How hard is to make a kinky video?
Sometimes, I receive questions like these: Why should I pay for your videos? It's too expensive to pay one McDonald's menu for a month of access...
Or sometimes subs thinking about being in my videos are surprised that 15-minute video can be a result of 1-hour session and 10 hours of additional work.
Let me tell you how I make my videos, and I guess it will be very similar to other independent creators.
Let's start with some naive/porn expectations:
1. There is a film crew, and all actors and crew are well paid because it is a huge business.
2. A horny Master grabs a sub in one hand and a camera in the second... use a sub and about 5 min later, he clicks on "post and earn money".. and he spends the rest of the day doing shopping because he is rich.
3. Master is enjoying his horniness and others, e.g., slaves do all job
Yep, these expectations are wrong. So, how does it work with me? Step by step.
1. Preparation in advance
It is necessary to set a plan for a scene, and have available subs, place, and BDSM equipment. Sometimes, paying rent for special places like dungeons or having private access to other places is necessary. If the place is outdoors, I need to manage transport there. It is also necessary to have/buy an equipment for filming, such as lights, cameras, tripods, and microphones.
2. Preparation of a scene
I usually need 2-3 big sports bags for transport of all BDSM toys, filming equipment, my dresses, and other things. Once we arrive at the place, I usually need about 20 minutes to prepare the scene - decide where I put cameras, lights, subs, and toys,... Usually, I am the only film crew member, director and the main actor in one person. So I need to think about a lot of things. While I prepare a scene, my sub(s) are preparing themselves according to my instructions or simply patiently wait. Once we are ready... we start.
3. Shooting of a session
I usually have a plan for the content of a session, but I also like improvisation and adjusting a scene according to the mood and situation. I typically film whole session without interruptions (some creators prefer scene/cut/scene style as in movies)... I like to keep the BDSM mood for me and my subs ongoing. Sometimes, the session takes 20 minutes, and the final video takes 15 minutes; sometimes, the session is 50 minutes, and the result is again about 15 minutes of video. Why? Sometimes, some parts of the session take too much time (in the eyes of viewers), so I cut them or reduced them. To restrain a sub properly may take 15 minutes while the central part of the story still not started... sometimes, I enjoy some parts of the scene for a longer time, but it can be boring for the viewer. For example, viewers probably be bored watching 20 min of the monotone scene where, e.g., a sub is licking my left foot. The average ratio of cuts is about 1/3. So, a lot happened behind the scenes. And sometimes, I simply cut parts with fixing of mistakes like e.g., not enough tight knot.
4. The end of a session
A lot of work begins once the session is over and I switch off the cameras. At first, I usually need to release a sub from a bondage đŸ˜€ ... and then there are two options - break before another session or the end. In both cases, cleaning the place and putting all things in their spots is necessary. Pack all the toys and equipment in bags and leave the place. If I film at my place... it will be a bit easier... I can relax, but the place has to be tidy sooner or later. Although subs are helping, a lot of it is still up to me. It is not so rare that I spend a whole day traveling for having two sessions resulting into two videos. I am not complaining, I like my BDSM adventures... but I am just mentioning a time needed.
5. Video editing
Well, this is the most demanding part. Shooting videos means you are having fun, but sitting in front of a PC and creating videos from footage, rendering movies and trailers, adding subtitles... is less funny. It can consume a lot of hours. If I have footage from three cameras, I have to select which footage I use, which scenes will be deleted, and which parts of the video must be adjusted (magnified, color edited, sharpened,...). I need to decide about sound, subtitles, etc. Usually, I need about 5-6 hours to make 15 minutes video from raw footage (including a time for rendering). Once I have a final video, I create two sets of trailers (one 20 seconds and one about 2 minutes). It usually takes another 1-2 hours.
6. Uploading videos
Once the hard work is done, I have to upload and promote the content, which also needs some time on social networks... but it is an easy and funny part.
7. Earning
You probably think that paying for a one-month access, e.g. 15 USD, means I receive 15 USD. Nope, hosting servers and owners of domains are not providing their services for free (they have costs as well). All servers take at least 20% of earnings (sometimes almost 40%). Once I earn money, I usually have to pay server owners for sending me money (e.g., 6 USD). As soon as I receive the money... I'd like to say "that's it" ... However, I also have to pay taxes to a government (10-20%) from a certain amount of earnings. The final step is to deduct costs from my revenues (e.g., renting places, traveling costs, buying/renting BDSM toys, buying filming equipment,..).
8. Long term earnings
I think that the most successful stars on OF or JFF may become very rich... But for majority content creators it is about earning some extra money like a reward for their effort, but it is not a day job. It took me about 7th months of the first year to earn enough to cover all initial costs. And I did not count my time into those costs. Now, I earn a decent reward for my effort, but still thinking about my reward/hour rate... it is still a hobby (although exciting one).
9. My wish
So now you know better that all these kinky films which make you horny and cause you a lot of happiness are coming as a result of the authors' efforts. So, contributing to creators a bit is the way how to be sure that they will make other content. And if you decide to pay for videos... be sure that you are paying to authors and not thievery web pages, which are selling stolen clips via download servers.
10. Have a lot of joy
Enjoy my pics and videos, which are the results of my fantasies... and if you have your own ideas ... try to film them; maybe others will appreciate them as well.