September update

The major focus of attention has been on the e-Storybook for some time. Proofreading is driving me crazy! Since the e-book is based on a PDF format, whenever a correction is required, there are a number of other programs within which those corrections must be made. It all becomes rather complex. I've needed to restructure the book numerous times because of page numbering issues or errors. The most recent issue is file size. This e-Storybook is designed to function on your phone or e-pad. That means that I need to keep the file size at a level that will function rapidly when it loads into the memory of the devise. That sounds simple enough, but when the product incorporates artwork, complex artwork on every page, the file sizes increase substantially. So now that the functionality, in general, is working pretty well, I am reviewing the scenes to be certain that they load easily and do not jam up the devise.

Now an ongoing issue, that has delayed the release of the product to the public, has been DRM. Oddly enough, there are digital distribution outlets who have stated specifically that they will remove any DRM or Copyright information from the files they distribute. I find that appalling! I've worked on this project for 27 years! I'll be damned if I'm going to release this under any condition where people can copy it and/or distribute it for free over the internet. So one of the things I am working on is to assure that if any attempt to copy the material is made, the files will be erased. As it stands now, attempts to copy the files will destroy it's functionality and all the links which control the e-book will no longer work. But what I really want is for any attempt to "save as" to result in the complete erasure of all files. Unfortunately, I feel as though these measures are necessary because people do not respect the copyrights of authors and others who need to be paid for their work.

So that's where things stand with the project. As always, I am continuing to seek funding and participation from industry partners and others who are interested in taking advantage of the opportunity. I continue to preserve and protect the product line for the sake of it's overall value, but I do invite inquiries from professionals. As stated elsewhere, the Restrictive Covenant is required and that is posted on IMS Producing Partners blog.

It's tough that this is taking so long, but nothing good is quick and dirty.

AG

Other Pages

I've attempted to place the links to the right, but so far they haven't shown up.

So I will the post the assorted links here for the time being;

Arthur Greisiger on Facebook:

The Gnomes of New Hope on Facebook:
       
Image of the Mind Studios on Facebook:
       

I tend to post on these pages as well as the others on Blogger.

Image of the Mind Studios on Blogger:

IMS Producing Partners on Blogger:
     
The Gnomes of New Hope on Blogger:
       

 I do not often post on Linked-in, so these pages are the best for review purposes.
         

IMS Producing Partners

I'm working more on production facilities and I am posting more thoughts on IMS Producing Partners. We need to be raising production funds, so I'm focusing more on that page, which deals more with management issues.

Also the Industry Review Package is almost ready so since that is directed towards build our team of vested partners, those discussions will be there.

I'm posting more from my phone, but that doesn't always work, so my posting dates and the order of what I am posting is somewhat out-of-whack.

AG

Preparing the e-Storybook

  Doesn't that sound simple? Well it's not! There are so many issues that it is mind boggling. After weeks of prep, I now have to go back and redo the page backgound. Issues of alignment and color management between the linked files are driving me nuts. I think I have a grip on it, but now I am faced with needing to upgrade all my equipment and programs, so that the product goes through the final prep with the absolutely latest operating protocols. I keep going with the resources available to me, but I sure could use a substantial influx of capital. The dilemma is that util this e-Storybook is functioning properly and is "flawlessly consistent" there's not much I can do about it. I simply cannot release a flawed Product, even if it is only the Industry Review Package.

I know some folks have been waiting and watching, wanting to see this. The best I can do right now is to invite you to visit me at the studio, if you need to see more than I've already posted.

On another front, Contract activity is beginning to pick up. If you are interested in Licensing or Options, that is a good way for me to fund the finishing development and other work required for finishing the Illustrations. I will be addressing those issues on IMS Producing Partners. If you have a contract scenerio which you've found works for your operation, let me know, or submit those contracts, as I will be composing specific contracts in the near future, after the e-Storybook is finished for the Review Package.

