We previously blogged about Foundation Visual Art & Design grad Ryan Copple’s current web series project Riese. A lot has happened since then, including some great media coverage:

In a front page cover story, The Westender described Riese as “an answer to an industry-wide contraction, in that it embodies everything Vancouver has become in its quest for production work — and it utilizes to the fullest the local industry’s unique attributes.”

The series has been further profiled by huge media outlets like The Globe and Mail, The New York Times, and The Vancouver Sun, as well as sci-fi genre websites like scifitalk.com and gateworld.net (the main fansite of the Stargate franchise).

“We’ve been extremely pleased with the amount of coverage we’ve received, both locally and internationally,” Ryan says. “Exposure-wise, it’s certainly helped to put our show on the map, as well as helping us reach audiences we wouldn’t normally have access to. Production-wise, it made us really feel like we had to step up our game, as it felt like everyone was watching. I believe our team was able to do so, which will be evident in the next episodes airing in February.”

With a creative team that also includes Writing grads Miguel Valdez Lopez and Alyssa Cicarelli, four episodes have been posted so far. The final episode of Chapter One goes live on January 4, 2010, followed by a Chapter Two launch in February.

“In these new episodes [6 - 10], we really begin to delve into the characters of Riese, in addition to the political and moral strife that riddles the fictional nation of Eleysia,” Ryan explains. “Speaking of characters, our new cast members include Ryan Robbins (Sanctuary), [VFS Acting grad] Emilie Ullerup (Sanctuary, jPod), Alessandro Juliani (Battlestar Gallactica), and Allison Mack (Smallville).”

You’d think all this would keep their hands full, but according to Ryan, there’s a lot more going on:

“We also have an iPhone game being released in February as well, which will serve both as a strategy-card game and a means to tell other aspects of the story. It’s all part of our transmedia storytelling strategy, that’s become essential with new media franchises – telling the story on multiple platforms. We’re also working on the next set of scripts, as well as possible comic and book tie-ins. The world of Riese is constantly expanding, and I think we’ll be seeing it stretch beyond just the Internet.”

Congratulations Ryan, Miguel, Alyssa, and Emilie — and everyone else on the Riese team. Definitely a great way to end the year!

Stay tuned for new episodes at riesetheseries.com and check out the Riese blog for updates. Also, you can currently nominate Riese for a number of categories in The Streamy Awards (which celebrate the best in web television).