Adiyapi

“Adiyapi” is a short film set in Java, Indonesia, during the Dutch colonial era of 1816. It tells the story of Panakardi (Pandu Wijaya), a farmer living with his wife, Naridja (Sistha Ardani), and their five children. When a group of Dutch officers, led by Jan Bakker (Arjan Onderdenwijngaard), visit their home, a disagreement ensues, and the resulting events irrevocably alter the family’s lives.

I was involved in the entire production process, from the initial world-building stages with the director to the creation of key promotional art. My responsibilities included production design, storyboarding, graphic design, title design, and key art design.

PRODUCTION DESIGN
In addition to my role as Storyboard Artist, I served as Production Designer during pre-production, assisting director Kevin Geraldo. This involved extensive period research to accurately recreate the 1816 Javanese setting. The design of the farmer’s house, including its exterior and interior sets, underwent several revisions due to location constraints. Ultimately, a small warehouse in Batu, Malang, East Java, adjacent to a cabbage field, was selected as it met the story’s requirements.

We transformed the warehouse into a farmer’s dwelling by replacing the iron sheeting walls with traditional rattan webbing and covering the roof with coconut leaves. Collaborating with art director Theodore Johan and set decorator Adi Djohan, we sourced and aged traditional Indonesian household items from a local market in Batu to furnish the interior sets.

GRAPHIC DESIGN
As the Graphic Designer during pre-production, I created graphic props, encompassing all items featuring typography, images, or patterns, such as documents, newspapers, and letters. A key prop mentioned in the script was a Dutch document containing announcements and regulations from the Dutch government to the Indonesian populace. To enhance the immersive experience for both the director and actors, I also produced additional graphic props, including hand-drawn heraldic Dutch newspapers, letters, and a character’s list of names. These graphic props were then aged to lend them an authentic, period-appropriate appearance.