'Thought of You' Analysis

Thought of you - Ryan Woodward

Analysis

'Thought of You' is a short film created by professional animator Ryan Woodward. It consists of two figures, one male, the other female, who dance with each other to the song "World Spins Madly On".

The hand-drawn animation has a consistent lack of editing and cinematographic techniques throughout the video.

The drawings in the animation express the atmosphere of the song through contemporary dance, hence there is no need for close ups, high/low angles, straight cuts. These techniques are commonly used by film-makers to make the spectator feel empathy, sadness, happiness, anxiety, towards a specific character or towards the narrative.
The choreography is smooth and balletic, creating a 'gentle nature', which guides the audience's emotional reactions, however, it doesn't reinforce them by the use of micro features or micro elements.



The mise en scene in the video is very basic - the background is a light sepia tone; there are no props in the back or foreground.

The female animation is white, while male is drawn in black.  This, together with the title of the video, 'Thought of You', connotes that the girl is part of the boy's imagination. This is further conveyed when. at the end of the video, their hands touch and the female becomes black, as if to say she has become real.



The video is not targeted at a mainstream audience, nor was it made for lucrative means; it was created to express the auteur's thoughts and feelings in a way that anyone can relate to them.
This is largely achieved by a lack of diegetic sound, such as dialogue. The abstract composition of the video lets the spectator's mind read the animation how they perceive it, based on personal experiences, socio-economic background, religion or sexual orientation.