Hey Jeromy!
This was the right time to come forth and do what you did.. Its fair to give both the audience and the actors a chance to get to know each other better.. And I agree the secrets have to be kept that way even if there is no more MA vids anymore.
Let me get the point straight right from the start: I know nothing about filming or IMS.. I just know I liked MA very much.. I want more of that.. So I'm going to be fully honest and wholeheartedly egoistic: keep up the good job.. Promise you will not become the new generation of stupid IMS C's that as soon as have some success they get lost in dreams of being recognized as the cure for hollywood's lack of genious.. Please!! You are our saviour!! Our personal Neo!! Just got to realize it..
Got dreams about becoming a famous star and winning many oscar? Forget it man.. You are too important to risk losing you.. Fame is too dangerous a threat for you.. I mean for us.. We need you and others like you.. We slaves of the BS M&M Poo factory and imitators need you to save our poor souls!.. I was just about losing all respect for IMS's when MA showed up and rescued me.. There is hope now.. And you are our new prophet!! ;D
Now read this carefully for this will be said once and just once and you are to comply with these holy commandments if you are to save us from the worst form of karma burning in hell: Shear boring watching lame IMS's! ;D
1) Do not force an IMS continuity unless you got a really good story to back up the expectations.. Know when to end the story.
(Like an IMS that comes to mind that after 190 chapters still has to tell a single thing from scractch to end.. Personally I'd love MA to end like its now, just go get the same actors or different ones and tell us another story the way you did this one.)
2) Give the audience some degree of intraction but never let them tell the story.
(Do not NikkyB your stories never ever.. Some degree of ARG, puzzles and so on its fine.. But personally I never even tried to decypher not a single one of them.. Yet I dont think I missed any of the story's greatness.. So as long as you keep the story interesting I dont mind you messing up with those things a little bit)
3) Give proper introduction to all characters and limit the number to those really meaningful.
(Don't fill an elevator with a bunch of unhappy wannabe actors disguised with a mask that looks like those used in amateur porn movies or anything that resembles that at all)
4) Don't ever think the audience is stupid.. They will bare with all the tools you choose to use to tell the story as long as they make sense.
(Well.. There are so many examples of that.. So many.. )
5) Keep it simple: It will make it realistic and people will love it.. Unless you have Spilberg's IL&M behind ya to create all the SFX needed to give your wildest ideas any chance of credibility.. People loves that "It could happen to me" feeling.
(People does not understands that LG15 is actually an idea created for a budget of a billion dollars downgraded to fit M&M's cookies weekly budget wich they promised to save to cover the costs.. Thats why its unfair to critize it.. Isnt it?)
6) Listen to people enough to know what you can do to learn from your mistakes but never change your idea just to get their approval.. You got to keep truthfull to the story you wanted to tell in the first place.
(Well.. Just dont get me started..)
7) Gee.. got to go now.. Somebody help me finish the list!!