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"Producers, why wait to release content?"
Love you, too
I was reading this thread https://umd.net/forums/corona-question-for-producers
And I saw that many producers have months to years worth of content in reserve.
To me it seems counterintuitive to delay releasing stuff, since you are out the money for supplies and the model on shooting, but you don't get revenue till release. Also, it seems that if the idea is a new thing, getting instant feedback would help you on what to shoot next.
I've also observed with some producers i get my custom months before it goes in the store, but with others its almost instantly in the DL store at the same time, so this id what got me thinking.
And I saw that many producers have months to years worth of content in reserve.
To me it seems counterintuitive to delay releasing stuff, since you are out the money for supplies and the model on shooting, but you don't get revenue till release. Also, it seems that if the idea is a new thing, getting instant feedback would help you on what to shoot next.
I've also observed with some producers i get my custom months before it goes in the store, but with others its almost instantly in the DL store at the same time, so this id what got me thinking.
I apologize for nothing
This is purely speculation on my part, but I would presume that the sales curve is highly skewed, with the largest amount of sales in the first few days of release, then dropping off to near zero (with a few outliers now and then). If one were to release all their inventory (scenes) at once, the market for that producer would be flooded and consumers would only pick a few scenes to purchase, instead of purchasing all of them over time. On the production end, I'm sure there would be economies of scale in doing more than one shoot in a day (logistics of getting models, camera men, supplies, cleanup, etc). My speculation would be that it makes more economical sense to film a bunch of scenes at once, then edit and release them slowly to maximize sales and revenue.
Yeah releasing it all of once would mean getting a couple of sales and then none for months after that.
Three things:
1) You KNOW it's not as simple as just hitting a button labeled "Release," right? Even a standard two-scene volume probably takes me 25-30 hours minimum before it's "finished." And that doesn't include render time, since I can let the computer run all night if necessary.
I have to upload the footage from all three angles, adjust levels (brightness, colors, etc) so the scenes look as good as possible, then make sure all the angles match (rather than having levels and colors change from camera to camera), then do the "RAW" clips (which still require SOME amount of editing to remove dead air and so on).... Then after those are rendered, I do the actual editing for each scene and render again.
Oh yeah, and somewhere in there I need to do the pics.... which means hours to pick the right frame grabs, then on Photoshop to combine multiple "shots" of the same model in one pic, slight brightness adjusts, copyright logo, etc.
Then if I'm feeling motivated I also do the GIFs... AND maybe some promo video. (When I invariably get the message, "Hey, I'd be more likely to buy if I saw some video of this girl...") *
2) Even if I could do ALL the above instantaneously.... I'd still space releases out to twice a month or so. Why? For the same reason Netflix doesn't drop every show on its calendar on the same weekend, then nothing for 6 months. A steady stream of releases is best for maximizing sales from all your stuff. Dropping a huge amount of content at once doesn't really boost sales all that much... and going months without releasing anything is basically a death sentence.
3) "Instant feedback" is never all that instant, unless you're shooting one scene with one model, then waiting to see how she does before bringing her back. But that's rarely practical. Usually I'm shooting 3 scenes with one model... and if she's not local, 5-7 at once. Given how many models become unavailable at the drop of a hat, it's best to shoot as much content as you can. I can't tell you how many times I released something quickly, got great "instant" feedback, then couldn't capitalize because the model was busy, or now pregnant, or got a real estate job and deleted her social media, or....
* I do realize that plenty of folks simply upload footage straight off their camera or phone into the UMD Store, choose some of the pre-grabbed pics, and call it a day. My way is unfortunately WAY more labor-intensive. Not saying it's better, just that I'm kinda locked into a system now.
1) You KNOW it's not as simple as just hitting a button labeled "Release," right? Even a standard two-scene volume probably takes me 25-30 hours minimum before it's "finished." And that doesn't include render time, since I can let the computer run all night if necessary.
I have to upload the footage from all three angles, adjust levels (brightness, colors, etc) so the scenes look as good as possible, then make sure all the angles match (rather than having levels and colors change from camera to camera), then do the "RAW" clips (which still require SOME amount of editing to remove dead air and so on).... Then after those are rendered, I do the actual editing for each scene and render again.
Oh yeah, and somewhere in there I need to do the pics.... which means hours to pick the right frame grabs, then on Photoshop to combine multiple "shots" of the same model in one pic, slight brightness adjusts, copyright logo, etc.
Then if I'm feeling motivated I also do the GIFs... AND maybe some promo video. (When I invariably get the message, "Hey, I'd be more likely to buy if I saw some video of this girl...") *
2) Even if I could do ALL the above instantaneously.... I'd still space releases out to twice a month or so. Why? For the same reason Netflix doesn't drop every show on its calendar on the same weekend, then nothing for 6 months. A steady stream of releases is best for maximizing sales from all your stuff. Dropping a huge amount of content at once doesn't really boost sales all that much... and going months without releasing anything is basically a death sentence.
3) "Instant feedback" is never all that instant, unless you're shooting one scene with one model, then waiting to see how she does before bringing her back. But that's rarely practical. Usually I'm shooting 3 scenes with one model... and if she's not local, 5-7 at once. Given how many models become unavailable at the drop of a hat, it's best to shoot as much content as you can. I can't tell you how many times I released something quickly, got great "instant" feedback, then couldn't capitalize because the model was busy, or now pregnant, or got a real estate job and deleted her social media, or....
* I do realize that plenty of folks simply upload footage straight off their camera or phone into the UMD Store, choose some of the pre-grabbed pics, and call it a day. My way is unfortunately WAY more labor-intensive. Not saying it's better, just that I'm kinda locked into a system now.
SStuff said: Three things:
1) You KNOW it's not as simple as just hitting a button labeled "Release," right? Even a standard two-scene volume probably takes me 25-30 hours minimum before it's "finished." And that doesn't include render time, since I can let the computer run all night if necessary.
I have to upload the footage from all three angles, adjust levels (brightness, colors, etc) so the scenes look as good as possible, then make sure all the angles match (rather than having levels and colors change from camera to camera), then do the "RAW" clips (which still require SOME amount of editing to remove dead air and so on).... Then after those are rendered, I do the actual editing for each scene and render again.
