"Thought of You" animation
December 6, 2010 4:35 PM   Subscribe

Amazing dance animation. Ryan Woodward submitted this to Sundance Film Festival. Sad that they didn't accept it because it really is beautiful.
posted by chrisp18938 (27 comments total) 34 users marked this as a favorite
 
<that guy>
Technically, it's "Sad they didn't accept it {insert comma} because it really is beautiful". Parsed as typed, you're saying that the reason it wasn't accepted by the organizers of the Sundance Film Festival is because it really is beautiful.

Which is too avant garde even for the Sundance people...
</that guy>

That said, it is quite lovely, and makes me remember how deeply I've enjoyed modern dance when you feel like you really get the dancer and the music as one, and where the movement has an unrestrained natural quality that's so freeing, even to watch.
posted by hincandenza at 4:49 PM on December 6, 2010


Tell us more about Ryan Woodward and his beautiful art projects!
posted by Avenger at 4:59 PM on December 6, 2010 [1 favorite]


Beautiful!
posted by Sal and Richard at 5:02 PM on December 6, 2010


Now I'm really regretting that I missed the chance to see the Weepies in concert last week. That was a very pretty song.
posted by MrVisible at 5:03 PM on December 6, 2010


Avenger: Tell us more about Ryan Woodward and his beautiful art projects!

He has a website, which is hosted on Blogspot, but appears more like a traditional website. Click on the various links below the banner for more goodies, including some video clips on his bio page. He also posted a Behind the Scenes clip for this animation.
posted by filthy light thief at 5:07 PM on December 6, 2010


Really nice, thanx for posting this.
posted by dancestoblue at 5:34 PM on December 6, 2010


That was a beautiful animation to a song I love.
posted by flaterik at 5:40 PM on December 6, 2010


unique...and nicely done... thanks for the link...
posted by HuronBob at 5:41 PM on December 6, 2010


I don't get it. The guy is prostrate through half the video but seems to get it together when he's "thinking" of her. Then he walks away.

Is it because he knows she's just a dream? Is her being shorter than he is a dealbreaker? Is he gay?

In any case, I'm thinking Hallmark needs to know about this. Who wouldn't appreciate a visual message with all the power of rhyming couplets?
posted by Short Attention Sp at 5:43 PM on December 6, 2010


The choreography wasn't particularly original, but I liked how he captured one element of (most) modern dance styles--the refusal to aspire to weightlessness. The male figure was very grounded, very pulled down, for lack of a better term.
posted by thomas j wise at 5:59 PM on December 6, 2010


twee
posted by the cuban at 6:07 PM on December 6, 2010 [2 favorites]


I'm not a huge fan of dance, but really enjoyed watching this. And just bought "Say I Am You" because I can't get this song out of my head.
posted by avoision at 6:28 PM on December 6, 2010


Not getting into Sundance means absolutely nothing. It's a fucking crap shoot. It all depends on how the people watching your movie feel that day. It has nothing to do with how good you are.

Of course, I say this as someone who didn't get into Sundance, yet again. So take that advice as you will.
posted by fungible at 6:48 PM on December 6, 2010


I've seen some real crap films at Sundance. Their selection process is not 100%. I think the majority of short films that do get accepted are quickly forgotten. More people are probably going to see it on Vimeo.
posted by pashdown at 7:36 PM on December 6, 2010


I love the way the animation allows certain things that can only be suggested by human movement to become reality, like when his arms and legs are stuck to e floor, or when she collapses onto the ground to become a flock of butterflies. Just wonderful. Thanks.
posted by Rock Steady at 7:45 PM on December 6, 2010


pashdown is right... film festivals use some strange criteria to select films, it is no reflection of the quality (or not) of a film.

"Dawn of the Dead" was featured at Cannes... (those are my feet seen next to the rolling propane tank just before it blew up in front of Andy's gunshop....yes folks, my film (well, my feet) made it to Cannes!).

Yep, we were thrilled by that, but, really? It's a zombie movie!
posted by HuronBob at 7:56 PM on December 6, 2010


That was very well done. Thanks for sharing!
posted by Solon and Thanks at 8:29 PM on December 6, 2010


I don't say this very often. (Well, ever.) This video makes me wish I was in love.
posted by SPrintF at 8:32 PM on December 6, 2010 [1 favorite]


Sundance isn't the most animation friendly festival--Annecy is the place to be. And it's not like Woodward is some unknown guy, sitting in his basement.
posted by Ideefixe at 8:37 PM on December 6, 2010


Beautifully animated. Thank you!
posted by archagon at 10:35 PM on December 6, 2010


The ending felt a little juvenile, but I loved animation.
posted by wemayfreeze at 11:09 PM on December 6, 2010


The animation is lovely - reminded me very much of Erica Russel.
posted by louche mustachio at 11:11 PM on December 6, 2010


Oh, this is lovely. He has an extraordinary grasp of how dancers actually move. It was beautiful, thanks for sharing.
posted by dejah420 at 6:23 AM on December 7, 2010


Aw. Lovely. [Am with you on the ending though, wemayfreeze]
posted by honey-barbara at 6:59 AM on December 7, 2010


So he had live-action reference, and on top of that, added various goopy stuff or spaghetti shapes or wings, admittedly animated nicely, but perhaps not to quite meaningful effect. To me, this can only be partially termed "animation", as the dancers had already animated themselves. Their movements were essentially traced. It's great that he tried the collaboration - it adds incidental interest. But imagination-wise, the result is a little barren. You judge films based on their effect, not on the way they were produced.

It's not like Sundance doesn't consider and weigh the quality of the entries. This list of films shows that it's a pretty competitive field.
posted by gorgor_balabala at 8:17 AM on December 7, 2010


Most animators have live-action references. I thought it was caricatured very well.
posted by archagon at 4:34 AM on December 10, 2010


(That is to say, it wasn't traced or rotoscoped.)
posted by archagon at 4:35 AM on December 10, 2010


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