Sudden Distraction

 My post just got erased! What A drag.

The sudden requirement that focus on Vehicle Maintenance has taken away from the progress for the last month or two. But I put it off in order to finish the Core Creative Materials and contracts required for The Gnomes.

Because of recent discussions with investors, I realized that those contract materials needed review. So, after building The Business Plan, a revisiting of the Foundational Finance contracts was appropriate. All told, these materials are critical for the release of The Industry Review Package and they are almost ready for release. References to the Production Management modus operandi allow for movement into pre-production in some arenas. The management plan for this project is largely based on the implementation of sub-categories in the overall budget. The details of this are reserved for our Vested Producing Partners and are available at the studio after discussion on the subject. I will not be posting that information on the web. Later, The Producing Partners web site, a member only site, will have all that information and much more posted.

That's all for now, AG

Shift of Attention

Work on The Gnomes spans a wide range of activities, so other non related activities must take place to support that range of activities as well. One arena which has been pushed aside in lieu of the Core Creative Materials for the Gnomes has been the maintenance of assorted vehicles belonging to IMS. So because forward momentum is expected in the assorted production arenas, it is critical that the trucks be reviewed and serviced. With that in mind, the primary focus of attention is replacing the engines and transmissions of the work vehicles. The need has been growing and this service now needs to be addressed.

In terms of actual production activities, the stop-action puppetry is the primary focus of attention, even though work is still proceeding on publishing. I've evaluated the equipment needs for the animation work we are planning and I am impressed with the Sony still cameras for our particular application. I am anticipating building a three camera set-up on our model sets, but first I will be doing tests using a green screen as a backdrop for the model stop-action puppets. Along those lines, creating the proper sized sculptures for the puppet heads will be a priority. I think the first level in this regard will be heads that are not animated.

Since our family business is a machine shop, I am inclined toward robotics as a focus. The larger Puppets have been constructed taking animatronics into account. Of course they are far from finished, in part because I am trying to devise a design that will emulate muscular movement. I won't get into that right now, but I have a conceptual design for an artificial muscle. I may like to continue to pursue that, but that is a complicated endeavor which will be too distracting from the primary direction we need to proceed in. But I do think producing the sample of a stop-action film is important, so I am proceeding with the basic puppet design for that, figuring on the green screen being the factor that will integrate the puppetry into the existing art work we have of Gnomeville. I have been planning the set construction. Computer issues so I will continue this later. AG

Newest acitivity

The work on contracts and production management continues but the most recent effort is to confirm the e-book functionality. I finally gave in and got a smart phone, so I thought I'd test it out on the phone. So far so good, but that made, me realize that hadn't finished making the Digital Proposal Materials work entirely the way I want them to be. When I finally hand over the materials to other Industry Professionals and other participants, I want the materials to be very comprehensive and sufficiently complete to advance the production. Ultimately these materials will be part of the e-storybook release to the public, but for now it is only for our Producing Partners, Investors, and Creative/Production Staff. That's all for no.w AG

Contracts

Well, since things are advancing on numerous fronts, I've decided it was appropriate to redress some of the contract materials. I am updating the Front Money Agreement. To those of you who already have contributed under the Front Money Agreement, have no fear, the terms remain the same. I am expanding the definitions and linking the other pertinent documents more closely and specifically. The reason is that I am speaking to some investors who are talking larger numbers than we have dealt with in the past. This is a good thing and mainly because I am seeking to raise the funds needed to complete the artwork for the remaining books in the series. Clearly, the previous method of gathering the artwork for the illustrations has worked well, but now I am more interested in combining those efforts with animation.

I've come to conclude that moving to animate each of the songs in the show is a very good and productive thing to do. As much as I'd like to see a feature length animated film, it seems very apparent that doing each of the songs will lead into having a body of work, basically all the songs, which can be marketed individually. I guess that it is reasonable to say that is more than 35 songs, given that the total amount of songs is 70. As I've said before, that number includes backdrops, scene transitions and other embellishments.

So clearly, at this point I need to raise some serious bucks, but... I also need to have the Production Management Guidelines in place. Those Guidelines are in the works, because they also involve an Operating Manual for each of the organizations which are part of the Business Plan. Basically four autonomous, yet integrally linked business organizations. I've mentioned that in another post somewhere below and I'm not going to discuss that here, since this is part of the outline available to our investors and is really part of internal operations. At this point I don't think it is appropriate to revel those plans to the general public via the internet. Maybe that will change after I make 20 million, HA!

