There has been widespread interest in Spence's mission to install a wireless video camera in his prosthetic eye: the Canadian press picked it up, Wired.com and HuffingtonPost blogged about it in December, and Spence will appear at the Digital News Affairs 2009 event in March.
Spence lost an eye as a child - "I got over the squeamishness a long time ago," he says - and it seemed natural to him to consider fitting a camera where the eye once was.
"If you talk to one-eyed filmmakers many of them would have thought of doing this (...) but it's if you get off your ass and do it."
Spence had always intended to see it through - it was never a joke, he says - but it has now become more focused. He currently invests most of his time and energy in the so-called Eyeborg project.
"But at some point you do have to get serious about it because it is quite an undertaking. Right now, I've taken the past month and half off, focusing, obsessing, pushing forward the project."
Spence, whose last film was called 'Let's All Hate Toronto,' is used to taking unconventional routes. "That's the way I run my life," he says.
His latest film is about surveillance and at first the eye project was just one part of this; now it is central to the film.
"It's definitely done with a healthy dose of satire and science fiction adventure," he explains.
The team - a range of engineers and technology experts - is seeking sponsorship for the project in science and journalism fields and Spence is confident that the likely media interest and novelty of the project will secure some lucrative deals ("you wanna talk product placement, I mean - it's in my head!")
"Companies are interested in the press I'm getting - I'm a poster boy," he says. "There's a lot of interest - more so than someone who has a bionic arm. There's something particularly personal about the eye and it's really science fiction."
As an online video shows, the project has already progressed quite far. "We're close. We need a camera and a transmitter: we have those right now," says Spence.
The camera's battery, which is the size of a watch battery, is the last hurdle and does provide 'some engineering complications'. Additionally, there can be some problems with negotiating the 'bureaucracy' of technology that's not yet on the market, he says.
But Spence's confident these obstacles won't take long to sort out: "If my guys can't answer the questions, I find someone who can," he adds.
Journalistically, he sees lots of potential for commissions as an undercover reporter and hopes the UK's Channel 4 will consider buying the documentary.
"I've had some offers in regards to being a bionic journalist. I can film things without people's knowledge. There are ethical issues, but to me the simple thing is ask permission afterwards."
In regards to his own safety he is blasé. Spence believes that the camera 'is just as far away' from his brain as a mobile phone is and 'just as protected'. He gets asked about that a lot, he says: "It's funny because they ask me that from their cell phone."
Finance reporter - property
