IMS Music Studio

I fixed the link above. This music is posted on SonicBids and they just changed their layout. Personally, I liked the old layout, but...   So I need to figure out this new page set-up and try to configure it to look right. In the meanwhile you can get there to listen to the music. "Completely" is posted at the bottom. I will be changing it around when I have more time.

Another Note: I am busy scoring the music. I've got about 60% of it scored with piano reductions for a number of the songs. There is still much to do in that regard and this is the primary factor in releasing the story-line.  I am fairly certain that the story will be released in the form of songs, more so than the published book, but I am still looking for a major publisher to step up to the plate.  We are beginning to work on a coloring/comic book, as this will be a very cost effective way to release the story-book.

I'm also beginning to work on the cycloramas for various purposes. More on that later.  AG

Thoughts on Producing

I have a discussion on Linked-in on the subject of Ancillary Rights. Well, I posted there this morning, only to have what I was writing disappear when Linked-in logged me out in the middle of what I was writing. So I will not be doing that again. Rather I am going to try to recover that train of thought here.

The issue was wether or not an investor or a producer should expect the Ancillary Rights to be attached to a property that is being produced on Broadway.  My argument is that all the Ancillary Markets are separate from, not only each other, but also from the theatrical runs.  Each marketplace is unique to itself and has specific finance and management concerns. Because of this I feel it is inadvisable to commingle the operations of  the core production with that of the ancillary markets.  From my standpoint, the ancillary markets provide income to the studio via a license to manufacture and distribute in which partners buy a license to a market, either exclusive or non-exclusive.  In that license certain terms and conditions are specified, one of which is that there will be a return to the studio which is represents as a certain percentage of the gross sales. Other terms will come into play that pertain to manufacturing, inventory, distribution and marketing, but the essential point is that the ancillary market will provide a return to the studio. It is the combination of licensing fees, deposits against sales, and actual percentage of the product shipped for resale that make up the income from any given ancillary market.  That income belongs to the studio alone, not any other investor or producer. It is with that income that the expenditures of the production are met, including the return to the investor, which is fixed under certain terms contained in the investment agreement(s).

The agreement structure for a production extends beyond the simple investment agreements, of which there are numerous types which may come into play. Each agreement which is involved in a production effects the other agreements, but there is a tiered structure in which the core product is placed at the top, for it is the source of the production.  All of the contracts represent the roles of the participants and the investors are but one group of people needed to implement a production.

This does not discount the importance of investment and the role of the investor, for surely financing is an essential part of a production and the agreement under which a person becomes an investor, is such that- the investor is rewarded for their essential contribution to the project as a whole.  But there are many other obligations that need to be met besides those of the investor who provides working capital. There are those investors who have contributed to the advancement of the production with resources and services other than working capital, by means of in-kind contributions of resources, supplies and facilities as well. Accommodation must be met in the production to compensate these people for their faith in the work which has or is being done.

And so, in addition to the simple fact that finance and management of the ancillary markets must remain separated for matters of practicality and good policy, the income derived from the ancillary markets needs to be provided to the studio/producer to manage as needed to meet obligations that are unseen by the investors who are not engaged in the daily operations, nor have been involved in the development process.

In the instance of The Gnomes of New Hope - this show has been in development since 1990, gradually progressing, as the resources allowed, to the point of fullness which it has reached. A great deal of time and money has already been invested in, not only the production, but the studio facilities with which this production can be implemented.

Therefore, the ancillary markets and all rights thereto are reserved and are not attached to a theatrical license to produce this show.  In fact, the theatrical production, meaning a first class, second class or regional, and even community theatre run can be viewed as an ancillary markets in themselves, since the composite of this show, although designed to be a theatrical presentation, is much larger that that and does not depend wholly on the theatre as an outlet. Rather it is the conjunctive effort of numerous marketplaces in a carefully timed implementation that brings about the success of this project.

 So in response to the line of conversation being conducted in the Theatre Producers forum on Linked-In, the ancillary rights to a project would very likely be attached to the core product if there are no other obligations or the ability to implement or pursue other markets, but in the instance where, as in this case, development has taken place over a period of years and the numerous markets are already identified and under pursuit via a clearly defined organizational structure, then those ancillary markets must remain separated from the core production, for the reasons sited.  Remembering that the ancillaries do contribute to recoupment, but that no rights to those markets exist with the anyone but the licensee to the market, under the terms of the license and that direct participation, gaining greater advantage  in any market, requires investment in that specific market.

There certainly is more to be said on the subject.  AG

SortaGnomic Crafts

One aspect of our marketing for

 The Gnomes of New Hope is 

The Gnomeville Art & Craft Guild

We have been developing a catalogue of products, 

putting together a showroom and an exhibition area at the studio  

and building the prototypes for a number of our products. 

Here is one of them.

I like to think the flyer is self explanatory and there is an order form below. 

At some point I hope to inventory 25 -50 of these chairs, so they will be ready for shipment at any time.  So far I am still in the prototype stage with this and I am trying to work out the shipping box as well as some other hardware components. This chair will be sold as a kit.

 If you would like to purchase any number of these kits, do let me know.  

I would like to have a distributor buy a couple of hundred

 so I can get the production up to speed. 

I will take order for any quantity. 

Delivery is not fixed as yet

but the manufacturing process is almost refined.

there  is a price listed  on this copy of the order form

but that price will need to be confirmed.

I will proceed with that if you contact me.

AG

"Completely" a duet between Zach & Ferny

Well, we've posted the first lyrical song from 

The Gnomes of New Hope:Zach & Zebby's Grand Adventure. 

 If you use the IMS Music Studio Link above it will take you to 

the Sonicbids EPK (electronic press kit).

Zach

Completely is listed in the audio section. Some folks have said they have had trouble getting it to play.  I have not found that to be the case though. The song is posted as an MP3, but it was made using iTunes and the artwork is also attached to the file, 
making it a larger file, so that might be why.

The album for The Gnomes of New Hope is titled "Gnomespheres"
and our initial plan was to release it as an instrumental album which only contained selections. I'm beginning to think that we will be producing the music for  entire show under that title.

