#Newsmaker: Jarryd Duthoit wins Loeries Young Creatives Award

The Award is open to 27-year-olds and under, and recognises the top young creatives in the brand communications industry, with the winners each receiving a Gold Loerie.

Duthoit is a graduate from AFDA, the’ School for the Creative Economy’, where he studied data and colour grading for film, cinema and video. In 2015 he won three awards for Best Colour and Data, Best Third Year Picture and the Audience Award for Best Picture.

Mentored by Keno Naidoo, Left Post Production’s senior flame artist, Duthoit says he is fortunate and honoured to have worked with top directors in the South African film industry such as Ross Garrett and Zee Ntuli.

“I strive to make every frame as beautiful as it can be. With the combination of grade and online I have been able to come up with stunning visuals and am proud to say there is only one other artist in South Africa able to do both online and grade at an industry professional level,” says Duthoit, who is thankful to his agency for their support and entrusting him with working on some high-end adverts.

Copywriter and finishing artist win the Loeries Brand South Africa Young Creatives Award

Loeries  18 Nov 2020

Here, he goes on to tell us how he feels about feel being recognised as one of the top young creatives in the brand communications industry…

Congrats on your Loeries win! How do you feel about being recognised as one of the top young creatives in the brand communications industry?

I am truly honored to even be considered for young creative, and gobsmacked to be one of the winners. It’s very strange to be in the spotlight coming from post production. Post production is normally in a dark aircon room, and normally the hero doesn't take the credit, similar to Batman.

What led you to discover your craft and why did you choose a career in advertising/brand communication?

It's been a childhood dream to be in the film industry and tell stories. So, while looking for what I wanted to become in the film industry, I found myself in a grading studio, where creativity and technology meet. I was naturally drawn to become a colourist and would stop at nothing until I was there.

What do you love most about working for Joe Public/Left Post Production, and your role in particular?

Working for Left is the ultimate hub for creativity, where the possibilities are endless. Left has guided and pushed me to become the best I possibly can. Having the biggest and best directors come through the doors daily is a huge opportunity to create world-class adverts.

Comment on the current state of the industry.

After the industry was forced to halt during lockdown, it was an eye opener to everyone. From my perspective, it has been on a rapid recovery since then. We are also having to work harder and more creatively to captivate the audience and hold their attention, and this has forced us to become way more innovative using technology.

What change do you hope to see? How do you hope to #CreateChange?

There are two things I would like to see change in. The first being the fact that we let our perception of a creative influence how we see their work. If it's race, gender or age. The work needs to speak for itself. I am trying to show people that I am young but am still able to produce the same level, if not better, of work, despite my young age.

The second change I would like is to have a colourist category and award. There are awards for editing or cinematography but not colouring. Colour grading is such an intricate part of production but it’s never credited.

What’s at the top of your to-do list (at work)?

The top of my to-do list is to get my name out there as much as possible, to let people know who I am and what I can bring to the table in post-production. I also have a colour grading bucket list, which contains all the world-class grades I think are spectacular. I just want the opportunity to create pretty pictures.

What are you currently reading/watching/listening to (for work)?

I have been reading a lot about virtual productions and watching The Mandalorian, where they were able to develop the technology to shoot virtual productions live. With the research that I have been doing, I have been an intricate part of developing South Africa's first virtual production shoots, with Left pioneering the first advert in South Africa to use the technology.

Tell us something about yourself not generally known?

I consider myself a boring Batman-type of dude. I have two lives in a sense. One is a workaholic in one of the coolest jobs ever, and the other a very young dad of two small boys just wanting to have fun. Balancing the two lives is a very difficult task, but both so rewarding in their own way.