So, another aspect of this project is producing a "Stop Action" film. I was into doing that in college and my fourth film was stop action, so I am advancing toward gathering the resources to do that version of the film. From my point of view, I can do all that in my own studio. I have all the necessary equipment and experience. The only arenas that I need to advance in this regard are model making and puppetry. I have a puppet shop and have been doing model making as it pertains to my design prototypes. So I don't think it will be much of a stretch. The only real issue is the number of miniature sets that I will need to make. So I guess I am thinking thru the miniature sets in terms of constructing them as if they were in fact full sized sets. I suppose that will serve the full sized stage production well.

As I've mentioned elsewhere, I am interested in the parade floats as well. Gnome Fest comes into play there as well as the sets for the Little Theatre Productions. I'm not focusing much on those areas right now because the contract end of the Business Plan needs to be in place first.

Anyway, that's an update for now. Gotta get those bucks flowing in if we intend to move forward at a nice pace and hire people. So if you're interested in getting paid to do this, spread the word. I don't plan on quitting at this until I'm dead, which at this rate could be tomorrow!

That's all for now. AG

Gnome Fest

One part of The Gnomes of New Hope is "Gnome Fest". That is a component in the story, but it is also a Festival Production that we are developing as part of our presentation of the Core Materials. This Festival involves Vendor Booths and schedules staging events, all centered around the fantasy cultures of The Gnomes of New Hope, The Elves of Holicong, The Sprites of the Forest, The Strong & Beautiful Twin Brothers, The Elder Gnome and other stories of The Gnomic Tales created by Image of the Mind Studios but also all those other stories and characters created by anyone else who participates in Gnome Fest.

So with that in mind, if you care to be involved in helping to produce Gnome Fest, or care to be involved when the Festival takes shape, do let me know.

Just as a way of conveying some of what Gnome Fest will offer - if you do a search for The Meadow Amphitheater, you will find the stage we used when we were doing Shakespeare in the Park. It is my intention to design the parade float for the Gnomes of New Hope to be able to expand into a remote stage, which will be used for Gnome Fest. It is very likely that Gnome Fest will travel, since the apex of Gnome Fest is a presentation of the Stage Musical and/or the puppet show.

Along those lines, I'd like to say that the core materials are nearing completion and we are beginning to move toward production. Some finance activities are taking place and we are hoping that more resources will become available to us. There are a number of very viable product lines which are advancing and developing nicely. Those subjects cannot be discussed here, for the obvious reason that it is important to keep these activities, and the results of that work secure, and in the hands of our partners, but it is encouraging to see these aspects of the project falling into place. I do reiterate that specific advancement in these arenas need to be taking place out of Image of the Mind Studios at our Southampton location.

Once again I encourage inquiry by interested parties. An email will eventuality get answered, those of you who have my phone number can call and be sure to leave a message if you don't get thru, those of you who know where the studio is, stop by to talk. I am not going to post any further information here, because any further communication by parties I do not know will need to take place thru an agency. A few of the majors know where to find me. Sorry, but I can't make it any easier than that, I'm pretty busy. That's all. Thanks for watching what's going on. AG

Other thoughts

Conversations about the magnitude of this project have led me to decide that focusing on the Production Work Schedule is probably the most productive thing to do right now, in terms of Production Management. So with that in mind I will be identifying the progression of activities and setting criteria for prioritization. This will inevitably lead us into the budget structure followed by the Production Breakdown. So generally, those Production Management activities will be advancing. In terms of the Garden Gnomes, I'm most interested in getting busy sculpting more of the collection, so I am setting up that department in the studio. Well, those are some thoughts that haunted me last night. That's all for now. AG

Current Focus of Attention

As an effort to create the Digital Libretto I have been integrating the Score and MP3s of the music. I've put the Lead Sheets, Score and MIDI Orchestral Versions of the music into the Libretto and I will be shifting to do the same to the e-Storybook as well. It is a phenomenal advancement in the presentation materials. All of these materials are available for review to Industry Professionals and Investors with the submission of a Restrictive Covenant Agreement.

Also, the Garden Gnome project is picking up speed because, frankly, I put the Constable Warren Garden Gnome in my Atrium and I am very excited about that. So we are also discussing creating a Garden Gnome Cyclorama of each scene. This would be an outdoor walk thru Garden Presentation and I do expect that will lead into the Animatronic project and also the Gnome Fest Project. Both of these efforts are connected to the Little Theatre and Festival presentations. So I am working more in those directions, while remembering that publishing and distributing the seven book set is key to the overall success of the project in the retail markets. Some further work on the details of producing the Parade Float has also taken place as well, as the set components for that arena will cross over into the Little Theatre.

