PART TWO

...

Deep in the mountains a tumble-weed was lost and far far away from home, he blew unnaturally fast in the chilly North wind that blew down through the Kitschnel pass (Dun Dun Dun).  Oh no isn't the Kitschnel pass where the Hag lives??

Yes and it's where the 'Knight is travelling too as well.

Now, the young tumble-weed Whats a tumble-weed?? And why doesn't he have a name?? 

You know in those old wild west films with the cowboys and Indians? Yeeeeeah. 

Well you know that bit where they show a barren landscape, where there's no tree's or people? Yeeeeah.

And then a plant shaped like a ball blows across the screen?

Yeeeeah.

Well that's a tumble-weed. This particular tumble-weeds name was Harvey and he was fed up of being blown around the mountain so he laboured against the wind until he made it into the mouth of a cave. The cave was pitch black and a dripping sound echoed from inside, it was spooky, Harvey huddled in the corner beside a stalagmite.  Then suddenly with a whooshing sound he disappeared through a hole in the cave floor. He tumbled faster then he had every tumbled in his life (he felt a little motion sick by the end) along a winding section of tunnels that were suspiciously just the right size for a young tumble-weed. With a whump he landed on a patch of mossy ground in what he thought was a bigger cave and peered around fearfully.

As Harvey fearfully looked round the cave he heard a strange sound next to him and swivelled round to find himself face to face with another face, a strange face, a face with no eyes and no mouth. He squashed himself into the cave wall and his eyes grew wide. The head the face belonged to tilted and the nose gave a sniff and then sneezed. Harvey shook himself. The face withdrew and a shaft of light fell on the person the face belonged too. The young tumble-weed gave a shocked gasp! The person had only 3 hairs sticking out of her head, she had no arms and only one wing! Why didn't she have any arms and only one wing??

Hush-up and wait and see.

Harvey was looking at the shocking figure of the Hag! But why does she look like that??

Long ago something happened to the Hag which is only known as The Hag's Great Pain and ever since that time she has lived alone deep in the mountains at the top of the Kitschnel pass. If you listen closely when the wind is blowing from the North then you can hear her wailing. Why is she wailing??

Because of her Great Pain.

Even in Harvey's home across the plains he had heard of The Hags Great Pain. But he had heard that the Hag was a formidable creature, that was to be feared. He thought now that although she was certainly formidable she was not to be feared. He looked at her crippled form and pitied her. He felt ashamed for believing all the stories about how she terrorised traveler's who got lost along the Kitschnel pass.

Meanwhile Ninja Knight with his Greased UpTM ninja skills had reached the bottom of the Kitschnel pass, at which point exactly as the 'Wizard Men' said the Go Faster GreaseTM ran out. He stood for a moment or two being buffeted by the wind before taking a decisive step forward. This is when his ninja skills began to come into play, he jumped from rock to rock so fast you couldn't even see him move between the rocks. Like moving at lightening speed?
Yes just like that!

Like I said the knight isn't the brightest button in the barrel and he hadn't thought to bring a map or a compass and it's no surprise he has no idea where he's going! So he bounced up and down the kitschnel pass using his ninja skills to go from rock to rock.

His sense of direction was so bad you could almost hear the wizard men sigh from far off in their homeland. But just this once they decided not to help out the knight.

The Knight now so lost that he could not even find the way out of the Kitschnel pass paused for a moment. He turned his head this way and that and then tilted it as if listening. A strange sound was whistling down the Ktschnel pass, the 'Knight presuming that it was the wind whistling through the top of the pass nodded to himself and then set off up the pass in search of a way out.

A short while later the Knight emerged at the top of the pass and gazed out in what could only have been wonder at the view of the Kalahu mountains. Did his eye grow wide?
Yes his eye grew very wide at the wonder of it all.

Just as the 'Knight seemed to relax he heard a strange scuffling noise coming from a cave to his right, almost like the sound of someone dragging a large sack of flour along the floor. It was a creepy sort of noise, but as you know the Knight wasa courageous hero so he poked his head into the cave only to come face to face with The Hag! The Knight straightened up pretty sharpish, at which point the Hag shuffled out of the cave. Seeing this and knowing the stories as well as the tumble weed, the Knight drew his saber sword (the shock of her appearance had caused him to forget his mission) with a loud swishinh humming sound. As he drew his sword the hairs that tthe Damsel had given him fell from his armour, where he had so carefully placed them and drifted on the wind toward the Hag.

