UPDATE 6/1/12

I am finding that my computer equipment is no longer keeping up with things, so I will be striving to update that equipment. Not only do we need to update our equipment for our animation work, but this fact is starting to impair my on-line presence because I am loosing support for the systems I am using,  So I will need to attend to that.

 We have advanced a great deal in our graphics 

and now have at least 20 full color characters developed

as well as with many scenes from the story.

I will post the full color Constable Warren here in the near future.

I am now working on assembling a wonderful Graphic from "The Gnomes of New Hope".  Jency & I work together to develop the material and then I assemble it into the appropriate scenes to go with the script.

The one that is being worked on now is a full color version of  Scene Three - it is the meeting which has been called by The Mayor, Moss Lichen, in The Squirrel's Nest high above Constable Warren's office in the centre of Gnomeville. The graphic contains a wide selection of our characters as well as a view of the centre of Gnomeville.  I think you will be as delighted by it as we are.  We are getting ready to record the lyrics to  The Diva's Lament which is a prelude to this scene.

I will be posting the scene here as a way of wetting your appetite for the stage show and the animated film. We are preparing the first volume of the music for release and I will be including as an extra to that volume - copies of the stage script attached to the songs.

I have discovered that I can do this in iTunes.  So if you use iTunes to view artwork, I will be attaching the story as a bonus for you.  This album will be a limited release to our business partners and associates and will not be a general release to the public.  So if you would like to have a copy, then become an investor, business or creative partner.

As it stands now I am looking for (an undetermined number of) people who are able and willing to provide anywhere from $100 to $1,000 per week as an accumulating investment in "The Gnomes of New Hope".  We have a few people doing this and it seems to work quite well.  The advantages are that you can invest gradually according to your ability and derive the benefits of a Front Money investment.  Everything up to $250K is considered Front Money and is used for pre-production expenses.

 The Front Money Investment returns 300% on the back end and has other benefits. Further details of that will be provided to you on request.  This investment will be used to support the development of the facility and to employ people to do the work we need to do in order to prepare for the full production effort. The funds can be earmarked as you see fit in the context of the project and the needs which we seek to fulfill.

If you are interested in joining our effort, speak to me directly or email me- imagemindag@verizon.net.

Current Staus as of 5/12

The focus of attention has been building a new studio facility and restoring some of the equipment needed for advancing "The Gnomes of New Hope". We are engaged in developing the prototypes of a number of product lines and producing the illustrations for the Illustrated Storybook and the animated film.  We are nearing completion of the first volume of the instrumental music for the stage show and expect to move into recording the lyrics to this segment of the music. The CD album is in preparation for a Limited Edition Release to our Vested Partners. We are working on upgrading our film/video equipment to accommodate our work in animation/stop action film-making.  We hope to begin constructing the miniature sets for the film work and I am moving forward to construct a green screen at the stage facility.

I find that I am quite busy with all this and spending time on the internet is not the best use of my time. So although I do believe that keeping these blogs updated is a good thing, doing so on a consistent basis is not the best use of time and resources. If you want to be involved or find out more, contact me directly. I will update this from time to time, but this is not my priority at this time.  I am assembling a package which will be made available to our vested partners and we are pursuing funding to the tune of 2.5M for facilities and establishment funds.

The ancillary rights to an assortment of markets are available and will be posted on IMS Producing Partners (a subscription site).

Do contact me if you think you want to partner on any aspect of this project so we can all make a few bucks.  AG

3/28 Update

Extremely busy with work on the facility displayed below and on preparing the Gnomic Sized Edition of "The Gnomes of New Hope: Zach & Zebby's Grand Adventure" for publication. So there is little time for posting updates on the IMS Blog sites.

Generally, work at Tamanend Park will continue on maintaining the stage later in the spring. Right now the IMS trucks are being serviced, the scene shop, and the Gnomes are priorities. The Shakespeareans of Tamenend Park are on a hiatus, unless other producers want to step up to the plate.  "Cinema Under the Stars" will not be presented this year unless a fund raising team comes together or a major sponsor wants to foot the bill.

It is hoped that the "Concert of Colonial Sacred Music in honor of George Washington" may still take place on July 4th, but we will need more planners to make that happen, as I am swamped.

That's a brief overall summary.  AG

IMS Studio Compound

Although we have had other plans for a Theatrical Development Centre Compound, we now have the opportunity to expand into a larger facility which is attached to the current offices in Southampton, Pennsylvania.

The existing offices will remain intact and expanded upon if purchase of this building becomes a factor.

Other locations nearby are also available, which are under consideration for different aspects of the Theatrical Development Centre.   Initially anticipated in a more remote rural location, it now seems viable in this suburban environment, if the cash flow can be increased sufficiently to support the facilities.

The Recycling Centre would be located nearby, as would The Alpha & Omega Society which includes The Creative Archive, Exhibition Spaces, and Adjacent Services Office Compound.

Addressing the current expansion possibilities:

The available space comprises two buildings each is 5K and both buildings are available.

Here is the anticipated layout for this facility;

Building 3 

construction & fabrication

 

Building 4

design & management

Acquisition and set-up of this space is contingent upon funding and the operation requires a cash flow of approximately $300 per day (without the factor of equipment, personnel or supply expenses). We are seeking funding to support this operation for a minimum period of one year (preferably two), based on a five day week and a 50 week year.  Budget materials and discussions on this subject will be posted on IMS Producing Partners and is available to our Vested Partners.  

We are expecting to pursue the management structure of a Closely Held Corporation for certain aspects of the operation, others  require a Joint Venture Agreement, in addition to the Licensing and Limited Partnerships. We are open to dialogue in this regard.

A Summary of IMS Producing Partners

Introduction

• This essay/outline is intended to convey the IMS Financial Approach to producing work of various types by using the internet to disseminate the necessary information.

