About
DAN COUTO (that’s me) is originally a self-taught photographer who found himself on the forefront of the digital imaging paradigm shift. The replacement of film with pixels changed the worlds of advertising, photography and illustration forever. Those worlds are about to change again with the trickle down of high-end photorealistic CGI (Computer Generated Imaging) technology to the desktop. By using CGI combined with my lighting experience as a photographer, I am able to create photorealistic product images and web movies from client-supplied CAD files. I am also using natural media digital techniques to give my photography a very fresh yet familiar new look. And lastly, I am using CGI to create backgrounds, in fact, worlds, in which models photographed on green screen can be imposed. And all this in an affordable fashion as overhead in most cases is all but eliminated.
People are saying ‘But Dan! This is so confusing! What do you actually do?’
I see. That’s what I do.
Generalism is good. Because versatility is a style. Think about it. The same hand guides everything. There is no dilution of vision. This is because I believe there is no place creatively you should not allow yourself to go. There are so many disciplines once thought of as separate that are now converging. Just as all physical expression (yoga, martial arts, dance) were once components of one big art, I also believe that music, sculpture, painting, photography and film are also part of one big art and the virtual world will see these so-called separate disciplines converging. You certainly need to know something about all these arts to express yourself in 3D. From the study of the components of texture (colour, specular, reflective, transparent, diffuse, bump, sub-surface scattering, etc.) to lighting (area lights, soft shadows, global illumination, HDRI) to camera placement and angle to key framing to drafting (CAD) to sculpting (Zbrush, Mudbox) to plug-ins to code to… whew! You get the idea. I’m certainly not putting myself out there as a Zbrush or modo expert but I do know enough about all these components to assemble them into a cohesive whole (for you, the client), either by doing it myself or through outsourcing. Just as a director does. And I’ve always believed the more a director understands about the jobs of each of the people he hires, the better the final result will be.
I have been in the business for over 20 years and have worked with clients in New York, L.A., Spain, Hong Kong, India, the U.K. and Germany. The confluence of digital media coupled with CGI means that one artist can now provide creative that covers print (both advertising and packaging), web (stills and movie) and television so that the unity of creative vision and execution is undiluted. I offer cutting-edge innovation coupled with tried and proven professionalism to provide clients with tailor-made imaging (still and moving) that addresses not only their concerns but also factors in the demands imposed by a world in a constant state of craving that next fresh ‘make-my-eyeballs-stick-to-it’ thing.
Together with co-creator Art Director and Illustrator GLEN HANSON and NORTHBOUND LEATHER, I photographed DIATOM, the world’s first high-end PhotoGraphic Novel. DIATOM follows the adventures of Paris and Appollonia, two lovers from Halcyon, the World of Light, when they journey to Skuld, the Dark World, in an effort to save their people from extinction. It is there that they meet the Dark World’s Queen, Salatia de Voura, who changes their lives forever. We got some great press on this project but perhaps the thing that touched me most was some of the fan mail DIATOM received (especially the first letter). This was back when people took pen to paper. I often wonder what would have happened had we done this project now, in the Age of Instant Access.
I am also the creator of the Gemini award-winning NAKED IN THE HOUSE television show. Beginning with a short segment on CITY-TV it’s first year, NAKED IN THE HOUSE blossomed into a series of one hour specials that were featured on FASHION TELEVISION. The show revolved around a very simple premise: what would happen if 12 photographers had one camera, one lens, one roll of film and 1/2 an hour to shoot a model they had never seen before in a location they had only seen pictures of? NAKED IN THE HOUSE went on to become one of the most talked about art events in the country. I am now in the process of relaunching the show in a new format specifically tailored for Internet broadcast so that the show can reach a global audience.
I have written novel, SOLIPSUM, that you may enjoy. It follows the adventures of Charlie, young photo assistant who works for one of the top photographers in the world. She gets the assignment of a lifetime and soon finds herself working on a print campaign that takes over all the print-based advertising in thirty cities around the world. The campaign begins to succeed beyond everyone’s wildest expectations and it becomes the most fantastic experience of Charlie’s young life, even was she finds herself falling in love with the photographer who hired her, and the stunning female supermodel at the campaign’s heart. Then people begin to die and Charlie discovers the whole thing is secretly orchestrated by the campaign’s male supermodel, who is really a demon from Hell. Welcome to the world of SOLIPSUM, a world much like our own, with some subtle but startling differences. A world of stunning models and shark-like super agents, big-money fashion advertising and cutting-edge photography, where beauty and power meet martial arts and the supernatural. It is a place where love can blossom in the most unexpected places and a picture can spring to life-literally. SOLIPSUM is a story as current as life in the 21st Century, yet with elements of futurism, satire and the supernatural that elevate it far above the norm. It is both a love story and an extraordinary adventure story, as sensual as it is thought-provoking. It will appeal to fans of Johnathon Carroll, Stephen King, Sarah Waters and anyone who ever picked up a fashion magazine.
My most recent project is a reality-based TV show. What’s it about? Imagine taking ten models to a tropical paradise, subjecting them to one month of intensive martial arts training by two of the finest martial arts masters in the world, then have them test these new fighting skills against one another for $100,000 cash prize. What would you have? COMBAT MODEL! Combat Model will combine the entertainment slickness of a sexy reality show with the learning curve of fish who are truly out of water to create an entertainment phenomenon unlike anything ever seen. America’s Top Model meets The Contender. But where the blood sport aspect of similar shows restricts their appeal to a male demographic, Model Kombat will appeal to women as well because it will focus as much on the training as on the fights. ”If a model can learn this, so can I.” The girls will be trained for one month in Shaolin Kung-fu by two masters, Sifu Rupert Harvey, one of the world’s greatest masters of Praying Mantis Kung-fu and Sifu Simon Chong, a Tai Chi Master. Donna, a former model, will act as host and lead the viewers at home through each girl’s odyssey as she begins a journey of transformation and, if she makes it, unparalleled empowerment. Will your favorite model emerge from the crucible of this ancient warrior training a tempered steel blade or will she shatter and be left by the wayside? The show will look and feel like a fashion magazine/video game come to life, but with a curcial emotional core that will resonate with anyone who has ever been intrigued by the road not taken and the empowerment only possible through a martial path.
That’s it for now. Stay tuned. And thank-you for visiting my site.