The Task > Create a 13-minute documentary profile of Indonesian filmmaker Riar Rizaldi, using a raw interview transcript and a rough outline of the topics. The goal was to build a clean, engaging narrative structure from scratch and find high-quality imagery to illustrate Riar's creative path, his roots in the horror genre, and how he reflects politics and ecology in his work.

The Process > I started by building the rough cut from the a-roll footage based on the initial list of topics, aiming to keep the layout tight and close to the target duration. To guide the global narrative, I used the footage from the second shooting location as a recurring bridge between the main chapters. Since the interview was shot using a single camera, I carefully planned my cuts inside each location, using the gathered artwork and subtle crops to keep the visual flow smooth.

Once this rough cut was approved by the project leads, I sourced 8 of Riar's films (including a feature-length project) in the highest possible quality and selected scenes that matched the context of the narrative. Additionally, to illustrate his creative roots in the horror genre, I found and used a few 1980s Indonesian and Hong Kong horror films.

For the historical context, I found high-resolution colonial maps and archive photographs, using them to build a few motion graphics sequences, including map flyovers and text animations. Finally, I handled the full-cycle color grading of the Blackmagic a-roll footage to give the video a rich, cinematic look.