Having heard the sword the Hag had shuffled back a few steps. Now as the hairs fell she froze and then did a very odd thing..she sniffed the air.

She was too late to see the Knight bringing his sword up ready to strike! Just as the Knight was about to lower his sword in what can have only been a fatal blow he saw out of the corner of his eye a shape roll out from the cave behind the Hag and come to rest in front of her.

Harvey shaking slighlty sat resolutley between the Knight and the Hag. Now that he knew that the Hag's legend wasn't really true and that she was really a gentle creature who had suffered a great pain that had scarred her he wasn't willing to let her be killed by the Ninja Knight!

Ninja Knight stood frozen with his sword still raised above his head.What was this strange  creature sitting between him and the Hag?! You could almost see the cogs turning in his head again as he procsessed this thought...the Hag...the Hag...THE HAG...he was supposed to find out about her great pain! Once again the Knight's eye grew wide with surprise!

Meanwhile the Hag had leaed forward to sniff the hairs that had fallen to the ground. She began to wail. A horrible high pitched inhuman sound.

Slowy gripped by a sudden possibility the Knight slowly picked up the hairs and held them closer to the Hag.

She sniffed them again and her wailing intensified. It was louder now and impossibly sad. Harvey flattened himself to the ground and slid toward her feet.

The Knight held the hairs yet closer and the threw her head back and wailed still louder!

Harvey had reached her by now and leant against her in an attempt to comfort. Feeling him at her feet she shuffled backwards and bent her head to look at him the wail dying in her throat.

As she shuffled backwards she had revealed a tunnel she had been standing in front of, seeing an escape from the horrible sound of her wailing the Knight's ninja skills kicked in and he flew down it running until he could no longer hear her pain.

When all he could hear was the clanking of his armour and the whooshing of the wind in his helmet the ninja knight slowed down until he was striding along at a swift walking pace. It was only now that he  could finally hear his own thoughts again that he remembered his mission...find out the Hags Great Pain.

Ninja Knight stopped and scratched his head. He appeared to frown (his eye closed slightly). Thinking over the events that had led him into the tunnel - with much frowning and sweating he came to the conclusion that the Hags Great Pain had something to do with the Damsel. Nodding, now satisfied that he had completled his mission he ambled on along the tunnel. But something niggled at him and he wasn't sure what..

A short while later he saw light at the end of the tunnel. Speeding up he came to some stairs and went straight into Ninja mode leaping up them ten at a time! In no time at all he came to the top of the staircase.

...

Slowly the Damsel turned from her window, the sunlight glinting off her hair, and looked upon her rescuer and the Ninja Kinght looked back.

As their eyes met, but the Knight only has one eye! 
Oh ok as her eyes met his (eye) a spark flashed between them.

Then before more sparks could fly the Ninja Knight whisked his Damsel In Distress up into his arms and ran with her back down the stairs and into the tunnel. He ran so fast he was almost a blur and the damsels hair whipped out behind her like a long waving blue curtain. Leaving a trailing scent of roses (the choclates, not the flowers) in their wake.

The Knight forgetting where he was going zoomed out of the other end of the tunnel and smack bang into the Hag! She didn't even move a muscle. The Knight, still with the Damsel in his arms froze and stared wide eyed at the Hag. Hag wiggled her nose, the Damsels hair was tickling it, she sneezed energetically and then sniffed...and then poked her nose into the Damsels hair and sniffed again...the Damsel burried her head fearfully into the Knights shoulder, still frozen in shock he did not move.

Or was it shock...a strange orange glow had incircled the three and it seemed to grow brighter. Then a strange snapping and cracking sound rent the air and the hag jerked upright and threw her head back, the Kinght steeled himself for her wailing but none came as she leaned forward again he saw that from the hole where he missing wing should have been a new wing was growing. A bright white glorious wing! Then hairs began to sprout from her head and arms began to grow back. Slowly as the Knight watched and the Damsel cowered the Hag became whole again, last to come where her eyes. They blinked and then her mouth opened and said in a voice as sweet as if it had never stopped being used:

"My daughter you have come back to me"

Hearing the motherly tones of that voice the Damsel turned her head and gasped in surprise! Her eyes grew wide and she flung herself from the Knights arms and into her mothers.

Together hag and Damsel wept with joy and sadness at the years lost and the happiness of finally finding each other again. For ofcourse the Hags Great Pain had been the loss of her child and the Damsel (her child) had come back to her. Carried by the very Knight who had meant to attack her.

