WARNING – QUICKTIME MOVIE – LARGE DOWNLOAD (112MB)
THIS PRESENTATION CONTAINS EXPLICIT CONTENT
evolution…..yes, gradual and logical steps from one thing to another….dynamic….yes, bold and edgy steps that revolutionize….dynamic evolution……..and yes , timing , timing and timing……
the above “infomercial” is intended to help all of us here at BURN move forward to a place where photographers can receive commissions for their work on the net…right now, the only funding BURN has been able to provide is for the recipients of the EPF funding….certainly a good thing for one photographer per year, but not enough for all of the worthy talent i see….
fate has brought us to an interesting point where i think we can create sponsorships for photographers to produce original work for BURN….i think an interesting ratio would bring in new talent and yet also appeal to sponsors, would be to have one iconic photographer on commission/assignment alongside three new “youngbloods”…..this lends a certain credibility to the content here by using the established photographers to do “first time seen” stories and pull up some new photographers who will then become in time “iconic”….
my overall “pitch” to sponsors is that we are now in a position at BURN to produce content that is equal to or better than what now is coming from the large media companies simply because the “giants” can no longer afford to do what they used to do….
we can move with stealth using all of the same talents they currently use and also giving the photographer full distribution rights and control over their essays….
for example, if i were to announce on BURN that on September 15, 2009 at 8pm readers here would see a brand new essay from James Nachtwey or Martin Parr or Trent Parke and in the very same time frame would see essays from our talent pool of emerging photographers, we would melt the servers down…..
again, original commissioned work…….
stories of interest to photographers of course, but stories which would reach out to a wider audience…..solid visual essays with solid well researched and well written text…
we are in a unique position at BURN to make this happen…..
i have at least 10 well known established photographers set to go on assignment for BURN right now…..we need these names….mostly, we need their actual ability to produce on demand which is exactly why they are “names”……from our pool of talent here we will find out who among the “emerging” can actually take a commission and “make it happen” within a given time frame….and i do not mean we will try to cover the world…i mean we will become a wellspring for the best photographic essays around from both the worlds of journalism and art….we will match sponsorships with the specific talents and interests of the photographers….we will try to reach outside the now photography based audience by producing work of interest to many….
we are looking for one primary sponsor and perhaps four other smaller sponsors…..we are offering our sponsors first class content at a much better price…simple business equation..best product at lowest price….the shift from print to the net has everyone floundering…..the business strategy right now among the large media companies is to reduce staff, cut expenses, try to get content cheap….we can totally reverse this trend by simply being “small” yet able to provide the very best content….for the net as first outlet, for print as a secondary vehicle….whoever sponsors a story or set of stories will have their brand reaching way more readers in a quality way than they now have anywhere…..in others words, THE symbiotic relationship in communication….
this does not mean that every reader of BURN is going to be commissioned tomorrow….this does mean that every reader of BURN has a chance to do so….with sponsorship will come more opportunities for readers who may have more modest requirements to further their photographic exploration…for the educational imperative and the other values shared by everyone who works with me on BURN will not falter…..at this point in my personal development and career i can stand for no less than the ultimate in both content integrity and clear respect for a photographer or writer’s work….
i would not be able to guarantee the lineup of the “iconic” photographers if they did not feel their rights would be protected, nor would i have the audience of young photographers had i not spent an entire career always looking for the next new talent….these two “givens” are what have us in this unique position……
even regular readers of BURN may notice in this presentation, premiered last week in the Paramount Theater at the Look3 Festival of the Photograph, that we have published more photographic content in the last few months than can be found in any media…..of course, we can make improvements….what we have done up to now is just with basically Anton and i working…i have now several new editors which will make us much more sophisticated in our presentations … with BURN as a Magnum channel and perhaps “channeled” elsewhere, the sky is the limit….
stay tuned…..more ideas coming soonest…..some of them will be coming from you….
-dah