Oh yeah, and somewhere in there I need to do the pics.... which means hours to pick the right frame grabs, then on Photoshop to combine multiple "shots" of the same model in one pic, slight brightness adjusts, copyright logo, etc.
Then if I'm feeling motivated I also do the GIFs... AND maybe some promo video. (When I invariably get the message, "Hey, I'd be more likely to buy if I saw some video of this girl...") *
2) Even if I could do ALL the above instantaneously.... I'd still space releases out to twice a month or so. Why? For the same reason Netflix doesn't drop every show on its calendar on the same weekend, then nothing for 6 months. A steady stream of releases is best for maximizing sales from all your stuff. Dropping a huge amount of content at once doesn't really boost sales all that much... and going months without releasing anything is basically a death sentence.
3) "Instant feedback" is never all that instant, unless you're shooting one scene with one model, then waiting to see how she does before bringing her back. But that's rarely practical. Usually I'm shooting 3 scenes with one model... and if she's not local, 5-7 at once. Given how many models become unavailable at the drop of a hat, it's best to shoot as much content as you can. I can't tell you how many times I released something quickly, got great "instant" feedback, then couldn't capitalize because the model was busy, or now pregnant, or got a real estate job and deleted her social media, or....
* I do realize that plenty of folks simply upload footage straight off their camera or phone into the UMD Store, choose some of the pre-grabbed pics, and call it a day. My way is unfortunately WAY more labor-intensive. Not saying it's better, just that I'm kinda locked into a system now.
1) You KNOW it's not as simple as just hitting a button labeled "Release," right? Even a standard two-scene volume probably takes me 25-30 hours minimum before it's "finished." And that doesn't include render time, since I can let the computer run all night if necessary.
I have to upload the footage from all three angles, adjust levels (brightness, colors, etc) so the scenes look as good as possible, then make sure all the angles match (rather than having levels and colors change from camera to camera), then do the "RAW" clips (which still require SOME amount of editing to remove dead air and so on).... Then after those are rendered, I do the actual editing for each scene and render again.
Oh yeah, and somewhere in there I need to do the pics.... which means hours to pick the right frame grabs, then on Photoshop to combine multiple "shots" of the same model in one pic, slight brightness adjusts, copyright logo, etc.
Then if I'm feeling motivated I also do the GIFs... AND maybe some promo video. (When I invariably get the message, "Hey, I'd be more likely to buy if I saw some video of this girl...") *
2) Even if I could do ALL the above instantaneously.... I'd still space releases out to twice a month or so. Why? For the same reason Netflix doesn't drop every show on its calendar on the same weekend, then nothing for 6 months. A steady stream of releases is best for maximizing sales from all your stuff. Dropping a huge amount of content at once doesn't really boost sales all that much... and going months without releasing anything is basically a death sentence.
3) "Instant feedback" is never all that instant, unless you're shooting one scene with one model, then waiting to see how she does before bringing her back. But that's rarely practical. Usually I'm shooting 3 scenes with one model... and if she's not local, 5-7 at once. Given how many models become unavailable at the drop of a hat, it's best to shoot as much content as you can. I can't tell you how many times I released something quickly, got great "instant" feedback, then couldn't capitalize because the model was busy, or now pregnant, or got a real estate job and deleted her social media, or....
* I do realize that plenty of folks simply upload footage straight off their camera or phone into the UMD Store, choose some of the pre-grabbed pics, and call it a day. My way is unfortunately WAY more labor-intensive. Not saying it's better, just that I'm kinda locked into a system now.
This is all why I am happy to call myself an amateur. <3 youuuuuuuuuuuuu SS.
Slime...more slime!!!!!
The Man and The Wife said:
This is all why I am happy to call myself an amateur. <3 youuuuuuuuuuuuu SS.
This is all why I am happy to call myself an amateur. <3 youuuuuuuuuuuuu SS.
LOL.... When I started, I'd shoot 5 scenes in 3 hours, and release them ALL within a week. My "editing" process involved adding a "Scene One" title card to the beginning of the clip, along with a fade-in.
The bulk of my time was spent creating funny trailer videos and rendering the DVD (since that was the only way people bought anything!).
I think I released 24 volumes and more than 100 scenes in that first year, each one usually right after I shot it. Some of those clips STILL sell now... like, just in the last week. How did things get so complicated?!?
SStuff said:
LOL.... When I started, I'd shoot 5 scenes in 3 hours, and release them ALL within a week. My "editing" process involved adding a "Scene One" title card to the beginning of the clip, along with a fade-in.
The bulk of my time was spent creating funny trailer videos and rendering the DVD (since that was the only way people bought anything!).
I think I released 24 volumes and more than 100 scenes in that first year, each one usually right after I shot it. Some of those clips STILL sell now... like, just in the last week. How did things get so complicated?!?
The Man and The Wife said:
This is all why I am happy to call myself an amateur. <3 youuuuuuuuuuuuu SS.
This is all why I am happy to call myself an amateur. <3 youuuuuuuuuuuuu SS.
LOL.... When I started, I'd shoot 5 scenes in 3 hours, and release them ALL within a week. My "editing" process involved adding a "Scene One" title card to the beginning of the clip, along with a fade-in.
The bulk of my time was spent creating funny trailer videos and rendering the DVD (since that was the only way people bought anything!).
I think I released 24 volumes and more than 100 scenes in that first year, each one usually right after I shot it. Some of those clips STILL sell now... like, just in the last week. How did things get so complicated?!?
I blame the saturated landscape (sorry!) and maybe you have a need for perfection, which is a fantastic trait to have really. And dare I say, maybe you enjoy the creation process, even the behind the scenes process as you described. Creating something in general always feels nice.
Slime...more slime!!!!!
SStuff said: Three things:
1) You KNOW it's not as simple as just hitting a button labeled "Release," right? Even a standard two-scene volume probably takes me 25-30 hours minimum before it's "finished." And that doesn't include render time, since I can let the computer run all night if necessary.