Watching them the Knight contemplated the two - now so clearly mother and daughter and watched as their hair combined and flowed together in one shimmering curtain that enveloped them.

Nodding, safe in the knowledge that he had performed his mission admirabley and not only saved the Damsel but ended the Hags Great pain, he turned and made his way slowly back down the Kitschnel pass...

(sleep well little one)


      

Once upon a time...

...yes that's right this story is going to begin with a cliche and a well used one at that.

So once upon a time there was a Damsel who as fortune would have it was locked in a tower. Don't worry we'll get to the fortune bit later.

And so as is the same in all 'fairy tales' the wizard men went to fetch the knight. Hold on 'Wizard men'??
Yes 'wizard men' we'll get to that bit later as well.

So anyway the Wizard men went to get the Knight or I should say Ninja knight. Ninja Knight??
I see your going to question everything I say, yes Ninja knight. he not only looks a bit like a ninja but he supposedly has ninja skills as well, but that remains to be seen.

Ninja Knight listened to the 'Wizard men's' sorry tale and gave one decisive nod. The 'wizard men' knew for sure then, that the Knight would go to save the Damsel. But he didn't even speak???
I know he didn't speak! The Ninja Knight doesn't need to speak, he always considers everything very carefully and then makes his move. In fact he very rarely shows any emotion. A nod is quite a big deal.

With the decision made the 'Wizard men' drifted back to they're homeland to wait until they were needed next. Drifted? Homeland? Where do they live??
That is the beauty of the 'Wizard Men' they are a mystery, they move in mysterious ways and we have no idea where they go when they are not in the story..unless I decide to reveal more later. Now be patient.

Where was I? Ah yes the 'Wizard Men' having performed their duties drifted off  in their mysterious way and Ninja Knight turned to his trusty stead, Sid and gave another nod. Sid! What kind of name for a horse is Sid??
Sid is no ordinary horse, Sid is a skeletal horse, we think he may have had hair and organs and the like at some point but no one's really sure.

Unfortunately for Sid or Ninja Knight, depending on which perspective your looking at the situation from, Sid's calcium intake had gotten pretty low so when 'Knight jumped into the saddle he collapsed in an impressive pile of bones, leaving 'Knight looking bemused (which is pretty much the same expression as he usually has). Of course Sid is a magical horse, but old magical horses need time to repair and the Knight had no time to waste, he had a Damsel to save! So with much clinking and groaning the Knight picked himself up and looked around. It seemed he would need a new trusty stead... He just left Sid??
Yes he knew that Sid would put himself back together, it would just take some time and probably a few buckets of milk and a Milkybar or two.


So what's the Ninja Knight going to do??
Well the Ninja Knight had two options, he could take his not so trusty stead; Gordon, who is a very small purple Dragon, who to be honest is two sizes to small for the Knight to ride - but he has tried before - or he could walk - his power walking had improved immensely since he had started training for 'The Walk for Life'. The 'Knight considered his options carefully...

Just as the Knight was coming to his decision a strange wind blew up from the East and 'The Wizard Men' drifted in from their mysterious homeland.
"Hello Mr knight. We can help you out with you conundrum."
The Knight gave them one of his looks.
"In return for a favour we will give you Go Faster GreaseTm that will increase your Ninja Skills and get you to the Damsel in half the time."
The Knight appeared to consider this, you could almost see the cogs turning in his head.
Wait wait back up a second, Go Faster Grease TM?? 
Yes the Go Faster Grease is a Trademark of the Warrington Wizard Wanderers. I would get in a lot of trouble if I didn't say that is was a trademarked product. Even if it is only accessible by certain magical entities.
Now back to the story...The Knight considered the 'Wizard Mens' proposal and...(long pause)...Nodded.

And so in no time at all the Knight using his Greased upTM Ninja skills arrived at the tower where the Damsel was imprisoned.
Why's Greased upTM trademarked??
Oh thats because Greased UpTM is the slogan for Go Faster GreaseTM, so it's also Trademarked. It's annoying when Product placement gets in the way of a story isn't it?!
Now hush up or we're never going to get to the exciting part of the story.

Right where was I, ah yes, the Knight arrived at the tower where the Damsel was imprisoned. Now the Ninja Knight might have amazing ninja skills and fight like a pro but he isn't the brightest button in the barrel. So with a battle cry he drew his Saber Sword and charged the tower! Saber sword??
I knew you would ask about the sword! His sword is aptly named Saber Sword because it is far too long and bright blue! So is it like made of plasma like a Lightsaber??
..*ahem hem* Ehr why don't you Er just wait and see?!

