Friday 12 February 2016

'Thought of You' Analysis

One of my main inspirations for this project is Ryan Woodward's 'Thought of You'. The reason it's so inspirational to me is because it's an expressive hand drawn film that uses body language and creative animation to portray the characters emotions. The sketchy, unfinished lines are what bring it to life, because it gives the viewer a taste of how it's made, and Woodward's process of drawing, which keeps the 3 minute film more interesting to watch.



By only using the basic shapes of the human body, rather than creating detailed character designs, allow the viewer to focus on the actions and relate to the story more, instead of focusing on the image. Even though the story is only basic and not very clear, it leaves the film open to interpretation, which engages a wider audience.

Since the female character is ghostly (a figment of his imagination?) this gave Woodward the opportunity to use creative ways to animate her. For example, in the first three screenshots below you can see the process between the female figure and her disapparating into thin air. The animation in this particular sequence is very loose but captivating and animated very smoothly.

In my animation I would like to involve disapparating and reforming of the human figure, as transactions between movements; however this depends on how the dance routine turns out, and if it requires a smooth animation or a rough film to suit the music.




Achieving the line of action in an animation (or any film) is important, since it draws the viewers eyes to certain aspects of the film (this is more down to the staging of the scene) but the smooth arcs created by the dancers graceful movements become more appealing to the eye. In this particular example below, both dancers are momentarily paused in this position, and both have a clear line of action.



Another factor to consider whilst animating is the weight of the characters. Woodward managed to use this creatively by exaggerating the size of the limbs as the male dancer tries to move, making it seem as if they're stuck to the ground; whereas earlier in the sequence the female is hovering in the air for a few seconds, before being caught by the man.

Heavy weight
Light weight

A lot of aspects in this film are amazing; with the help of the choreographer and dancers, they have pulled together something to be proud of. I will take this as an inspiration towards my film, considering every aspect as in depth as Woodward has (hopefully).


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