CTIN 558 the Business of Interactive Media

CTIN 558 – The Business of Interactive Media

USC School of Cinema-Television, Spring 2012

Professor: Joseph Olin

Contact Info: email [email protected] or [email protected] Mobile 818-564-7898

Course Description: Every industry has its methodology and lingo. For a creative person, the world of business can be mysterious and, at times, confounding. It costs money to create something. How much will it cost to realize your idea? How long will it take? Does it have the potential be profitable or at least break-even? How can you convince investors to take a risk on you? The goal of Business of Interactive Media is to give you the business-savvy to accomplish your creative vision.

The course begins with your own project. You’ll estimate the resources you need and the cost of those resources. You’ll use productivity applications (Microsoft Project, Microsoft Excel or Atlassian Jira) to organize a schedule and prepare a Gantt chart. Next you’ll create a budget and analyze the cash-flow required to keep the project running without delays.

Every endeavor has an audience and your marketing plan will determine who is likely to be interested and how to make them aware of your work. You’ll follow that up with financial analysis to estimate the profit potential for your project. Finally you’ll combine all of your work into a business plan and present it to colleagues and industry professionals.

Exercises are designed to give you tools and techniques for analyzing and managing an interactive media project. Assignments give you the opportunity to use these skills and create presentations. All of the assignments contribute to your business plan.

The course will draw examples from the videogame industry but the fundamental content is applicable to all forms of interactive media. There will be guest speakers to provide real-world perspectives.

If you’re new to business, this course will provide you with a solid understanding of the business aspects of interactive media. If you already have business experience, then you’ll be able to hone your skills and stretch your potential. You will gain the ability to backup your creative ideas with planning and analysis. You’ll also learn useful tactics for negotiation. By the end of the course, you should be able to prepare a business plan for a project and be able to confidently describe your plan to potential investors, publishers, grantors, or employers.

Meeting Information:

Lecture 2:50 hours, 6:00-8:50pm, Mondays, RZC122

Lecture notes and assignments are posted at http://groups.google.com/group/usc-ctin-558-2011. Contact the instructor via email to be added to this group.

Required Software Tools:

Microsoft Project – for creating schedules, Gantt charts Microsoft Excel – for creating budgets, financial analysis Microsoft Word – for written reports and assignments Microsoft PowerPoint – for presentations

Atlassian: Jira – Project Management / SCRUM tool Viewpath – Web-based application service for creating project management tools. Base version is free.

The Business of Interactive Media USC School of Cinema-Television, CTIN 558 1 You can obtain Trial versions from www.microsoft.com. You can get a special academic version of Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, plus a lot of other software for $79.95. Check the following link: http://www.microsoft.com/student/office/en-us/default.aspx

Atlassian Jira is a hosted application with a 30 day trial version (can be extended for students sometime) from http://www.atlassian.com/software/jira/overview

Viewpath registration for free use is: http://viewpath.com/

Evaluation of student performance:

a. Assignments and Quizzes: 1 Four (4) Assignments 2 Bi-Weekly Quizzes 3 Final Exam

b. Criteria for grading:

Participation 10 % Quizzes and Exercises 10% Assignment 1 (Concept pitch & discussion) 10% Assignment 2 (Schedule) 15% Assignment 3 (Budget and Staffing) 15% Assignment 4 (Business Plan & presentation) 20% Final Exam 20% Total: 100 %

Optional Reading: Game Development Essentials: Game Project Management; Hight, John & Novak, Jeannie; Thomson Delmar Learning, 2007.

Missing an Assignment Deadline, Incompletes: The only acceptable excuses for missing an assignment deadline or taking an incomplete in the course are personal illness or a family emergency. Students must inform the professor before the assignment due date and present verifiable evidence in order for a make-up to be scheduled. Students who wish to take incompletes must also present documentation of the problem to the instructor or teaching assistant before final grades are due.

Note for students with disabilities: Any student requesting academic accommodations based on a disability is required to register with Disability Services and Programs (DSP) each semester. A letter of verification for approved accommodations can be obtained from DSP. Please be sure the letter is delivered to us as early in the semester as possible. DSP is located in STU 301, and is open 8:30am5:00pm Monday through Friday. The phone number for DSP is (213) 740-0776.

