Describe the Collective Garapa , as they say in the same site, "is not so easy" because the three photographers who make up the multimedia group are different when it comes to photography, videography, documentaries on the world ... Regardless of the work platform Leo Caobelli, Rodrigo Marcondes Fehlauer and Paul, have emerged as a new proposal for collective bargaining with their photo essays give pleasure to the eye and rich in information content. The boys above all, contribute to several vehicles in the country, are bloggers, working on projects fotoeducação among other things that arise that use photography as a means of expression and storytelling and compelling. They will be in Paraty in Focus workshop with the Multimedia Experience , where they will talk a lot about their stops media, references, and argue on your best ally when it comes to dissemination and display of their skilled trials: the internet.

1 - You do what many photographers have had the desire / dream / desire to do that is to build a REAL multimedia collective bargaining with the photo calling the shots on visuality, composition and purpose of the work ... How didactically routine for you working in the best way to learn about the best platforms, doing quality work and pay the bills? Talk a little bit how the organization works in practice and in search of the theory of the Collective Garapa.

The Garapa is much more an organism than an organization. With that said, it is difficult to establish some kind of formula for what we do. Organisms adapt to survive and that's what we did. At the beginning of our brief history yet, when we worked as freelances in the Folha de S. Paul started this thing to try formats, already thinking of open space in the vehicles for that content type. We did an experiment on Folha ( http://www.garapa.org/2008/10/garapa-na-folha-eleicoes/ ) elections, but we feel much resistance within the company to submit new proposals. Meanwhile, we continue developing our own work in his spare time until the balance is reversed. Today no longer depend on strictly commercial relations, we have partnerships with NGOs and third sector institutions, entities that were much more open to forms of narrative as what we propose.

From the beginning, we had the internet as a major channel of transmission of our work (but not exclusive, it is good to point out). The network allowed us to expand our narrative possibilities, all with very low cost.

It is this balance between finance and the desire to produce work that allows us to develop that have not been sold, or even be. They are the result of subjects that arouse interest and so embarked on the challenge of telling another story. The Living ( http://www.garapa.org/2009/02/ensaio-morar/ ) is a good example of this type of work.

Sabbath Sheet - Suplicy from Garapa on Vimeo .

2 - The MidiaStorm, a leading multimedia production studios in the world, practically started - correct me if I'm wrong - this way to visually present documentaries, whether photographic or videographic. What are your main references multimídiaticas? And here in Brazil, Garapa has been a pioneer in multimedia journalism ...

The MediaStorm is definitely a reference in the narrative we think of as online. More than pretty special multimedia, the troupe's Brian Storm managed to establish a large flow of production, combining their special large customers such as the Washington Post, in addition to giving great courses. Recently, a University of Miami has launched a website called Multimedia Standards to assess what is thought of this new online narratives. In addition to Brian Storm, Andrew De Vigal, Pamela Chen and other big names, Garapa was also invited to participate, which for us was a great surprise. There you can hear the different views that each has the same theme. Many of these people are our references, but also to escape only by basing the major producers we have links on our home Garapa. There is a history of things we put in Delicious and, mostly, are multimedia productions from different countries to get our attention. It is worth visiting this section.

About pioneering spirit, believe in the potential of the Internet as a vehicle for publishing the material we produce, and thus experience a language that fits on the web. We are photographers, produce video material and make reports and documentaries. The way we found to edit the material is the multimedia format, which decouples the traditional editorial media (newspapers, magazines, etc..) And at the same time helps us to create a new market niche, which may still take a while to established in the editorial Brazil, but is already very present in several countries.

3 - You participated in the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop in Mexico last year, a wonderful international meeting organized by photojournalism Lightstalkers. Chatting up with other photographers in the world who were also there, which claims and which innovations in photojournalism today that will bring good news or changes to the content market, in the opinion of Garapa?

The meeting in Mexico was very good, especially to assess the way forward.

The photography market is changing worldwide. We heard the same complaints about cache values ​​that we hear around here.

On the other hand, outside NGOs are increasingly working with photographers and multimedia producers, creating a new market. Likewise, the popularization of photography through the digital format created a much larger audience for the consumption of books, lectures and workshops.O that previously was restricted to a small group of professionals (which made the biggest paychecks), today is a tool more accessible (wider audience). What we can do is keep complaining about everything without thinking of alternatives for survival.

This is how the Garapa think their production, providing the production Creative Commons license, to reach a broader audience, becoming known in a little over a year old and as a result of this process, capturing customers who hire us the content we do and asking us not a mere commercial formula.

That was our choice to embark on creating a new market, not competing directly with the pre-established as advertising, still, fashion, etc.., And develop a new business model, aligned with our ideals and desires.

The Wall from Garapa on Vimeo .

19/11/2008 MTST from Garapa on Vimeo .

4 - This year's Garapa had his video series on AIDS held for MTV Brazil and taken off of Youtube. How did this controversy? How do you think photographers should handle this situation with the multimedia work running on the network, since this legislation is still in its infancy?

It's funny how censorship is a process almost always present in the creative environment.

For more open to devise a process that is, communication occurs between partners and, at some point someone may feel offended by something.
For this discussion Internet is very rich, since the platform is much discussed upon the concept of freedom, the exchange of information, etc..
But the reality is that, even there we are in the hands of a large conglomerate of private companies that establish their own rules.
The secret is knowing how to play with them, since to publish online on sites that have your public users, such as youtube, flickr, etc.. must accept the terms of use of a company.

What happened to us was that, somehow, probably automatic, Viacom, owner of the MTV brand, found in a YouTube video with our brand that they own. In their view, this is a violation of copyright.

The problem is that actually made the videos for MTV Brazil, and the prosecution, therefore, unfounded. The big mistake here is that the punishment is automatic, and comes before the trial. That is, when a company activates the complaint you have your content suspended and did not agree, you should use.

Basically, this attitude shows how desperate and late are the major brands of industrial culture. What the robot does not know of them is that the same video is still available on our site, hosted by another online service, and also freely distributed under Creative Commons.

5 - In the workshop Garapa in Paraty in Focus this year's program content claims that the visual narratives gained endless possibilities, as you know. And it will be on this dynamic that you will direct the work. Garapa sees this as the consumption and the mass media?

We believe that, in general, the democratization of the means and access to them is very positive. This has been discussed in recent years, and phenomena such as Youtube, Flickr, Twitter and the like show the speed at which the web moves. Obviously, this creates a discussion of the means of production and consumption, on aesthetic quality and content. In Garapa, we strive for quality in everything we produce. We discuss our output thoroughly before serving, because this way, we believe we can make use of technical facilities of the digital age without compromising the quality and commitment to what we serve.

The great advantage of digital and the internet is that the gap between cost and result decreases dramatically. You can now produce quality content with very low cost, which was unthinkable a few years ago. The responsibility for the work has become much more professional than in the technical apparatus. For a good professional, the doors may open.

With that in mind, the workshop we want to work on two fronts: production and editing. Thus, we divide the entries into two groups and work one day to capture photos, audio and video the other day and each group will edit and mount the other group. We hope that through this exercise, it is possible to understand the editing work as the consolidation of the construction of a narrative process.