I would reiterate that the magnitude of this project is most definitely best suited for a large organization capable of implementing numerous complex markets simultaneously and with that in mind, I am limiting my efforts to the development activities of those numerous markets rather than making any attempts to implement presentation or distribution. As I have said, preservation of the overall value is key and I remain open to discussion on the subject. As I have mentioned elsewhere, I am interested if filling the Board of Executive Producer positions for the Elder Gnomes Joint Venture. This requires a buy-in of the 1M shares per board Position at $1 per share. Discussions on this project indicate that the utilmate market could easily rise to 1B.

That being said I will continue to work off of Front Money at the capped rate of 300% distributed in accordance with the distribution of profits identified in the LP Agreement. I could almost maintain the Front Money Agreement into production funds because the potential of return is so high with this project. But even so, the FM remains capped at 250K for the time being. My current effort ois to raise the 50K needed to complete the illustrations for the storybook and begin moving into animation. I maintain these objevtives as I have for a number of years. So if you are interested in participating, you will need to let me know. As I have also stated, all activities will continue to be based from my Southampton Studio location. Nothing much new here but things are advancing nicely and we remain dedicated to all the objectives which have already been stated.

That's all for now. AG

Latest Posting

Check the Image of the Mind Studios Blog at imagemindag.blogspot.com

Business Plan

As it stands now, I am preparing the Business Plan, with Samples of the Libretto, Illustrated Storybook, Merchandising Items and Music as a Digital Presentation document. Most of the materials are ready for review and they will be available to Industry Professionals with a Restrictive Covenant Agreement. I am preparing The Gnome Gnog materials for licensing for the Adult version as a brewed beverage and the non-alcoholic version to be marketed "alongside" the hot chocolate products in supermarkets, etc. That product line will be licensed and all the Illustrations and Music will be part of that Licensing Package. Interested parties should inquire, but I remind everyone that all activities will be taking place out of my studio in Southampton, so you will have to come to me. I am unwilling to jump through any hoops, I'm too old for all that! And I have too much work to be running around looking for opportunities that never manifest, you know how that goes.

We're working on financing, and I am still working-off-of Front Money, so If you want a good deal on a return, send some coins my way. I'm working to develop the "Garden Gnome Product Line and I feel like that is a very good arena to pursue. There are numerous product lines, as I have discussed elsewhere, and I am willing to shift my attention anywhere that will result in cash flow (of course that is contingent upon maintain the overall modus operandi of protecting the product as a whole). That being said, I am also looking for sculptors who can develop out figurine product lines, if you are capable of that and interested, let me know. Realistically, the bulk of my efforts are on scoring the music, which is an unbelievably massive amount of work, which truthfully calls for fundraising, which unfortunately interferes with the process. It's a real catch 22!

So, We're still alive and moving forward, mostly it's just me, until I raise the money needed to pay people. Truth be told I can work three to five times as fast as I did when I was trying to manage other peoples creative productivity! For now the essential work needed required my undivided attention, so managing other peoples work is distracting from the more significant Creative Decisions which need to be made and confirmed. So I move forward with scoring and preparing the release materials, a job that is most effective when it is done by one person, without the distraction of aligning different opinions about how to best proceed. When I raise enough money (somewhere around 100K) then I'll be able to get a few other folks onto projects which need to be done. Until then I chug along as best I can.

Part of the Business Plan is to sell off Board Positions in "The Elder Gnomes Joint Venture" There are nine million shares divided across the Board, of which I am the Chairman. So there are one million shares per Board position. Membership on the board requires a buy-in at $1 per share. The clincher is that the shares remain property of the Joint Venture with a clause for recoupement of the buy-in, until the stock-split, After the split the board members can own the stock they buy, but until then the Joint Venture owns the stock. So I will be looking to fill eight board positions. There are two other organizations, a management company and a production company involved as well, but that is all described in the business plan. All of this allows for a buy-out, up until the Board positions are filled, after which the organizational structure must be adhered to. So if you are an organization or individual with other ideas, I suggest you speak up before the contracts are locked in.

