Thought of You – by Ryan Woodward

About a year ago I was looking around on YouTube for videos that were dance related, like you do. When I stumbled on to a video combining dance and a song that had been haunting me for a while, The World Spins Madly On by a band called The Weepies. The video was called Thought Of You, which is taken from a line in the song itself, and portrays a man and woman going thru their emotions in dance form. But this dance was drawn entirely by hand. The piece was moving in its simplicity and breath taking in its beauty. I am not ashamed to say that I cried the first time I saw the clip and to this day it still touches me in a way that very few things do.

I haven’t thought about the clip or seen it in quite a while until recently someone had reposted it on Facebook. I decided then to look further into the background of the piece and was pleased to find plenty of info on the artist, Ryan Woodward, and the reasoning behind this masterwork of art.

“Rather than creating a narrative animated piece that communicates a well defined story, this piece allows for each individual who views it to experience something unique and personal that touches their own sensibilities.” -Ryan Woodward

Each time I’ve watched the piece, different elements come to light that I might not have noticed, or are more prominent, then they were before. It depends on a persons state of mind and heart, to help the viewer connect to the deeper elements and meaning of the story. Still I decided, after the first time, on the meaning and understanding of the story to me, that there is always two sides to a story. That even though the clip begins with male dancer and it seems as though we travel on the timeline that he remembers, the story ends with the female dancer and her distraught state. When you lose someone you feel isolated and alone, like you are the only person thinking of the other in this moment right now. But that doesn’t mean its true. Who is to say that the another isn’t feeling the same in that very moment? The fact that have no clear facial attributes and that they are drawn as though they are not completely done being drawn yet have a very strong meaning. almost as though its left open for your mind to fill in those gaps. I feel like each one lives in a never ending cycle of depression from the moment they wake up to the time the finally shut their eyes for sleep. Each dancer thinks they must be the only one going through this. In the end they both need to make the right choice for themselves and move past the cycle of pain and sadness to continue to live their own lives to the fullest and happiest. Even if that means living apart from each other.

The imagery in the film is something that I can really relate with. I often say that I have a very active imaginary and use a lot of imagery in my life, mostly to help understand dance and in turn the world around me.

So when I see that a persons personality or passion is so strong it cannot be contained no matter how much someone else tries, it must be set free.
 

That time can sometimes feel like it moves so slowly, or even stand still, when your with someone. And other moments can change in a blink of an eye.

Or when you feel so close to a loved one that its like you become one. That dreams and goal can sprout wings of there own to help accomplish them.

Or when you have the feeling that everything you do can be felt in exact timing with someone else, perfect harmony.

I hope that after viewing the film you would have some of your own ideas and feelings about it as I did. Good or bad it is a work of art, and a work of art is made for one person in the beginning, the artist. But as soon as the artist has shown his or her work to others it is no longer up to their interpretation, it is now your own and you are entitled to feel any which way about it.