Ferny

As it stands now, Gnomespheres consists of eight listed songs and two bonus tracks. The selections are the instrumentals which are easier to listen to, being that the majority of the music in this show is choral and as many as 12 parts at times.  What that means is that the instrumentation is structured to represent the voices, in addition to the accompaniments.  Although the music is clear to us (meaning those of us who either wrote it or understand what is going on in the song) to the uninitiated listener the music can sound a bit complex and confusing.

So... that means that in those instances where the music has a complex structure and depends upon the vocal expression for clarity, it is inadvisable for us to reveal the music without the vocals. I know that I am personally very weary of listening to the instrumental music a thousand times (at least!) without the lyrics being sung, so moving forward into recording the lyrics is very important right now. I am proceeding with the piano reductions and arranging the orchestral music for piano and other instruments to represent the voices. I will post a discussion on the recording process and what we are doing with the studio facility on The Gnomes of New Hope and the IMS Producing Partners pages, respectively.

 I think you will enjoy "Completely". We are very happy with the way it turned out and amazed at what a difference it makes to the music to finally hear it sung the way it was intended by two wonderful singers - Nathan Odhner & Justine Buss. I will post their bios on the Gnomes of New Hope page when they give them to me.

We are now working on the Overture which is being composed in three movements. Essentially a Prelude (the Overture, a synopsis of Act I), Interlude (Entr'acte, a synopsis of Act II), and Postlude ( a lead-in to, and synopsis of, the Finale).

There are a few other pieces which need to be completed as well as a number of songs which still need to be arranged, one of which is a flute composition titled the Starlight Concerto, which I am working on as a larger piece for myself and expect to have an abbreviated version for use in the show.  Oh and by-the-way, it turns out that there are a total of 65 musical numbers in the show, some of which are short bridges and background music. I will get into the specifics of the music another time.

So there's a bit of an update. I will be trying to update the other blogs whi other pertinent information. AG

Recording the Lyrics to The Gnomes of New Hope

We started to record the lyrics with a song titled "Completely".  It is a love song duet and it is incredible to hear the music come alive with the words it was intended to have. We have some technical issues we need to address, but overall the results have been amazing.

All discussions and samples of these materials will be on
  The Gnomes of New Hope

So please visit that site if you have further interest in this subject.

AG

Modus Operandi

This document has been reviewed on 10/18/13

The specifications & references posted here shall constitute public notice 
and publication of the foundational Terms & Conditions 
of any and all dealings with
 Image of the Mind Studios, The Alpha & Omega Society 
and any other organizational or personal projects 
conceived by Arthur Greisiger

and shall dictate all legally binding activities.

The statements provided herein shall not constitute 
the whole of the foundational concepts 
but shall provide an understanding of what those concepts consist of.

In General- The information provided in this section of The Virtual Studio is for general knowledge and covers a number of subjects under each heading.  It is provided for the purpose of establishing the foundational understandings required for participation in any IMS project. You will find that there are different aspects of the method of operation discussed under the different headings or projects. You should assume that all these subjects carry over to each other and that there is consistency in the Modus Operandi of both Image of the Mind Studios and The Alpha & Omega Society and any other organizational structures managed by such. If you find inconsistencies, I certianly would appreciate your saying so, but understand that any terms or conditions are binding only within the language of a specific contract and until such a contract is negoitiated and signed, inconsistencies are irrelevant and only a result of refining complicated methodolgy. I appreciate your understanding in this regard. AG

Personnel- In terms of projects, all work initially performed is considered to be Developmental.  Work within a specific project transcends Developmental when budget funds are collected from sources other than the General Partners or Collaborators and those funds are no longer considered to be Front Money.  Work outside of Creative Projects is predominately commissioned as an Independent Contractor, although with a shift to a Corporate Operating System the Personnel Structure is beginning to change and any changes to that policy will be specified in the Production Contract.  An apprenticeship program is being developed through which all personnel must pass prior to being placed into a staff position. Persons wishing to be involved are welcome to contribute to this process only on the understanding that there are no implied or verbal contracts and the only binding contracts are written, witnessed, and duely initiated.

Binding activity- The only final authority on any binding activity is Arthur Greisiger and no other person is authorized to bind Image of the Mind Studios, The Alpha & Omega Society, or The Shakespeareans of Tamanend Park to any agreement. All projects defined herein (being defined as eminating from these web pages) are the property of such and none may be contractually bound without such written authority.

Development & Profit Sharing- Until contractually altered, all creative relationships are that of a "collaboration" and considered to be "Development" for the defining, structuring & creation of the raw materials. These materials are used to package the product and all ancillary capillaries pertaining to the raw material. All such package materials are gathered on spec by the principles/collaborators in the project. All materials gathered are governed wholey by Image of the Mind Studios and no participant has any rights that are separate from those of IMS and may not negotiate any terms whatsoever. Expenses are shared and accrued on the basis of a Joint Venture and it is the responsibility of the provider of the resources to document such contubutions and provide copy. Any resources not documented are excluded from inclusion in the investment. Percentages may be different depending upon how much of the project is brought to the table. Contributions that are limited in scope and committment, yet qualify for a percentage share (because they were provided in expectation of further involvement), are compensated for (in terms of percentage) at the conclusion of the production, marked by the first premiere after which, and not until such time, re-coupment of principle may occur. Contributions that were only provided as a portfolio sample do not qualify for a percentage share. Work for hire does not qualify for percentage participation. Withdraw from the project and/or failure to communicate with principles in the project disqualifies percentage participation and ownership/possession of raw materials reverts wholely to Image of the Mind Studios without shared participation in any degree. Failure to provide services or material promised (in a timely fashion) disqualifies percentage participation and severs all participation rights.

Contracts- are developed and adapted for each project, according the the specific requirements of that project. Although many of the terms are generally consistent, none-the-less variations may occur and thus any binding terms must be present in the specific documentation for the project. At no time does any implied contract exist. Any terms agreed upon in an implied contract must find it's way to paper before the production stage or it is considered moot. All materials developed prior to production are property of the collaborators and the sole negotiating authority of those materials is Image of the Mind Studios. Image of the Mind Studios retains the sole right to implement production in all ancillary markets or negoiate the sale of all rights exclusively until such rights are changed by written contract.  It is the responsibility of the parties involved to fully communicate with each other in a timely manner and to make sure that they, or their agents, participate in any contract negotiations that are taking place, and that any implied terms are integrated into the contracts or such implied terms are automatically negated by notification of the impending signing of the contract. No contract is valid unless all parties are so notified. Any Party unavailable for notification or not responding within 30 days after notification surrenders all rights unless specified otherwise within the contract.

