The Komodo National Park (TNK) area is an area where humans and their biosphere are protected, especially the endemic animals which are endangered animals, namely Komodo. As a World Heritage Site recognized by UNESCO since 1991 and is one of the 7 wonders of the world, Komodo National Park has a lot of biodiversity and culture that must be preserved. This is the main reason the KNP area is hunted by tourists, not only local, but also international. Before the pandemic, there were at least more than 100,000 tourists visiting this area every year.
One of the efforts to preserve the area, the TNK Hall under the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK), deploys special forces in the form of forest police, whose job is to patrol the area. They are commonly called forest rangers or rangers. In addition, the TNK Balai Cooperative also has a tour guide troop called the Naturalist Guide (NG). The main task of the rangers is to patrol the protection and security of forest areas, while NG is tasked with accompanying tourists while educating tourists about local ecology and culture. They are there so that tourists are safe in KNP so that they are still comfortable enjoying the tour but still being responsible.
Last month, the community service team from the University of Indonesia, under the Directorate of Community Service and Empowerment (DPPM) held an action entitled “Smartphone-Based Video Editing Training Module for Tourism Marketing Media”. FTUI Community Service Team led by Dr.-Ing. Ova Candra Dewi and consists of Nilam Salma, S. Ars., M. Rowi Darmawiredja, S.Ars., and T.B. Syarif Hidyatullah, S.Ars. This activity aims to improve the ability of forest rangers and NGs who work in the area daily, in terms of documenting and spreading the message of sustainability through smartphones in their hands.
This training invites rangers and NGs to promote a sustainability mission in the digital content editing process. The stages given are starting from content research, composition and color preparation, shooting techniques, storyboarding, selecting a “click bite” title, and choosing a unique and strategic message. In addition, the most important thing in this training is editing and direct practice of shooting in the field.
The training which was attended by 11 representatives from rangers and NGs lasted for 1 week. The material is carried out alternately between class and practice in the field. At the end of the training, there are 4 videos that describe the daily tasks of the ranger and NG, as well as mapping the beauty of the KNP location. For this activity, Pak Dwi as Deputy Head of the Komodo National Park Office expressed his gratitude to the team from the University of Indonesia and hopes that similar activities can be carried out again next year.
“Our team, consisting of Nilam, Rowi and Tebe, is very lucky because on average all participants have mastered the basics of digital content creation and we help improve the quality of their content by directing the process so that the process is more traceable and has a message,” said Ova.
One of the representatives from NG, Mr. Agus, the owner of the IG account @aguselang who works daily in loh liang, Padar Island, said, “This training is very eye-opening and motivating to create quality content. The most interesting part is learning to take outdoor footage and editing. Previously I used to post a lot of digital content, but this training raises awareness of the importance of conveying a sustainable message from every digital content that exists.”
***
Public Communication Bureau
Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Indonesia