Concentration: Computer Graphics

Hometown: Osaka, Japan

Title of Project: Chinama the Alien

Inspiration Behind the Project:

In movies and TV shows such as War of the World and Independence Day, aliens are usually portrayed as bad and dangerous. Through watching those movies, I wondered what if aliens are calm and peaceful and how humans would react to that. Additionally, saving the world is big deal in US media. What if… “Oops! Someone saves the world by accident?”

“Chinama” the name was created when I was a college student in Japan. In Japanese, it is the short-form word meaning “alien.” Because I do weird things all the time, my friends called me alien, thus “Chinama.”

Unique and quirky characters fill this animation. Because of Chinama’s quirky character, I tried to make the whole production as quirky as possible through such aspects as: camera angle, lights, sound effects, music, face animation, character movement, and overall design.