Local animators go international

By Gotot Prakosa

JAKARTA (JP): Several British feature and animated films were shown recently at the H. Usmar Ismail film center in South Jakarta. Among the short animated films were stories of a young genius named Wallace and his loyal pooch Gromit.

Wallace and Gromit were featured in three of the films during the week organized to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the British Council in Indonesia: Close Shave (30 minutes), Grand Day Out (23 minutes) and The Wrong Trousers (30 minutes).

In The Wrong Trousers, Wallace and Gromit rent out a room in their house to a penguin. The penguin shows himself to be very diligent and it quickly wins Wallace's respect, making Gromit jealous. Every evening Gromit eyes Wallace enjoying himself in the company of the penguin. Gromit is also moved to his doghouse in front of the house. The penguin, it turns out, is in fact a criminal intending to use Wallace in a plan to steal jewels from a nearby museum.

After some hilarious scenes, Gromit is able to expose the penguin as a criminal and foil his attempt to steal the jewels. Wallace, long distracted from Gromit by the penguin, becomes aware how loyal his dog truly is. Thus reconciled, they live happily together again as best friends.

The film's animation mixes some amusing suspense with very clever camera movement. The characters, made of clay, are brought realistically to life and are able to toy with the audience's emotions. Its settings and soundtrack all come together with a fun story to make the film deserving of praise. From the aspect of unity, the production design, storyboard and production execution are very good and compact.

Animator Nick Mark directed and produced the film using classical animation techniques. Clay and plastic objects are used to shape the characters of Wallace, Gromit and others. The set is in miniature form. While shooting, each change of position must be shot by a frame-by-frame technique.

The technique is called clay animation or plasticine animation. Prudence is recommended in this method and shooting takes a longer time than the construction of the set itself.

In the process of creation, it is apparent that the animation is seen as a serious craft. It is not surprising that The Wrong Trousers, released in 1993, won an Academy Award as Best Animated Short Film in the same year. In 1990, the Wallace and Gromit film Grand Day Out was nominated in the same category.

Apart from the short Wallace and Gromit films, other short animated films shown here were The Albatross (15 minutes) and Broken Jaw (6 minutes). These films suggest that animated film production in the United Kingdom are somewhat robust.

What about Indonesia?

On June 28, state television reported on an animated film produced by PT Unixindo Animasitama Film. The film presents the character Hanoman in a setting much like the Prambanan temple and is made with a three-dimensional computer animation technique.

The day before the report, a dialog was held with the animators and animated film lovers at Dusit Hotel, Jakarta. The meeting, also attended by Minister of Trade and Industry Rahardi Ramelan, discussed various matters about the world of animation and touched on the fact that Indonesia already had the capacity to make animated films with computer equipment. The country also boasts several skilled animators able to make quality films.

The many production houses and animation studios here mostly produce advertisement films or "bumpers" for television and short animated films. These production firms include Pro Animasindo, Citra Audiovistama, Red Rocket Animation, the state film production center (PPFN) and Grafik Grapos.

Indonesian animators have also taken part in the making of popular Japanese and American animated films.

Some animators still work with the old method of drawing sketches on transparencies, which are then shot by a camera. In Bali, artists fill orders of Japanese animation companies like Trans Art, Tatsunoko, JC Stuff and Marsajuwita Indah Animation. Orders often total between 6,000 pieces and 10,000 pieces (sheets of paper) every month. The work includes the drawing of animation pictures for films like Dora Emon and Sailor Moon.

Boy Nathaneal, a young man from Nias island, who established PT Citra Animasi Bandung in 1994, claims he assisted in the making of "floating feathers" in Forrest Gump, the Oscar-winning film starring Tom Hanks.

PT Asiana Wang Animation, established in Jakarta in 1995, is an extension of a Korean company of the same name. This company produces animation pictures for Walt Disney, Hanna Barbara, etc.

PT Index in Surabaya made the short animation serial Hela Heli Helo broadcast on TPI a few years ago.

Animated film companies are always linked with the entertainment industry, especially since the emergence of a number of TV stations. If the entertainment industry is burgeoning, the television industry also grows, and vice-versa.

Bening Studio in Jakarta produces animated feature films packaged in VCD format, such as Bawang Merah Bawang Putih, Timun Emas, Si Kancil and Puri Sihir (The Enchanted Castle).

Each film employs 25 people and often takes four to five months to finish. The production uses ordinary personal computers with Adobe Photoshop software for coloring and After Effect software for the film.

The films average over 50 minutes in duration. Disc Tara sells such VCD animated films at Rp 32,000 a piece. The production of VCD format films is an achievement to be proud of even though their quality has yet to reach international standards.

It can be noted, however, that Bening Studio films have created an open market for animated films as part of the VCD industry.

The writer is a filmmaker and lecturer at the School of Film and Television, Jakarta Institute of Arts (IKJ).