It's no surprise that with a loud Plink he rebounded off the tower and with a Whoosh and a clank landed flat on his back. He blinked in surprise. (The blink shows his surprise!) There followed a mighty crumbling sound and to the increasing surprise of the 'Knight (He blinked again) some eyes appeared in the tower. They Blinked. Then with a further rumble some eyebrows appeared and they frowned. Some mortar began to crumble away from the tower at this point.
The 'Knight  blinked again and his eye grew wide.
His eye? Don't you mean eyeS??
No I mean eye. You can only see one of the 'Knights eyes, hence his name: Ninja Knight. It's also a little known fact that under his armour he is actually missing an eye! He traded it with a witch for...*ahem* anyway that's a story for another day.

A cracking sound was coming from the tower, a mouth was appearing. With a pop the Wizard men reappeared!
"You cannot fight this tower Ninja Knight. If you do not do what we tell you the tower will swallow you whole!
It is time for you to return the favour you traded for Go Faster GreaseTM."
The Knight did not move, merely looked at the 'Wizard Men'.
So are you going to tell me why they're called 'Wizard Men' yet??
Oh you are impatient! Fine I shall tell you a little about the 'Wizard Men'. They have been dubbed the 'Wizard Men' for a few reasons, the most obvious being that they wear what is commonly called a pointed wizards hat, they appear in the story 'as if by magic' and they have an air of mystery around them that only high level wizards can achieve, little else is known about them. The term men is used loosely as we have no idea what gender they are - no one can get that close to them
Now can I carry on with the story?
But don't the 'Wizard Men' have names??
If I knew their names I would have told you.

The 'Wizard Men' continued:
"To overcome the towers power and save the Damsel you must journey into the mountains and through the Kitshnel pass to the home of the Hag. There you must learn of the 'Hags great pain' and help her to overcome it..."

Slowly the Ninja Knights eye grew wide. And then with a blink his eye returned to normal. Very slowly he gave one great nod. (A significant display of emotion from the Knight)

After the knight nodded, just like a leaf falling from a tree in autumn, two single blue hairs floated down from the tower and landed neatly on his hand, just as if they had meant to land there. They were the Damsels hairs, So Ninja Knight would be able to come back to her.

"You have enough Go Faster GreaseTM to get to the bottom of the Kitschnel pass but after that you must rely on your own skills"

Infinitely slowly the Knight shook is head. At this point the "Wizard Men' appeared to freeze. Aren't they usually still?
No the 'Wizard Men' usually float.
They also appeared to grow in size.

"YOU MUST USE YOUR OWN SKILLS ON THE KITSCHNEL PASS!!"

The Knight appeared to shake slightly. The 'Wizard Men' grew still further. The Knight blinked. The 'Wizard Men' grew. The Knight blinked again. And still the 'Wizard Men' grew taller. Slowly the knights mouth opened. I thought he didn't have a mouth??
He doesn't usually thats why it's such a big deal when his mouth appears!
Oooooh.

"YOU MUST USE YOUR OWN SKILLS"

The Knight shook for a moment more and then blinked and closed his mouth. He then did a very strange thing, he turned his head and his eye to the sky and nodded and then turned and with his Greased UpTM  powers headed off in the direction of the Kitschnel pass...

Appreciate

Look down. Smile. Wrap your arms around her. Your arms engulf her tiny frame and your chin rests on her shoulder. She leans into you and holds on tight. You wish you could protect her forever. Always be here to fight off her demons, make her laugh with your silliness, share numerous cups of tea and get hyper together on coffee. If only you could be around to listen to her rants forever, leave notes on the walls, doors, cupboards and fridge, just to make her smile.
You personified objects together, complained about the grumpy fridge and spent numerous nights huddled next to radiators. The pizza man always saw you together, you shared a job, a flat and even once a bed. Together you lived through breakups, uni, fights with friends and your job. Books, dvd's, music and games integrated with each other. She was the only one who questioned your self harm and her anger was surprising. You only ever really fought with her once and that was about the stupidest thing.  It felt like you had shared this flat forever and yet it was just over half a year. For the first time ever something was just how you imagined it was supposed to be and how you see it on TV.

