Project Management Around Us: A Closer Look at the Elements of Project Management in the Adventure Film Sherina 2

What comes to mind when you hear about the project? Massive infrastructure development? Procurement of goods worth billions of rupiah?

However, are you aware that projects and project management are all around us, including in the films we watch on television or in the cinema?

Take for example the film Sherina's Adventure 2. This film was just released on September 28 2023, and to date, the film has been watched by more than 1.5 million people. The success of this film, starring Sherina Munaf (as Sherina) and Derby Romero (as Sadam), cannot be separated from the hard work of the parties involved, starting from the director, cast, crew, and so on.

The production process for this film itself had a long preparation. Generally, the filming process in Indonesia generally takes 25 to 30 days, while for this film, the filming process took 50 days over 4 months, from December 2022 to March 2023. Uniquely, the process of shooting the orangutan release scene in the film This is also carefully prepared, because it is only done once. Therefore, the Miles Production team consulted with experts who understand orangutans. After the filming process is complete, the next step is post production and marketing.

The Process of Making the Film Adventure Sherina 2 from the Project Management Side

A project can be defined as a temporary process undertaken to produce a unique product, service or result. In general, there are a number of characteristics of a project, such as being temporary, unique, having a clear final result, and often being faced with uncertainty. The production process for the film Sherina's Adventure 2 has these four characteristics. The team involved in the filmmaking process is only temporary, and all of them focus on producing a unique work. In the process, they also faced various uncertainties, ranging from weather uncertainty to shooting locations in the middle of the forest.

Furthermore, quoted from the Harvard Business Review, a project generally has four phases: planning, build-up, implementation, and close out.

Planning

The first phase, planning, means determining all the fundamentals of a project. This includes many things, starting from determining the goals (project objectives), stakeholders, available resources, and key activities. Apart from the main goal of earning income (financial goal), Miles Production also has the aim of advocating for the conservation and welfare of endangered animals. Therefore, they also pay special attention to the rare animals involved, and collaborate with parties who can help achieve this goal, such as consulting with experts on rare animals. They also identify which activities need special attention and the constraints that accompany them, such as shooting an orangutan release which can only be done once, so they allocate more resources to that scene.

Build Up

Next, build up means how to gather the team and divide tasks, schedules and budget. From this side, the Miles Production team has divided the crew into various roles, schedules and budgets in various processes, starting from pre-production, production. and post-production. Coordination  with the team members is carried out in the various phases. Apart from that, because the film Adventure Sherina 2 is a musical film that takes place in the forests of Kalimantan, briefing and collaboration with the cast, musicians, extras, background dancers and other parties involved are important activities in preparation for filming.

Implementation

Next, implementation means the process of implementing a project itself. This process includes implementing the plans that have been prepared, monitoring and evaluating, managing problems, and paying attention to progress. In this process, it is important to have a big picture perspective so that problems that arise can be anticipated. For example, during the production process, various issues arose such as the weather and a film actor being injured which resulted in two days of time slippage. This time slippage resulted in additional costs, although Miles Picture said that they had taken this into account

Close Out

Lastly, close out, is how to end a project. This involves evaluating the project, appreciating it, and debriefing the process and teams involved. The entire production project for Sherina's Adventure 2 was completed when the film was ready to be released into cinemas. This close out process was marked by a press conference, press screening, and testimonials from the crew and cast on social media. How successful this project is can be seen from the number of viewers and the income it generates, as well as how much awareness of rare animals has increased.

Project Management Around Us

Basically, projects and project management are all around us and are something common in everyday life. Both are present in the films we watch, when we prepare for a wedding, or when we plan home renovations. Therefore, there is no need to feel pressured if one day you are assigned to project management or even become a project manager; all you need to do is review your previous experiences and apply any knowledge you may already have. (HT)