David Adametz and Bryan Higgins, who had also submitted their own separate entries to LCC3.
[edit] Alternate Lightsaber Duel
This video was an alternate version of the climactic duel between Count Dooku, Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi in Attack of the Clones. Ryan plays Count Dooku, while Anakin and Obi-Wan are played by Collin Waledisch and Philip Watkins, respectively. Due to the budget and the outcome of the fight, Yoda is not featured in this fanfilm.
[edit] The Formula
Ryan, along with Michael "Dorkman" Scott was a visual effects supervisor for the Star Wars fanfilm The Formula, directed by Chris Hanel and Steve Phelan. This was Wieber and Scott's first visual effects collaboration and led to them becoming friends.
[edit] Ryan vs Brandon 2
"Ryan vs Brandon 2" is Ryan Wieber and Brandon Flyte's latest lightsaber project. It has been submitted into the sixth lightsaber competition, hosted by theforce.net. It currently has few effects, only a few sparks, speed adjustments, and blade retraction. After the voting is complete, Ryan is planning to assemble a team of volunteers to once again finish the bulk of the effects for it's "official" release.
[edit] Professional career
Due in part to recognition from Ryan vs. Dorkman, Wieber was offered a job at LucasArts, where he worked from September 2003 to October 2004 in the visual effects department. During his employment, he worked on the hit games Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, and Star Wars: Republic Commando.
- Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (video game) (2005) (effects artist)
- Star Wars: Republic Commando (2005) (effects artist)
- Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords (2004) (visual effects artist: cinematic cutscenes)
- Heroes (NBC Television Series) 2006-Present (Effects Artist)
Wieber currently works as a full-time compositor for Stargate Digital.[3]
On September 8, 2007, Wieber won an Emmy Award in the category "Outstanding Special Visual Effects For A Miniseries, Movie Or A Special" for his work as Lead Visual Effects Compositor on the project "Nightmares & Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King • Battleground • TNT • Ostar Productions"[4]. The Creative Arts Emmys aired September 15, 2007.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Ryan vs Dorkman . com
- ^ Cited by Wieber on his site[1], but the text has since been changed.
- ^ http://ryanw.michaelfrisk.com/ryan-w/index.html
- ^ Microsoft Word - CTA59themmywinners.doc