Now she's gone, now what?
I'm asking you a question. I need an answer! What now? What are you going to do now?
Tell me!
Silence. OK, well how about I tell you. You have a new flatmate, get to know him. You are not alone in the flat anymore. Take down the notes from the fridge that remind you of her, you might want to put the 'treasure hunt' mugs away as well.
No listen to me, It's the past leave it there! Don't carry it into your future as well.
It's probably a good idea to take the photo off the fridge as well.
No, you can keep it, just maybe put it in your room instead.
She's not dead for crying out loud! She's just on the other side of the world.

Yes. It's time to start over. you've done it before, you can do it again.

Right i'm afraid that's time.

See you next week?

Powerless.

Key. Click. Close slowly. There's a baby in the ground floor flat. Walk. Matt. Banister. Stairs. Climb. Light sensor. Climb. Dark. Look at the window. Dark. Sigh. First key. Shuffle. Second key. Pull. Wrong key. Second key? Swing. Clink. Chink. Stop. Look. Dark. Listen. Silence. Sigh.

Move your limbs. Close door quietly. Why? Throw keys onto table. Turn. Sigh. Drop bag. Thump. Breath In. Breath Out. Turn. Kitchen. Click. Heating. Turn. Living room. Scrape. Tortoise. Walk. Kitchen. Gentle. Tortoise. Floor. Fridge. Rustle. Lettuce. Floor.

Stand. Push shoulders back. Good posture. Tall. Taller then who? Blank. Stare. Blink. Look. Photo. Sigh. Why?

Turn. Turn. Turn. Turn. Turn. Turn. Turn. Where? Walk. Turn. Turn. Turn. Turn. Stumble. Doorframe. Walk. Turn. Turn. Turn. Turn. Where. Stop. Stop. Breath. Trapped. Turn. Stop. Turn. Stop. Turn. Stop. Stop. Breath. Breath. Walk. Blink. Tight. Breath. Heavy. Lean. Slide. Floor. Trapped.

Let go. Whump. Floor. Blink. Unfocused. Carpet. Blur. Heavy. Trapped. Silence.

Still. Heavy. Ache. Silence. Light Filters. Breathe In. Breath Out. Blink. Focus. Trapped.

Time passes.

Hunger? Kitchen. Fridge. Stare. Photograph. Turn. Tortoise. Walk. Place. Gentle. Scrape.

Kitchen. Blink. Kettle. Click. Sigh.

Bathroom. Scrape. Click. Bolt. Razor blades. Shake Head. Sigh. Water. Soap. Scrape. Click. Unchanged. Sigh.

Radiator. Laptop. Tea. Sigh. Press. Stare. Type. Watch. Shake Head. Blink. Swivel eyes. Sigh. Up. Door. Lock. Lock. Lock. Sigh.

Bedroom. Pyjamas. Laptop. Close. Walk. Bathroom. Sink. Teeth. Contact lenses. Face. Towel. Real unfocused. Reflection. Stare. Lean. Blink. Press. Touch. Rub. Scratch. Sigh. Close Eyes. Lean back. Open Eyes.Walk. Bedroom. Stand. Turn. Kitchen. Kettle. Blast. Tap. Click. Hot Water Bottles. Two. Look. Sigh. Pain.

Bed. Click. Darkness. Pull. Covers. Blink. Half Light. Stare. Sigh.

Breath In.

Breath Out.

Lots more research videos.

I'm not sure these videos are so much inspiring as so good that they intimidate me. Anyways...

Some from Milos Tomic:

I'll write some stuff about these and Tomic's style etc later. I've written in my sketchbook and now I can't be bothered repeating the words on screen.

Rogier Wieland (Love this guys stuff!)

Like I said I'll talk about these later but I watched so many I thought I should share some!

Where is my mind.

Take a deep breath. Let it out. Close your eyes. Open them again. You cannot see. I'm not talking like everything is black, I'm telling you, you cannot see. Everything is there, but you cannot see it. There are no colours in what is in front of you. There is no movement. There is no focus.

Put your hands over your ears. Squeeze tightly. Now take your hands away. You cannot hear. There are sounds but you cannot hear them. Everything feels like it's coming from very far away. If someone talks to you, you have no idea that they are doing so, even if they are right beside you. If they get your attention and are standing directly in front of you, you only hear the first few minutes of what they are saying (if that) and then you cannot hear or see them.

It feels as though you are dreaming. A dream where you cannot interact with the surroundings. A dream where you do not exist. You are merely the spectator in this dream. You watch the events of the person in this dreams life unfold. You do not seem to have much control over these events.

Your mind. Is a vacuum. Nothing goes in and nothing comes out. Your mind can control actions that you have always been able to do. It can only attempt extreme new actions, actions that must result in some kind of physical pain. That is the only way your mind can learn.

