The Mark By Gina Miller
I created this animation for submission into the Drama category of the 25 thousand dollar Aniboom contest, I need your votes to win so come vote!

The mark is an animation regarding the human condition, demonstrating what I believe everyone can relate to. There is a point in ones life where someone or something has impacted how you feel about yourself and in time you come to move beyond this and realize your own worth, your own place in the world.
A few seconds shy of four minutes long and as usual the original movie was very large so I needed to compress it, or squash down/lessen the data for it to be small enough for you to download. So if you select the smaller size animations granted you will have a quicker upload but the quality will be compromised. I am including two larger versions which I most greatly prefer and highly recommend - if you can wait just a mere few minutes, it is worth it to download one of the larger animations. Go ahead and watch the movie, see how many things you notice and come back to scroll below the very bottom most image to read about the details. I didn't want to put any spoilers up here. The animation isn't done until you see the credits. Turn up your volume!

Comment about this animation at my blog here. Scroll lower to view three images from the animation.

My recommended versions, the larger higher quality animations.
Click here to download the movie (Quicktime 34.15 MB) or click here to download (Windows Media Video 30.54 MB).

The smaller lower quality versions.
Click here to download the movie (Quicktime 5.58 MB) or click here to download (Windows Media Video 6.21 MB).

Tips for downloading internet movies: If when you download the movie it appears "sticky" and/or the music breaks up, your movie is still buffering, play it a second time and it will have downloaded and play correctly. Also - if you see only white, this is normal it's still downloading (even though you will see "done" in the lower corner of your screen, hang in there!)

Image 1 - an image from the beginning of the animation click here for a higher resolution version .

Created Sept. 18, 2006 through Oct. 3 2006 added to website on 10/5/06
Copyright Gina Miller 1998-2006 - images and animations are not to be used or reproduced without permission of the artist

Warning spoilers below - watch the movie before scrolling any lower!

Details of the movie:
- The intro (the intro scene: image 3 above) initially transitions from blue to pinks before evolving into it's full color (this follows the theme through out).
- Where are the eyes? They appear when he can see clearly, when he can see for himself.
- The woman who applies the mark is wearing a hat, perhaps she has a mark?
- Color transitions occur from blue, to purple, to pink. Our character turns purple, when the mark is applied to his head. This is because he is in between the blue and the next pink environment, pink and blue make purple. Blue, pink and full color are representative of the different stages of this animation.
- The pattern in the background (red, pink blocks) when he is entering and behind the door, has a line across the center that is of mathematical incorrectness, this underscores where he is.
- The door has a "noexit" sign, symbolic of believing what we are told when it may not be the true. Our character doesn't check the door.
- When you enter the scene depicted by the second image (above) the background actually changes color gradually from a purple to a pink/orange color.
- Our characters mark is not fully darkened until he is shoveling like the others. He has taken on their behavior.
- After he realizes he can remove the mark you can see an image moving behind him, it's blue on one side and has an image of 'the night', then is purple in the middle while it transitions into pink and we then see a man highlighting the sun, a representation of the 'daylight', or the ability to see.
- Eyes: they appear when he is seeing clearly using his own vision instead of others.
-When he becomes 3D, he has realized his potential.This is also where true love resides.
This animation is obviously chalked full of symbolism, my favorite part is when he sweats the mark of and realizes his freedom. I hope you find it meaningful. Gina

Created Sept. 17, 2006 through Oct. 3 2006

Copyright Gina Miller 1998-2006 - images and animations are not to be used or reproduced without permission of the artist

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