Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Cilin Chen. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Cilin, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

I started my journey with an old camera my parent gave me. It was a rainy day when I wandered about the street and took my first short film. I was then intrigued by the moving pictures since I was astonished by the emotional power hiding behind them. Since then I started carrying around my camera and shooting random clips. Later as time progressed I was exposed to editing, motion graphics, and a bit of visual effects, and they all helped me find my voice a bit more. Later when I got into high school I joined a club which is responsible for crafting promotional videos for school events, I was able to experiment a lot due to its short format and that’s how I got to where I am much closer. However, if I could get back in time, I would plan out my learning path more clearly rather than mostly going with my gut. However, I don’t regret taking such a path since the things I learned and the people I met along the way helped shape more than just my artistic voice. As for the most essential skills, I’ll say it’s the ability to tell your story in your unique voice. The story can be simple and straightforward, but what matters is to make sure that’s what you want to share with the world. Since I come from a more technical and visual background, the obstacle I’m facing currently is figuring out how to design and portray a story in a longer format, and this is what I’m working on now.

Cilin, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

When I set my eyes on moving imagery, my initial approach was simply to start making something I enjoy and want to share with others around me. Later when I get exposed more to the media, I realize what I truly enjoy is creating inspirational journeys that I can share with the world. Since I truly believe merits and hope reside in every one of us, my favorite theme is that there is always hope and light hiding somewhere no matter how bad the situation might be now. As time went on, I started to explore the experimental side of filmmaking and storytelling. Portraying the emotions and tension through expanded moments and world-building helped me find my artistic voice.

As a director, I firmly believe the audience is an essential part of my equation when it comes to creating emotional experiences. I would like to try to put myself into their shoes and think if I were them, how would they respond to my film? Are the design and story powerful enough to inspire people? Will the experience make them reflect on their past and envision the future? These questions keep motivating me when I direct my films.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

Exploring ways to inspire others through my films is always my core mission. I would like to further my journey in exploring emotional links that are shared between different groups of people. How would they react when they feel they lost control of their life at a certain moment? How could it be helped?

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

For me, I found the ability to play with creative concepts that are not bound by reality most rewarding. I enjoy every moment when I look to embark on a new journey that nobody has ever traveled. Meanwhile, being able to create abstract versions of reality also intrigues me.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.harrychen.info/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/harry_chen_art/

Image Credits
Cilin Chen