Yi-Chen Chiang
Composer / Sound Designer
Amit Aggarwal
Aug 14, 2024
Bold Journey Magazine
My recent work involves composing the score for actress Joanna Bacalso’s directorial debut film, “The Frog Who Can’t Ribbit.” Joanna Bacalso is a veteran Hollywood actress known for her roles in “Snow Dogs,” “Dude, Where’s My Car?,” “Bedazzled,” and “SEAL Team.” Graham Greene — 1990 Oscar nominee for Best Supporting Actor as Kicking Bird in “Dances with Wolves,” among many other notable accolades and roles — also appears in this film. Being able to preview his outstanding performance is one of the most exciting things for a composer.
We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Yi-Chen Chiang. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Yi-Chen below.
Yi-Chen, thank you so much for taking the time to share your lessons learned with us and we’re sure your wisdom will help many. So, one question that comes up often and that we’re hoping you can shed some light on is keeping creativity alive over long stretches – how do you keep your creativity alive?
As a composer, I believe that collaborating with artists from other fields helps maintain musical creativity. When I wrote the music for the film “Dancing Man,” I found inspiration in the performances of many classic Hollywood musical dancers. The film won Best Score/Composition at the Montage Film Festival 2023. Before composing the soundtrack for the award-winning film “Lanny,” I visited the filming location and interacted with the director, actors, and others. I even participated in the shooting process as an extra. This allowed me to better understand the meaning the film intended to convey and the emotions of the characters, which inspired more ideas for the subsequent composition. Instead of staying in a room and creating alone, I believe that interacting with people from different fields brings rich opportunities for exchange and learning, while also sparking new creativity.