About to finally start my first Swrpg game, and it's my first time GMing in general. I'm prepping scenes in powerpoint with some limited effects (smoke, npc's popping up) I also started playing with ambient mixer/soundboard and figuring out how i'm going to time it all. I'm confident I can smooth it all out, but am I taking away from the flow of the game? The only thing iv'e ran was a game of "Everyone is John" Everyone loved it because the pace was lightning compared to DnD, scenes move as fast as your imagination. While EotE isn't a stat-less oneshot, it's obviously set up for a faster pace. I want to awe my players, but I don't want to do the system a disservice. Those who have tried all theater-of-the-mind vs a more immersive approach, which had the most success?

It's just a matter of moderation. An image here, a simple map there, a musical cue or stinger there, a read-aloud there.

Trying to drop everything for everything is going to be a mess. Think of the movies that spent so much time on CG set piece action scenes the rest of the film is really just an excuse to get to those set pieces. Don't be that. Your players are there for the movie, not the big action scene, or the soundtrack, or any other individual component. They are there for the whole experience.

An adventure where the players can follow the encounter chain smoothly and naturally, without feeling railroaded, is going to be more fun than a game with lots of wiz-bang but lacking substance.