Links in this blog

After perusing some of the links I have in this blog, I have found that AOL has usurped some of the links. A apologize for this and will work to correct this problem. AG

New Page on The Gnomes of New Hope blog

This link will take you there - The Artwork of Jency Latta

Limited Edition Lithographs

I've brought this post up to the front again.

We are offering a collection of the artwork we have been doing for 

The Illustrated Storybook.

The Lithographs are in the process of prepared for an Exhibition, to be presented in conjunction with a Backer's Audition.

Any series number above 25 is available to be reserved
Make direct inquiry in this regard. Lower numbers are already reserved.

 This was a prototype cover for the book.

It is unlikely that we will use this as the final cover.

The image above is NOT the Lithographic image being offered.

Below you will see a low resolution copy
of the first offering from the collection of Illustrations.

Here are the specifications;

We have altered our approach to this. The notes herein are generally applicable but may be changed in the near future, when I have more time to review them

There will be a total  of 19 Lithographs in the initial offering, representing one for each scene.   We are now adding one Lithograph design for each song in the show as well. As it stands now there are a total of 65 songs in the show, but many of them are instrumentals and bridges, so it is uncertain right now how many Lithographs there will ultimately be.

The purpose of this Limited Edition Lithograph is to raise funds for the continued work of illustrating and publishing the Storybook, but also for our ongoing  pre-production funding needs. Because of this, we are not giving them away , but are offering them to people who want to help fund what we are doing.

The cost is $150 per signed and numbered lithograph, plus $25 shipping and handling  

                                                                                                   

There will be a total of 125 numbered editions in of each of the 19 scene illustrations and the same number for the song illustrations offered in this release.  We may also offer a release of our characters.  For those of you wanting more, we will also sell the original puppets used in the production. Refer to other postings on that subject.

Illustrations are full color, printed on 140 lb archival quality, watercolor stock.

NOTE; the links to PayPal are not functioning correctly just yet. I have not had the time to solve this problem, so if you are interested in securing a number for any current or future edition, please send me an email at imagemindag@verizon.net .

(this button does not seem to work, I am leaving it here and hope to repair it in the future)

A larger size may be offered in the future if it is deemed appropriate, in which event the larger size will be limited to less than fifty units and be priced accordingly.

Persons purchasing the 12" x 18" size will be given the first opportunity to purchase the larger size if such an offering is to be made.

Each Lithograph in this Limited Edition Series is signed by the author (who is also the art director), the illustrator and numbered accordingly.

The Lithograph is shipped in a very basic, protective frame which is suitable for display.

Edition numbers 1-36 are reserved for our investors who contribute more than ten thousand dollars to the stage or film production costs.

Persons wishing to guarantee a specific edition number may do so by paying for their editions in advance of it's release, given that- that number has not already been reserved.

All persons purchasing any edition will be notified via email of the opportunity to purchase the upcoming release with the same number of their previous edition, such notification will have a fourteen-day grace period before that edition is released to another buyer.

More illustrations, representing additional images from a scene, may be offered in the future and persons who have purchased the entire collection of the original 19 scenes, of a specific number, in advance will be assured the opportunity to round out their primary collection with the same numbered editions of any additionally released lithographs. The grace period for this opportunity will be thirty days.

All subsequent releases of Lithographs representing additional scenes or artwork will likewise be a numbered edition limited to 125.

Such releases may include completed, altered or deleted scenes, depictions of characters, or an assortment of components used for the animation or other creation of original artwork.

Original artwork may be offered at some point and persons purchasing the Limited Edition Lithographs will be given the first opportunity to purchase such original artwork on a first come first served basis, not relevant to any edition numbers previously purchased.

An unlimited edition of the artwork may be released at some future point, however these editions will not be printed on archival watercolor stock and they will not be signed and numbered.

Business Plan for The Gnome of New Hope

A business plan has been produced and is available to persons who visit the studio in Southampton or make a specific request for it under the presumption that they may become an investor in the show and conduct dialogue with me in that regard.

I am not arbitrarily handing it out to anyone. It will be posted on the IMS Producing Partners site, which is a membership site. Membership to that site is $125.  I am just now beginning to pay more attention to that site, since we are moving into a higher degree of production activity.

The Business Plan will be included on the CD ROM of the Libretto, along with the collection of illustrations we are using to base our production design upon. 

The CD ROM is available of purchase. Contact me for details, when I finalize the publication details of that I will post it here with a PayPal link.

We are advancing into the puppetry aspect of this and I am looking to discuss this with more puppeteers and television producers for a special and series.

   That's All Folks... oh, that's already been used.. hey Warner you want a shot at this?  By the way, thanks for offering me an office on your lot, I appreciate it.

AG

Gnomes of New Hope: Zach & Zebby's Grand Adventure - Libretto

Finally !    I know I've said this before but the most recent edition, (Rev. 5c) of The Libretto is completed.  I needed to go over the document with a fine-tooth comb to be certain that there were no errors or inconsistencies, so I can definitely say - Revision 5c is complete.

Now, there is one exception. That is the we need to do the melody lines for the two remaining lyrical songs. Historically, the song lyrics are slightly altered when we develop the melody. Minor things like changing - "we have to we've or we" depending on the way the beat ends up going. So those two songs will not essentially change the Libretto in any significant way. There may end up being some alteration of the timing when the Technical Specifications are finished as well.

I have an order form, which I will post here shortly, for anyone wishing to have a copy of the Libretto.

We will be turning our attention to the score, which consists of 64 songs, bridges between scenes, & background instrumentals. There are still six instrumentals and two lyrical songs to be written and at least a dozen which need to be arranged/orchestrated, so there is still a lot of work to do.

The total time is approximate, however it appears that Act One is musically about 69 minutes long and Act Two is currently showing as 59 without the finale and the lead up to it. The Overture is not yet written, but it is essentially a composite of the other songs. Total dialogue should at most be thirty minutes and probably about half of that has music under it. We're shooting to hold the line at two hours and forty-five minutes.

