IMS Studio, work in general

Recent events have led me to work on refining the work environment at (what I call) Studio 1325.

With the impending approach of winter there is much preparation to the building and grounds.

I'm in the process of becoming the owner of the property, meaning my expenses will increase substantially.

That means that "The Gnomes of New Hope" needs to produce commensurate capital influx to support both the work environment and the expenditures required for general operations and the specifics of producing the assortment of end products we intend to create, a number of which are already "in-process".

One pending event is the relocation of my 1944 Star Trailerized Home. I acquired that years ago, thinking I might use it for location film work. I lived in it for nearly four years, before circumstances turned me into a condo dweller. During that time, I also began building my 1962 International CO1600 as a mobile workshop and to pull the trailer, while bringing the workshop to the location as well.

In fact, I had (and may still have) the opportunity to purchase up to four small RVs which were used as classrooms. I imagined renovating and equipping them into work vehicles (ie: camera truck, costume, props, production ofc) as rental units for location film work. But practically speaking, trailers are more efficient in terms of registrations and insurance.

In regard to the Star, I have intentions of doing a "ground up restoration". So I am preparing a space in the back lot for it, since I can no longer keep it where it is, and I need it in close proximity in order to work on it.

These preparations have led me to work on the CO1600. The truck needs a transmission (a Borg Warner T98-1P) which I have been trying to locate for years to no avail. So my approach it repairing the CO1600 will be to upgrade the engine to a 392 and use the T-34 that I do have. There will be a lot of work and adapting required, but the improvements will be well worth it. However, if I can find another T-98 1-P transmission that will make life easier for the time being.

So, working on the truck has led me to getting the snow plow painted and rigged up for it.

Last year I bought a 1985 Dodge Ram pick-up with a plow. The truck had been butched for parts and plow was too big for it, but it is exactly the right size for the CO1600. It'll be great, once I get it all working. I'll be looking to partner with someone who may want to use the plow truck during the winter months to develop a plowing business.

The '85 Dodge Ram is going to be stripped. If anyone needs body parts let me know, before I sell it for scrap. The chassis and power train are not for sale. I'm turning the chassis into the parade float/mobile stage. I'm going to see if I can rig the steering, braking and accelerator for RC (remote control). That only makes sense, if we use RC to control the animatronic puppets on the parade float. The parade float/mobile stage will be a rental unit.

So that's the direction things are taking, but for now the major efforts remain in publishing the Illustrated Storybooks.

The absolutely final revision of book one is "inches away" from being ready for press and subsequently distribution into the (international) marketplace. Here's hoping for the best.

That's all for now.

AG

RCK

A new approach to the ownership of the shop is being crafted, keeping it in the family. It is not clear yet how that will pan out, but thanks to the new economic environment, business is up. More later.

As it stands from my point of view, and my vote in that regard, I would like to see a greater focus on robotics. I am intending to move into animatronics with the puppet studio, so that may play a role. In any event, RCK is a manufacturing/CNC/fabricating shop on-site. Heavy fabrication (welding, large objects) is jobbed out, while the lighter work is done in-house. RCK has historically been a Swiss house working in 10ths. I think the very close tolerance work (2-10ths) burnishing and such, is less desirable but still possible.

So, anyone interested in robotics, with money to spend, get in touch with me.

AG

RC Kletzing Inc. (circa 1959)

Selling the Machine Shop

Above is a photo taken around 1959.

After over 60 years in operation, we no longer have any family members who are capable of running this business. So we are offering the family business for sale. (circumstances have changed somewhat, so urgent action is no longer needed, but we are open to possibilities)

Established in 1952 and still intact and operating, the decision to sell the business has been made, since there is no one in the family who wants to continue to manage the business, now that my father has moved to the Spiritual World.

Please pass this around. It must be sold as an ongoing business by the end of the year or it will go to auction.

Look for more photos to be posted, or I can send them via email.