Your attention span is very limited, sometimes less then a minute. You often find yourself standing somewhere with no knowledge of how you got there and no idea why you are there. This can happen several times within the same place.

Think about what you did yesterday, last week, earlier today. Now forget it. You have no idea what you did. The memories are there but you cannot reach them. The more you try to recall what you did the harder it becomes. Draw a picture of a friend/ or family members face. Rub it out. See that smudged mark. That is how you see your friends, family etc in your mind.

Wiggle your toes. Move your legs. Move your bum. Move your belly. Your chest. Shrug your shoulders. Move your arms. wiggle your fingers. Crick your neck. Shake your head. Now stay very still. There is a sick feeling somewhere in your insides. It is impossible to pinpoint where. It's not like ill kind of sick. You are not going to throw up. But it is always there. You are barely aware of the rest of your body. Just the every present sick feeling.

Sometimes the sick feeling, reaches your eyes. Your eyes hurt. Your head hurts. It feels like there is a gaping hole in your chest. There is liquid running down your cheeks. You have no idea why. Your throat hurts. You realise you have been silently screaming. You relax and realise that your whole body has been tensed up. Now you are numb. The sick feeling is still there. You blink. Your cold. You look down. You are wet. You are in a towel. Shivering beside your hall radiator. You have no idea how you got there. You know this has happened before. You do not know when.

Tomorrow will be the same. You will not know what day it is. You will only be dimly aware of the GMT time. You do not register time passing. The time is a constant surprise. Repetition makes it easier.

Tomorrow..

And so I lived up to all expectations.

Last week I really was not here. I would like to have the perfect excuse but there is never a perfect excuse and I'm tired of them. I was not here. I slept all day. I cried at some point in the night and I think I woke up beside a radiator again. I would love to be able to tell you what happened but as usual I don't really know. The only reason I ever make it into uni is because my brother picks me up in the morning. That gives me a reason to get up in the morning. I would be better off with a full time job. I have never had a problem getting up and going to work. I guess there is more purpose to it. I am expected to be at my job at the time  my shift starts. I will be missed and sort after if I do not turn up. I am not expected to turn up to uni, in fact I am expected not to turn up to uni. I am not expected to turn up to crit's and exhibitions. I am expected to be late for tutorials. No one will react any different if I live up to my expectations and do not turn up. If I am not here as I never really am, i am not missed or sort after. I imagine it is a relief when I do live up to expectations and stay at home.
So that's what I'm doing living up to all expectations. I am not here. I never really am.

I feel sad that I missed out on a chance to see what everyone's been up to, but I would only have offended had I been there as I would have certainly fallen asleep continuously throughout. That would have only been another expectation to live up to I suppose.

The Brothers Quay

I just watched this sample from The Brothers Quay's Street of Crocodiles but with Lady Gaga's 'Speechless' (acoustic version) on (because i wasn't in the mood for real sound) and weirdly it works quite well!!

Gaga's New Video.

So totally unrelated to anything I'm doing right now but Lady Gaga's new video! It's directed by nick Knight and you can tell!! It has his style written all over it. Love it! It tops all her previous ones and it's pretty insane.

Horlicks website

I was going to show you guys the Horlicks website but unfortunately they have updated it which sucks because the version I read about is pretty sick and the new one sucks in comparison!

To create the animated website that they had before they used pencil and paper, Photoshop, Freehand Illustrator and Flash. Initial layouts were worked up in Photoshop from thumbnail sketches produced while brainstorming. Outlines were drawn and objects traced in Freehand and Illustrator. Flash was used to colour in objects and animate. Individual objects were animated frame by frame!!
There's more i could say but without the website I'm not sure there much point.

So maybe not the pre-production Process..

...I have all that stuff written in my sketchbook so I'm just going to put more interesting researchy things in here instead :)

Like the gmail mobile add that was made completely using paper-craft and stop motion animation, until now i would have thought that it would have been made using some kind of graphics!


http://www.dragonstopmotion.com/blog/2011/01/gmail-mobile-by-jess3/

Then there's things like Paul Dreissen's Oh what Knight. I did this exercise too and got something completely different. - the exercise is taking the basic Knight saves a Damsel in distress story and twisting it or seeing how you can make the ending funny.

Here's what he did:

It's funny how light hearted and relaxed the whole thing is, it makes you mellow out.

Holy Shit this stop motion is amazing and really sad!!