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Trailer

Stills

Synopsis

A small quiet park filled with people hoping to cast their wishes in the park's fountain is invaded by a sinister character aiming to steal their wishing coins. He devises a disguise to conceal himself, and plunges unnoticed beneath the fountain's surface. He begins to collect all the coins being cast into the fountain, as well as those piled at the bottom. He is eventually discovered by a curious goose, and in the process of evading the bird, reveals himself to the park-goers. A small girl is especially upset by the theft of her special wishing coin. He is then chased out of the park, spilling his stolen coins as he attempts to outrun the victims of his thievery.

Director's Biography

image of the director, Barbara Mones

Barbara Mones is a Principal Lecturer in the School of Computer Science & Engineering, and Director of the Reality Studio, a part of the Reality Lab. She also leads the Facial Expression Research Group ( FERG). She has worked in both academia and industry in the areas of computer graphics and animation production for over thirty years. She was a tenured Associate Professor and the Founder and Director of the Visual Information Technology Graduate program at George Mason University, a Visiting Researcher in the Department of Computer Science at George Washington University, Fellow at the Human Interface Technology Lab at University of Canterbury, New Zealand, and worked for the White House and National Aeronautics and Space Administration on Al Gore's GLOBE (Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment) Program. For this she was presented with a NASA Group Achievement award. She designed and wrote training programs for all aspects of the production pipeline at both Pacific Data Images/Dreamworks and Industrial Light and Magic. In her role as faculty, she has directed and produced nineteen animated shorts since 1999. Most recently she is developing curriculum that incorporates the potential of Virtual Reality into storytelling, content development and filmmaking. She has lectured extensively on an international level on topics related to animation and curriculum development. Her films have been shown in theaters and museums internationally including the SIGGRAPH Electronic Theater and the Smithsonian Institution. Barbara received her undergraduate degree from University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Thereafter, she studied animation at Sheridan College and received an MFA from Rhode Island School of Design.

Technical Credits

Director

Barbara Mones

Production Team

Erin Caswell Ashley Nguyen
Theodore Chin Brian Park
Alex Constant Tina Pi
Amanda Cook Simon Schaffer
Chelsea Dallas Benjamin Schiffler
Zixing Guo Nicholas Stoermer
Anton Holmberg Rebecca Van-Den-Ende
Randy Huynh Mikey Wong
Si Tao Li Noble Woods
Amanda Nelson Hsuan-Ting Wu

Technical Supervisors

Robert Forsberg

Production Supervisor

Anna Hayden Ciera Johl
Sarah Hutchinson Tomoyo Matsuda
Polina Kud Byron Wu

Consultants

Marc Bourguignon Sean Mack
Ned Frisk Brian McDonald
David Hunt Gary Schwartz
Gary Faigin Matt Smith
Karen Lund Kai Wise
Mark Lund

Special Thanks

Jamie Austad Bruce Mones
Chris Cunnington Rod Prieto
Karla Danson Jennifer Snow
Johnathan Davis Stephen Spencer
Edward Lazowska Aaron Timms
Hank Levy John Zahorjan
Valerie Liang

Music

Original Score by Erik Aho