Academic Integrity: The School of Cinema-Television expects the highest standards of academic excellence and ethical performance from USC students. It is particularly important that you are aware of and avoid plagiarism, cheating on exams, submitting a paper to more than one instructor, or submitting a paper authored by anyone other than yourself. Violations of this policy will result in a failing grade band be reported to the Office of Student Judicial Affairs. If you have any doubts or questions about these policies, consult “SCAMPUS” and/or confer with the instructor.

The Business of Interactive Media USC School of Cinema-Television, CTIN 558 2 Class Schedule:

Date Topic Description Assignment Jan. 9 Introduction, Course overview, Concepts assigned Course summary, Elements of a business proposal. The Concept Pitch. Jan. 16 Martin Luther King's No class Birthday Jan. 23 Concept pitch Present concept pitches and in- Concept pitches due presentations class critique,

Jan. 30 Scheduling Identifying resource needs, Schedule assigned High level scheduling, Common schedule issues. Feb.6 Project Management Using Project Mgmt Tools Task breakdown, Prioritization and dependencies, Gantt charts, Feb. Budgets, Using Microsoft Excel, Schedule due 13 Staffing/Resource Plans Preparing a budget, Cash flow analysis. Feb. President's Day No class 20 Feb. ROI, Return on investment (ROI), Schedule, Staffing, 27 Sales forecasting Look at sales data Budget assigned Accounting Mar. 5 Contracts Legal issues Contract terminology.

Mar. Spring Recess No class 12 Mar. Negotiation Methods for successful negotiation. Budget due 19 Business Plan Negotiation exercises

Mar. PR, Marketing, and Sales Accounting fundamentals. Business Plan 26 Marketing plan SWOT Analysis assigned

Apr. 2 Leadership Marketing and public relations, Strategic planning Testing, Pricing, Sales and distribution.

Recruiting, Performance evaluation, Management. Introduction to strategic planning. Emerging trends in interactive media. Apr. 9 Business Plan In-class presentations and critique. Business Plans due presentations Apr. 16 Business Plan Complete in-class presentations presentations (cont’d) and critique.

Apr. 23 Last Class Final Exam

The Business of Interactive Media USC School of Cinema-Television, CTIN 558 3 Instructor Bio:

Joseph Olin – Executive Director, International Digital Media & Arts Association Chief Operating Officer, Credible Research Corp CEO Fulltime Interactive

Joseph programmed his first game while trying to teach himself BASIC while working as a copywriter on the Coca-Cola account in the 80’s. Since that time he has worked on more than 100 games and interactive products on various platforms. He’s been fortunate to serve many different development roles: programmer, designer, writer, producer, and studio executive. He has worked on both the production side and publishing side of the business. He’s listened to hundreds of concept pitches, negotiated many development and licensing deals, and managed dozens of projects.

Joseph is currently the COO for Credible Research Corporation and FullTime Interactive, LLC and was recently appointed to be the Executive Director for the International Digital Media & Arts Association – a professional trade group to foster interaction between the commercial and academic worlds. Prior to joining the Credible team, Olin was President of the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences – the games industry’s largest association of accredited professionals - where he championed the $21 billion video game industry by raising awareness of the talented workforce responsible for interactive experiences. Olin grew Academy membership more than six-fold from 3,000 to 20,000 and directed the annual D.I.C.E. (Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain) Summit, the Interactive Achievements Awards® and the Into the Pixel™ video game art exhibit.

As a precursor to the Academy, Olin spearheaded the introduction of gaming’s most famous heroine, Lara Croft, with the launch of the blockbuster Tomb Raider franchise as vice president of marketing and business development for EIDOS Interactive. Olin also served as senior partner and group account director at Ogilvy & Mather where he launched Mattel’s Generation Girl Teen Dolls product and the first Barbie brand advertising campaign. Earlier in his career, Olin held senior level positions in game publishing, advertising, sales, and marketing. At Elliot Portwood Studios, Olin co-created Leonardo’s Multimedia Toolbox, an educational product, developed with Gene Portwood and Lauren Elliott (creators of Carmen Sandiego). His background also includes tenure at NEC’s System Labs of Japan, Della Femina McNamee, Panda Management Company and Microprose/Hasbro Interactive.

Olin sits on the advisory boards of FMX at the Film-Akademie of Baden Württemberg, AnimFX NZ, International Federation of Multimedia Associations (FIAM), China Joy Game Summit and the UCLA/CRESST Games Research Center and speaks at a number of digital conferences annually.

Olin earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of Southern California and has been adjunct faculty since 2010.

The Business of Interactive Media USC School of Cinema-Television, CTIN 558 4