Negotiating Authorship and Authenticity in Hierarchical Film Scoring: A Case Study of Pembantaian Dukun Santet

Rocky Nanlohy¹, (ID 35) Patrick Hartono², ¹Pelita Harapan University, Tangerang, Indonesia. ²The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

In commercial film scoring practices, the involvement of multiple composers has become increasingly common and is often regarded as an industrial strategy for efficiency. Creative processes are distributed across different roles within a composing team and embedded within hierarchical structures that shape the power relations between composers and directors. As a result, the boundaries of authenticity and authorship in film music production become increasingly blurred.

This paper examines how authenticity and authorship are negotiated within collaborative and hierarchical systems of film music production. Focusing on the scoring process of Pembantaian Dukun Santet, the study explores a production model involving two composers with distinct responsibilities: one composer develops the foundational musical material, while the other refines and expands this material through additional layers. This overlap in creative processes, alongside the use of commercial audio samples and the director’s role as the final artistic decision-maker, reveals how authorship in film music is often fragmented and ambiguously defined.

By positioning commercial film scoring practice as a site of research, this paper critically reconsiders how authenticity and authorship may be understood when creative authority is unevenly distributed across multiple production roles. The study contributes to broader discussions in film music studies and creative production research by offering a critical perspective on collaboration, hierarchy, and the construction of artistic value within contemporary film industries.

Rocky Irvano is an Indonesian composer and lecturer specializing in film scoring and composition. He earned a Master’s degree in Composition for Screen from the Royal College of Music. His Indonesian horror scoring credits include Mangkujiwo 1 & 2, Pembantaian Dukun Santet, and Ritual The Series. His festival works include Third Solar Term and Spring 23, which received international recognition at the Busan International Film Festival and the Oberhausen International Short Film Festival. He currently lectures and coordinates Creative Music Composition at Pelita Harapan University.