Contact me by email;
Arthur Greisiger
image.of.the.mind.studios@gmail.com

Or call the shop directly at (215)357-1788 and ask for John Greisiger

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6447548403890032640

IMS Management

Here is a link. I'm going to start addressing the Management Structure that I am working to implement. There is a business plan that addresses these subject in more detail and establishes some of the contract parameters for finance and management. I expect that as I find the time, I will transfer that information to IMS Producing Partners. Once again, I point out that blog is a member's only site, as it is designed to address issues that are if concern to our vested partners. All of this is developing and much of it takes place outside of the internet environment. Clearly, those vested partners who are serious have made the effort to communicate directly with me and have visited the studio. Some have contributed resources solely on my word, and for that I am thankful. To those of you who have been watching the progress and who have contributed, I want to assure you that we will not give up until we have made a decent profit and have paid you back for your contribution. Once again, you are welcome to visit the studio and see first hand how things are proceeding. I do hope to manage IMS Producing Partners, so that I can post a tour of the shop, but that needs to remain private , for obvious reasons.

So expect more discussions about management to be posted on the IMS Management blog.

The Elder Gnomes Joint Venture

The Gnomes of New Hope; Zach and Zebby's Grand Adventure

   Although there are numerous subjects surrounding the Studio activities, which I could post here, I tend to be focused mostly on production activities for The Gnomes and thus, posting more frequently on that blog.

    One thing, however, if interest is the sculpting work that needs to be done. Elsa Acton sculpted our Constable Warren, but she has gone on to live in The Spiritual World. So now I need to set up and begin sculpting Ferny. I'm very fixed on having a Garden Gnome sculpture of Ferny reading and using that as a Point-of-Purchase Display item. I'll discuss all this more later, but for now, I'll try to post those images.

    I've found that the size and format of images needs to be specifically prepared for posting via a smartphone, so I may not have them right now, but I will begin to post more images after I set-up a file specifically designed to work with the phone.

AG

Posting on this blog

As you might see, I have been posting less than I used to, at least here. I've been quite busy building the studio and preparing The Gnomes of New Hope. There are a few subjects which are more relevant to thus blog, which I am beginning to focus on more. So you might see more posts here than you have lately, but as you can see from the previous post, there are events which affect the frequency of posting here. As it stands now, I use my smartphone to post and placing images via that method has not been terribly successful. I have been building a server for the production office and given the appropriate security, I may begin addressing the web from my studio. I have avoided that, because I did not want the distraction if having the internet in my workspace. I guess I'll explain that in another post.

AG

The Theatrical Development Centre

I just crafted a detailed post on this subject, only to have it disappear on me. I'm angry and frustrated by that, so maybe I'll come back to it, but I doubt it.

I feel like I've just just been intellectually raped, because I won't be able to generate those thoughts again easily. It's too bad because it was an excellent essay on producing theatre, really excellent... and valuble!

Let me just add this; if you are writing something in the digital environment, don't let yourself get carried away with your thoughts and forget to save frequently. Otherwise you too may end up angry and frustrated! I think I will change my method of composing for that very reason.

I really wish I could recover what I wrote. Oh well, I'll address this subject again after I do so independently of this blog.

AG

Posting activities

I have not been posting here on a regular basis. This is because I maintain a number of sites, including an Image of the Mind page on Facebook. All these sites require attention to keep them reasonably current. Another factor is that for some time now, all my postings have taken place from my smartphone rather than a workstation. I'm developing an in-house network and the complexities of doing that are, shall I say - more than I expected, but necessary.

In terms of IMS, the primary focus is refining the studio space. I have a massive amount of work in front of me, because in addition to making the space workable for the production goals, I am also engaged in restoring the building, which is a 20k sq ft industrial building. The building was a rental property, which was abused by one tenant after another, to the point where primary systems need to be replaced and structural maintenance needs to be implemented. Half of the building is used for RCKletzing, Inc., a CNC machine shop (215-357-1788), and the other half is IMS.

So in addition to production and publishing activities, I am engaged in setting up shop and restoring, refining and maintaining the property. It's a huge amount of workload. Fortunately, this project; The Gnomes of New Hope is written. The only work remaining for the package of Core Creative Materials to be complete is publishing layout & completion of the artwork for Volumes Two & Three, and scoring the music. The rest is all production work.

As you may have seen elsewhere, there is an extensive array of Ancillary Markets, but the foundational work of developing the prototypes for those markets is a separate issue. Although the overall success of the primary markets is tied to the ancillaries, they are not part of the Core Creative Materials in the context of completion of that package, rather those markets avail themselves of those materials.

That's all for this update. Check The Gnomes of New Hope blogs both here on eBlogger and on Facebook as well as Image of the Mind Studios on Facebook.