I have to upload the footage from all three angles, adjust levels (brightness, colors, etc) so the scenes look as good as possible, then make sure all the angles match (rather than having levels and colors change from camera to camera), then do the "RAW" clips (which still require SOME amount of editing to remove dead air and so on).... Then after those are rendered, I do the actual editing for each scene and render again.
Oh yeah, and somewhere in there I need to do the pics.... which means hours to pick the right frame grabs, then on Photoshop to combine multiple "shots" of the same model in one pic, slight brightness adjusts, copyright logo, etc.
Then if I'm feeling motivated I also do the GIFs... AND maybe some promo video. (When I invariably get the message, "Hey, I'd be more likely to buy if I saw some video of this girl...") *
2) Even if I could do ALL the above instantaneously.... I'd still space releases out to twice a month or so. Why? For the same reason Netflix doesn't drop every show on its calendar on the same weekend, then nothing for 6 months. A steady stream of releases is best for maximizing sales from all your stuff. Dropping a huge amount of content at once doesn't really boost sales all that much... and going months without releasing anything is basically a death sentence.
3) "Instant feedback" is never all that instant, unless you're shooting one scene with one model, then waiting to see how she does before bringing her back. But that's rarely practical. Usually I'm shooting 3 scenes with one model... and if she's not local, 5-7 at once. Given how many models become unavailable at the drop of a hat, it's best to shoot as much content as you can. I can't tell you how many times I released something quickly, got great "instant" feedback, then couldn't capitalize because the model was busy, or now pregnant, or got a real estate job and deleted her social media, or....
* I do realize that plenty of folks simply upload footage straight off their camera or phone into the UMD Store, choose some of the pre-grabbed pics, and call it a day. My way is unfortunately WAY more labor-intensive. Not saying it's better, just that I'm kinda locked into a system now.
1) You KNOW it's not as simple as just hitting a button labeled "Release," right? Even a standard two-scene volume probably takes me 25-30 hours minimum before it's "finished." And that doesn't include render time, since I can let the computer run all night if necessary.
I have to upload the footage from all three angles, adjust levels (brightness, colors, etc) so the scenes look as good as possible, then make sure all the angles match (rather than having levels and colors change from camera to camera), then do the "RAW" clips (which still require SOME amount of editing to remove dead air and so on).... Then after those are rendered, I do the actual editing for each scene and render again.
Oh yeah, and somewhere in there I need to do the pics.... which means hours to pick the right frame grabs, then on Photoshop to combine multiple "shots" of the same model in one pic, slight brightness adjusts, copyright logo, etc.
Then if I'm feeling motivated I also do the GIFs... AND maybe some promo video. (When I invariably get the message, "Hey, I'd be more likely to buy if I saw some video of this girl...") *
2) Even if I could do ALL the above instantaneously.... I'd still space releases out to twice a month or so. Why? For the same reason Netflix doesn't drop every show on its calendar on the same weekend, then nothing for 6 months. A steady stream of releases is best for maximizing sales from all your stuff. Dropping a huge amount of content at once doesn't really boost sales all that much... and going months without releasing anything is basically a death sentence.
3) "Instant feedback" is never all that instant, unless you're shooting one scene with one model, then waiting to see how she does before bringing her back. But that's rarely practical. Usually I'm shooting 3 scenes with one model... and if she's not local, 5-7 at once. Given how many models become unavailable at the drop of a hat, it's best to shoot as much content as you can. I can't tell you how many times I released something quickly, got great "instant" feedback, then couldn't capitalize because the model was busy, or now pregnant, or got a real estate job and deleted her social media, or....
* I do realize that plenty of folks simply upload footage straight off their camera or phone into the UMD Store, choose some of the pre-grabbed pics, and call it a day. My way is unfortunately WAY more labor-intensive. Not saying it's better, just that I'm kinda locked into a system now.
This!
Subscribe! Stream 1200+ scenes for $17 a month.
scroggle said:
This is actually how I thought it worked.
SStuff said: Three things:
1) You KNOW it's not as simple as just hitting a button labeled "Release," right?
1) You KNOW it's not as simple as just hitting a button labeled "Release," right?
This is actually how I thought it worked.
Subscribe! Stream 1200+ scenes for $17 a month.
my main store has three month subscriptions, I wouldn't be comfortable offering that if I couldn't guarantee content for the whole time they had paid for
I like to have as many months 'banked' as possible, certainly proving very handy given no one can film at the moment (well not with models other than myself anyway) under lockdown
I like to have as many months 'banked' as possible, certainly proving very handy given no one can film at the moment (well not with models other than myself anyway) under lockdown
See my sites for tons of other content & coupons
Banking content is good practice if you eventually get round to releasing it. When I was working with Bosunbob on Messymayhem wed shoot 3 times a year. Sometimes stuff shot in 2009 turned up on 2011, and when I left MM in 2012 it was still coming up in 2015.
If you spaff your load in one go, its impact is lessened.
We gotta be tantric about this...no panic!
If you spaff your load in one go, its impact is lessened.
We gotta be tantric about this...no panic!
Our main websites do six month subscriptions, so if our stock of unreleased content ever dropped below six months worth we'd need to close them to new members, as we guarentee that when people sign up enough scenes for their full six months membership have already been shot.
There's also variety of models. Different people are available at different times, some we might only shoot with once or twice a year, others are available all the time, sometimes unusual combinations of visiting models might show up at the same time, like the weekend a few years back when we had both Lily and Friday staying at the Hall. If we released scenes in the order we shot them there'd be longish runs of the same models, we like to keep it more varied.
And of course having lots of material in the can gives us the ability to keep going if something interrupts our ability to shoot new scenes for a period, such as the current emergency.
There's also variety of models. Different people are available at different times, some we might only shoot with once or twice a year, others are available all the time, sometimes unusual combinations of visiting models might show up at the same time, like the weekend a few years back when we had both Lily and Friday staying at the Hall. If we released scenes in the order we shot them there'd be longish runs of the same models, we like to keep it more varied.
And of course having lots of material in the can gives us the ability to keep going if something interrupts our ability to shoot new scenes for a period, such as the current emergency.
