Today we’d like to introduce you to Ina Chen.
Hi Ina, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I am a Creative Technologist currently based in Los Angeles. I was born in Suzhou and later moved to New York and stayed there for about 7 years. I also lived in Berlin and Copenhagen for two years. The diverse culture and living experiences impacted my interests and life significantly.
I work in the VFX and Virtual Production industry, also exploring personal art projects on the side. My past work has been featured on numerous film festivals and culture platforms, as well as support from mentorship and incubator programs.
I have a huge passion for Music, History and Philosophy. In the meantime, I am also a technical nerd. I like to get my hands dirty. My work leverage cutting-edge technology in the creative process to construct worlds that tell untold stories. Tools ranging from Realtime game engine, CGI and immersive media is my main methdology. Which I use to explore speculative cultural scenarios and alternative fiction.
My background in Architecture, Design and Filmmaking was also a driving force that allows me to explore real and unreal, the in-betweens and expression in the form of storytelling.
Most importantly, Curiosity helps me to never feel bored.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Nothing is ever very smooth of course, but that is the fun part! The biggest struggle in my projects and visions is always to find the balance between the concept and methodology. Having the two to manifest each other is an obstacle but also part of the process for every project.
Besides that, I believe it is always difficult to be making choices wisely. Knowing when to allow yourself to be 100% creative and when to give yourself limitations so that you can actually execute.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I currently work at a VFX company, headquarter is London and I work in Los Angeles. I am in the Virtual Production department. Working on several feature film projects. I use Unreal Engine and real-time technology every day. It is extremely fun and satisfying to be contributing to big film projects.
I am also the kind of person that finds it hard to be working on only one thing. I need the mind switch to be able to work on multiple things efficiently. My personal projects are my way of relaxing, letting the brain go free. At the moment I am developing a body of work around the topic of Kinship, Compassion, and Lost from marine live’s perspectives. Using Unreal Engine as well – to create immersive work and a 30min live performance.
Always fascinated by music and visual experiences, I want to create EXPERIENCES. Stimulating senses using simulations. However, in this part of my work, I do not want the audience to strictly see what I have in mind in terms of visuals and designs. I hope to create something that they can freely explore within the story framework I have provided.
I have limited ability in terms of big humanity, political and social impacts as I am just one person. But what has always been driving me is to use stories and experiences to discuss topics and phenomenon that might have a possibility to impact someone else.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
CURIOSITY is the spirit to keep going.
Connecting with someone you are admire of or talking to as many as possible is always a good way to start anything. Especially now it is very easy to access resources most of time. To not be shy and being very open about talking to people you are interested in always leads to unexpected results.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.inachen.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ina_ccchen/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/inachen/
Image Credits
Geffen Shichor Calvin Sin Te-Hsing Lu
