`Moving On, by James and Ainslie Henderson

Please don't get me started
Looking backwards to move on.
Strong yet open-hearted,
Accept leaving when leaving's come. 

God didn't see it coming,
Never said I love you, hope you knew.
Now my bags are packed and my sails are tacked
And my course is marked by stars.

I'm on my way,
Soon be moving on my way,
Leave a little light on,
Leave a little light on. 

I'm on my way,
Soon be moving on my way,
Leave a little light on,
Leave a little light on.  

Time always unwinding,
All these dead lines in my mind.
Seeds and dreams we planted
Took for granted, didn't prove. 

Walking down this road
When my pulse beats slow,
Hope to have you close at hand.
When this cycle ends,
Will it start again?
Will we recognize old friends? 

I'm on my way,
Soon be moving on my way,
Leave a little light on,
Leave a little light on. 

I'm on my way,
On my way, on my way, on my way,
Leave a light on,
Leave a little light on. 

I'm on my way,
Soon be moving on my way,
Leave a little light on,
Leave a little light on. 

I'm on my way,
On my way, on my way, on my way.
Leave a light on,
Leave a little light on,
Leave a little light on.

This is a music video by the British rock band James, its short film directed by BAFTA award-winning Ainslie Henderson.  Oh, how well different arts converge into a lovely, poignant piece of work.  The video metaphors resonate perfectly with those that the song lyrics speak to, and add exquisite complexity in the process.

For instance, the yarn extends from heaven, which suggests Christian themes, that is, that God holds the strings of our life in His hands.  At the same time that dangling yarn can also be the chain that turns on-and-off a ceiling light.  For another, "Time always unwinding" as the unraveling of yarn is, of course, how we age.  But when we slip into "All these deadlines in my mind," we're upon brilliant visual arts interpretations of the lyrics.  Dead lines, in other words, are not just the tedious pressures we have to live with regularly, but also the ultimate end that brings us all together.

I wrote an article - From Kama to Lana Sutra, by Erik Ravelo - which came to mind from this music video/short film.  It must be painstaking art to create models, then wrap them in yarn.  But the expression is fabulous.  Ravelo didn't animate those particular pieces for the United Colors of Benetton, but Henderson draws on stop-motion to animate this piece.  He has behind-the-scenes photos, plus personal notes on his blog:

With every new production I embark on I promise myself I’m going to keep a diary as I go, I’ll blog, save photos, capture each day and chart progress. It’s a fine idea. Inevitably, as I’m immersed in the stress and obsession of it I forget everything. I forget my friends, my girlfriend, sunlight, spring, conversation, alcohol, bike rides and eating well. keeping a blog falls to the bottom of a very long list of things I am neglecting. Here are a few production stills taken along the way. They are a meagre representation of the last couple of months, which has been a formidable undertaking for me. A joy and a terror. What I do love about the unfolding of a stop motion project is going from the beginning- where all you can see is a forest of impossible, unquantifiable problems that you have to whittle away at, clinging to the little faith you can muster that it will work. Until, gradually, you find your self at this stage, nearing the end, where all that remains is a last few problems, manageable ones that you feel pretty sure you can solve. Making a molehill out of a mountain.

Reference: when I grow up I'm going to be an animator.