I'm thinking that selling an Option for distribution might be a good way to go. Of course that option needs to be substantial enough to support a good chunk of production in that specific arena.

As it stands now, I have not signed with an agency, so all your inquiries will need to be direct. It may stay that way, simply because my concentration will remain in the non-union arenas. I expect to job out the union operations, since I don't want to deal with that.

That's all for now.

AG

Mobile Update​

As I mentioned elsewhere, I seem to have trouble with mobile postings. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't. That results in a somewhat choppy account of activities. I apologize for that.

So the most recent activities have been in regard to preparing the full set of books to go to press. Even though more artwork is needed, the mechanical layout work still needs to happen for the remaining volumes. Book One of the set ran through a series of prototypes and I thought the layout was finished. Well I have found out otherwise.

Bacically, I changed the layout while printing the Book One prototypes and those changes did not get carried over into the balance of the books. They were small graphics changes to improve the end product. So I need to cross reference those changes and implement them in the remaining material, the layout for the remaining books.

There was another issue that ended up consuming a fair amount of time. For those of you preparing your own layouts, let me give you this advise - number your preface and appendix separately from the body of your text, especially if the body takes up more than one volume, or is marketed in numerous formats. That way you can change your preface to match the edition/market without effecting the numbering system in the body of the text. I just learned this the hard way and spent a good amount of time renumbering the pages, more than once!

So, in terms of publishing, I am focused on making the entire set press-up, even though I still need to insert the artwork into the layout, basically replacing descriptive panels with the actual art they describe.  As I'll mentioned elsewhere, I need to raise the funds to finish the artwork. A possible release of the first three books may achieve that, but I'd prefer to withhold release until all seven books are fully illustrated. As I've also pointed out elsewhere, that means 348 more illustrations. So not only will that cost over $50k, but that will take time as well.

That's all for now.

AG

Preface to Book One

I wanted to post the Preface to Book One, but so far I haven't figured out how to post a PDF.  I embedded a song in the file, but that doesn't seem to work once I upload it. I've got to figure these things out. I'll post this on Facebook too so we can talk about it there.

Here's a link. The file seems to be too large to function properly, which is one of my concerns about providing the e-storybook via the internet. I will try to rectify this problem. This is only the 7 page Preface. You can imagine how difficult 800 pages (with more extensive artwork) would be. Hopefully it will open for you. AG

Preface to Book One

I seem to be having problems with posting the e-Storybook PDF Files. It seems I will need to convert them to JEPGs. Too bad, that rather complicates matters. So as you can see, I need to develop an IT department to implement distribution of the product via the internet. The one thing I do know, is that this Gnomes of New Hope e-Storybook is illustrated on every page and that complicates delivery via the internet, being that the files are very large. I may need to consider dividing the collection into manageable downloads. We'll see. AG

IMS Publishing

The focus of attention in this regard is to confirm the final layout for printing. There have been a few snags, but they seem to be worked out. So now the files are being confirmed as ready to print. The first book in the series has been produced, but now the remaining six books need to be conformed to the layout. This is in process. I am now looking at putting printing presses in the studio, as I want to have full capabilities in house. Anyone who wants to provide printing services should contact me. To my way of thinking, having printing capabilities in-house is preferable. SO that is the direction I am moving. If the funding becomes available or  cut a deal with a major publishing house, who can guarantee deep saturation in the international markets, then that may change.   AG

7/6/17 update

The publishing materials are being conformed so that the entire set of books will be ready for press.  I spent the last week or so trying to find the layout files, only to discover that the primary layout accidentally got saved as a PDF. So after an extensive search I relocated the components and rebuilt the Master File. So now the entire collection needs to be conformed to the latest mechanical layout, which should not be too difficult... but I've said that before. Oh well, upward and onward.

I'm beginning to get more deeply into theme park activities and I'm trying to figure out how to make a presentation of The Gnomes of New Hope in that context. I can't present Zach & Zebby's Grand Adventure in that medium, so I think it will end up being Gnome Fest, taking place in the center of Gnomeville.

