Michael Steffen

Late-Night Ramblings of a Thesis Student

Wrote this stream-of-consciousness. Decided to post it. Not sure why.

Knocked off balance. Knocked? Or did I slip? I feel this tension inside. I can't even comprehend what my thesis project will look like right now. I know what I'd like it to look like when finished, but is that anywhere close to reality? I don't have a place to shoot. I need live-action footage. It's a huge part of my project. There are so many variables. So many unknowns. Certainly any work I get done this semester will be more than I've ever done before. But will that be enough? Part of me says make a schedule. But I'm worried it won't be at all realistic. The shoot is the biggest unknown for me right now. Getting a space is only part of it. There's cost (do I even have a budget?), figuring out how to shoot reliable panoramas of a room, the logistics of getting a crew together, and the fact that I desperately want to act in it--and I'm not talking a Hitchcock-style cameo. No, I'm thinking Orson Welles.

I think acting is what got me into all this into the first place. But now I have an interaction-design that I'm really excited about seeing implemented, so I can't slack there either. Maybe if I run into a jam, I can cut the run-length of each moment in time. But I don't think I can cut any more moments--otherwise my interaction-design won't really make sense. I'm worried about getting it all done. I can't believe it's the middle of September already! I bet I can get a lot more done than I'm giving myself credit for right now. But what should take priority? Revising the story/interaction design? Making a functional scene, even if it only contains placeholder art & video? Throw everything into getting the video production going? Somehow, that last one's a paradox. On the one hand, it's the aspect that's stressing me out the most. On the other hand, if the writing & design are good, and the software functions properly to reflect the writing & design, then I don't want production to eat up all my time and effort. If I spend time on the writing, the live-action footage will be good because the actors performances will be good--even if I have to shoot it in my living room (gag!).

Hmm. So how do I keep the priority where I want it, while still putting due effort into the production? It's like I don't really want to think about the production for another month, but I'm worried that if I don't secure a soundstage or other location NOW, I won't have a place to shoot when the time comes. I wonder whether I could shoot the Prelude scenes now. They won't change a whole lot since they're the least interactive. Then I'd have actual footage to put into the engine to test with. Still don't know what to focus on. Worried this will cause me to not focus on anything, as it did today.

Then there's the desire to somehow slip a social life in there somewhere. I'm not asking for a lot. People to hang with. People to have deep conversations with. A woman. I dunno. I want people to know me for who I am. I worry that I hide sometimes behind a shallow facade. How many people really know me? And if they don't know me, is it their fault or is it mine?

Maybe I should sleep...

Falstaff -- A Word Template for Screenwriting

Falstaff is a great Microsoft Word template that helps you create a properly formatted screenplay. Regardless of your interest in the field of interactive media, there will come a time when you'll need to write scripts (1st Years are probably finding themselves with that need right now in 507). There are some great standalone screenwriting apps out there such as Final Draft and Movie Magic. However I really like this one because a) it's totally FREE! and b) it plugs right into Word (so you don't have to learn a new piece of software).

The official website's down and has been for a while, so I'll host it on my website for now:

Download Falstaff!

NOTE to Macintosh Users: The above file is a Windows executable, so it probably won't run on a Mac. However, I have also posted the template directly (can't verify whether it'll work, but let me know if you try it):

Falstaff.dot (raw Word template)

Lessons From Church: Being Content With Your Life Now

"I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whther living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength." Philippians 4:12-13 (NIV)

I recently started going to a church group for 22-26 year olds called The Finding at Bel Air Presbyterian Church. Currently, they're doing a lecture series entitled "What I Wish I Knew in My 20s Now That I'm In My 40s". This week's talk was based on the above verse, and I wanted to blog about it because I found it particularly poignant for myself, a grad student with one year to go.

The gist of the talk was that it's easy at our age to look ahead and say (well, I'll paraphrase it in terms of our department): "Someday when I have that great job as a game designer at EA, the six-figure salary, a wife, etc. then I'll be content." But, the speaker pointed out, if we're not content now, we won't be content then either. It's good to look ahead, but we need to get all we can out of whatever our current position is in life.

So, especially for all you new IM grads, take full advantage of everything USC, the Cinema School, and the IM department have to offer while you're here.

The Quest Continues: The Editing Track

Today I met with Norm Hollyn, head of the Editing Track for the Production Division. The first thing I noticed when I walked into his office was a copy of Myst 4 on his desk. And the rest was smooth sailing... ;)

Norm's a really nice guy. He was excited that someone from the Interactive Media Division was interfacing with the Production Division. He mentioned that he and Scott had had conversations about how they really wanted there to be more cross-over between the two divisions. "You're the kind of person I want to know!" he said. He offered to help me with the pacing of my story--since, although the editing in Telmahre is non-traditional, a large part of editing in general has to do with the pacing of a story.

It's really encouraging to find that the rest of the Cinema School is pulling for our department--that they really are interested in what we do. From what I have picked up so far on my quest for a production number, the rest of the Cinema School was really impressed with last year's thesis show and they're looking forward to seeing what else we come out with. So keep up the good work people!