   The IMS Producing Partners page has not been updated for awhile, mainly because it is a subscription page set up for production management issues and because, for the time being, that information is best conveyed face to face, with the few partners involved in what we are doing.

AG

Biographical Essay

Here is a link to;

Career History of Arthur Greisiger

This is an earlier draft. It is part of The Business Plan for the Gnomes of New Hope.

I willl be replacing this with a newer version in the near future and will place it on the side bar.

AG

Posting on this site

* It was that; I would use this site, which I refer to as "The IMS Virtual Studio", for a good amount of thoughts on what has been going on, or going through my head.

* For some time now, my energy has been on The Gnomes of New Hope and assorted other blogs and forums that addressed that project.

* That does not mean I have abandoned this site, but it does mean that there has been a limited amount of time available for posting on the blogs.

* Work in the studio and setting up a production line for numerous products, as well as, a sales office and other related work has been quite consuming in terms of time.

* So if you search this blog you will find projects mentioned here that are, in all likelihood, in stasis awaiting other facilities, equipment, personnel or capital influx. It is only a delay in progress or a shift of priorities based on viability.

* If anything is of sufficient interest to you, I invite you to inquire via e-mail.

* I do expect to restructure this and other sites to refresh everything, once certain other goals are met. I am also building an internal server which   will allow more efficient information management.

* You can be certain that The Gnomes of New Hope is the priority and that anything discussed on that blog or on IMS Producing Partners is the most current thinking and/or actions being taken.

* I also post on Facebook and sometimes on Linkedin. Check the links above.

Theatre Operations

I might say "strangely enough" but it is not all that strange that my mind is leaning toward finding and acquiring a functional dark theatre to build "The Gnomes" (and other shows)

I'm facing some difficult, if not insurmountable challenges with the current studio location. Although the studio is well on it's way to being a very functional work space for production, manufacturing, and sales (and many other aspects of the operation) there are severely undesirable elements which are imposing themselves upon my sphere of creativity and functionality.

These factors existed before and I, generally, have been able to circumvent them to stay on my mission, but now the situation has become exacerbated to degree that is beyond unacceptable. I see little choice but to remove myself from the scenario. Doing this will take an extreme amount of cost and effort on my part.

So, if that is the case, the only practical choice is to set up shop in a theatre.

Of course, shop facilities are a priority, in addition to a backlot. Viewing such a change as a "final move" means to me; replacing my existing facility with nothing less than what I already have, but adding a functional stage with the capability to open the house for an audience.

This would essentially become "The Theatrical Development Centre". The cost of doing this is in the millions, so it is even more critical that "The Gnomes of New Hope" be funded or sold.

All that being said; I am in search of a theatre and the right deal that will make that happen.

Let me know if this is up your alley.

AG

Studio Operations

The Lion's-Share of the work on the Core Creative Materials is finished. I will need to shift back to Scoring the music, but the focus of attention needs to be, and has been, on refining the Studio Space to accommodate production personnel.

Thus far, I have considered the studio as a private working space, even though it is 10k sq ft, a pretty big private space. I like it that way, but considering that we are rapidly approaching the time when production activity will increase "on the floor" then my work area will need further refinement. I have to do it, but I will need a tool room, where the tools can be locked up. My habit is to keep the tools I am using at the work station, but if there is going to be more traffic on the floor, the I have to consider that.

The other very important objective is to Garner sufficient resources to pay back our current Front Money Investors, which is a substantial amount. A primary goal is to close out all the storage areas and bring those supplies back into the operation. As it stands now I have three semi-trailers and one shipping container in storage, which needs to be paid off and put back into active storage.

(In that regard; I'm looking for another International CO1600, 1700, or 1800 tractor to pull the semi-trailers)

I'm looking to pack the show into a single 35' semi, of which I have two. Of course, that size show will be for smaller venues.

Anyway, for those of you who have been patiently waiting to see enough action to believe there will be a return on your investment, I invite you to stop in the studio in Southampton to talk about things and look over our progress. Send me an email if you like, or just come in 9-5 m-f.

More later.  AG

Facebook postings

I have two pages on Facebook where I also post. One for "Image of the Mind Studios" and one for "The Gnomes of New Hope". So I suggest checking those pages also, because sometimes those posts are more recent. I think I put links to those pages on The Gnomes of New Hope blog or just do a search in Facebook. AG

New Concepts

   Revised 8/21/17

Well, interestingly enough, there have been some discussions lately about theme oriented theatre.

