Back in the those hills east of here there's lots of places that have been neglected by modern life, little towns that never got started or half-baked little upstart towns which failed but are trying to start over by merging with some government subsidized efforts at making malls back in the early sixties before it even became fashionable. And back beyond there, past the hillocks by the big river bend up into the green valley there are a succession of other communities of a more mysterious sort. The name references they have rely mainly on the topography, some places having only very vague names. So that area up in the green valley seems checkered with a tapestry of influences. But the different little ethnic areas and power interest zones are separated by enough stretches of woods and farmlands that the different cultural morays and societal rules don't clash. Not that the valley is in any kind of harmony. It's just that a lot of the baser elements stick to their own areas.

There are many areas of no man's land between the different settlements and secret society-ish hangouts. Only certain people can traverse those areas. Some villages are strictly medieval, though not by their own choice. In certain areas the vril swirls. Vril---which emanate from deep in the earth---can prevent modern technology in some of these areas. Vril: that rising kind of energy that makes a circular motion and picks up prana and other energizing influences and can imbue inanimate objects with a life of their own. Up towards the east end of that valley we find the ruins of an old bunker which the kids call the Haunted Castle. And hidden deep inside that area is the secret lab, which makes use of other power sources besides the vril-- power sources that can be directed with more accuracy.

Just beyond there, we come into the lands known as Castle Hill. As the stories filter back to the valley towards civilization, there are several different versions of the Castle Hill. These are all according to which parts of the hill were being experienced. But generally it's considered a dangerous and unattractive place. The interior of Castle Hill holds many secrets, and many stories involve the evolvement and interaction between these many different areas of the valley.

There are many stories about the places and the ways they interconnect and these stories could be written down as movies and ultimately produced as well as other spin-offs such as novels or short stories. The story files branch out into many territories beyond that valley... other places on Earth, even Mars and beyond. One file folder holds probably enough small stories to make a "Twilight Zone" type series. Several seasons, at least. Most of the 150 stories in that file haven't been written out in finished form yet. But it would only take a week or so to get a particular story into detailed treatment form. As of yet, only about ten of them are finished enough for presentation. The story aspect of this studio is truly the simplest part, at least the most economical. Stories are the cheapest thing to produce. Writing pencils and paper are very affordable. And the ideas are free. That part comes naturally. They are all just out there within grasp, waiting for someone to write them down. Drawn animation can be economically done. All you need is a light box and enough paper. Clay animation takes a lot more materials. The sets and backgrounds don't necessarily have to be clay, and actually the more different materials that are used, the more organic the image can become. Materials can get expensive, but recycled cardboard can have its own style.

Grotesque walls and crumbling structures for the castle interior. Over the years, much background scenery has been produced so that the whole lay of the land can be created. Many scenes in the valley and elsewhere have already been created, so there are some already created scenes for some of the stories to take place in... but many of these stories reach far beyond the realms of clay and line animation. There could be live action movies with actors as well as lots of animated effects. But that takes a budget and a lot of organization. So currently most of these stories are just in proposal form. Though Bickford has no computer skills and could probably never learn to do computer animation, he would probably still be able to work with computer animators, helping them design scenes and the characters and all of their movements. In recent years Bickford has mainly done line animation, but could go into whatever work comes up at any time. Right now, line animation seems the safest to him because clay animation is so complicated and has many more variables. Without a computer monitor to check one frame of animation against another, clay animation can get flaky because mistakes can't be immediately noticed (like leaving some stray object in the picture where it doesn't belong in one frame of the animation). But with the modern digital stuff, even some of the worst mistakes can be corrected by adjusting things around. That's an area where some outside help would be greatly appreciated. For years, he has been mainly doing stream of consciousness clay scenes, but now the Bickford is more interested in trying to do a very structured story. He seldom stuck to a storyboard when doing animation because when the things started morphing, he would fall out of the necessary mood required for following a tight script. The image would just go its own way and find its own story.

Anyways, there are many potential stories to be done. Some of these stories would be huge productions and Bickford has lavished extensive detail on all of them. Because in detail is found the appearance of reality. And the detail in many of these stories gets extremely extravagant-though extravagant in a very organized and entertaining way. But those epic-style productions get expensive. For right now, Bickford is striving to develop a few of his simpler stories, which could be more easily produced. He's also trying to finish up two animation projects: one, his line animation (possibly a half-hour's worth), the other, his clay animation-forty minutes so far. It should require a few more minutes just to wrap things up.