I have separated off the Narrative Story from the Libretto for the sake of shortening the publication. I expect to begin restructuring the Narrative story to fit two basic formats. One is for use with the stage play and the other is the Illustrated Storybook. There are actually four versions of the Illustrated Storybook - the main Storybook publication, which will be a "coffee table" edition, the second is a "Gnome Sized" Edition in three volumes, the third is the insert for the Music CD, and the forth is a black & white coloring book. I suppose a fifth would be the comic book as well. All of these publication editions are available for licensing to a publisher who can guarantee world-wide distribution.

The Story-boards for the film will likely come out of that process as well.

There is also an additional story which is titled; "The Gnomes of New Hope: The Stone of Wisdom" That story tells the history of Gnomanity, Gnomeville and Zachary the Great's quest for Artimus, the Stone of Wisdom and the beginnings of the resistance against the Dark One and his minions.

I've begun to layout the Technical Specifications for the current stage musical and to plan out the set  movements, fly schedules, cue sheets and lighting designs, on the presumption that this will need to be done and in the absence of the resources to pay someone else to do it, having the capability to do it myself I will begin the layouts.  I do not expect to go too deep into the Tech layout just yet, but I want to establish certain parameters, so that I can direct other technicians to perform these tasks. I have much to do in setting up the scene shop and so my attention will be in that direction.

As always, I am seeking to fund this operation.  The pricing for purchase of the Libretto is as follows:

CD or DVD Rom - @$50

Spiral Bound Hard Copy, full color illustrations - @$250

Signed, Limited Edition Portfolio Boxed Set - @$1,500

(Limited to 150 Editions, numbers 1-21 are reserved for investors

 contributing $10, 000 or more to the production costs)

Purchase of any copy of the Libretto includes membership to IMS Producing Partners and access to that Production Management web site. There will be numerous benefits to membership.

As mentioned elsewhere, I am currently seeking Front Money as well as Agency Representation for this project and invite inquiry in that regard.

Further details will be posted as we progress.

AG

IMS Update

There are numerous projects which are taking shape, particularly now that the Libretto of "The Gnomes of New Hope" is completed.

"The Vairod Project" is starting up again: The Vairod is a kit car based on the Chevrolet  Corvair. I have been involved in hot rodding and work on Corvairs since I bought my first car at the age of 15. The Vairod Project is the construction of an open cockpit two-seater hotrod, in much the same style as those which were based on the Ford Model A boat tail speedster. The Vairod will have a similar configuration, only, as you might understand, consist of the rear mounted, aircooled engine of the Corvair.  Intended as a kit car which will utilize all the stock components of the early model Corvair, we may also devise a configuration that will utilize the late model at some point.  This effort will be documented for television. As I have acquired all the necessary supplies over the years to do this, I will be looking for partners who may like to be involved at various levels. There is a surprisingly large amount of interest in this from the Corvair community and other arenas of hot rodding as well. I will be looking for additional producers to take charge of the television aspect of this, as I expect to be coordinating the overall effort. Of course we will need investors and/or sponsors, so I invite inquiry.

IMS Studio Space: we are currently utilizing a 10k sq ft space in Southampton, which we are looking to secure for the long term. This space costs 50k per year to maintain.  There are two 5k building involved. It is anticipated that one space will ultimately contain metal and woodworking shops, as well as welding fabrication, a paint booth, a vehicle service area, properties construction and storage, a textile area for costuming may also be included and of course, production offices. The other space currently has a showroom for the products we are developing, an exhibition/gallery area, lighting fabrication and repair, puppetry and animatronics, a full stage with Borders & legs and a green screen. This stage will be very well suited for the performance of our material and will allow us to insert the artwork (drawn from the illustration for the storybook) via our MAC based editing suite. There will also be a recycling yard containing materials for theatrical production. Our existing offices will be converted to the Art Department and the Editing Suite will be enhanced.

The Theatrical Development Centre: is a concept that is becoming more clear as we have located a 500 acre property which may be available. The property is an abandoned resort in the Poconos and has numerous building in need of restoration, but this would be a very good starting point to build an artists retreat. More details on this will be presented as it is refined further.  As one time, I had the plans for this TDC completely laid out with designs for not only facilities but also the operational systems, but an unfortunate accident happened and years of work on planning this were destroyed when the pocket sized notebooks accidentally ended up in the wash. So I will need to reconstitute these plans when the time comes.

The Creative Archive is something that we have discussed as applying to the IMS Media Centre and the headquarters for The Alpha & Omega Society. These three aspects of the operation are still very much in the forefront of our goals and there is a facility which we have determined would serve well for these purposes, should the resources become available to us to implement the balanced operation of the facility.

The Gnomes of New Hope: we are focusing on publishing the score, now that the Libretto has been bound as a portfolio.  We are also beginning to move forward to record the lyrical performance, with our first step to create the ghost tracks for each song.  We are also starting to address animation samples of one or two songs.  Our focus in terms of mounting a performance is on the smaller presentations that will require less resources to implement.  In that regard, one of the primary presentation formats will be a parade float.  So the existing script will be adapted to create a presentation suited for use in parades. I expect that presenting in a parade will occur before we attempt to mount a full production. This will have a high value for publicity. In that regard also we are looking into creating balloons of our characters to go along with that presentation, in expectation that we will join in numerous parades around the country. Fortunately we can use the Southampton Days Parade as a testing ground as it takes place a 1/2 a mile away from the studio. The net result of the parade version of the show will be suitable for smaller theatres and street fairs, so we are looking to approach the smaller, more manageable markets first.

Animatronics and Puppetry are two arenas which we have been working toward and this  applies directly to the parade float. If you are experienced in these construction techniques or puppetry in general, we seek to grow this area more so than others at this time. In addition some more recent discussions have taken place about our stop action film-making and with the securing of the shop facilities, we will be able to move forward with that as well. We may simply shoot that on 16mm at the same time as we use digital photography to capture the frames.

