Cross-disciplinary: The future of the creative industry?

They say we have to focus on one thing in order to be great at it. But in the creative industry where almost every field is interconnected, can we master different crafts from different fields and still be great at them?

Hatched by telecommunication operator IM3 Ooredoo, Collabonation in 2020 brought together seven musicians, namely Iga Massardi, Kunto Aji, Hindia, Petra Sihombing, Asteriska, Rendy Pandugo, dan Sal Priadi, to create three songs during Collabonation CAMP.

Following the camp and based on positive response from audience, IM3 Ooredoo challenged the musicians to create short films based on the songs. Three notable film directors, Naya Anindita, Gianni Fajri and Surya Penny, were also involved in the production.

Tim Pegulat, directed by Sal Priadi and Kunto Aji, shows the life of Tim, portrayed by Kristo Immanuel, as the main character who experiences strange struggles during his sleep that makes him rethink about his guilt and shortcomings towards his family as he is caught up with his daily job, making him realise the importance of his family.

Angin di Lautan, directed by Baskara, Iga Massardi and Asteriska with film director Naya Anindita, depicts the story of Guntur, a young man in Bajo who left his mother and brother to sail the sea that teaches him perseverance for the sake of his family.

Putaran, directed by Rendy Pandugo and Petra Sihombing along with Gianni Fajri as co-director, taps into the fantasy genre. Rendy and Petra are in a so-called parallel universe, each has their own missions to complete.

Collabonation Series 3.0 is an example of a cross-disciplinary project. Musicians are able to create creative output apart from music or songs to express their ideas or to explicate their songs to a greater emotion and narrative.

In addition, music and films are inseparable. Music and film are dynamic and fluid in nature, hence offering their creators a sense of agency which can be referred to as auteurism that is often applied in the process of producing movies and pop songs.

This kind of cross-discipline interconnectedness among different sectors in the creative industry raised the question whether a cross-disciplinary approach is necessary. In the Collabonation 3.0 project, musicians and directors shared and contributed perspectives to produce groundbreaking innovation in creating content.

Take, for example, Tim Pegulat. The short film is inspired by a song titled Irama that the musicians created together. The song has emotional lyrics that depict the feelings that people often have during hardships, but Kunto Aji and Sal Priadi chose the comedy genre for the short film.

Although it is presented in a comical way, Tim Pegulat still carries Irama's underlying message to motivate people to keep their heads above water despite all the challenges they face daily. The short film successfully reinterprets Irama in a different light, but still with the same main takeaways: to live our life at our own pace and to keep reflecting on ourselves in order to grow.

While musicians might not necessarily understand the basics of filming or how to operate filming equipment, their knowledge in composing and storytelling comes in handy.

Watch the short films on YouTube