Michael Steffen

New Semester, New Ideas

Well I enjoyed the break, but it's great to be back! Several of us have already posted a sort of outlook on this new semester, so I thought I'd do the same. So here are some areas of focus for me this semester:

1) Continue working on my Great Hall project (codenamed Tantallon) on the side. This includes both coding and 3D art in Maya. Above is my latest render, done in Maya. Basically, I did a similar project as my creative sample for getting in here, but I'm looking to give it a complete overhaul, both artistically and code-wise (though on that note, I keep going back on whether I really want to code my own game engine or use an existing one. But it's sort of a moot point at the moment because I do not currently have an idea for an actual game in mind).

2) Learn all I can about the game industry. This is one possible career path, though I always find myself getting scared when I encounter people who actually work in this industry--they seem too focused on technology and gameplay, and not enough on narrative and cinematic imagery. I guess the thing is, I like the idea of making a game, but I'm scared of the whole game industry apparatus. To gain a better understanding of this industry, I'm currently reading Get in the Game by Mark Mencher.

3) Keep my feet wet in filmmaking. Even though our classes this semester are less cinema-based, I'm still very eager to learn all I can about traditional filmmaking. For starters, I finally opened the USC Production Handbook, because I want to learn all the rules and restrictions that pertain to making a film here at USC. I foresee my thesis as being very production-driven (i.e. even though it'll be interactive, it'll have a lot of live action integrated into it), so I want to learn where the red tape is for IM students and how to cut past it!
There's also a part of me that really wants to try my hand at making a feature-length traditional film. I may end up volunteering as a production assistant or something, in order to get some experience with this.
Another filmic idea I'd like to pursue is getting together a group of people to make short films "on the fly." While I ultimately believe that a well planned film works best in the end, it can also be creatively stifling to have to get something perfectly written, gather a crew, hire actors, etc. I'd like to take a cue from my past and do some films that a small group of us write, act in, and edit all within a few days time. I think this sort of organic mode of filmmaking would be a nice balance to the structured approach taught in our classes.

So, that's my story. Hopefully this semester will go well for us all!

P.S. Just like Kellee, I'm also looking for feedback, so any comments are greatly appreciated!