Animation: is clearly a market which we will be approaching very directly. We will be working to develop our characters in a number of mediums simultaneously. So our product lines need to be synchronized to the development of the animated characters and the publishing efforts. The designs of the characters are complete and will need to be interpreted into computer generated graphics.  I am very happy to license this out to a company with experience in CG, but if I need to, we will develop that department of IMS, as we have numerous other projects to which animation could be applied, in lieu of live performance. Clearly, this can be a cost effective arena and with the other facilities which are in development, we have the resources to integrate live performance with CG GFX.

As always I invite communication, but I have to apologize if I am not entirely on top of the forum environments, as these tend to absorb too much of my time. I expect I can resolve that when I maximize my internet computing power in the future. For now the bulk of my time must be spent on direct planning activities and tangible construction efforts. If you are an individual who can provide direct support for what we are doing, I will  communicate in that regard.  If you are looking for employment, I will certianly communicate with you in that regard, but I need to focus on gathering resources that can make that happen.  I am looking for persons who can engage in sales on a commission basis and the result of those sales will be additional employment for those individuals who express this need.

NOTE: It goes without saying that an operation such as this requires substantial investment. So we are looking forward toward a stock issue, although that is not in the immediate future, as too many other things need to fall into place for that to happen. We are striving to create the cash flow required from our product lines, but securing the ability to do this will be greatly assisted with direct investment. With that in mind I am currently seeking Front Money. I have capped that investment at 250k, but it is being offered at a 300% rate of return. That is an investment  in The Gnomes of New Hope to advance that project and formulate the necessary contract, budget and financial materials and to aid in securing the facility. It is not an investment in the studio. Investment in the studio will be offered at another time, when the appropriate paperwork can be completed. Reference to this Front Money is not addressed to the general public, rather it is addressed to those who have already provided us with support and are known to us. If you are an individual who may like to consider investment in any of our projects, we will need to develop the appropriate relationship and implement the appropriate contracts in that regard. Hence, this should not be construed to be a public offering.

That's all for now. AG

The Gnomes of New Hope: Libretto, Score, Exhibition & Studio Space

 
   The Libretto for the Gnomes of New Hope is essentially completed. Finally after twenty years of writing... and I have to say, it is GREAT!  (really good)

  Jency Lattta has been doing our illustrations for the Storybook and I have decided to use those illustrations to illustrate the Libretto, before completing the layout for the Storybook. The text for Storybook (or a synopsis of the story elements and backstory) is included in the Libretto at the end of each of the nineteen scenes.

  Work is beginning more determinedly on the score. We have approximately fifty compositions in total, some of which are bridges or background instrumentals. The music is not yet complete, with maybe eight more songs to be composed, but we have in the neighborhood of thirty-five that are completely orchestrated and another six or so that have the melody lines laid down (but not orchestrated yet).

   I say that the Libretto is "essentially" completed because until the melody line is laid down there is the possibility that the lyrics may be adjusted to fit.  Also, I am reviewing the last few scenes to see if I can cull anything out. We are shooting for two hours of music, leaving a half an hour to forty-five minutes for dialogue and other business.

   I am currently building not only the scene-shop and related equipment & facilities, but also an exhibition of the artwork. I have an excellent portable exhibition with thirty-six display panels. This Traveling Exhibition will be part of the marketing plan for the release of the Illustrated Storybook and other products.  I am installing a showroom at the studio where our prototypes of the product lines will be displayed for potential licensees and retail buyers. All of this is intended to be part of the Backers Auditions.

   I am working to produce the Backers Audition as the first step in our production process, but as I would like to keep this a Closely Held operation, I will also be moving forward as much as possible without making a general notice in this regard. Should you be an individual who would like to participate, before it is offered to a greater number of selected people, I advise contacting me in this regard.

   There are other items related to theatre operations that will service both this show and other productions and those items are the first one which are being gathered and/or constructed, as the studio is intended to maintain the capabilities to service more than just this show. Although I would prefer to concentrate solely on this show, practicality tells me to back myself up first with the capability to pursue the most viable scenario and so that is what I am doing in the absence of the resources to move forward more rapidly with the Gnomes, although all intent is focused on the Gnomes as a priority.

   We are intending to produce the show here at the studio for the cameras and are beginning to move forward with this one scene at a time. I do have theatre seats which may come into play for a limited audience.  We are preparing to move into recording the lyrics and intend on doing that in front of a green screen, which will allow us to insert the performers into our artwork as a precursor to our work with animating the story on film/digital video and producing samples of the material.

   I am also intending to construct a Parade Float to include the puppetry we are currently developing. This, of course will precede the opening of the stage show and synchronize with the release of the Illustrated Storybook.

   As I have mentioned elsewhere, I am looking for a Literary Agent for this project and I welcome inquire, most particularly from the big three.

   Although a good portion of my energy is being spent on setting up the (10K sq ft) shop,  I am also beginning to set-up the files for the scoring, which needs to shift into high gear, by focusing on piano reductions. We have scored a number of the compositions, but having run into problems with Digital Performer's transcription engine we are shifting over to Finale for the piano scores.  I am working to do the lead sheets and include them with the Libretto to the Library of Congress.

  I will be offering a Pre-production Limited Edition, Signed (by myself, Shawn, and Jency) and Numbered (150 copies), release of the Illustrated Libretto with the Lead Sheets for $1,500. 

  These funds will be used for the seed money we need to move this production toward Broadway and they will not be repaid. The first twelve numbers of this release are reserved for individuals who invest ten thousand dollars or more in the production.

  Assuming that this show succeeds, even to a small degree, an investment in a signed edition will most certainly increase in value.

   If you would like to receive a copy of this you may reserve your copy and lock in the number by making a deposit of no less than 50% of that amount the balance will be due when you receive notification that the lead sheets have been completed and your numbered copy is ready for delivery. There will be a thirty day grace period on payment of the balance before the reserved number will be given to the next person in line.

  I expect that after I acquire a new computer system, one more capable of working on the internet without difficulties, I will be building the Gnomes of New Hope blog and the IMS Producing Partners site with more details of how the production is proceeding.

  In the meanwhile, contact me via email at imagemindag@verizon.net or com over to the studio. At some point I will be producing a PowerPoint tour of the studio, which I will make available to interested parties (but NOT post on the internet, where persons with ill intend might might be invited to cause problems)

  There are many very good things happening with this project and you are invited to open a dialogue to participate. There are many talents and resources required to succeed with this and we are building the management systems to do it properly. I would suggest that self-starting creative individuals who are motivated would have the best chance of finding a place in what we are doing.