Saturation Hall - Forth! The Gungemaidens!
A lot of the time it can be down to editing time and then just drip feeding the content. We used to film a lot of scenes in a week when we had the tank full of gunge then edit them over the coming months. It also leaves people wanting more when you release pictures of a scene in advance. In reality though, the editing can take some time and does slow things up. I still have content from 5 years ago that's never been edited and released so not all material shot does get released.
www.gungetankbabes.com
I'll repost the same answer given at QSF -
"Post by Duncan Edwards Thu Nov 07, 2019 9:55 am
For the same reason General Motors doesn't put a year of production on the lot all at once. It takes time to produce all that stuff. Just because you have the video in the can doesn't mean all the work is done. I'm sure video producers would love to put everything out there and not have to go to work for the rest of the year."
"Post by Duncan Edwards Thu Nov 07, 2019 9:55 am
For the same reason General Motors doesn't put a year of production on the lot all at once. It takes time to produce all that stuff. Just because you have the video in the can doesn't mean all the work is done. I'm sure video producers would love to put everything out there and not have to go to work for the rest of the year."
Dirty Job but I got to do it 20+ years. Thanks.
gif image
It seems to be a tricky balancing act. Obviously no one wants to release every video at once, but neither is it good to hang on to stuff for too long because it can end up looking very old by the time it's released: e.g. model has drastically changed their look since filming, such as with new tattoos, different hair colour or style, or has retired...
And under those circumstances, excessively delayed releases or repeated re-releases can be awkward for the models if they've moved on in their careers or lives. At the very least, they end up getting hassled for photoshoots and sessions by people who won't accept they've moved on.
And under those circumstances, excessively delayed releases or repeated re-releases can be awkward for the models if they've moved on in their careers or lives. At the very least, they end up getting hassled for photoshoots and sessions by people who won't accept they've moved on.
n1rul1m said: This is purely speculation on my part, but I would presume that the sales curve is highly skewed, with the largest amount of sales in the first few days of release, then dropping off to near zero (with a few outliers now and then). If one were to release all their inventory (scenes) at once, the market for that producer would be flooded and consumers would only pick a few scenes to purchase, instead of purchasing all of them over time. On the production end, I'm sure there would be economies of scale in doing more than one shoot in a day (logistics of getting models, camera men, supplies, cleanup, etc). My speculation would be that it makes more economical sense to film a bunch of scenes at once, then edit and release them slowly to maximize sales and revenue.
I'm honestly surprised there were a lot more saying things along these lines. I know editing has got to take a while, but I personally think it has a lot more to do with this.
Like if I were a producer, I'd try to shoot as many scenes in one day as possible and capitalize on the time I have with a model. Do that with as many models as possible and then release like one a week or so.
He's more potato now than man. Twisted and evil.
All is true, yet -
With some models/content promise I will happily just buy the camera footage (for now), and will always buy it in the near future.
Not sure many match my case, so it's probably redundant.
- Also, as a side note, I never understood producers posting pics and letting me do the hard work of finding the specific video. Many times it's not my main thing and I give up.
With some models/content promise I will happily just buy the camera footage (for now), and will always buy it in the near future.
Not sure many match my case, so it's probably redundant.
- Also, as a side note, I never understood producers posting pics and letting me do the hard work of finding the specific video. Many times it's not my main thing and I give up.
I think it is fair to say that all the main producers study their sales records and demographics very closely and they know their numbers intimately and know the best timing and shelf life for their clips and optimize their release dates accordingly.
Of course sometimes strategic mistakes are made when new technologies evolve and change the entire scene when you are unable to see what is coming. My biggest strategic mistake was shooting too much content in the 1990's and only being about being able to release 30% of it and having a stockpile of 70% unreleased scenes....i.e. we shot over 1000 wam scenes between 1992 and 2002, and I was only able to release around 300 of them during that time. This was not entirely my fault, because in those days you needed an Avid workstation to be able to do video editing and I did not have $80,000 to spend on Avid editing gear and nor did I have the knowledge of how to edit video.....so I was entlrely reliant upon my business partner to do the editing for me on his Avid equipment and he was backlogged with numerous other editing jobs to do, so only 30% of the scenes I made got edited and released. It was not until 2002 that digital editing software came along and I taught myself how to edit, so I had to edit the unreleased 700 scenes myself.
However, by the time I had managed to edit all my unreleased scenes, I had "missed the boat" because by 2007 all the media changed from 4/3 aspect ratio in SD format.....into 16/9 screen size in HD format, and all my unreleased scenes were in the old 4/3 SD format and could not be upscaled into HD format.....so I was left with hundreds of old scenes in an obsolete format. It is hard to predict what technology changes may happen in the future.
That is why Desi Arnez was a genius for being able to predict syndication possibilities and the longevity of "I Love Lucy"....because while most tv shows of the 1950s were shot on kinescopes, low grade video or low grade 16mm film stock, he insisted that his tv show should be shot on 35mm film stock (which is the equiv quality of 8K video today).....which can easily be remastered and upgraded for future transmissions.
Hindsight is 20/20.....you could always say that we 1990's producers should have shot on film instead of the low quality video at that time.....but shooting everything on film would have been incredibly expensive to do and no wam producer could make enough sales to justify the costs of shooting on film
That is why we shot hundreds of hours of outtakes for our shoots on 6 cameras.....because videotape was cheap so you could shoot loads of extra raw footage....and that is also why you can't find any outtakes from "The Great Race" pie fight.....because no director shot extra footage on film, because film stock was so expensive so they never made extra raw footage of most Hollywood films.
Anyway...I am guilty of stockpiling hundreds of unreleased scenes....but this was mostly due to me having to wait for an editor to help me. Lenny had the same problem.....he could not edit video footage himself so he had to wait 3-5 years for his various partners to help him release stuff.