• The information outlined here can be construed to apply to any number of projects although in this instance reference may be made to The Gnomes of New Hope, since that is the principle project which is being pursued at the time of this writing.

IMS Producing Partners - an investment website, overview

• The current philosophy is to manage the dissemination of investment information and the relative updates thereto by way of the web site IMS Producing Partners. 

• This web site is intended to provide all the relative contract, budget & management information to our partners, whether they be investors, creative/managerial, or licensing participants. 

• IMS Producing Partners is designed to encourage investment in any number of projects through progressive levels of access to information depending upon the degree of investment and/or level of membership.

• The premise is that greater levels of investment deserve a greater degree of access and benefits for that investment and as such membership in IMS Producing Partners provides not only the foundational capital for further development as a whole, but is the basis for a developing network of people who are partnering to help IMS achieve the goals outlined.

• In today's world of international engagement, there ought to be a way for interested people of sufficient means to become part of the production activity thru the use of the internet and so IMS Producing Partners is being developed as a vehicle for that to happen, to some degree via the internet,  and to disseminate the required information for that to happen by use of more traditional and direct methods of fund raising.

• All investment procured by this means (internet) shall be controlled by the terms outlined on the website.  

• In all instances, hard copy confirmation must exist prior to investment for amounts larger than one thousand dollars.  Larger investment amounts via the internet may be possible, once the contractual agreements are in place which confirms the suitability of the investor and the relationship is established.  These terms may be altered as the implementation of this web site progresses.

• Other means of procuring investment exist and will continue to be pursued.

• Access to this web site is by membership only and the cost of membership is $120 per year, on the assumption that a person who is capable and willing to become a member of the investment group will not find that unreasonable.  Such membership funds are not considered an investment and therefore would not be returned.

• Membership is contingent upon  specific terms and conditions which must be adhered to and as such will be considered a binding contract enforceable by law.

Contents

• The structure of IMS Producing Partners is being developed as it is being conceived.

• Therefore the initial membership will include access to this process and the external structure elements which are generally accepted operating procedures for a membership oriented organization.

• Aspects of this membership structure will be applicable to The Shakespeareans of Tamanend Park and The Alpha & Omega Society as well.

• The structure of IMS Producing Partners is tiered so as to allow greater degrees of information to be available to members, partners and employees.

• Licensing information and management operations for the Ancillary Markets will be provided via this web site and therefore membership is required  for all licensees as well.

• IMS Producing Partners will be developed to a certain degree on this site and then converted to an internal server where it will be further developed and maintained.

• There will be benefits offered to members which will not be available to the general public, those benefits pertain to both Individual Productions and the overall IMS Studio Operation.

• Investment opportunities will be presented on IMS Producing Partners.

• IMS Producing Partners, at a certain level will contain the IMS Operations Manual and therefore all employees of IMS must be a member of IMS Producing Partners in good standing.

• Al new partners or employees functioning in the upper level operation, including creative and management, will be derived from the membership roles of IMS Producing Partners. 

• In addition to more detailed discussions about IMS Operations & Investment in the Studio Compound, the first level of membership will provide access to Individual Production Approach Summaries, containing: Budget elements, discussions about licensing, the Front Money Agreement.

• Certain elements of the production management system will be provided to partners on request off-line and not all elements will be posted. Those items not posted will be referred to, so that members in good standing may request those elements, if they are part of the benefits of their membership level.

 

This entire operational system is currently being reviewed 
and revised for the present situation

  Therefore,  in terms of it's presentation on the web,
it is in development and may seem incomplete.

The Southampton Park Trolley

Update: 1/12

There has been extensive dialogue on this subject and I have concluded that I will coagulate the emails I have written and post them here for the benefit of your broader understanding of the concept.  Please understand that all of this is a "concept".  It is a vision of what could be... but it could only be if there is a collective communal desire for such a thing to happen.  Look for me to post a new summary in the coming weeks. AG

Archive postings

I have been promoting the idea that the Rail Line which runs through Southampton be reconstituted and operated as a Trolley Line, which primarily will service the Park Systems along the line.  This trolley would accommodate bicycles so that those who use the line can travel between the parks, as well as the communities in-between.

In my mind an antique trolley, slow moving and uniquely quaint, would be an excellent tourist attraction for Southampton and part of that plan would be to restore the train station for use as a museum.  As I understand it, The Southampton Railroad Station Society is thinking in terms of making the train station a museum which will highlight numerous aspects of the rail line history, including the train wreck of 1921.

So it is that I am going to begin to post further on the subject here. I have posted on this subject and been writing emails to this effect for some time, but not on this site.  There is an essay with a link in the right panel titled "On the Improvement of the Community" this is an older essay and may be outdated, but it is worth looking at. There is also something of a summary of my work experience, as means of justification for the perspectives presented there.

If you have thoughts on a trolley line, please do enter the dialogue on the subject. AG

"Gnomespheres"

Work is continuing on the instrumental album of the music from

"The Gnomes of New Hope"

Some of this collection can be heard by following this link;

Gnomespheres

In addition to the Music and the Stage Show

we are working on the following aspects of this project;

Gallery Exhibition of the Illustrations w/Puppetry Storytelling

Puppetry & Toy Manufacturing

 

A Concert Version of the Musical

 

Publishing Numerous Items;

Illustrated Storybook: Zach & Zebby's Grand Adventure

A Dictionary of Gnomenclature 

The History of Gnomeville (published by a random gnome)

Reproduction Artwork by Gnomen Rockpile

 

Animated, Stop Action, & Puppetry Cinema

 

Theme Park Elements w/Animatronics

 

Investment and Licensing opportunities exist 

refer to this essay on the subject.