   If you have contacted me via Linked-in or Facebook, I will eventually get back to you, for now I am quite busy and am not spending too much time on the internet, principally (as I have said) because the computer system I have for the internet is beginning to fail and does not operate well enough anymore.  

More later.

IMS Product Gallery

I have set up a new blog page for the product lines we are developing. The link to the IMS Product Gallery is in the header above. Our scene shop & stage operation will include a gallery and exhibition space so I am setting up a virtual gallery to work in tandem with that space.  We will implement purchase of items through PayPal.

At this point IMS Product lines will be for wholesale distribution only. Distributors and retail outlets wishing to carry our products are welcomed to inquire. Until such time as the sales tax registrations are properly set up, there will be no sales of individual items, but inquiries are welcome and you will be directed to a retail outlet who is carrying our goods.

Gnomespheres

"Gnomespheres"

instrumental selections from

The Gnomes of New Hope

We are offering selections from Act One consisting of
 seven titles selected from the twenty-nine
pieces that comprise the first half of the show.

Our recent discussions are inclined to include a few Lyrical numbers as well.

I am now working on a reduced version of
The Illustrated Storybook
to accompany the CD as the liner notes.

(which, by the way, is INCREDIBLE!)

--------------------------------------
The CD and the booklet are intended
as a companion to our investment materials,
therefore, for those who choose to invest in this show...

A special signed and numbered pre-production edition 

 will be released and only be given to the 

Front Money Investors

--------------------------------------

Thirty-five fully mastered pieces have been finished thus far

and we are moving toward recording the vocals as well.
n,

Currently, this album will be made available to potential investors

along with the 

Production Approach Summary

and 

Samples of the printed score.

Contact me if you are interested in seeing this.

A Restrictive Covenant Agreement will be required
to review all the creative materials.

If you are interested in having a copy of this album
where it is released to the General Public
please send me an email
or look for the PayPal button here
when it is ready.

More later...

AG

Gnomes of New Hope, Production Approach Summary

NOTE: 1/13 The Official Updated PAS is being published in hard copy as 
a production tool intended for investors and other business partners.
That edition contains more comprehensive information
including creative material not available on the web.
This will be made available via IMS Producing Partners in the near future.

6/10 Production Approach Summary  
for the production & management of;

The Gnomes of New Hope

an

Image of the Mind Studios

theatrical/cinematic project
created & written by

Arthur Greisiger
  music composed & arranged by

Arthur Greisiger & Shawn Rose

Musical Performances

Recent Activity and Archive postings;
Current Status  / Archive 

NOTE;  1/13 - The information in these pages is for the most part accurate, although outdated and is provided only as a means of introduction to the way in which the process has proceeded.  I am updating this a bit because I have moved it back to the top of the posts.

History;

"The Gnomes of New Hope" originated from the simple fact that the name sounded good. Back in 1981, I had been working for a troupe called Middle Earth Marionettes on a project titled "Journey to Middle Earth" and had Hobbits in my mind when I began thinking about mythical creatures.

In 1990, I had just returned from California and, having resigned myself to remain in Pennsylvania, I determined that I would work out of New Hope. I became employed by The New Hope Arts Commission as their Tech Director. One day, while thinking about developing a new project, the title "The Gnomes of New Hope" came to me because the name rhymed. I imagined hiring little people to roam around the streets of New Hope, disappearing and reappearing, to promote the project. I had no idea what the project was going to be at that point. It was not long before I determined that "The Gnomes of New Hope" would be a classic marionette show in the form of a street fair. This idea blended well with the roaming little people. I can say with certainty that I was influenced by the marionette show in "The Sound of Music" and by my friend Leon Rhodes being the director of the television series "Diver Dan" (of which I own 27 episodes of out-takes).

A Marionette Show

I began sketching out the storyline and characters. At this point, I had spent many years writing a number of film & theatre scripts, so I was well versed in the process. I determined that, since I did not want to get too involved in another "Magnum Opus", I concluded that the story should be limited to the marionette show and designed for a street fair. I thought this would be good publicity for Image of the Mind Studios working out of New Hope at the time.

The New Hope Arts Commission was interested in the play, but I was too busy being their Tech Director for other shows. Thus, The Gnomes was on the back burner. So I continued to refine the characters and expand the story when I could find time to write.

Around this time, I located a company in Germany that makes superb marionettes. I was very interested in having them construct the "actors"(at @$750). However, having worked with Middle Earth Marionettes, I paid them a visit to discuss their construction of the marionettes. They have an excellent shop, in Stony Run PA, and Carl Odhner is open to building the marionettes. So with that supplier in mind, I moved forward to discuss making the character prototypes with a number of sculptors.

I determined that I would produce the marionette show at The Gerenser Theatre in New Hope, so I laid out the Production Approach Summary, Budget and negotiated for the theatre. After preparing numerous aspects of the production, close analysis of the up-front outlay, operating expenses, the risk & income potential, I concluded that further advancement on the marionette show was inadvisable under the circumstances. The margin was too narrow and the risk too high. So I did not proceed with the marionette show.

NOTE: I am certain that the full marionette show can succeed given the right circumstances. Part of that involves amortization of the set-up costs with the Ancillary Markets (those directly related to the marionette aspect of the project) and shared publicity. Integration of the marionettes into the film and television aspects of the project will allow the live show to proceed and defer a significant portion of the set-up costs. The marionette show could justifiably be viewed as publicity for the film/DVD.

Children's Theatre

In 2004, I continued to associate with the Arts Commission and I began to work with The Make Believe Players & Arthur Gerald on his original musicals for children's theatre which he and his wife had created. This got me thinking that I should add music to The Gnomes, possibly modify the script for childrens theatre and use live actors (little people?). I began to expand the script, write lyrics and record some sample music tracks with my flute.

I began to consider producing a version of the show that would serve two theatrical environments- an enclosed venue and a street fair. It was at this time that Arthur Gerald & I had partnered to set-up a scene shop on a ten acre farm in Solebury. It occurred to me that constructing a mobile stage to serve both presentation environments would be a good idea. So, I set about designing the technical aspects for this version of the show.