That's all for now. AG

Most Recent Thoughts

As I may have mentioned, my concentration has been on gathering all the appropriate files into a collection of four DVDs. The last part of gathering those files is the Storybook. This has been a long and difficult job, primarily because I made so many back-up files and spread them out over numerous discs. While we were working on numerous aspects of this project, the music, the art and the storybooks, I have more than one hard disc fail, which set me back more than once. So I started saving different revisions of all the files and spread out duplicate across the many discs I use for file storage. Well, even though this seemed like a good idea to protect the material, it is challenging to make sure that the files are actually the latest. So for the past month or so (more like a few months) I have been cross referencing the files and saving all the latest revision under a new heading. One of the things that has been frustrating has been correcting the page numbers. I've had to do that at least four times over. I won't explain. But now that the Storybook disc is almost finished, I've discovered that I my print files are many different versions of the first book. This was a result of numerous set-up files to accommodate the variations of the printing presses. Unfortunately I did not address the first book before the remaining books, because I assumed that was correctly finished. Well it is, but the remaining collection of six books are different, since they have not been set-up for hard copy printing yet. The interesting, although somewhat distressing fact is that I included the Preface as part of the numbering of the pages. I discovered too late that it would have been advisable to number the preface and the appendix with separate page numbers than the body of the book. Well I have done that for the remaining books, but the preface in the first book takes up numbers I'd rather they didn't. I may change that, but that is not as easy as it sounds with the way I produce the mechanicals for the layout.

So with all this attention on the Storybooks, I think that my focus will shift to locating a large publishing house or distributor to pick up the project. I will however continue to publish all the books that are ready and finish the print layout on the full collection, including the ones that still need artwork. My objective here is to raise the 50-100K that will be required for completion of all the illustrations. I know I've discussed this elsewhere, so I won't reiterate. I will say that I expect to be making more effort to locate the right literary agent. I guess it's about time for that.

In terms of production activity, I remain concentrated on refining the studio space and making sure we are prepared to initiate set construction in the shop, but also experimental film-making with a green-screen and motion control. I still need to set up the array and Final Cut Studio, so I'll be working on that too. In terms of set-design, I'm beginning to redesign the show to fit into the Bucks County Playhouse and other smaller theaters in the anticipated touring circuit.

I've had a number of people expressing their desire to work on this project, but I need to develop both the methodology and budget for HR. So Producing Partners will need to understand the magnitude of the resources which need to be gathered for that purpose.

All these things are progressing slowly, but that may change, depending on who ends up joining the effort. Some discussions are taking place, but nothing definitive... not yet.

I'm releasing the first book to people who visit the studio and proved to be on board with the project. If you are one of those folks I'm there 9-5 M-F.

That's all for now.  AG

Differences

  Strangely enough, there appears to be a difference between the posts that show up on my phone and those that show up on the laptop. I can't quite figure out why yet. Here I am thinking I'm making posts from my phone, only to discover they are not making it to the blog. One more thing to figure out!

June 7th update

For the past two weeks I have been working on a puppetry job and needed to put down the work on The Gnomes for awhile. But for the last day or two, I have been revisiting the "Gnomes in a Gnutshell" e-storybook and the Business Plan. It seems as though there may be one or more opportunities lingering on the edge of moving forward and I decided that the electronic packaging needed to be reviewed as a tool for that advancement.

I am making the electronic package the priority in this regard. Although there are still 348 illustration panels required for the entire book set to be completed, I am assembling the preview package to be a representative of the finished product, even though there is more work to be done on that end of things. To my way of thinking, this will not prevent us building a board of directors or locating investors.

As I have said, the Libretto is finished, which means the sets, costuming and other designs can advance. Most of the music has a draft score and I am continuing with the piano adaptations and the divisi/lead sheets, so recording can begin to take place with live performers, even if they are only studio musicians who are doing it for samples. Obviously, we will want the stage performers to record their renditions, but for the purpose of filming the show with puppets, the music will be studio versions anyway. So, in that regard, I am working toward setting up a RAID Array, particularly for use with Final Cut Studio for the film and Digital Performer for the music, and then, of course integrating the two.

