Usamah Zaid Yasin

In this Malay name, there is no surname or family name. The name Yasin is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by their given name, Muhammad Usamah Zaid.
Usamah Zaid Yasin
Born
Muhammad Usamah Zaid bin Yasin

(1983-12-19) December 19, 1983 (age 41)
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
NationalityMalaysia
Other namesChief Z
Alma materMultimedia University (MMU)
Occupations
Years active2006–present
Notable work
Spouse
Azi Shafian
​
(m. 2009)​

Muhammad Usamah Zaid bin Yasin (born 19 December 1983) is a Malaysian animator. He is known for his work at Les' Copaque Production's animated series, Upin & Ipin and animated film, Geng: The Adventure Begins. He is also served as the CEO of WAU Animation, an animation studio he founded in 2013 and also become creator and director of Ejen Ali.

Career

2005–2013: Early career

After graduating from Multimedia University (MMU), Usamah joined Les' Copaque Production together with his close friends, Nizam Razak and Anas Abdul Aziz,. They came up with the animation series Upin & Ipin where he served as an assistant director, later become its director starting from Season 4, replacing Nizam who left Les' Copaque in 2009 with Anas, Safwan Karim and Kee Yong Pin to establish Animonsta Studios.

Besides working as the assistant director for the series, Usamah also worked as the animation director and 3D character rigging for Geng: The Adventure Begins.[1]

2013–present: Breakthrough with Ejen Ali and contribution in Aliff Dalam 7 Dimensi

Having spent 7 years at Les' Copaque, Usamah left the company and established his own animation company, WAU Animation where he served as CEO. WAU Animation is the producer of Ejen Ali that aired on TV3 since 8 April 2016.[2] He served as the director, executive producer, screenplay and voice actor in the series.

In 2016, Usamah with his close friend, Faiz Hanafiah supervised 3D animation for Aliff Dalam 7 Dimensi by Astro Shaw and Chain FX.

He directed and screenplay his first ever film based on Ejen Ali animated series, Ejen Ali: The Movie.[3][4] The film received positive reviews and collected RM30.05 million box office. This led him to receive nominations from the Malaysia Film Festival and Asian Academy Creative Awards.[5]

Filmography

Year Title Creator Director Writer Producer Voice role(s) Notes
2007 - 2013 Upin & Ipin No Yes Yes No Also as assistant director from Season 1 to Season 3
2009 Geng: The Adventure Begins No No No No As animation director, 3D character rigging, compostior and editor
2016 BoBoiBoy: The Movie No No No No As additional technical support
Aliff Dalam 7 Dimensi No No No No As animation supervisor with Faiz Hanafiah
2016–present Ejen Ali Yes Yes Yes Executive Wak Musang, Dr. Tong, Agent Karya, Agent Zain[a] & Dato' Hisham Also as editor
2019 Ejen Ali: The Movie Yes Yes Yes Executive Zain & Rahul Also as editor and voice director
2023 Didi & Friends The Movie No No Script consultant & script supervisor Second Unit
TBA Ejen Ali: The Movie 2 † Yes Yes Yes Executive In production
Gelecek † Pending Pending Pending Pending

Notes

  1. ^ Originally, Zain was voiced by Shafiq Isa for Misi: Orientasi episode and Fuad Md Din for Misi: Main episode

References

  1. ^ The Making of Geng: Part 3, retrieved 2024-01-16
  2. ^ "Living their dream". The Star. Retrieved 2024-01-16.
  3. ^ Mokhtazar, Syahirah (2017-09-23). "'Ejen Ali The Movie' in the works | New Straits Times". NST Online. Retrieved 2024-01-16.
  4. ^ Khidzir, Nik Zulkarnaen; Daud, Khairul Azhar Mat; Ramli, Sharulnizam (2022-06-29). "Wau Animation Studio: The Mastermind Behind 'Ejen Ali The Movie's' Rm 30 Million Box Office Haul". International Journal of Entrepreneurship Case Study. 1 (1). doi:10.51471/ijecs.v1i1.969. ISSN 2948-3832.
  5. ^ "Creating desirability with Usamah Zaid Yasin". The Edge Malaysia. Retrieved 2024-01-16.