The animation and computer graphics (CG) industry in Indonesia is experiencing significant development.
This field can develop into a bigger strand in the national economy. At present, there are many local animation and game studios in Indonesia that have a workforce capacity of between 100-300 people. Some of these studios have successfully worked on their own projects, while other studios have supported film productions from home and abroad. This productivity is inversely proportional to the availability of labour. The studios still lack the right talent and have difficulty in finding new human resources that are in accordance with the quality standards of their companies.
Meanwhile, a number of animators from Indonesia have successfully penetrated the world of Hollywood animation. One of them is Mike Wiluan, who currently serves as CEO of Infinite Studio. He has worked on several animated films such as Meraih Mimpi (2008) and international films such as Hitman: Agent 47 (2015) and Crazy Rich Asians. Besides him, Ronny Gani has also successfully brought several world-class animated films to the top of the box office listings. His experience working in the visual effects sector of Industrial Light & Magic Singapore, which is a subsidiary of Lucas Film, gave him the opportunity to work on Marvel Studio films such as The Avengers (2012), Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Ant-man (2015), and Avengers: Infinity War (2018).
The development of this industry has compelled the Indonesian government to try to create programmes that give birth to world-class animators. This is, of course, supported by Sinar Mas Land, which is currently working on a Digital Hub area. This project is one of the innovative developments of Sinar Mas Land aimed at digital technology industry players, ranging from educational institutions, communities, startups, and multinational companies. Sinar Mas Land is also working on Nongsa D-Town in collaboration with Citramas Group which bridges the need for digital talent and technology between Singapore and Indonesia in an area of 8 hectares in Batam.
In order to support the government in creating superior human resources in the field of animation, Sinar Mas Land and Animation Workshop, in collaboration with the Ministry of Industry of the Republic of Indonesia, held the 2019 CG Festival Animation Workshop (BEAST). The event was a forum for exchanging information and collaborations between stakeholders from the animation industry and CG in Indonesia, ranging from animation studios/games, practitioners, educational institutions, students, and related government institutions.
“Sinar Mas Land is proud to be the host for the 2019 BEAST event that accommodates enthusiasts and actors in the field of animation and CG”
We are optimistic about the development of these two fields both in terms of creative and digital technology, which is currently also our focus, in line with the ongoing development of the Digital Hub, “said Digital Hub Project Leader from Sinar Mas Land, Irawan Harahap.
BEAST 2019 was attended by renowned animation studio owners who took on roles of speakers to share information and knowledge from their experiences during their careers in major animation studios at home and abroad: Mike Wiluan, CEO – Infinite Studios; Aditya Triantoro, CEO – The Little Giantz; Irvan Rifai, Brown Bag Films Bali; Johanes Kurnia, ILM Generalist Supervisor in Star Wars: The Last Jedi; Stephen Putra, TD Gemini Man’s Pipeline film, Alita: Battle Angel; David Lojaya, Character Designer – Dreamworks Animation; and Ronny Gani, Senior Animator of the Avengers Film: End Game.