So other than refining the digital package for Industry Review, I am working on the design and implementation of the parade float. Presenting the material in a parade will need to take place prior to opening the show in a theatre, so that needs to be done first... for publicity purposes. The parade float is part of a stage design that I have been wanting to implement for years, and although I did have buyers for the stages, now I have a good excuse to do it for our own use. So I am looking into gathering the hardware to build the float. One nice thing about this approach is that the supplies which we will use on the float can also be used in little theatre, street fairs and Gnome-Fest. So all that work is taking priority over mounting the show in a first class or LORT house. I an not inclined to pursue academia, because we need to build a committed crew, but that might be worth doing for samples and possibly the concert presentation. In terms of the concert presentation, that show could be set up so that it requires less commitment and expense by eliminating sets and a crew. Cast requirements for that would be closer to a few principles as in an operatic concert, and that could be done script-in-hand.

So that's the general direction of the thinking right now. In terms of investment which will show a return, the focus has to be on publishing and refinement of a few ancillary markets. The timing of the release of these items, however, need to be subject to the schedule for the stage production, although some release of cinema could happen prior to the stage show, basically serving as promotion. The larger film, whether it is CG animation, classic animation (which is preferable), a combination of both, possibly integrating puppetry, or  live performance, the larger film needs to be reserved for release until after the stage show hits Broadway. That means there will be numerous try-outs before we get to that point, including the parade.

So I gotta go, so that's all for now. AG

Scoring the Music

Well, what sounds like just another day at the office is more like - let's build the Theatrical Development Centre starting with 100 acres of raw land.  Of course that's my intention, but if you know what I mean, then you know that publishing this score is not as easy as it sounds.

Each of the songs requires an assortment of sheet music to convey all the facts to the singers, musicians, conductor, technical director, production assistants & stage technicians, music director, stage director, producers, financiers, agents, publishers, and ultimately distributors and end users - the patrons and audience. Now all these people, some of which represent a group of people, do not need all the information at the same time. Nor do they require the composite of the material, but sections of different materials are distributed to this array of people at the appropriate time and in the appropriate degree. That means that all the bugs need to be worked out so that all the materials are consistent and agree with each other.

In terms of the score alone, this means thousands of pages containing intricate arrangements for a variety of instrumental and vocal circumstances. So it goes on... and on... and on!  I am very pleased with the progress and excited to see that the score is approaching the end of having the entire body of work (for 70 songs) published, if not in the final form, then in an acceptable and workable draft form.

Today I was working on a song which I thought was finished. HA!  I discovered that the Divisi Score diverged from the Piano Adaptation. While, building the Piano Adaptation, I decided to go ahead and do the Time signatures. It worked out just great, but the Divisi did not have those changes, that basically means that neither did the Orchestral Score. No real problem, I can pretty easily transfer the time signature by copying the Conductor Track... except that the notes are different in each Print Layout and if I copy the one track, then the note adjustment (for Lyrics and stage notes) does not match the specific score. I'm working all that out, but basically it means I can't print the Orchestral score out before the Piano Adaptation, but the Piano Adaptation is derived from the Orchestral Arrangement.  My solution at this point is to publish the score components as drafts, but that gets rather expensive. They have nerve charging that kind of money for ink. Oh well.

SO I am selectively finishing off my favorite songs first, while making sure that each scene has all the drafts published for the music. I'd like to say it is almost done, and it seems that way at times, but usually when I think I am finished with something, the next degree becomes apparent. It's like a big trap! You get so far and you have to keep going no matter what is thrown at you. Gadzooks!