MK
Of course sometimes strategic mistakes are made when new technologies evolve and change the entire scene when you are unable to see what is coming. My biggest strategic mistake was shooting too much content in the 1990's and only being about being able to release 30% of it and having a stockpile of 70% unreleased scenes....i.e. we shot over 1000 wam scenes between 1992 and 2002, and I was only able to release around 300 of them during that time. This was not entirely my fault, because in those days you needed an Avid workstation to be able to do video editing and I did not have $80,000 to spend on Avid editing gear and nor did I have the knowledge of how to edit video.....so I was entlrely reliant upon my business partner to do the editing for me on his Avid equipment and he was backlogged with numerous other editing jobs to do, so only 30% of the scenes I made got edited and released. It was not until 2002 that digital editing software came along and I taught myself how to edit, so I had to edit the unreleased 700 scenes myself.
However, by the time I had managed to edit all my unreleased scenes, I had "missed the boat" because by 2007 all the media changed from 4/3 aspect ratio in SD format.....into 16/9 screen size in HD format, and all my unreleased scenes were in the old 4/3 SD format and could not be upscaled into HD format.....so I was left with hundreds of old scenes in an obsolete format. It is hard to predict what technology changes may happen in the future.
That is why Desi Arnez was a genius for being able to predict syndication possibilities and the longevity of "I Love Lucy"....because while most tv shows of the 1950s were shot on kinescopes, low grade video or low grade 16mm film stock, he insisted that his tv show should be shot on 35mm film stock (which is the equiv quality of 8K video today).....which can easily be remastered and upgraded for future transmissions.
Hindsight is 20/20.....you could always say that we 1990's producers should have shot on film instead of the low quality video at that time.....but shooting everything on film would have been incredibly expensive to do and no wam producer could make enough sales to justify the costs of shooting on film
That is why we shot hundreds of hours of outtakes for our shoots on 6 cameras.....because videotape was cheap so you could shoot loads of extra raw footage....and that is also why you can't find any outtakes from "The Great Race" pie fight.....because no director shot extra footage on film, because film stock was so expensive so they never made extra raw footage of most Hollywood films.
Anyway...I am guilty of stockpiling hundreds of unreleased scenes....but this was mostly due to me having to wait for an editor to help me. Lenny had the same problem.....he could not edit video footage himself so he had to wait 3-5 years for his various partners to help him release stuff.
MK
Do unto others, then run
wamtec said: I think it is fair to say that all the main producers study their sales records and demographics very closely and they know their numbers intimately and know the best timing and shelf life for their clips and optimize their release dates accordingly.
Of course sometimes strategic mistakes are made when new technologies evolve and change the entire scene when you are unable to see what is coming. My biggest strategic mistake was shooting too much content in the 1990's and only being about being able to release 30% of it and having a stockpile of 70% unreleased scenes....i.e. we shot over 1000 wam scenes between 1992 and 2002, and I was only able to release around 300 of them during that time. This was not entirely my fault, because in those days you needed an Avid workstation to be able to do video editing and I did not have $80,000 to spend on Avid editing gear and nor did I have the knowledge of how to edit video.....so I was entlrely reliant upon my business partner to do the editing for me on his Avid equipment and he was backlogged with numerous other editing jobs to do, so only 30% of the scenes I made got edited and released. It was not until 2002 that digital editing software came along and I taught myself how to edit, so I had to edit the unreleased 700 scenes myself.
However, by the time I had managed to edit all my unreleased scenes, I had "missed the boat" because by 2007 all the media changed from 4/3 aspect ratio in SD format.....into 16/9 screen size in HD format, and all my unreleased scenes were in the old 4/3 SD format and could not be upscaled into HD format.....so I was left with hundreds of old scenes in an obsolete format. It is hard to predict what technology changes may happen in the future.
That is why Desi Arnez was a genius for being able to predict syndication possibilities and the longevity of "I Love Lucy"....because while most tv shows of the 1950s were shot on kinescopes, low grade video or low grade 16mm film stock, he insisted that his tv show should be shot on 35mm film stock (which is the equiv quality of 8K video today).....which can easily be remastered and upgraded for future transmissions.
Hindsight is 20/20.....you could always say that we 1990's producers should have shot on film instead of the low quality video at that time.....but shooting everything on film would have been incredibly expensive to do and no wam producer could make enough sales to justify the costs of shooting on film
That is why we shot hundreds of hours of outtakes for our shoots on 6 cameras.....because videotape was cheap so you could shoot loads of extra raw footage....and that is also why you can't find any outtakes from "The Great Race" pie fight.....because no director shot extra footage on film, because film stock was so expensive so they never made extra raw footage of most Hollywood films.
Anyway...I am guilty of stockpiling hundreds of unreleased scenes....but this was mostly due to me having to wait for an editor to help me. Lenny had the same problem.....he could not edit video footage himself so he had to wait 3-5 years for his various partners to help him release stuff.
MK
Of course sometimes strategic mistakes are made when new technologies evolve and change the entire scene when you are unable to see what is coming. My biggest strategic mistake was shooting too much content in the 1990's and only being about being able to release 30% of it and having a stockpile of 70% unreleased scenes....i.e. we shot over 1000 wam scenes between 1992 and 2002, and I was only able to release around 300 of them during that time. This was not entirely my fault, because in those days you needed an Avid workstation to be able to do video editing and I did not have $80,000 to spend on Avid editing gear and nor did I have the knowledge of how to edit video.....so I was entlrely reliant upon my business partner to do the editing for me on his Avid equipment and he was backlogged with numerous other editing jobs to do, so only 30% of the scenes I made got edited and released. It was not until 2002 that digital editing software came along and I taught myself how to edit, so I had to edit the unreleased 700 scenes myself.
However, by the time I had managed to edit all my unreleased scenes, I had "missed the boat" because by 2007 all the media changed from 4/3 aspect ratio in SD format.....into 16/9 screen size in HD format, and all my unreleased scenes were in the old 4/3 SD format and could not be upscaled into HD format.....so I was left with hundreds of old scenes in an obsolete format. It is hard to predict what technology changes may happen in the future.
That is why Desi Arnez was a genius for being able to predict syndication possibilities and the longevity of "I Love Lucy"....because while most tv shows of the 1950s were shot on kinescopes, low grade video or low grade 16mm film stock, he insisted that his tv show should be shot on 35mm film stock (which is the equiv quality of 8K video today).....which can easily be remastered and upgraded for future transmissions.