That's all for now. As always I welcome inquiry. AG

Latest Activity

I'm busy scoring the music. It's a massive amount of work. 70 songs of different lengths many of which have multiple voice parts and are orchestrated for as much as 24 pieces in a pit orchestra. Much of the music was composed and arranged under the presumption that the melody lines were intact, but I discovered that that was not the case, so I need to rebuild the melody lines for a lyrical delivery. The songs which were arranged previously, if the melody line was split up in the arrangement, will become instrumental versions. SO I am rebuilding the songs for the lyrical versions and I am creating the SATB versions along with lead sheets and the conductor's score. This is a huge amount of work, so I an honkered down working on that and not so much working on other production activities. I stopped working on the puppetry and sculpting garden Gnomes because of the efforts required with the music. The publishing activities have also been put on hold, with the exception of some efforts to raise the working capital to continue with Illustrations. Basically I need to raise 50K to get the artist back on the job. The business plan is very much assembled along with the basic Industry Review Package, although I stopped working on the contract materials in lieu of the music scoring work which MUST be finished. I am expecting to seek to have the song "You're the One" played by a notable orchestra to gain credibility. At this moment I forget what the next step is, but I have a great game plan in that regard. My work most recently is to build a MIDI orchestra which can be used in the studio with the green screen stage. My plan is to wire the stage as a sound stage to work in conjunction with the programming which I am now setting up. It is a variation on the system which we were using, one which will be a great advancement and applicable to numerous arenas which we are pursuing. That's all for now. AG

Orchestral Scoring

For the past few weeks I have been concentrating solely on the musical score. It has been necessary to rebuild the Melody Lines as a whole, but specifically for (what I consider to be) the best song in the show. Don't get me wrong, there are numerous good songs in this batch of 70 songs, but "You're The One" just stands out with a number of amazing riffs and it tells a good portion of the story, if only by inferences. So I have been focused on rebuilding the Melody Line, adding new phrases (which were never properly interpreted into music) and creating a lead sheet for the song. I am now moving into the Conductor's score and I am excited to see that finished. I am enthused by the idea that I am refining the process and format so that the remaining scoring work will be much easier to bring about correctly. Once the score is sufficiently completed, the only work that needs to be done are the illustrations for the remaining volumes of the Storybook. Once that is all done the core product will be complete and other matters pertaining to production can be focused on. Overall, Musically, I am focused on making sure that we have Lead Sheets and piano reductions for all the music. The Orchestral Arrangements are for the most part finished, but the scoring for all the music needs to be finished. I have draft print-outs for many songs, but I sm concentrating on refining a few of the best songs with a usable score. After that I will be seeking to have one or more songs performed by a world-class orchestra. Of course I will also be pursuing distribution of the business plan and furtherance of the puppetry goals. We are preparing to record another song and the vocal artist is learning the lyrics. I will probably review the orchestrations for that song after I am finished with the one I m working on now. The difference between the two songs is that "The Song of Wisdom" is a solo and "You're The One" is a choral number that is spread out across a number of characters with an array of counterpoints. Orchestration for both of these songs is quite excellent, so my mission will be to make sure we have a usable score. I am faced with a flaw in Digital Performer's Quickscribe. My expectation is that an upgrade to the most recent version will solve that transcription problem, since I had numerous in depth conversations with MOTU over that problem and they wanted me to have the new program. Unfortunately for me I am still using a PPC Mac, so I need to upgrade all my equipment. That's all for now. AG

Latest activity

Well, for quite some time I had been preparing the Business Plan. The major part of that is finished and available for review to industry professionals who may like to invest or be involved to a greater degree. I prefer business associations to take place out of my studio location in Southampton for various reasons, not the least of which is that production activity will be primarily taking place from that location. Obviously, engagement with studio operations in Hollywood, New York or London will need to take other factors into account, but the magnitude of this project on an international scale is such that I feel completely justified in expecting any discussions or negotiations to take place in my studio. I have spent over twenty-five years developing this project, have set up production facilities to meet the needs of the production, and intend to proceed with matters from my location, without regard to expectations or demands that I capitulate by jumping through hoops that are simply outside of my immediate capabilities. Basically that means that I simply want to stay put and continue to work on the project from my location. Now I know that may sound a bit belligerent, but frankly I am very tired and still have a great deal of work to do, which translates into continuing to work from my location to produce results, while inviting others to join me and availing themselves of what we have already built. If it is very apparent that this project needs to move into another organizational structure, I have made accommodations for that in the business plan. I have been engaged in the construction of puppets, with a mind toward animatronics and I am moving forward with preparing the two staging areas for use in both animation and set construction for a product which will fit into The Bucks County Playhouse. With all that in mind my focus is also toward the parade float, but for now finishing off the music scoring and preparing to record a number of songs is the priority. We are getting ready to record "The Stone of Wisdom" one of the epic tales told by The Master Gnome. So basically, I am nearly overwhelmed, but moving forward anyway. We've discussed moving forward with the Illustration work and I am seeking to raise 50K in order to pay the artist for the remaining work for the Seven Book Series. In the mean while I am getting ready to start casting the puppet heads and then move forward with the mechanics of building a puppet that will be activated by a MIDI signal. Those puppets will be used both in the theme park environment and the parade float, so continuing in that direction is productive. That's all for now. AG