Production Paradise

Welcome to the very first edition of Showcase Rio de Janeiro to coincide with the launch of our new Rio de Janeiro directory.

The Brazilian coastal gem is guaranteed to be bustling with life and creative energy all year round, making the city truly one of the world's more unique locations. Vibrancy and passion characterise both the city and its people, with an unparalleled mix of culture and a swirling blend of life that ensures no one else quite does it the Carioca way!

• Festival do Rio, from September 20 until October 4, is Rio's major international film festival that showcases the very best of fresh Brazilian talent.

Our cover was shot by Christian Gaul.

rio production/photo production: 1500 PRODUCTIONS

Production company 1500 Productions is aimed specifically at photography - the first of its kind in Rio de Janeiro.

It offers full production services including location scouting, casting, model booking, customs and visa assistance, travel and shipping assistance, accommodations, transportation, equipment rental, lab services and film sales.

The company focuses on 'smooth logistics and world-class service' and tell us their mission is to make customers feel as if they were shooting in their home country while making available the best Brazil has to offer...

rio production/photo production: LATINAMERICA PRODUCTION

Established in 2001, Latinamerica Production was among the first production companies dedicated to photography. While it remains an important part of its activities, the company is also expanding into film and moving image with location scouting responsibilities for two upcoming long-footage films.

Recent photography includes work for French catalogues 3 Suisses and Terra Futura, magazines CondeNast and Manon, and the online image source Image Bank, whilst in May they completed an advertising campaign for Arcelor Mittal (TBWA) in the Brazilian capital, Brasilia.

rio production/photo production: CAPTURE BRAZIL

Capture Brazil provides complete production services for stills photography in Rio de Janeiro and throughout Brazil, specialising in on-location photo shoots for advertising, catalogue, editorial and stock.

Amazing locations, beautiful people, and an exotic culture is what best describes what Brazil has to offer to any photo shoot. And this company combines these aspects with an experienced multi-lingual production team, a cost-efficient budgeting method, and a warm greeting.

Recognising the importance of quality location scouting, over the years, they have gathered over 30,000 photos of beaches, homes, modern and historic architecture, city, industry, ruins, rooftops, forests, mountains, deserts, canyons, rivers, hills, roads, rocks... almost every type of location under the sun.

The company's philosophy for achieving a smooth and successful photo shoot is to 'focus on the solution', basing their success on solid pre-production, hands-on involvement, and total commitment to their client's needs.

rio production/commercial production: CARIOCA FILMES

Carioca Films was created in 2000 as an audiovisual production company. Its partners have accumulated experience of over 10 years in producing commercials, video clips, documentaries, TV shows, feature-length and short films, institutional ads, elections campaigns, photograph productions and major events.

In 2005, they started to specialise in providing services for international and foreign production through the leading Production Services in Brazil.

The company has an updated photo bank with over 60,000 photos showing all kinds locations.

Aside from their skill and competence, when asked what sets Carioca Films apart from other companies, they reply, 'our staff have an enormous capacity to work under high-stress situations without losing what we believe to be our company's trademark - the warm friendship and close partnership we build with our clients and with service and equipment suppliers'.

rio photography/photo agents: 1500 MANAGEMENT

1500 Management is the only agency in Rio de Janeiro that represents photographers, hair & make-up artists, fashion stylists and prop stylists.

Talent represented includes:

• Photographers Murillo Meirelles, Emmanuelle Bernard, Marc van Lengen, Valério Trabanco and Alex Bensimon
• Hair & make-up artists Erica Monteiro and Carol Ribeiro
• Fashion styling Roberta Stamatto
• Prop styling Barbara Carauta

It is the sister company of 1500 Productions, which offers full production services.

rio photography/photographers: ADERI COSTA

Aderi Costa has been a photographer for 30 years. He has worked for Rio de Janeiro's major advertising agencies and is said to be one of the best-equipped photographers of Brazil.

Campaigns for current clients include Coca-Cola, Nestle, Petrobras, Telephonic, Telemar, TV Globo, Unimed, NET and Varilux.

Besides his professional work he regularly makes series of photos of personalities, which he exhibits. He is currently finishing one of his greater projects, a book of backstage shots at Brazilian fashion shows over the last decade.

rio photography/photographers: ALEXANDRE SALGADO

Alexandre Salgado has been working in the advertising business for 25 years, and has been commissioned by major agencies across Brazil and the USA.