As you may know, there is an element in "The Gnomes of New Hope" called "Gnome Fest" and we are looking to produce an environmental theatre/festival project based on that part of the show.

So I am actively looking for producers who may like to be involved in this or any aspect of The Gnomes. We will need to have a team of producers working together on the numerous aspects of this show, because it is simply too big for any one producer to effectively handle.

NOTE; I am building "The Elder Gnomes Joint Venture" as the funding mechanism for this and this JV requires a Board of Governing Executive Producers. There is a buy-in to that board, which consists of twelve board positions. I am the Chairman of the Board. Discussion will take place on IMS Producing Partners.

Years ago, I was developing the concept of Gnomeville, as a theme environment that people could visit, but I put that aside for various reasons. I still have some property in mind for that concept, but it is very expensive land and I'm not sure that can actually happen, because of zoning.

    But way back when... I wanted to have "Gnomeville" be a stop along the New Hope/Ivyland Railroad. There is some remote possiblity of that happening, but the land to do that (along the railroad) may not be available.

I only make mention of it in case there are interested parties who may like to work toward that goal.

That concept remains a potential, but is not a priority right now, as we still have to finish illustrating the story, distribute the e-Storybook, finalize the puppetry presentation, film that show, start working on the animated film, deal with merchandizing, mount the stage musical and plan a tour.

   So as you can see, we're pretty busy. And there's the business factors related to all that and facilities development as well.

   But another amazing circumstance with incredible potential has arisen. I am working on devising an outline for that concept and trying to align the forces to look seriously at this.

   Unfortunately I cannot reveal much of that concept here, only to say it is relative to a theme park and, not only it is huge, but it would benefit literally thousands of people and hundreds of businesses.

That is not, however, directly connected to the Gnomes, other than the possibility that "The Gnomes" may be presented within that environment.

   It is beyond the capabilities of Image of the Mind Studios as it now exists, but if we build the organization in accordance with the business plan laid out for The Gnomes, then implementing that concept might not be out of reach.

  That project would require some serious land development and management resources and abilities. So clearly, I would only provide the conceptual development, as that is my specialty.

   In that regard, I will begin discussing some of the business plan for IMS, in the most general terms, on IMS Producing Partners, just in case we can move that concept forward. It will be contingent upon investment in IMS.

   Just one point here regarding financing; I am still functioning under the Front Money Agreement and my minimum is $10k. I expect that minimum to go up as a result of increasing costs of numerous items, including the Legal fees for finalizing our contract structure, implementing the Joint Venture, and making a Closely Held Stock release. These subjects will be addressed in more detail on IMS Producing Partners or at the Studio.

Another focus for financing is Licensing & Options, if this applies contact me.

More later,

AG

Preparing the e-Storybook

    I thought I'd post this here instead of the Gnomes of New Hope or IMS Producing Partners pages.

 That's not as easy as it sounds! (preparing the e-Storybook) I thought the layout I had was sufficient, until I started adding links and dealing with file size & hiearchy.  I rather found out the hard way, that your file structure needs to accommodate a rational order which is discover-able both by the computer, the main file links and yourself as the craftsman assembling the document. Being PDF files, they are fixed and not easily changes if you find errors or make changes. Basically, you have to rebuild the files if that occurs. That means going through 3 or 4 programs and integrating numerous files to come out with one document. Gad Zooks!  But then there is the issue of Digital Rights Management, which affects not only the hiearchy, but also the capability to integrate music and video, all-the-while securing the files. Interestingly enough, this complicated structure, tends to add to the difficulty of copying the files, because they don't work if the file locations change. So that's a good thing.

So work is advancing nicely on finishing the e-Storybook from a technical standpoint. After that is all functioning properly, then we will address the remaining artwork for the books.

In that regard, I am thinking that I will license certain aspects of the project, maybe the television series and/or film/theme parks presentation(s). I expect that doing this will raise the funds required for the finishing artwork. I know all of this sounds obscure to people who have no idea what this story really is, but preservation of the product lines is critical to the success of this project, and revelation of the details of the stories is reserved for Industry Professionals and investors in the project. I have a huge amount of time and money invested in this project and knowing the extent of the markets for the items in the product line, I simply cannot reveal the essence of this project to the public or any individuals who are not vested or legally bound & committed to the classified nature of the project by providing the Restrictive Covenant Agreement. I can, however provide progress reports and other items related to production activity, which, as you see, I am doing.