Hindsight is 20/20.....you could always say that we 1990's producers should have shot on film instead of the low quality video at that time.....but shooting everything on film would have been incredibly expensive to do and no wam producer could make enough sales to justify the costs of shooting on film
That is why we shot hundreds of hours of outtakes for our shoots on 6 cameras.....because videotape was cheap so you could shoot loads of extra raw footage....and that is also why you can't find any outtakes from "The Great Race" pie fight.....because no director shot extra footage on film, because film stock was so expensive so they never made extra raw footage of most Hollywood films.
Anyway...I am guilty of stockpiling hundreds of unreleased scenes....but this was mostly due to me having to wait for an editor to help me. Lenny had the same problem.....he could not edit video footage himself so he had to wait 3-5 years for his various partners to help him release stuff.
MK
we study it but i think all producers can agree with me, we can NEVER guarantee something will sell. EVER.. we can make something short of a fucking masterpiece and it goes unnoticed....or something we THINK will sell, release it at what we think is JUST the right time, place, and advertise and allllllll that and have it tank. Or just do "meh" I have had so many that I have actually been SHOCKED by how low the sales are.
pure shock.
so we can study all we want but noise said it best once. its like flipping a coin. also? we producers are not all linked as to "who releases what video when" so you can release and not realize "holy shit so and so released this BAD ASS video that appeals to EVERYONE a few hours ago. shit!" and that has happened and my vids have either still done well, or done like shit. lol
mm has a really great system up of the "if you bought this you should check out this" that is extremely helpful with that whole deal. like, "oh crap i just put up something so similar to this producer" and i dont even realize it BUT the system he has in place shows vids similar to your purchase you might enjoy as well!
but really.....we can watch sales all day. they will either sell, or not. I have had some I am not UBER proud of and i wish there were a few things different in them or the models didnt do like i wanted them to and PEOPLE LOVE THEM! i have had some i think are a got damn masterpiece that i put so much effort into, sell like 3 copies. lol
BUT S.S.!!! IT AINT EVEN SUNDAY AND YOU ARE UP IN HERE PREACHING!!! he is extremely on point!!!!
Get Messy, Get Wet, C'mon Get Happy!
SStuff said: Three things:
1) You KNOW it's not as simple as just hitting a button labeled "Release," right? Even a standard two-scene volume probably takes me 25-30 hours minimum before it's "finished." And that doesn't include render time, since I can let the computer run all night if necessary.
I have to upload the footage from all three angles, adjust levels (brightness, colors, etc) so the scenes look as good as possible, then make sure all the angles match (rather than having levels and colors change from camera to camera), then do the "RAW" clips (which still require SOME amount of editing to remove dead air and so on).... Then after those are rendered, I do the actual editing for each scene and render again.
Oh yeah, and somewhere in there I need to do the pics.... which means hours to pick the right frame grabs, then on Photoshop to combine multiple "shots" of the same model in one pic, slight brightness adjusts, copyright logo, etc.
Then if I'm feeling motivated I also do the GIFs... AND maybe some promo video. (When I invariably get the message, "Hey, I'd be more likely to buy if I saw some video of this girl...") *
2) Even if I could do ALL the above instantaneously.... I'd still space releases out to twice a month or so. Why? For the same reason Netflix doesn't drop every show on its calendar on the same weekend, then nothing for 6 months. A steady stream of releases is best for maximizing sales from all your stuff. Dropping a huge amount of content at once doesn't really boost sales all that much... and going months without releasing anything is basically a death sentence.
3) "Instant feedback" is never all that instant, unless you're shooting one scene with one model, then waiting to see how she does before bringing her back. But that's rarely practical. Usually I'm shooting 3 scenes with one model... and if she's not local, 5-7 at once. Given how many models become unavailable at the drop of a hat, it's best to shoot as much content as you can. I can't tell you how many times I released something quickly, got great "instant" feedback, then couldn't capitalize because the model was busy, or now pregnant, or got a real estate job and deleted her social media, or....
* I do realize that plenty of folks simply upload footage straight off their camera or phone into the UMD Store, choose some of the pre-grabbed pics, and call it a day. My way is unfortunately WAY more labor-intensive. Not saying it's better, just that I'm kinda locked into a system now.
1) You KNOW it's not as simple as just hitting a button labeled "Release," right? Even a standard two-scene volume probably takes me 25-30 hours minimum before it's "finished." And that doesn't include render time, since I can let the computer run all night if necessary.
I have to upload the footage from all three angles, adjust levels (brightness, colors, etc) so the scenes look as good as possible, then make sure all the angles match (rather than having levels and colors change from camera to camera), then do the "RAW" clips (which still require SOME amount of editing to remove dead air and so on).... Then after those are rendered, I do the actual editing for each scene and render again.
Oh yeah, and somewhere in there I need to do the pics.... which means hours to pick the right frame grabs, then on Photoshop to combine multiple "shots" of the same model in one pic, slight brightness adjusts, copyright logo, etc.
Then if I'm feeling motivated I also do the GIFs... AND maybe some promo video. (When I invariably get the message, "Hey, I'd be more likely to buy if I saw some video of this girl...") *
2) Even if I could do ALL the above instantaneously.... I'd still space releases out to twice a month or so. Why? For the same reason Netflix doesn't drop every show on its calendar on the same weekend, then nothing for 6 months. A steady stream of releases is best for maximizing sales from all your stuff. Dropping a huge amount of content at once doesn't really boost sales all that much... and going months without releasing anything is basically a death sentence.
3) "Instant feedback" is never all that instant, unless you're shooting one scene with one model, then waiting to see how she does before bringing her back. But that's rarely practical. Usually I'm shooting 3 scenes with one model... and if she's not local, 5-7 at once. Given how many models become unavailable at the drop of a hat, it's best to shoot as much content as you can. I can't tell you how many times I released something quickly, got great "instant" feedback, then couldn't capitalize because the model was busy, or now pregnant, or got a real estate job and deleted her social media, or....
