General Post’s Gareth James is an experienced television and commercials editor. He has been represented by General Post for four years and is a firm favourite with many of the post production crewing agency’s clients.

Gareth recently worked on the SABC 1 reality television show, Class Act, which ended with Sdumo Mtshali being named South Africa’s next leading man after winning the toughest audition in the country.

Tim Green (Hard Copy, Twist) directed Class Act, which was produced by Curious Pictures and sponsored by Amstel.

Gareth says, “I worked on promos and onlined the season’s auditioning portion before the live show started. I also edited an Amstel commercial that was made to flight  in the ad breaks.”

The brief from advertising agency Owen and Kessel required Gareth to use the edit to evoke the spirit of the film industry. “The advertising agency’s brief called for beautiful images that portray the many different aspects of the film industry, from cameras to sets, all coming together to create something really spectacular. This not only applied to creating great films but to Amstel as a brand, so had to be tied into the Amstel Class Act search for a new South African leading man,” explains Gareth.

The commercial was directed by Dean Fourie, who created contrast within the commercial by using monochromatic images, utilising highlights and lowlights to emphasise shapes, almost in the film noir genre. This meant the grading of the commercial became particularly important.

Gareth says, “With this Amstel commercial, we utilised the use of multiple images superimposed over one another. The key was getting the right balance between the highlights so that they dissolved seamlessly into and out of one another.

Clive de Klerk shot the spot on the Red One Camera. Gareth says, “Having 4k HD material shot on the Red enabled us to zoom right into some shots, in almost a macro lens type feel. This was great for creating textures within the lowlights and highlights.”

Gareth’s challenge was to create a beer commercial that looked nothing like a beer commercial. This was no easy feat considering the massive ARA Responsible Drinking warning required throughout the duration of the commercial. 

Working on Final Cut Pro 7, with grading and the online at The Refinery, Gareth completed the edit in ten days.

Started by Gerhard Gouws in 2006 and bought by Kirsty Galliard in May 2008, General Post represents 240 freelance post production professionals across various disciplines. They have an office in Canada, run by Gerhard Gouws and in the UK, run by John Baker.For more information on both Garreth and the crewing agency,visit http://www.generalpost.co.za.