"The Gnomes of New Hope:
Zach & Zebby's Grand Adventure"
Recent thoughts are to make the first release of the Illustrated Storybook an eBook, since preparations for that are virtually (no pun intended) the same as those for a hard copy edition.
Anyone purchasing the eBook will receive special offers on all other materials, an invitation to the official release party of the hard copy book and tickets to the show.
If you are interested in receiving a copy of the eBook when it is ready for release, please send me an email so I can put you name on the list for mailing
AG
Archive
Update 7/23/12
I am intending on transferring all the production materials for "The Gnomes of New Hope" to it's own web page. There, I hope to post our extensive illustration portfolio, once I can lock the files against copying. I invite interested participants to review the materials at our studio location.
We have been quite focused on preparing the illustrations for the Illustrated Storybook, but have found that illustrating the Libretto is working very nicely. We are debating whether or not to release the Libretto as a published document and may do so to industry insiders as a means to advance the production.
Libretto and Score:
We are facing the need to create the piano reductions, as the music for this show has been composed for a 24 piece orchestra (an assortment of 24 pieces, with numbers using as little as six or eight instruments and as many as the the 16 tracks available to us in our MIDI program). We have limited ourselves to an ensemble setting and a maximum of 24 instruments. In our attempts to score the music we ran into a programming glitch that has wreaked havoc to our process. Fortunately, I discovered that the glitch (apparently) exists only in the Grand Staff function of Digital Performer. So we will be able to get around that with some additional effort. Of course this has caused as certain amount of tension about how to proceed. The net effect is that we have a few piano reductions and some earlier versions of the score, but since we have changed our method of mastering the music, the bulk of the completed 29 pieces, in fact all of the work done thus-far for the first Act will need to be scored. I am expecting that there will be at least nine more pieces in the second act, maybe more. Some of these pieces are merely bridges between scenes that are very brief. So the actual length of the show music is more determined by the essential songs, not the number of pieces that have been composed.
We have had a few heated discussions about the length of the show and I am firm that the story needs to be told, but I am also aware of the audience's span of attention. Additionally, we have debated whether this show is a show for kids or adults. My position is that it is for adults & kids and Shawn is under the opinion that it is for kids & adults. So...
Since I am involved in conforming the Libretto so that it matches the Storybook and Audio Scripts and Shawn is focusing on the Mastering process, the scoring will have to wait. We stop occasionally from working on these aspects, to compose new music, which we do together. Since I write the lyrics, I also play the melody lines with the flute. Once this is done, Shawn takes charge and puts down the accompanying parts, while I go back to writing and designing the Illustrations.
Early in our process, for almost all of Act One, we both did the arrangements and established the instrumental relationships, but moving into the Second Act, I have found that leaving the arrangements up to Shawn is a perfectly good thing to do, since we've gotten to the point where we think alike and more often than not we both have the same notes in our heads. So we basically check in with each other before anything gets confirmed and if we have a difference of opinion we work that out before we more on. It works quite well.
Illustrations:
The illustrations are moving ahead very nicely. We are moving into structuring the scenes, now that we have a portfolio of at least 25 characters and numerous backgrounds to use. We have been experimenting some with animation, not that we have done any film work, but we have been building character positions by using components. An example would be switching heads or appendages on a character to achieve variations in body expressions. This has saved us a good amount of time and I am working to develop a collection of files for scenes and characters. It is becoming quite large and it is clear that I will need to upgrade my Mac to accommodate the magnitude of this becoming an animated film.
I am looking a Poser as a possible program we should be using, but it is clear that the production value that we want to achieve must be retained and we will need to animate our drawings. I do not want a slick computer generated look to occur, or otherwise it will just end up as another one of the standard fare computer films that are now being produced. That is unacceptable to me, I still consider this as an art form that stands on it's own merits and needs to remain stylized as we have conceived it, not what happens to be the most conveniently current fad... unless someone wants to pay big bucks to change my mind. I don't see that happening.
Studio
The 10K warehouse space I am currently in charge of restoring/maintaining, would be a most suitable space to set-up operations and although I am part owner in the building, I cannot set-up without generating the appropriate income that the property requires. This is a goal I am pursuing, but without investors willing to support the larger operations, this will not happen (easily). My intention is to convert Image of the Mind Studios into a Closely Held Corporation and I am striving to build a Board of Directors for that purpose. Those of you who have been aware of this and find interest in being involved in some way should engage me in conversation about this. As you may read in some of the other posts, my intention is to build a Theatrical Development Centre which would initially be under the purview of this IMS operation. Of course that would ultimately occur in a different location with a great deal more land and facilities, but this scene shop would service the urban environment north of Philadelphia and the Gnomes of New Hope production requirements. Even without the advantage of capitalizing the rapid development in this direction I am prodding along in that direction, however.
The Ultimate Goal
Mounting a full stage production is the ultimate goal, but my method of getting there is to produce results in the arenas that will require less effort, expense and personnel. I am perfectly willing and desirous of associating in a Joint Venture with other organizations/individuals who are capable and dedicated to this cause. So I invite dialogue in this regard.
AG
5/12/13
The focus of attention has been building a new studio facility and restoring some of the equipment needed for advancing "The Gnomes of New Hope". We are engaged in developing the prototypes of a number of product lines and producing the illustrations for the Illustrated Storybook and the animated film. We are nearing completion of the first volume of the instrumental music for the stage show and expect to move into recording the lyrics to this segment of the music. The CD album is in preparation for a Limited Edition Release to our Vested Partners. We are working on upgrading our film/video equipment to accommodate our work in animation/stop action film-making. We hope to begin constructing the miniature sets for the film work and I am moving forward to construct a green screen at the stage facility.
I find that I am quite busy with all this and spending time on the internet is not the best use of my time. So although I do believe that keeping these blogs updated is a good thing, doing so on a consistent basis is not the best use of time and resources. If you want to be involved or find out more, contact me directly. I will update this from time to time, but this is not my priority at this time. I am assembling a package which will be made available to our vested partners and we are pursuing funding to the tune of 2.5M for facilities and establishment funds.
The ancillary rights to an assortment of markets are available and will be posted on IMS Producing Partners (a subscription site).
Do contact me if you think you want to partner on any aspect of this project so we can all make a few bucks. AG
