Posted on Oct 24, 2023

Depok – The Media Production program at the University of Indonesia (UI), part of the Vocational Education program, has recently entered into a cooperation agreement with PT Bumilangit Entertainment Corpora (Bumilangit), an intellectual property-based entertainment company featuring numerous comic book characters. The goal of this collaboration is to develop an educational program in the creative industry, and it was initiated in early October. This partnership takes the form of a certified student internship program, on-site work practice, certification, education, training, and community service. As an initial step in the implementation of this partnership, Media Production students Sara Amadea and Hafsyah Hamidah had the opportunity to undergo an internship. They gained experience and were directly involved in the production of creative content at Bumilangit.

The partnership between UI’s Vocational Education and Bumilangit began in 2022 through the organization of public lectures focusing on the Indonesian creative industry. Both recognized the importance of synergy between educational institutions and the industry in jointly enhancing the quality of education and the creative industry in Indonesia. Bumilangit, established in 2003, marked the beginning of an endeavor to rekindle the culture of heroic-themed comics in Indonesia. Bumilangit has served as a home for many artist creators, spanning from the early generations to the present, and for loyal fans who have consistently appreciated the artists’ works. Today, Bumilangit is the foremost character-based entertainment company in Indonesia, overseeing the largest character library.

Padang Wicaksono, S.E., Ph.D, Director of Vocational Education at UI, stated that graduates of the Media Production program will eventually find themselves in the creative industry. “By adapting to various creative fields, including game content production, comics, film, music, and more, our goal is to produce graduates with the opportunity to become developers of new media. Naturally, collaborative curriculum development with the industry is a crucial aspect of realizing this vision,” Padang explained.

Currently, Sara, one of the students participating in the internship program, has been actively engaged as a content creator on various social media platforms for Bumilangit. Sara had the opportunity to work as a content creator for Bumilangit, undertaking roles like creating content to promote Bumilangit merchandise. For instance, she was involved in mixing and matching outfits using Bumilangit X Damn I Love Indonesia collaboration merchandise, creating outfits for various occasions with the Bumilangit X Kreaby collaboration, and exploring fashion trends for 2023 with the Bumilangit X Jerjhon jersey, among other projects.

She also functioned as an assistant illustrator on two projects: the comic-strip and audio series “Tira Tragedi.” In the comic-strip project, Sara was responsible for designing characters, including choosing color tones, creating facial illustrations based on character traits, determining clothing styles, selecting eye colors, capturing facial expressions, and deciding on poses. In the audio series project, Sara handled line art and toning. On several occasions, Sara was given the opportunity to provide voices for supporting characters in the “Tira Tragedi” audio series. She also worked on other projects, including serving as an illustrator for the one-shot comic “What If You Went to School with Godam, Awang, and Chuluika?!” and creating chibi versions of Bumilangit characters, such as Aquanus, Virgo, Si Buta dari Goa Hantu, Tira, Gundala, Godam, Maza, and Sri Asih.

“During my time at Bumilangit, I gained valuable new insights. I made it a personal goal to remain constantly eager for knowledge and not to be easily satisfied. Armed with the knowledge I gained from Bumilangit, I hope to establish a small studio in the future and undertake personal projects in collaboration with Bumilangit. Additionally, the knowledge I received in class, particularly the Innovation and Media Principles course that I enjoyed, significantly contributed to my experience during this internship. Before entering the workforce, students are thoroughly trained in their illustration skills through this course. Furthermore, instructors also provide insights into the working environment in the creative industry, particularly in animation and comics,” Sara added.

Apart from the internship program, another form of strategic collaboration involves the development of a curriculum for comic book creation as part of the coursework in the Media Production program. A jointly developed curriculum enables students to access more practical content tailored to the needs of the professional industry. This collaboration also allows students to utilize the IP library managed by Bumilangit as part of their learning materials and practical work on various projects.

Furthermore, talents involved with Bumilangit will have the opportunity to share their knowledge by serving as guest lecturers in classes. This provides students with insights directly related to the industry they may enter in the future.

Bismarka Kurniawan, CEO of Bumilangit, expressed his hope that the collaboration between Bumilangit and UI’s Vocational Education program will continue and yield a wide range of creative works by students and graduates. He stated, “The implementation of this collaboration will result in positive outcomes for both parties. I hope that Media Production students can offer fresh ideas as representatives of Generation Z to Bumilangit. Conversely, we will provide a platform for students to transform these ideas into creative works that will be embraced by the public.”

The collaboration between UI’s Vocational Education and Bumilangit is expected to further advance the comic-based creative industry, not only through non-formal education but also within the formal education system. The development of courses on comic production has been a distinguishing feature of the Media Production program since its inception in 2021. The hope is for comics in Indonesia to become more diverse and to serve not only as a storytelling medium but also as a means of education.”

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