Claymation Film

Earlier in this process, I spent some time with Selma Burke in her sculpting studio (she told me I was officially an apprentice) and I believe that sparked my interest in Claymation. I had spoken to another sculptor, Marge Rose, about this project a few times and I met with her again to discuss building the heads & hands for the marionettes, but it was about this time that work on the music became a priority. I decided to spend some time experimenting with sculpting on my own with good results.

NOTE: We have since sculpted one of our primary characters and are proceeding with creating the molds for that as one of our Garden Gnome products. We are also advancing with the mechanics of the puppetry and the animatronics.

I was cast as Paravanchinni in "The Mousetrap" at Phillip's Mill in Solebury and found myself imagining a production the marionette show there. As often happens with creative types, we all got talking, and being a filmmaker, I began to think in terms of a Claymation film. The director of the show was also in the injection molding business and offered to help make the articulating dolls I would need for a film. So I proceeded to construct the frame that would be needed for the dolls with injection molding in mind.

With the advancements that were occurring, I was inspired to spend a good deal more time writing and the show expanded beyond a marionette show.

A Television Show

As a result of this, I began to think about producing the show as either a television series or a special. I was working on a few other shows during this time and made a number of contacts which stirred my thinking in this regard. I began conceptualizing the animation, and entered into discussions with an artist specializing in computer animation. He was studying at NYU and was going to construct the first scene in the script in Computer Generated Animation. He got a job elsewhere before that happened, but it got me thinking about what kind of animation I would really like to see done.

Being concerned about how someone else might design the look of the Gnomes, I started to look for an illustrator and began to think in terms of illustrating the script as a childrens book.

NOTE: We now have an extensive portfolio and the Illustrated Storybook is well along toward completion.

A Feature Film

My primary interest has always been to make a show of quality that has the potential to become a classic.

NOTES;

1. Therefore, if a CG Animation were to be done, it would need to be done by an organization capable of the highest quality. I prefer the three dimensional and crafted feeling that is achieved with Claymation or Marionettes. But one does not preclude the other. We have programs to advance this cause (of CG), but I feel inclined to partner with another organization more advanced than we are in this regard.
2. To do a the real marionette show on film has an appeal to it that I would like to pursue, but I also feel very inclined to present the animation in clay... both of which are difficult and complex. Ray Harryhausen... classic stuff!   But The Gnomes are perfect for that... and since I have sufficient equipment to do something of this nature, that is one of our goals.

Toy Figurenes

As mentioned, my conversations with the director, and his willingness to help me get the prototypes built, led me to construct an articulating skeleton for the prototype Claymation Gnome (the Gnomation film?). This process of building prototypes, also encouraged thinking along the lines of constructing dolls for resale as toys.

NOTE: At this time we are involved in the construction of prototype materials for Gnome dolls, figurines, a play-set of Gnomeville and a number of other products are on-the-boards.

New Hope/Solebury Production Activity

Having worked for the New Hope/Solebury School District (running their stage) and at Solebury School with the Arts Commission for a number of years, it was suggested that we should conduct a workshop in association with the library & the elementary school in Lambertville , to show kids how to build and operate marionettes. It was also suggested that this workshop might make a good program for PBS. All those suggestions are very good and remain possibilities.

Around this time, consideration of illustrating the script as a picture book came about. I think this was prompted by the fact that I was involved with a number of children's musical theatre groups including The Make Believe Players, and worked with kids in more than one school system.

I came to believe that it would be advisable to convert the marionette script into a full staged live performance, after having seen how kids reacted to the show.

In 2004 I tentatively booked the August block at The Steven Buck Theatre for the 2005 Performing Arts Festival. By the time January 2005 rolled around I was moving ahead very well with the script revisions, but I was still not thinking in terms of a full musical. I was thinking of musical interludes added to a drama.

Where's The Muse?

By March of 2005 I ran into a wall, non-theatre issues had begun to interfere with my writing and I lost my muse. By spring it was clear that the show would not be ready to go up in August and I had other producers offering me work for the season, which would not allow me to work on my own show. So I postponed the effort.

By the fall of 2005 I had begun making some notes on the script again and over the winter I made some real strides forward. The script started to take on a new dimension and I began to think of it in terms of a full musical production.

A Revitalized Inspiration...

I started to write lyrics and sing them as I went along. I started to gather samples of what I thought the music might sound like, by recording ideaswith my flute.

By the spring of 2006, I began discussing the project with Shawn Rose, a composer/musician friend. A year before, we started to collaborate on the music for another show called "I am Alpha & Omega" (which went into stasis because of my distress over the muse and because I lived in Upper Bucks County, too far away from Shawn).

With the advancements of The Gnomes of New Hope I suggested we work on that show instead of Alpha & Omega. I figured that the viability of The Gnomes warranted focusing on that project, since the other one is more...difficult. He agreed. So we set about establishing a working relationship with the objective of fully setting The Gnomes of New Hope to music.

Creating the Music

It took us quite some time to get accustomed to each others sensitivities and to develop a good working relationship & schedule, but now we're both totally committed to the process and into a very productive groove.

I set myself on a path to build the studio's audio capabilities and to upgrade the equipment. As improvements were being made to the studio, our knowledge and abilities have greatly improved as well. Shawn has joined the effort to the upgrade the resources available to us, so that now we have a very extensive array of tools available to us for music production. Our advancement with creating the music has developed a solid commitment to completely orchestrate the show. We are currently meeting regularly with very positive results.

Words & Music by Arthur Greisiger & Shawn Rose

People understand the relationship between writing partners as a Lyricist and a Composer, where one person writes the words and the other writes the music. Although that may exist in many circumstances, that is not how we work.

To clarify our methodology, it is thus: I have written the story, developed the characters, write the lyrics, sketch out the designs, and direct the action. When it comes to writing the music, I give Shawn an idea of what I think the music might be like, either from singing or playing the flute, from that: we collectively extract something of a sketch and build it piece by piece in total agreement of every note, beat, instrument, and inflection. On some pieces, Shawn has an idea of what he hears in his head and lays that down, sometimes I lay down some tracks and they all get blended and adjusted to service the script. At any given time either one of us may improvise movements on different instruments, depending on how we feel at the moment or how the direction of the piece is going.

