What would it take to start a heroine video production? (1 Viewer)

[kained]

This is something I've been thinking about lately.

What do you think it would take to start a heroine video production and website?

The things that hold me back - money, and legal concerns. I'm not sure about the legality within the UK or Northern Ireland of producting heroine peril material, on account of the laws against 'extreme' pornography, I'm not entirely sure if portraying the torture of women in films is altogether legal. I suppose if I were to begin this as a serious business, I could ask a lawyer.

Money - a heroine video production would require cameras, lighting, a cast, locations, etc. I have experience in camera and lighting, as well as editing. I just don't own my own equipment. Who knows how long it would take to invest in some decent gear??

What other practical concerns do you think there would be?

 

[DJMagicMike]

I would think the biggest hurdle to clear, outside of money of course, would be in attracting "quality" talent that would be willing to participate in this type of venture. You can find lots of models/actresses, but you need girls willing to do nude/mildly pornographic to full on demeaning/very pornographic work, who would also be willing to add the heroine element.

After the talent factor, I would think the next hardest elements would be character & story development. It would probably be best in the long run to develop a "universe" in which these videos take place. Something similar to the hawkheroines website/universe. Recurring characters & storylines with cross/carry over elements from episode to episode would probably keep the revenue coming once some kind of following was established.

I've often thought about this type of venture off and on over the years, but never all that seriously. And I by no means have any real frame of reference with which to draw, so that being said, take this all for what it's worth...

 

[d£t]

Funny, I also think about this from time to time as well, just with a different theme (clothing fetish). Money? I guess it always depends on your budget but honestly a lot of the existing production sites look like they shot their videos on a VHS camcorder from the late 90's, think Anton's Superheroines and New Phoenix Films. Considering that DSLR cameras as well as high capacity SD cards have gone down in price quite a bit the last few years it shouldn't cost an arm and a leg to get some decent equipment. Lighting equipment wouldn't be totally necessary if you tweak the existing lighting in the room you're shooting in for a fraction of the cost and certain camera settings. I believe most DSLR's come with a built in microphone these days as well. I'm not sure how much they cost in Europe but you can grab a Canon T1i (that camera every girl and their mother own) for around $600 US if you catch them on sale. Obviously you'll be working with a stock lens but I don't think that'll set you back much. You're posting on the website so I imagine you have a computer. Editing itself doesn't take a particularly fast computer. That really only helps cut down rendering times, which is very convenient if you like to experiment a lot but if you're not going to spend much time editing anyway and just need to do basic cuts you should be able to get by editing on your existing machine.

I would be more concerned about the cost of hiring women for the shoots, depending on whether you want to find someone local or known models that are into the heroine fetish, as this is the on going expense and equipment would be a one time thing unless they break. I recently found the Yahoo group's page of the guy that owns Superheroine Limited and made the movie The Uninvited, which in my opinion was one of the best done heroine fetish videos out there. Seems he had trouble getting started on his second movie because it took so long for him to break even on the cost of making his first one, which sadly is something I didn't make any easier for him. :|

As far as legal implications go, I guess it depends on what exactly you plan to do with the heroines in the movies you make. I imagine this is something you can learn with a little extra searching on Google. I know there's a decent amount of free legal information for starting a porn production in the US. I'm pretty sure there are lawyers that specialize in laws related to pornography as well so maybe you can find one that's willing to give some free legal advice.

In any case, if you decide to go through with something like this, I'd really look forward to it. :D

 

[DJMagicMike]

Yeah, with the price of decent prosumer video and autio equipment coming down so much in recent years, the cameras, audio, and editing equipment would probably be nothing compared to talent, and any assistants you might need for the shoots. I guess another cost that I just thought of would be locations or sets. Almost all of the heroine videos I've ever seen are either shot in someone's living room, basement, or garage. And it usually totally looks like it. Not that the setting or background scenery is what most people are looking for when it comes to this type of media. But it is something that definately makes the videos seem cheap, even if only on a subconscious level.

 

[Mardion]

Echoing the previous posters, the hardest thing is definitely to find women who would want to take part in something like this and have the appropriate acting talent and physical appearance. The rest pretty much comes by itself. You can certainly find a good place to shoot it if you look hard enough. The camera will be costly, sure, but it's a one-time cost and you will get to keep it around for anything else you might want to shoot, eg social situations. As for how much the camera costs, you can find anything from 400 Euros to 1000 Euros I'd wagger and they'd all look decent enough. Depending on the camera, you might also want a wide-angle lense which are relatively cheap. A tripod for another ~100 Euros would be extremely helpful as well.

I'm obviously uncertain as to the legal part, so this might be a dumb idea, but even if it's illegal, can't you shoot this video like normal and then find a host from another country for your website, thus escaping the restrictions of British law?

I'll have to disagree with DjMagicMike about the second hardest thing being characterisation and storyline, as these are probably the easiest IMO. Anyone can make up a half-decent superheroine story if they try to (and this type of video doesn't exactly need a masterpiece) ,and even if they can't, they just find any superheroine fanfiction on the net and alter it a little to suit their needs. Heck, you can even request a story in this forum and there will be people submitting ideas in no time.

 

[eyeteeth]

regarding equipment costs, it would probably be cheaper in the short run to rent equipment. if you make a good return, you can use the profit to buy equipment.

 

[Unrelated]

I'll have to disagree with DjMagicMike about the second hardest thing being characterisation and storyline, as these are probably the easiest IMO.

I agree with him about sets though- Too many of those do look like they were just shot in someone's apartment/garage/etc, and I'm starting to think there's a single warehouse in Japan devoted to being the set for all of their videos. I think some genuine effort on that would go a long way.

 

[Wired4Weird]

Interesting.

