As you may know, Image of the Mind Studios is a proprietorship. This poses difficulties for production activities. There are certain things that cannot be done under that business model. This is, in large part, why IMS remains in the design, development and pre-production end of things.
One significant concern is the longevity of IMS. If IMS remains a proprietorship, it will die when I do and that is becoming more a probability than not. Unless, of course, I build a Board of Directors. That will only happen if Board members buy into IMS with a significant buy-in, basically somewhere around seven.
This is one reason that I have been seeking to change the business structure. For me, the difficulty in that lies in the amount of other work that I need to tend to. Simply put, I cannot get away from finishing the work that is before me. The managerial work of shifting the business model cannot interfere with the creative work that is under way and demanding attention. Otherwise, those creative details will wither under the pressure and never reach fruition.
Some History
That leads me to the current facilities. The building I am in, (Image of the Mind Studios and I are one in the same under the proprietorship model) is a building that was built by my grandfather. IMS is using half of the 20k sqft building. The other half is the machine shop, which he founded and my father, followed by my brother, ran. Of course, I worked in that business too, for a large part of my life, before my brother became involved, but Image of the Mind Studios has been my mission since I formed it in 1977.
I discovered by trial and error, that it was best for me to focus on pre-production. I have always been very involved in theatrical production and I would say, what has become (relatively speaking) nominally involved in film production. I was heavily involved in photography for most of my life. I transferred my technical capabilities, gained by my background in the machine shop and automotive work, over to technical theatre. Early on I began studying film, acquiring equipment and making films. It was my dream, to make movies. However, I fell into theatre, rather by accident.
I went to college to study photography and was led into studying film and television. My studies resulted in an Associates Degree is in Mass Media/Cinema, but that finishing work of that degree was exclusively in theatre.
However, that degree did not come easily. Every step along the way, I was being directed back into the machining business. When the pressure became too much for me, at 21, I fled to California and sought to pursue a career in film. I returned to Bucks County years later to finish that degree, with an emphasize on theatre.
has been designed & developed to account for the variances required for primary market saturation. The writing takes into account Theatre, Cinema, Television, Audio Book, e-Storybook, Animation, Illustration, a Companion Graphic Novel format and a particularly new product line/business model that incorporates all of the above.
The development of this project takes into account aspects of the storyline components, designed specifically for use in simultaneous exploitation of numerous Ancillary Merchandizing markets. Not a blatant insertion of Merchandizing from an opportunistic perspective, but the use of storyline aspects that blend well with expanding the awareness of the storyline into additional arenas, as a means to support the overall immersion into the story, culture and history of The Gnomes of New Hope. This is a key to giving this project legs.
The many other projects I have worked on, written, designed, or otherwise attempted to produce have all led up to and affected the extent of the Core Creative Materials for this project. Because of what I have learned over the years, it has taken me over twenty years to create and develop this project to this degree and to include the widest practical range of critical components, developed as fully as possible, so that this project may succeed in the greatest possible degree.
California back in 1974, was an eye-opening experience for me. I won't go into it here (check my bio) but let me say; my starry eyes were tainted by the realities of seeing all the dead bodies on the side of the road to stardom and worldly success.
Well... I departed my first visit to Hollywood with a strong dose of reality. Although I have to say, Gene Roddenberry reading and liking the first draft of my screenplay "I Am Alpha & Omega" is a very good and encouraging memory, I made some other pretty significant advances on that leg of my journey as well.
None-the-less, I departed Hollywood with some very important bits of information; besides 1) "watch your back" and 2) don't present your raw ideas to strangers; make sure that - 3) what you present is ready to act on immediately 4) you are prepared to act immediately 5) your creative material is legally protected in multiple ways, under the terms that are acceptable to you as an artist. 6) don't sign ANY agreements without legal representation and review 7) don't let your ego get in the way.
Soon after obtaining my Associates Degree, I began to pursue and interview a plethora of colleges to advance my to a Bachelor's Degree and move towards a Master's Degree. When they discovered my proclivities and my technical background, surprisingly, virtually every one hired me, or offered to hire, to work on their stage. The exceptions being NYU, Julliard, and Emerson. I was hired by Bucks County, Harvard, MIT, Boston University, Boston Ballet, Boston Opera as well Joe Papp, Lorne Micheal, Camera Mart, Beverly Hills Playhouse, MGM/Gerber, A&E, The Bucks County Playhouse, Pasadena Playhouse, The New Hope Arts Commission and many more.
I won't go on, because; when I stopped keeping track, after I began working on The Gnomes, I had 350 shows under my belt, and more since then.
So, back to the subject at hand; facilities. I set up IMS in it's present location for a few reasons 1) the building was owned by my family and I had an office there for forty + years. This was in exchange for helping my father with his business, while he also helped me with mine.
The back buildings were rental properties and they had become emptied because the latest tenant was perturbed that we would not sell him the buildings, so they vacated the premises. The problem was - that they left the property unrentable. The damages imposed by them (and previous tenants) were severe.
It came to be that I was in charge of much of the maintenance on the buildings and we began using the empty building for maintenance supplies and tools. That led me to begin setting up various workstations and such. At first those workstations pertained exclusively to building maintenance procedures and the assorted supplies needed for such. Because, simply put; the building were unrentable without a large outlay that would not be recouped for twenty years worth of rentals. So having me implement the maintenance was less costly. The space started to be used for storage as well.
As it turned out, my folks, being in their 80's were less and less concerned with the details of the business and the buildings, which rather left me holding the bag in certain ways. While my brother was running the business and excluding me from participating, I needed to bring The Gnomes of New Hope up to par to create sufficient income to support the building operation and maintenance in the long term, since only nominal support was coming from elsewhere to do that and I had no knowledge of their finances.
I was informed that I would inherit the building, in particular, at the very least, the portion I was using.
Hence, I buckled down and began using the empty back buildings for my work as well. The buildings did not need to be renovated for me to use them. So it became an exchange. I continued to use the buildings in exchange for maintenance and other assistance to my folks, under the understanding I was to inherit the building.
So now my folks have died and I am embroiled in a Will Probate that mostly ignores what I was promised and is involved in legal battles between my siblings. Once again I am at the short end of the stick. I will not go into it, but the circumstances are unacceptable for me to create a productive work environment.
Therefore, I must relocate IMS again, for the twelfth time. This will not be an easy nor an inexpensive task. If I remain in Bucks County, it will cost millions to build another facility and a significant amount to maintain that operation. I will not rent. If I am forced into it, I will pack my gear into semi-trailers and shut down. If that happens, it may be for good, because it takes a massive amount of energy to set this deal up again and get things going.
I'm two years away from seventy, so I hope you see that dilemma.
I am looking at relocating to the Pocono Mountains in upper Pennsylvania. If that is to happen, I will be building "The Theatrical Development Centre" there. I like that idea and I have multiple designs that I have developed over the years for just that goal. But I have to find the right land, build a shop space, and move six semi-trailers worth of gear. It's a major endeavor. I'm willing to do it. I have some capital to work with, but really, not enough. I need to sell the movie rights to The Gnomes of New Hope to secure additional funds.
I have some basic designs, but to do it right I need proper architectural drawings and a contractor to oversee construction of a facility. That facility needs to include a substantial legit theatre. So, you can imagine that I would drop ten million to pull this off correctly, at the very least.
I don't have that much to work with yet, but that's the goal.
If you're onboard with that. Let me know via email.
AG