* I do realize that plenty of folks simply upload footage straight off their camera or phone into the UMD Store, choose some of the pre-grabbed pics, and call it a day. My way is unfortunately WAY more labor-intensive. Not saying it's better, just that I'm kinda locked into a system now.
OH WAIT you DID post this on sunday! haha!!! you WERE preaching! hopefully not in crowds like the dum dums are still doing here in good ol kentucky! thanks for keeping it online!
preach it.
Get Messy, Get Wet, C'mon Get Happy!
Jayce said:
OH WAIT you DID post this on sunday! haha!!! you WERE preaching! hopefully not in crowds like the dum dums are still doing here in good ol kentucky! thanks for keeping it online!
preach it.
OH WAIT you DID post this on sunday! haha!!! you WERE preaching! hopefully not in crowds like the dum dums are still doing here in good ol kentucky! thanks for keeping it online!
preach it.
I need to obtain some of whatever you're drinking (or smoking).
SStuff said:
I need to obtain some of whatever you're drinking (or smoking).
Jayce said:
OH WAIT you DID post this on sunday! haha!!! you WERE preaching! hopefully not in crowds like the dum dums are still doing here in good ol kentucky! thanks for keeping it online!
preach it.
OH WAIT you DID post this on sunday! haha!!! you WERE preaching! hopefully not in crowds like the dum dums are still doing here in good ol kentucky! thanks for keeping it online!
preach it.
I need to obtain some of whatever you're drinking (or smoking).
I can almost guarantee it's just Dr. Pepper, nacho fries, and Hardees
He's more potato now than man. Twisted and evil.
wamtec said:
However, by the time I had managed to edit all my unreleased scenes, I had "missed the boat" because by 2007 all the media changed from 4/3 aspect ratio in SD format.....into 16/9 screen size in HD format, and all my unreleased scenes were in the old 4/3 SD format and could not be upscaled into HD format.....so I was left with hundreds of old scenes in an obsolete format. It is hard to predict what technology changes may happen in the future.
However, by the time I had managed to edit all my unreleased scenes, I had "missed the boat" because by 2007 all the media changed from 4/3 aspect ratio in SD format.....into 16/9 screen size in HD format, and all my unreleased scenes were in the old 4/3 SD format and could not be upscaled into HD format.....so I was left with hundreds of old scenes in an obsolete format. It is hard to predict what technology changes may happen in the future.
There is a way to upscale that content 'intelligently' - someone's playing with it to upgrade Star Trek Voyager to 4k from a DVD source, to pretty remarkable effect:
https://www.reddit.com/r/startrek/comments/fm13wf/star_trek_voyager_4k_remaster_using_ai_machine/
Think this is the app he uses, and there's a 30 day trial if someone wants to play with it!
https://topazlabs.com/video-enhance-ai/
It won't help with 4:3 to 16:9 but it might be worth a look.
It's been said above but I'l confirm:
I get the most bang for my buck by booking models for long shoots, then getting a ton of scenes. It's much more cost effective then booking models for individual scenes.
Models get paid per hour, so if I'm booking 4 hours, then I can get a shit-load of scenes done. Then for obvious reasons I have to space the releases out.
I get the most bang for my buck by booking models for long shoots, then getting a ton of scenes. It's much more cost effective then booking models for individual scenes.
Models get paid per hour, so if I'm booking 4 hours, then I can get a shit-load of scenes done. Then for obvious reasons I have to space the releases out.
Potatoman-J said:
I can almost guarantee it's just Dr. Pepper, nacho fries, and Hardees
SStuff said:
I need to obtain some of whatever you're drinking (or smoking).
Jayce said:
OH WAIT you DID post this on sunday! haha!!! you WERE preaching! hopefully not in crowds like the dum dums are still doing here in good ol kentucky! thanks for keeping it online!
preach it.
OH WAIT you DID post this on sunday! haha!!! you WERE preaching! hopefully not in crowds like the dum dums are still doing here in good ol kentucky! thanks for keeping it online!
preach it.
I need to obtain some of whatever you're drinking (or smoking).
I can almost guarantee it's just Dr. Pepper, nacho fries, and Hardees
this man knows me well.
dr pepper.
coffee probably if it was before 9 am....
but sadly no nacho fries or hardees
ugh god damnit have yall seen how bad the next two weeks are about to get here in the us? and thats IF people STAY INSIDE. fucking nut sacks. anyhoo. nope! just pure, genuine, unmedicated adult add and probably a mix of good intentions mania? i dont know......whats weird is im real lazy. to my standards. im sure mr potato head would not agree. which by the way, yo. sorry i forgot to message you back
stephon had THREE panic attacks back to back bc, even sick, had to go back to work. they have no protection for him anymore at all. so, it took me a couple hours and a couple klonopins from muh stash to get him calm and calling his work for him all while staying like 6 feet away with a broom like "there there" it was BAAAAD. ILL TEXT YOU LATER. YALL PLEASE KEEP HIM IN YOUR THOUGHTS!!! its nuts what hes going through.
xooxoxoxoxooxo
wow so off topic but now i want hardees real bad
fuck you!!!! 
Get Messy, Get Wet, C'mon Get Happy!
Mr_MG said: We like to release our videos the next day or two after we shoot them. We have been doing this for the past 23 years and find this works best for us. 
i dont know how you do it....
but you and the misses don have spawns, i know i am right about that. With this being the "house of mess" the actual place I live....i got a minor in the house right now.....yeeeesh even with him being cool as shit.....i could do slap stick shit with him awake and he knows what i do, but lets get real...some people jerk off to it so its porn. thats a nope. I miss doign them all the time
now that my living situation is different it is easier to take 3 to 4 customs, make sure i have models and camera men all off work on that day, shoot what we got, and then take the time to edit and slowly release them.
when i lived near ariel, we were able to do shoots that day, all the TIME. so fun. we spent like 5 to 6 days a week shooting sometimes. a blast. truly. but the spawns have grown up....they arent in preschool anymore and then little fun activities afterwards....and i live far away from the one true wammer i know.
now, my latest girls? are started and/or have started to prove themselves as some down ass wammers. alice has been asking for stuff to do after each time we shoot like "hey you think we could do like a slime fight or something? i wanna do that" UM YES MLADY YES WE CAN YOU GORGEOUS SUCH AND SUCH!!! (inquire within for a custom of that!! i got the squirt guns!!!)
with me now teaching and not making jack shit off it, but im building a name for myself as a teacher.....that takes up so much of my time....with no money. word of mouth payoff.
anyhoo. I find that shooting a line up of them in one day? every body is pumped up and having fun and I try to make it where we got food, the set is comfy for everyone, i turn my house into a set.