First off, regarding the legality, well I guess it all depends on what you want to depict. Or rather how extreme you want to go. I'm sure the law is not clear on everything therein, so you should make sure before venturing forward.

About the equipment, I'd avoid dSLR's (if you dont already own one) if your main intention is to shoot video, firstly the speakers aint a strong suit of the cameras, secondly SLR's tend not to perform well under low light conditions (with high ISO settings) in video mode, more importantly, most of them dont have lens autofocus in video mode (some new ones do but still), and most importantly, you would need a variety of lenses. For example, you'd have to use a wide angle or even a fisheye to get that special shot indoors, a normal zoom lens for something else, and maybe even a telephoto at other times. That would cost you a leg and an arm and then some. :)
You could instead buy a normal HD camera, they are dirt cheap compared to dSLRs and the lenses have a pretty universal focal length, you can even buy a wide-angle adapters cheaply.
On the other hand you would need a good digital camera for stills, you could always borrow one of those I guess.

You can get studio equipment suprisingly cheaply (around 200€ for the whole thing, with softboxes, reflectors, umbrellas etc), if you dont buy high-end stuff, which you wont need.

So you're covered there. Getting women to cooperate, well - that's anyone's guess. :D

 

[kained]

Well, I have access to the equipment I need.

I have someone who is going to look into registering a domain name.

Now one thing I need to figure out is whether or not I need to register a business with the government. I'd rather not, seems like so much hassle. But I think I ought to to cover my back.

Also, of course, I need to find models/actresses. And a location.

 

[True Succubus]

Well, I have made several videos with a few friends of mine, I got lucky because I work in a gym, and its a very large place and that one of my co-workers and good friend Ivan has a dad who has professional camera gear, lighting, sound altering equipment, so we borrowed those.

Now I am the imagination behind the videos, so I work the story now there has to be a story if you want the video to be excellent one of my personal favourites was a vampire huntress hunting a vampiress (Gee, never saw that coming) but the vampiress falling in love with the huntress, simple, slight twist, sexy and easy to work with.

Now you need willing participants, preferably someone or some people who'll take it seriously because if not your already failing, you can hire people but its expensive, very expensive, so if you have friends go with them.

Never film the entire thing in one place, try to have a little bit of a chase or something going on. Oh and for god sake, don't just film it in the living room as I've seen done, it looks sooo unprofessional.

Add effects also, Avatar didn't get famous for its story (Let me tell you -.-") if your going have someone with super strength hitting something have the camera seem like its shaking with sounds that sounds at least somewhat realistic to what's going on, most people want to simply masturbate but I know a lot of people (Including myself) dislike it when there is basically a ZLUP CRUNSH ZZAZAZAZAZA comes out of punches or making a coffee, work on effects to at least keep someone interested.

Now this is an optional, but its something that I think works perfectly, if your going for a porno, make the person being raped break, make it so they give up and simply accept what's going on, better yet, make them love it begging for more or that it doesn't stop.


I may have left a couple of details out, but I think I got the most down. Oh and I'm not going to share a video of mine, I promised all the people I wouldn't send it to ANYONE, its for all the people who were involved in making it only.

 

[kained]

Is there anyone here who lives in or near Mancester in the UK who'd be willing to help?

 

[Unrelated]

Wow, you found a way to make me wish I lived in the UK.

 

[Black Lion]

Wow, you found a way to make me wish I lived in the UK.

Just remember how long it takes for video games to be released there, and you'll like the U.S. again.

I can help you with other, less taxing things, but I don't live in the UK, sorry.

 

[Unrelated]

Yeah, plenty of reasons I wouldn't want to live there, hence the "you found a way".

 

[kained]

I have a feeling this would be easier to put together if I lived in the US.

 

[kained]

I've received a couple of responses to ads I've placed. To summarize, the ads talked about wanting to shoot a fetish video involving a superheroine being tortured, fantasy violence, etc.

The applicants are smoking hot. I've sent them further details in e-mail. I don't think the ad adequetely describes what's involved, and I owe it to them to not waste their time. Let's hope they don't run off in horror!

Once I have confirmed interest from a viable actress, I'll book a location, and cast the males. I don't think that casting the males should be too hard. As for location, there are some good isolated spots I've found online that I'll be checking out in person. But I really need a space I can convert into a studio. I might look into hiring some kind of bondage expert who could provide cuffs and other equipment. Or maybe I'll just get that stuff myself. Hmmm.

 

[Unrelated]

Glad to hear that you're making progress!

Can never do too much research or be too careful when it comes to consensual bondage. Too much that can go wrong, so safety is key.

 

[noice1]

I'd definitely consult experts, do lots of reading and get experience with bondage (even on yourself), as well get a studio up and running, maybe even get into photography for pre-production. I guess what I'm saying is, don't let those hotties (and the males, of course) think you're anything less than prepared, have vision and stability. You could tap into some undiscovered talent here, especially given your area (or so I'm hearing). Sounds really exciting, man.

 

[Black Lion]

Ooh, I'm starting to get excited!

Like noice and Unrelated said, you're going to want to be carful about how you do this. Make sure you have a good amount of understanding when it comes to all of this, but especially the bondage and violence. You don't want anyone getting hurt.

 

[kained]

This is all great advice, particularly in regards to bondage and safety, and the story suggestions from True Succubus are very juicy. Velcro cuffs seem to be the way to go for safe bondage. I have plans for humiliation of the character that I think would be great. I'm meeting an actress tomorrow and I'll be handing her a script, so we can talk over it and I can see if there is anything she finds too objectionable.

I have one more question. About marketing, I've sought out a couple of avenues in regards to marketing the video but I'm wondering if anyone has further ideas to market the video. Just shoot me a message if you'd like to help out in that regard.