Bio, Influences, and Intentions

My name is Ryan Shields and I am in my senior year here at IUSB. I have had a hell of a collegiate journey thus far. After an abysmal high school campaign, I started doing commercial concrete work for a company called Ancon. I would work physical labor jobs in the trades for five or so years, until I got my sixteen year old self's dream job, Guitar Center. Unfortunately my sixteen year old self was a moron and Guitar Center is a terrible company. Finding myself broke and largely unqualified in the eyes of decent employers, I decided to invest in college. When I read about the Integrated Media Studies BFA, I knew it would be the most personally rewarding path to an undergraduate degree. I have been producing amateur level media for years, from videos to music to short stories. This degree path has allowed me to engage in an industry that I felt I always belonged to. I am in the IUSB Honors Program and I will have a minor in Business Marketing. I will most likely attend Graduate School down the line.   

I enjoy many forms of media. I have been reading much in the past few years (trying to make up for about a decade with minimal reading of books). I am currently on the final book of Stephen King's magnum opus, The Dark Tower. I am also almost finished with The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, a brilliant and hilarious read. In an agreement with my girlfriend, I began the Harry Potter series recently and much to my surprise and delight, It is a terrific story (I will begin The Chamber of Secrets after I finish Dark Tower). I am still convinced that A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin is the greatest story ever told and am still waiting rather impatiently for The Winds of Winter to release. 

I have been obsessed with the music of Ramin Djawadi recently. He does the score for the HBO adaptation of Martin's novels, Game of Thrones. He also composed all the music for HBO's Westworld and the video game Gears of War 4 as well. Djawadi is a brilliant composer.

My favorite movies include American Beauty, Boogie Nights, Birman (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, Wayne's World 1 & 2, among others. 

Here is a link to my vimeo: https://vimeo.com/user57195026