Gumball Machine Challenge

An old-fashioned gumball machine (the kind on one leg with a big glass ball containing the gum) is on the right side of the screen. It doesn't work. From the left side of screen, a character enters, with an attitude walk that defines who that character is and what he or she is feeling at the moment. When the character puts a penny in the slot, and no gum comes out, show how he or she deals with the situation, then have the character exit screen left, still in character, but with a different attitude than when he or she first entered.

There are no limitations on what kind of character you choose: your design, your timing, male or female, human or animal, tall or short, comic or straight. Use no sound or dialogue - completely pantomime. The sequence should be no longer than 10 seconds (15 feet / 240 frames) max. 

Make sure you stage it so that we can see at least 4 complete steps on the entrance and exit. Don't forget, even the way the character puts the coin in the slot should help to define the personality. Contrast is okay, too - for example, maybe it's a character who appears calm, but loses it when things go wrong, then tries to regain composure.

A couple of great places to look for inspiration: Blaine Gibson's terrific walk cycles in 101 Dalmatians (of various women walking their dogs) and Ken Harris' masterful "Hollywood" walks out of one door and into another in Richard Williams' titles for Return of the Pink Panther. GO!!!

                                                         -Eric Goldberg

We highly recommend that all students and teachers order Eric Goldberg’s long-awaited new book: Character Animation Crash Course. Eric is one of the preeminent animators of our time. He shares his approach to character animation and many of the lessons he garnered from the great animators and directors he has worked with. I’m sure Eric’s book will soon sit on the corner of most folks’ desks, as an invaluable reference, along with Frank and Ollie’s “The Illusion of Life” and Richard Williams’ “The Animator’s Toolkit” –dave master

You can pre-order Eric Goldberg’s new book on a discount on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Character-Animation-Crash-Course-Goldberg/dp/1879505975 <http://www.amazon.com/Character-Animation-Crash-Course-Goldberg/dp/1879505975>

Eric Goldberg’s Bio and related links on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Goldberg_(film_director) <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Goldberg_(film_director)>

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0325196/ <http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0325196/>

Thank you,

Mr. Dave Master

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