I release later. This seems to do okay. bringing the girls back and forth and customers wanting an exact date and then they literally message me ON THAT DAY WHILE I AM FILMING ASKING IF IT IS DONE YET (which guys, please stop that when i have explained we shoot this day, I have to do my life and then edit your stuff, it just takes the fun outta it
Imma try to take some little shower customs while this is going on bc i keep staring at my stuff like "goooodddd i wanna get messy"
so i have a few ideas.....and i may take some customs. with it about to hit the mother fucking fan here? yeah. after today i wont be going anywhere for quite some time. at all. thank god for some stashed supplies
stay safe.
morning coffee rants. god, someone besides leila hazlett needs to tell me how annoying i am
Get Messy, Get Wet, C'mon Get Happy!
Jayce said:
i dont know how you do it....
but you and the misses don have spawns, i know i am right about that. With this being the "house of mess" the actual place I live....i got a minor in the house right now.....yeeeesh even with him being cool as shit.....i could do slap stick shit with him awake and he knows what i do, but lets get real...some people jerk off to it so its porn. thats a nope. I miss doign them all the time
now that my living situation is different it is easier to take 3 to 4 customs, make sure i have models and camera men all off work on that day, shoot what we got, and then take the time to edit and slowly release them.
when i lived near ariel, we were able to do shoots that day, all the TIME. so fun. we spent like 5 to 6 days a week shooting sometimes. a blast. truly. but the spawns have grown up....they arent in preschool anymore and then little fun activities afterwards....and i live far away from the one true wammer i know.
now, my latest girls? are started and/or have started to prove themselves as some down ass wammers. alice has been asking for stuff to do after each time we shoot like "hey you think we could do like a slime fight or something? i wanna do that" UM YES MLADY YES WE CAN YOU GORGEOUS SUCH AND SUCH!!! (inquire within for a custom of that!! i got the squirt guns!!!)
with me now teaching and not making jack shit off it, but im building a name for myself as a teacher.....that takes up so much of my time....with no money. word of mouth payoff.
anyhoo. I find that shooting a line up of them in one day? every body is pumped up and having fun and I try to make it where we got food, the set is comfy for everyone, i turn my house into a set.
I release later. This seems to do okay. bringing the girls back and forth and customers wanting an exact date and then they literally message me ON THAT DAY WHILE I AM FILMING ASKING IF IT IS DONE YET (which guys, please stop that when i have explained we shoot this day, I have to do my life and then edit your stuff, it just takes the fun outta it
Imma try to take some little shower customs while this is going on bc i keep staring at my stuff like "goooodddd i wanna get messy"
so i have a few ideas.....and i may take some customs. with it about to hit the mother fucking fan here? yeah. after today i wont be going anywhere for quite some time. at all. thank god for some stashed supplies
stay safe.
morning coffee rants. god, someone besides leila hazlett needs to tell me how annoying i am
Mr_MG said: We like to release our videos the next day or two after we shoot them. We have been doing this for the past 23 years and find this works best for us.
i dont know how you do it....
but you and the misses don have spawns, i know i am right about that. With this being the "house of mess" the actual place I live....i got a minor in the house right now.....yeeeesh even with him being cool as shit.....i could do slap stick shit with him awake and he knows what i do, but lets get real...some people jerk off to it so its porn. thats a nope. I miss doign them all the time
now that my living situation is different it is easier to take 3 to 4 customs, make sure i have models and camera men all off work on that day, shoot what we got, and then take the time to edit and slowly release them.
when i lived near ariel, we were able to do shoots that day, all the TIME. so fun. we spent like 5 to 6 days a week shooting sometimes. a blast. truly. but the spawns have grown up....they arent in preschool anymore and then little fun activities afterwards....and i live far away from the one true wammer i know.
now, my latest girls? are started and/or have started to prove themselves as some down ass wammers. alice has been asking for stuff to do after each time we shoot like "hey you think we could do like a slime fight or something? i wanna do that" UM YES MLADY YES WE CAN YOU GORGEOUS SUCH AND SUCH!!! (inquire within for a custom of that!! i got the squirt guns!!!)
with me now teaching and not making jack shit off it, but im building a name for myself as a teacher.....that takes up so much of my time....with no money. word of mouth payoff.
anyhoo. I find that shooting a line up of them in one day? every body is pumped up and having fun and I try to make it where we got food, the set is comfy for everyone, i turn my house into a set.
I release later. This seems to do okay. bringing the girls back and forth and customers wanting an exact date and then they literally message me ON THAT DAY WHILE I AM FILMING ASKING IF IT IS DONE YET (which guys, please stop that when i have explained we shoot this day, I have to do my life and then edit your stuff, it just takes the fun outta it
Imma try to take some little shower customs while this is going on bc i keep staring at my stuff like "goooodddd i wanna get messy"
so i have a few ideas.....and i may take some customs. with it about to hit the mother fucking fan here? yeah. after today i wont be going anywhere for quite some time. at all. thank god for some stashed supplies
stay safe.
morning coffee rants. god, someone besides leila hazlett needs to tell me how annoying i am
Ah yes, it's much easier for us with no kids in the house. So we can usually work around any schedule a model gives us. Our location also makes it easier for shoots, because Houston is a major hub for models, we usually will get notices from them that they are in town and available. We also have our local girls such as Tatum, Zoey and Sabrina who will contact us weekly, asking if we have anything for them to do. Amy is a 3 hour drive away and will make her monthly trips for her two shoot, and on occasion, she will spend the night and give us four shoots. We like to do no more than two shoots per day.