If any part of the script, lyrics, designs, or direction needs enhancement or alterations, we discuss it and if Shawn has a contribution, that we both agree on, it is integrated into the script. In this way the Words and Music are by both of us, because we are both vested completely in the success of this project.

If you are reading this it is because Shawn agrees with what I have written.

The Synopsis of the Story-line will not be provided over the internet until the show is out of pre-production.

More later...

Links to specific projects

I think it has become necessary for me to build links to assorted projects in the header above, as you see there are some already.  So I will be attempting to purge this home page of postings that are buried deep within  and restructure  the IMS Virtual Studio so that important projects have their own blog linked above.

There is a good amount of creative and managerial material that I cannot post online because I do not want it to be copied by unknown individuals.  Thus far, I have not been able to lock the material to prevent it from being copied and my efforts to do so were negated once I posted the items.  When I discover how to do that, then I will post storyboards and script materials which I do not want copied. Until then, the material posted will only be material that I feel will advance our cause without harming our efforts by theft.

AG

The Gnomes - Production Update

1/8/13 Update

Script - Work is proceeding very nicely with completion of the Climax and Finale of the Primary Script for The Gnomes of New Hope. This will lead us into beginning the Audio Book , which I am thinking about starting, now that I've upgraded my remote digital recording capabilities with a Zoom M1. I'd like to experiment with that recorder as a tool for this audio book.

Music - I am now using the Zoom recorder, instead of a Mini-Disk, for recording my flute music at The Bryn Athyn Cathedral, where I rehearsal a few times a week. The music I record there is often applied in some way to the music we are writing for the Gnomes, maybe not directly, but I do create new rifts that sometimes have shown up in the Gnome music.

 We have been composing new music for the last few weeks (as opposed to orchestrating some of the unfinished pieces), while prior to that Shawn has been going back to do a remix of the previous work. He is separating off the percussion tracks so that we can derive a better mix using a wave file. I have been writing script and lyrics while he was doing that. My focus of attention is on merging numerous story elements into a final sequence for the conclusion of the play. This has been required because of new elements which have arisen during our music composition sessions and also as a result of the work we are doing on Illustrations.

We have 30 finished compositions and approximately another six which are in various stages of development.  I expect that the total number of songs for this show may reach as many as 45, which includes the bridges, instrumental backdrops and the prelude, interlude and postlude (which have not been composed yet).

We have a few the piano reductions completed and are discussing bringing in two other musicians to work on creating a piano/guitar arrangement of the score.  Of course our primary need is to create the piano reductions for the rehearsals. We made a few attempts to bring artists in to do the vocals on a few songs but our focus of attention had to return to the concluding numbers of the show.

Illustrations - We have a very large portfolio of Illustrations, after working consistently on them for over two years, and on and off for five years. The focus of attention is to complete the backgrounds, as we have a good number of the scenes illustrated. These backdrops will be translated into the drops for the show and because of this we are focusing on completing the backgrounds for the nineteen scenes of the show.

My approach to gathering the illustrations has been to do so in small pieces.  The characters are not integrated into the backgrounds. This allows me to compose the scene as needed and to use the illustrations for a wide array of applications. Just yesterday we started painting one of the 3 foot display panels of our Mayor of Gnomeville. I expect to do this with our major characters as part of the lobby display and other marketing efforts.

Traveling Gallery Exhibition - I have determined to build the exhibition panels as per my design and to use this to promote the show to investors and other participants. Ultimately this will also become an exhibition to the public, particularly in association with the release of the Illustrated Storybook.  I am anticipating creating nineteen cycloramas, at first using the illustrations, but then going into three dimensional models, which will eventually incorporate animatronics (controlled with our MIDI programs). I do hope to open a storefront in New Hope for this Animatronic Show. I think such a show would be very successful. Of course this will lead toward our hope to be included in a theme park environment.

Shop Facilities - I have been working on setting up shop facilities. We have a 10 thousand square foot building which I am working to set up. There is a floor plan posted below, but the difficulty right now is funding. The space require $5oK per year to maintain the basic, without staff or other overhead items. My plan is to replicate the 20x40 stage space with a green screen in one portion of building 4.  Also included in that building  will be a gallery for our product lines with a sales office and an additional 20x 40 area for our Traveling Gallery Exhibition work. That building will also contain design and construction areas for our puppetry.  In building 3, I am working on setting up metal & wood working  shops, production management offices, properties & set construction areas, along with equipment maintenance and inventory of supplies and finished product. So this is progressing, but it is under duress due to a great need to finance this operation. Adding the elements of personnel into the mix greatly increases this need.

IMS Producing Partners - the web presence that has been started for IMS Producing Partners has not been attended to in the degree that I hope to. The primary reason for this is that this information needs to be resident on an internal server with a secure portal. I am currently publishing the Production Approach Summary as a bound edition intended to provide our partners with the raw materials of our modus operandi, samples of the script & the musical score, and contract materials. I may post some of that information on IMS Producing Partners if I feel that it would be prudent.  I do expect to work toward converting Image of the Mind Studios into a larger Corporate modus operandi, and for that purpose I am seeking to build a Board of Directors comprised of Active Vested individuals. I am seeking first Active Vested Partners, Passive Vested Partners are still most welcomed, but their investment must be limited at this stage to the 250K that I am seeking as Front Money. That Front Money is intended to solidify the budget, advance some of the pre-production materials and review all the production and management contracts. Until that happens, I am not able to accept larger amounts of Passive Investment, primarily because I have put a cap on the Front Money due to the 300% return on the investment. The Front Money Agreement may be posted on IMS Producing Partners in the near future, but access to it will require a password which may be requested by serious investors.

Production Approach Summary - is available to potential industry and investment partners, to individuals who are or may become creative partners or employees. Distribution of the PAS requires a Restrictive Covenant Agreement, which will be posted on IMS Producing Partners in the near future. This agreement is required due to the extent to which the story-line and other creative materials are revealed in the PAS . I will likely set it up so that the RC Agreement is part of the password access to the IMS Producing Partners site. These elements are still being considered in the context of our internal server.

More to follow. AG