September 2020 Update

They seemed to have changed the program so that any changes (such as correcting typos) moves the post to the top. So it may seem out of place. 

Well, my browser no longer works to access the blog, that's what I get for trying to use XP.

No picture in this post, it doesn't want to load.

I've been struggling with failing hard discs, so I've been in a rush to recover and backup as much as possible. Something is going on here. I have a handful of failed flash drives, three hard drives that are either totally in accessable or do not function, including one of my primary startups, and two arrays that I cannot access, all with primary working files (of various revisions). So you can imagine how panicked I have been about that !

Fortunately, I have been able to transfer the latest working files over to a new 2tb HD. 

I'm getting ready to print the entire collection. I've created two sets of hard copy files. One has description panels for the missing artwork/illustrations, while the other has those panels removed, making it easy to drop the new artwork into a finished layout. Everything for both the hard copy and the e-Storybook has been done, in terms of the foundational layout. The e-Storybook is a completely different layout, but it uses the same pages. I may have posted samples, but at some point I will post more. In fact, the promotional video shows how the e-Storybook functions and looks. That's further down in this blog.

I was doing the narration for the e-Storybook/Audio Book and moving along nicely. EGADS ! You just cannot believe how many text errors I found! I have proof-read this, literally, thousands of times and I have made as many correction of various sorts. You can hardly believe that the written word is so different from the spoken word. Little mistakes in sentence structure, missing words, or spelling, are overlooked and subconsciously corrected by the mind when reading the written word. But when reading it out loud, as in a narration, those mistakes cannot be overlooked. I found at least sixty errors that need to be corrected. At this stage of the layout, doing so involves at least eight layers of operations, possibly more. So, more delays in that regard. This thing is killing me. 

I was reading the narration and I got up to Scene 18 of 20, when I discovered two whole sections of Scene 18 missing. That amounted to about fifty-some pages. So because of the failing hard discs, I had to rebuild those pages. But... Back in Scene 8, I was also missing sections and in Scene 10 as well. You see, I had to break up the scenes to create smaller file sizes, because that was one of the difficulties I had run into. Files that were jamming my computer up, because they were too big. I found out the hard way that; if a file is heavy with GFX, not only is it too large to work well, but it also does not always save correctly. A large file like that acquires anomolies.

Ok, so, with all those missing pages, discovered at different stages of operations, the page numbering had to be corrected a number of times. As I said, 8+ operations, on each page; there are 766 pages in the collection. 

I repeat - this is killing me ! Well, this stage of operations is almost done. When I get the books done, I'm taking a break and working on my vehicles. I've got a 1931 Model A Roadster sitting in pieces that I want up and running, plus a lot more, like two Corvairs, an RV and a 1944 Star Trailerized Home, not to mention my work trucks. So I have a lot that I pushed off to the side, in order to finish "The Gnomes of New Hope". But I also have to get back to working on the music too.

What I need more than anything right now is serious capital influx. I need to secure the working environment in a number of rather expensive ways. I pushed that off to the side too, in order to get this done, but all this stuff is catching up to me and it's starting to interfere significantly.

 Let me know if you can help with that and/or representation. AG

In-House Production

Here's an old business card that I used as an Ad
which I posted in a Playbill for
"The Pirates of Penzance"

(years ago, the email is no good)

I've been analyzing the current marketplace and have come to the conclusion that we are very well postured to support the full range of activities for this show in-house. That has been my objective, and although the studio setup is underway, the end result will be a very comprehensive and well equipped scenario. The biggest issue right now is capital influx. The product lines are not fully developed. The core product lines are developed, with only a few elements needing to be finished, but the external details and support mechanisms allowing for release into the marketplace are still being refined.

It is clear that the changing environment is bringing about new methodology and those alterations to the marketplace are aligning themselves exactly to the structure that I designed into the entire product line of "The Gnomes of New Hope". This is quite fortuitous, since I have kept everything under wraps and developed capabilities for fulfilling the imagined potential within the atmosphere of Image of the Mind Studios, while anticipating the potential for the traditional path that projects of this nature travel. So I have designed the project to be able to avail itself of existing methodology and to break new ground, by virtue of it's Core Creative design.

Often times a project advances in the marketplace when it seems that the creative materials are ready for presentation, simply based on that criteria In that regard, the Libretto has been finished for over ten years and a production could have been developed from that. The basic music has also been "finished" sufficiently to support moving forward, however, the music is not sufficiently refined nor satisfactory in my mind. That is, in fact the next are of attention.

As I suppose you can glean from the other posts here, the focus of attention has been the Storybook. I have just burned the final layout to DVD for security reasons. I have had major problems with failing hard discs and have lost a great deal of work because of that. Not only have I lost work, but I have lost time. Years worth of delays have happened because of work that has had to have been done over, multiple times. So burning the layout materials to disc represents a certain level of finality. This is really the first time that the whole collection has been consistent throughout and thoroughly inspected and cross referenced to assure that. The only thing missing is the finishing artwork and composite illustrations. But now we are in a position to focus on that artwork, without the distraction of other design and layout issues. It would have been too costly to engage in the work of illustration while creating the designs for the layout. By designs I mean not only the book designs for both hard copy and e-Storybook, but also the production designs that are connected to producing a final product. Production design extends into the full range of manufacturing, marketing, distribution and the capability to expand upon an array of Secondary and ancillary markets while focusing on the Primary markets. It's very extensive and establishing the foundational elements is key to success.

The materials that have been presented thus far represent samples of the greater whole. Those sample were developed to establish the initial foundation and cause the Core Creative Materials to be manifested. As the CCM was refined the scope expanded to a degree that required certain methodologies to be developed and put in place. A great deal of that has been formed and across the board the designs for both the project and the work environment are in place and well established.

Implementation is underway and the rapidity of progress is wholly contingent upon capital influx. The intention had been, and remains, to generate that capital influx from the product lines and their own viability. This is a good plan, but external circumstances are somewhat precarious and maintain a threat potential to derail the progress. As much as I wish I could ignore this threat that lingers outside of the studio goals, objectives, internal balance of workload, and progress of this and other projects, I cannot.

Therefore, I must  express the desire and need to generate sufficient capital influx to avert any external threat. What that means is that I will be focusing on posting information about "The Elder Gnomes Joint Venture" and the Front Money Agreements involved with "The Gnomes of New Hope". I will be posting that information on "IMS Producing Partners" but access to that page is by request only, because I do not want that information generally available to anyone who can read the blogs. Those are business documents which I will make available to our potential and real business partners. I will discuss other business matter on that private blog also, so if you are an Industry Professional considering involvement, that site is the one to discuss the project. I may or may not allow comments on that site. Currently I do not, but as a production tool, I think I will set up another page for production personnel.

That's all for now. AG