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Ogden: How much preproduction did you do for this film? (And where did you put your energy -- Production sketches, storyboards, etc…) and aside from books, how did you research this project? (Did you go to Paris to see Giacometti’s studio, etc…)

Chen: I spent about 1 year doing preproduction, mainly drawing and designing with pencil and paper endlessly. It was a very fun time indeed, not having to deal with the inevitable software and hardware headaches. After that, I had to force myself off of the pencil and paper to start the tedious process of modeling in Maya. As mentioned earlier, the first draft of the story took 6 months to write and it was all thrown away one night, only to be restarted all over again in the morning. Fortunately, with the shift in focus, the whole story came pouring out and the second and final draft finished itself in 2 hours. This only affirms my strong belief that a film is only as good as its preparation. In another words, I take preproduction very seriously and have learned to enjoy this discovery and serendipitous phase of the pipeline. Most of the research during this phase was done through poring over countless books about Giacometti and his art. I was also lucky enough to acquire 3 extremely rare documentaries about Giacometti which became invaluable in helping me better understand my enigmatic subject matter. Coincidentally in 2001, as if the stars were aligning for me, the New York MoMA held a centennial retrospective of Giacometti's career which was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see almost 200 pieces of his lifework all under one roof. Needless to say, this was instrumental in helping me to accurately recreate not only the physical appearance of his work, but to capture that elusive Giacometti spirit. It was also a very emotional experience for me, which I was definitely not prepared for.

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Ogden: Was this a part-time project or a full time one? If you did it full time, did you have an investor or some sort of private funding? How were you able to pay the bills?

Chen: The production of "Eternal Gaze" was a 2-person project that spanned a total of 3 years. In addition to writing and directing the piece, I was also responsible for 100% of the visuals and design. My collaborator Jamey Scott composed the score and designed all the sound in between doing freelance work over about a 2-year span. I definitely put all the eggs in one basket on this film as I toiled through the entire duration of the production 7 days a week with hardly a break. I treated it as far more than a hobby or a job. Instead, it became more of a lifestyle or perhaps more accurately, my life. The film was initially entirely funded out of my own pocket. Only until the film was finished or almost finished did I get some help from outside contributors that stepped in to help with the high costs of transferring to 35mm film. Because I had initially only planned to be in production for 2 years, and did not expect the dotcom to bust where I had much of my life savings in stock, I had to do a couple of freelance gigs to fund the rest of the production. You just do what you can and what you have to in order to get the job done. It was my priority 1 and I never strayed from that mindset. That was the only way I could have possibly finished such an ambitious undertaking.

Ogden: How did composer Jamey Scott become involved?

Chen: I actually stumbled upon Jamey Scott on the internet after he had composed the score and did the sound design for a friend's short film entitled, "Blades of War." I had first seen the short without any sound or music and was amazed at how much better the film became after Jamey worked his magic on it. So without knowing where he was based and what his availability was, I wrote a long email that pitched to him what I wanted to produce. He told me he was sold immediately. With a stroke of luck, it turned out that he lived within 10 miles from me in San Diego, and that he grew up with Giacometti's art around his home without even knowing it. It was all very cosmic and synchronicitous. Is that even a word?

Ogden: What do you hope people take away from the film with them?

Chen: In retrospect, now that I've toured around the world with the film for about 1.5 years, I'm continually encouraged by the audiences that come up to me at festivals to share their thoughts with me. They've been overwhelmingly positive. Even the opinions of the critics and the individuals with gripes are invaluable to me in that they open my eyes towards seeing my film in a different light. Whether I agree or disagree with them is irrelevant. Once you create a film and put it out there, it ceases to be completely yours. It's now out there for everyone to praise or loathe. As for what I hope my audiences can take away with them, it's twofold. First, I hope my film can encourage them to further explore the incredible man and story behind Alberto Giacometti and to discover his unparallel creations. It still boggles my mind that he's not a household name in the world of art. Secondly, I hope to encourage my audiences to look at art with fresh eyes; to gaze upon a piece of sculpture or painting and to ponder the question: "What if the art could talk, what would it tell you about its creator? And what would it say?" Perhaps upon seeing "Eternal Gaze," one will never look at art the same way again. Perhaps lastly as a corollary, I wanted to satisfy the curiosity of what it would be like if your art could love you back when you least expect it. I believe every artist has fantasized about this at one time or another, or perhaps wondered whether our own art is worth all the pain we go through to create them. Perhaps, also secretly wishing that they were alive in some capacity, just waiting to come alive when we least expect it.

Ogden: What are you working on next?

Chen: Now that I'm nearing the end of my world tour with "Eternal Gaze," I'm itching to get back to work. I've been nurturing this feature animation script for a few months now. It'll be a family story in the spirit of "Finding Nemo" but a much darker version that is meant more for adults than kids. I've been heavily influenced by Miyazaki recently having just seen his retrospective at the Ottawa Int'l Animation Festival so I'm sure some of him will rub off on me. The last thing I'll say about it for now is that the protagonist will be representing a voice that we don't hear much from. Is that ambiguous enough for you? If so, good.