It has become clear to me that attempting to advance with production, or even pre-production activities is inadvisable without, at the very least, finalizing the functionality of the e-Storybook to the point where it can absolutely be distributed at the retail level. We are set up for manufacturing the product line "Gnomes in a Gnutshell" and I am working on refining some of the tooling required for packaging. Unless I have orders for fifty or a hundred thousand units, with a short delivery time, I expect to produce the product lines in house. But even then, assembly and shipping will take place from Image of the Mind Studios in Southampton. The one thing I am firm on is that this product line is to be produced and manufactured in America. There are a couple of reasons for that, not the least of which is inventory control, but I won't go into that now.\

I have to say I am very impressed with the e-Storybook. That is not only because I have written and produced it, but, truth be told, it looks really great! I hope it has the desired effect on the audience. There are samples posted her and on other pages, so you can look see what it looks like by searching around these pages.

You can get to me by email, or stop by the studio.

Well, that's all for now. AG

Posting from a smartphone

I have attempted numerous times to post updates from my smartphone. It is strange that the post from a workstation vs a mobile devise seem to be different. I am posting this more as a test to myself than anything else, so there is any substantial content to this post. If I can figure this thing out, I may post more.

I have to say that posts to Facebook via this smartphone do seem to work, so keep an eye on that page. I did post the Preface from Book One of The Gnomes of New Hope there. It gives a good overview, although it's nothing that hasn't been said before in other posts. It's just consolidated and the fact that it is published in the hard copy of the Gnome-sized Edition rather confirms the objective plans to be more solid.

Hopefully this mobile post will work. AG

p.s it does appear to work. Now I need to check it from a work station make sure it's the same.

AG Bio

If the link in the header does not work for you, persons wishing to see the Biography posted on IMS Producing Partners will need to contact me via email at image.of.the.mind.studios@gmail so I can add you to the list or send it to you directly. The IMS Producing Partners blog was set up to be a secure blog, set up for our investors and producing partners so that the information is not available to the general public and we can use that blog to manage the business of The Gnomes of New Hope on a secure classified basis. I'm still working on that. AG

Puppetry

I thought I'd post some images of the puppetry which is being worked on now.

These three Dragon heads are part of a forty foot dragon which is part of
 The June 19th Pageant at Bryn Athyn Cathedral.
It is the Seven Headed Dragon referred to in the Book of Revelations.
It takes ten puppeteers to operate.

These three heads are in my shop, in order that I can modify them
to accommodate the requirement for them to spew water out of their mouths.
We achieve this using silk to represent water.

Here, the covers, which end up looking like a tongue, create a stowage space for the silk.
These are in process, and the paper mache, formed over an aluminum foil & wire frame, is drying in the sun.

Here is the spring tube mechanism that has replaced the original rubber band design.
With this modification, the jaw is controlled by a spring attached to cables on each side,
thus leaving the mouth open to accommodate the silk.
The cable area is reinforced.

Then the roof of the mouth is closed up, new paper mache applied and then repainted.

            

Here the end of the  tongue is being shaped to create an opening for the forked tongue and silk.
the water is pulled out by children who are attired to represent angels

This shows the tongue shaped before painting

There are many more images of both the dragon and the performances, but I will leave that for another time. I just wanted to post something other than a droning on about the Gnomes of New Hope.

AG

                 

June 4th update

A quick report -  Work on the Gnomes has stopped for the next two weeks, although I came up with another product line and have produced a flyer for that item. I'll post it here or on the Gnomes Blog in the future.

For now I am busy building puppets for the June 19th Pageant at The Bryn Athyn Cathedral. We have a 40 ft Seven-headed Dragon which is described in Revelations 20. This Pageant is in celebration of the New Church and I am involved as a performer as well as having become the Dragon Master. This means this I am in charge of making sure the Dragon is in good shape and operable for the pageant. I am making modifications to the design of the heads to accommodate the river of water that pours out of the dragon's mouth. You can read Revelations 20 to get the drift of the pageant... or vist Bryn Athyn Cathedral on June 19th at around 7pm (when the pageant begins). From around 4pm on there is a community picnic on the grounds.

That's all for now. AG