His latest jobs include Palio 2008 for FIAT, a campaign for Ducati which was shortlisted at Cannes, and Petrobras Energy for the PAN 2007.

Salgado and his team are renowned for their professional photographic post-production standards, and are constantly updating their techniques according to the latest industry developments. 

rio photography/photographers: LUIZ GARRIDO

Luiz Garrido started his career as a photojournalist in 1968, at the Paris offices of the Brazilian Manchete Magazine. Whilst in France he studied photography at both Vincennes College and the École Nationale de Photographie Française, at the time also meeting John Lennon and Yoko Ono during one of their famous 'Bed-Ins For Peace'.

Garrido photographed the couple at the Plaza Athenée Hotel and was invited to work with them in London and Amsterdam. During his time in Paris he became interested in portraiture, and photographed international personalities including Alfred Hitchcock, Gina Lollobrigida, and Alain Delon, amongst others.

Back in Rio in 1971 he started his activities in fashion and advertisement, working for international magazines such as Vogue (Brazil and France), Interview, Claudia Moda, Moda Brasil, Elle (Brazil, France and Italy), Playboy, Big (USA) and GQ (UK). In 1982 he started the Casa da Foto Agency and Studio. For more than 30 years Garrido has photographed Brazilian personalities and now has a collection of over 800 portraits.

You can email Luiz Garrido direct.

rio photography/photographers: CHRISTIAN GAUL PHOTOGRAPHY

Photographer Christian Gaul describes his work as expressing a mixture of spontaneity and rehearsed attitude, not to mention an ambient personal touch.

Gaul searches for alternative angles to tell his chosen stories, composing images that reflect certain life and style concepts based on the photographer's feel for his subjects.

At the end of this year he will be publishing his first solo book of portraits. Most recently he has produced images for C&A, Renner, Penalty, Vix, and Vogue.

rio photography/photographers: RICARDO CUNHA

Ricardo Cunha has recently completed two campaigns with clients Duloren and Michelin. Creating bold environments that combine real-life photography with CGI 3D design, Cunha and his team focus on bringing customised production designs to life.

The company aims to merge their clients' product concepts together with highly appealing landscape and portrait photography, creating seemless environments that form strong links between brand image and modern artisitic expression.

rio photography/rental studios: STUDIO DO CAIS

In 1999, photographer Aderi Costa carried through his great dream to set up a photographic studio - Studio do Cais - in Rio de Janeiro, where he and many other national and international photographers shoot the main fashion and advertising campaigns.

Located in Rio's traditional dock zone, close to the main gateways, the studio offers very easy customer access from all points in the city.

The building, with architecture inspired by New York lofts, has four large studios, lighting equipment, Profoto and digital cameras which are available for renting.

The Studio do Cais team comprises trained professionals with extensive, and coordinated by Aderi Costa.

rio talent/model agencies: 40 GRAUS MODELS

40 Graus Models began its activities in October 2004 and today has a cast of over 200 models including João Vellutini, Ana Beatriz Barros, Bianca Klamt, Thyago Alves, Eduardo Braun, Felipe Hulse, Rômulo Pires, Brenda Costa, Roberta Konrath and Guisela Rhein.

rio creativity/graphic design: 6D

6D´s talent lies in the myriad possibilities it offers to its clients - from film production to graphic design in various media, 6D is a one-stop-shop for creative solutions.

The company's portfolio includes visual strategies for clients that vary from fashion to banking, across every type of required graphic application.

Its goal is to create exclusive graphics, with global-class services and design classic solutions for clients worldwide.

As they say, '6D is designing new classics'....

rio hotel/hotels: MARINA ALL SUITES HOTEL

The hotel Marina All Suites is located on Leblon beach. Opened in 1999, all 38 suites have wonderful beach views. However, the eight designer suites are the main attraction. Created by some of Rio's most talented architects and interior designers, the rooms feature the creations of Joy Garrido, Pedro Paranaguá, Julinha Serrado, André Piva, Jairo de Sender, Beth Lucena and Tarcila Paiva.

The suites were individually named after the precious gems that are reflected in the colours used to decorate them: Topazio, Diamond, Emerald, Amber, Turmaline, Rubi, Onix and Opala.