Well in addition to publishing the hard copy, I am doing the PDF version also. Then each of these scores needs to be recorded, which I am doing with MIDI. Interestingly enough, while setting up the Divisi, I created a vocal rack which assigned instruments to each of the eight voice parts. I experimented with using Combi patches for the duets/trios/quartets. I was happy with that and it was interesting to find that I could create a good Divisi by assigning a Combi that had instruments that had dfifferent ranges. Like a C2 & a C4  (although the range is usually closer than that) But interestingly enough a Melody Line that covered a wide range would automatically provide the Divisi. Of course there is other work to do in assigning the notes to a particular voice part, but running down the middle effectively (generally speaking) splits the male and female voices. I say this based on using a melody line that has not been assigned to particular voice parts or has had the counter-points/harmony developed yet. It's just a good starting point.

The way I have approached shaping the voice parts is not easy to explain. Most of the time I assign the lyrics according to the character relationships, but then within a group of performers, I decide what kind of flavor needs to be conveyed. Sometimes that works just fine, but in a Choral setting it's more like what voice parts are available. I presume the shape of the sound will take place in auditions based on the numerous factors under which a performer is selected for a particular role. It certainly is a tricky process if the tonal relationship across the board are the primary criteria, but the external traits of the character must also be balanced to the highest degree possible.

You know with theatre, particularly with a piece that is intended and designed to have legs, your crew needs to be dedicated to the long term goals. I know there must be a balance with that, in other words, to achieve that.  But my approach to doing that lies in the cinema. I think it will be easier to hold performers to a film shoot than to a sustained theatrical run. It is unfortunate but that seems to be the case. I suppose the best approach to that is to have three companies, maybe two, but three sounds like a better idea. The first string players, the backup second string, and the apprentice troupe. That way if a player drops out or fails to perform, then other players can move up. Also, the other troupes can play the second run, regional and festival shows while waiting for an opportunity at the first run show. Well that's all for another discussion.

I thought I'd better post something so there you go.  That's all for now. AG

Music Score & Parade Float

Music

    Work is continuing on the score. This is a massive endeavor and it will take time to perfect the numerous songs. But in the meanwhile, I am printing out a complete collection of Orchestral Drafts, Lead Sheets, Divisi Score and Piano Adaptations. Once the draft versions are fully published, then we will advance to review the materials for Time Signatures, Note Values and Dynamics. Once these aspects are finished for the Orchestral applications, then we will reevaluate the Dynamics of the MIDI files to assure that the expressions are correct for using those MIDI files in the smaller productions, such as little theatre and community theatre. It is anticipated that the smaller theatres will not be able to afford a full orchestra, so the MIDI files will be made available for those productions.

   Also, planning for the concert presentation is advancing as well. Once the Draft Score is complete the focus of attention will be on the Concert Presentation, which will include some degree of Puppetry. The reason for this is that we will be striving to have some of the music performed by an orchestra. This has been discussed with a number of orchestras, but ultimately, will need to take place with an organization that can help to advance the overall goals in a number of ways. Discussion on that subject will take place at another time, when it is more practical and appropriate.

Overall, I can say that this effort overwhelms some of the other activities which have been discussed.

Parade Float

    Recently, I bought a 4 wheel drive Dodge Ram 150. I bought it for the snow plow, but now it seems as though it might be worth considering using the chassis and power-plant as part of the Parade Float. That seems like a lot of work and diverges from my previous plan to use a Covair Truck as a donor for the drive components. I do think the Corvair would be a better choice, simply because it has a better design that would be easier to work with and offer more flexibility in terms of staging option, With the Corvair, there is no driveshaft to interfere with the center section of the parade float, which would make up the bulk of the staging area.  I may have just talked myself out of using the 4 wheel drive chassis. So that chassis is up for sale, probably less the power-train, as I have a pending deal for those components.

Puppetry

    Puppetry is on hold until the score is finished, but the few primary characters are in process and we will pick that up with the focus on the concert presentations as mentioned. The entire show is up for licensing to another production company, particularly as it applies to puppetry. Drop me an email.

That's all for now. AG