Tips for Creating Killer Content???

[XXXWriterDude]

Anybody have any? Thought it would be cool to hear what people think about what makes really good content. Is it the model? The location? The POV of the photographer/videographer? The scenario/scene?

How important is originality to good content????

How important is exclusive content versus licensed?

I may repurpose some of these answers for a story I'm writing on content for AVN Online, but if you'd rather not be quoted, just let me know and I won't use it. Otherwise, if you post in this thread, be aware it might end up in print.

Ken

[D-Rock]

I think it depends on the models and the shots/angles.

If the models are attractive - hot bodies, big dick, cute face, etc it helps. Also if they are "into" the scene, and are good porn stars. I find amateur/straight porn is not nearly as erotic because the guys have no clue what they are doing and there is no passion/attraction.

Lighting, camera angles, and shots are really important to. Showing an equal amount of face shots, panning, close ups is really important at creating the mood/fantasy and emotion of the models. If the shots are mostly of the face, or full shots you don't get to see all the curves and body parts that you would if you where doing the "real thing". To much lighting and the scene looks fake, to little lighting and you cant see anything.

That's my two cents.

D

[Kewlaidkiddd]

I'm quite a simple type of guy when i look at films.. I love hardcore close ups of penetration. Nothing like seeing a good ass pounded.

Lighting and angles are very important too. As far as general population goes I think that is key and hot models as well. Big dicks are a plus.

Thats just my thoughts... hope they help.

[tombarr]

Hi Ken

Good topic. Look forward to your article.

My 2 cents..

Lighting, lighting, lighting.... !

It's not really about the location. People are buying the model not the
chair or the trees although as a secondary element it provides more support if the model is weak.

Good looking models that really get into the character and put some energy into the poses...but often this is a direct result of the director's energy and experience as well.

Telling the complete erotic story of the model by photo series is an art...taking the viewer from the introduction to the climax with the model is the objective and a set that accomplishes that with good quality in lighting, model selection and energy is killer content!

[abostonboy]

For me it's about one thing -

The fantasy -

Every photoset tells a story, creates a fantasy in the surfer's mind. The surfer becomes "connected" in some way.

Poor lighting is fine if it's a voyeur shot. Grainy and small pics are fine if you are trying to convey it's self submitted pics. Even not attractive models are fine if that's the theme. It's all a component of the fantasy.

For example, IF you are trying to create a hand job site and one guy is giving another a hand job. Let that guy giving the handjob finish the other guy off. The second the other guy touches his cock to finish himself off. The fantasy is gone. The surfer MAY even get so connected that he is imagining he's the one giving the other guy the handjob.

Add all the elements you did in the shoot and see if you created the fantasy in the surfer's mind. If you did it's a hit. If not, you have a disappointed surfer.

[basschick]

i like seeing a good mix of full body shots, medium shots and closeups. and personally i prefer not to see bad acting. if the people can't act, i'm happy with an interview and a masturbation shoot as long as it looks good. the interview needs to be neither too detailed nor too short - i have a friend (not mentioning any names here) who had guys talking for 5 minutes about their college majors and had them masturbating during complex interviews about being a chef. please keep the interview and the masturbation separate!

and if doing a reality straight guy video, please take a couple minutes to convince the straight guy, whether it's with logic, booze or cash. i ain't buying guy being straight if all i have to say is "want to suck some cock?" for him to jump on it.

[abostonboy]

and if doing a reality straight guy video, please take a couple minutes to convince the straight guy, whether it's with logic, booze or cash. i ain't buying guy being straight if all i have to say is "want to suck some cock?" for him to jump on it.

It spoils the fantasy....

[XXXWriterDude]

I have yet to create content for porn sites, but I have created lots of adult content in my career, including lots of published erotic fiction and even a porn script that was produced (though the star of the movie decided he wanted something different and rewrote it himself--ugh!), and I'm also an avid viewer, so I think I understand a thing or two about really good content.

For me, it's really just about TRUTH. Everyone is making these so-called "reality sites," but there's so little reality on them that they never accomplish what they set out to do in the first place. Even if something is staged, there are ways to do it in which it can seem more authentic and in the moment. Patti touched on this when she talked about "straight" guys who lunge for cock with little to no encouragement (sure they're straight!), but it goes a lot deeper than that. Bad acting is a big part of it. Don't attempt written dialogue if your models can't deliver it.

I also think POINT OF VIEW has a lot to do with it. Content should have a clear point of view. By that, I don't mean camera angles, but I mean content that "says something." It should also reveal something about human sexuality, I think. And it should surprise you. Originality is subjective, but even if you're using an oft-used scenario, you can make it fresh by how you approach it. I think you as a person need to have a very strong point of view before you even attempt to create good content. You need to have a mission, a goal, and have something to say. Otherwise, your content is just going to look like everybody else's.

Good lighting and hot models are obviously important, but above and beyond that, I think good content is only as unique and special as the person who is making it. The one site that instantly comes to mind for me is Squirt's site, SleepingMen.com, because not only does it have the balls to say "Experimentation among men -- gay or straight -- is hot," but there is such a unique POV there, and I don't just mean b'cuz he shoots it with a night-vision camera. His site has personality and flair and a sense of mystery, but there's also an utterly compelling sense of tension and discovery in so many of the clips to be found there. The microniche of straight guys sleeping is just the conceit of the site, but its true charm lies not in its marketing angle, but its committment to truth and reality. Even though we all know that the models had to agree to being fondled while they "sleep," Squirt films his content in such a way that it rarely feels dishonest or lazy.

I was watching a clip on a uniform-themed site just yesterday, and it started off wonderfully, with these two hot military guys watching porn in a motel room together and just smoking and hanging out. It felt very improvised and in the moment, and then, from out of nowhere, the director's voice showed up, and he started directing the guys to do stuff, and it destroyed all of the tension it had just built up. Why couldn't he have just talked with them in advance and kind of laid out the game plan, then just turned the cameras on them and let them act it all out on their own? The "truth" was gone. I couldn't help but reflect on how quickly that director had killed the power of his own work by making it so choreographed.

I think good content should have more to say than "guys are hot" or "Muscles are hot" or "dicksucking is hot." That's too easy. I want to see content that goes beyond the obvious and reveals personality, not only of the person who's making it, but reveals the personalities of those who view it. Ultimately, that means, to me, not just doing it for the money. I think to TRULY succeed at this, you need to do more than just make money. You need to love porn because it tells you something about yourself. You need to want to share that with anyone who's listening. You need to show.

That's just my $.02.

[maxpower]

Personally I think your way over thinking content, it should look good as far as lighting, but its just content no one really wants true reality that sucks. People only watch that stuff for like 5-10 minuets then go on with their life. Good looking models, a good 3-5 minuet set-up, lighting, editing and a hard core edge are a must for really good videos but that is about it. People only want to see augmented reality not real reality.:china:

[XXXWriterDude]

Personally I think your way over thinking content, it should look good as far as lighting, but its just content no one really wants true reality that sucks. People only watch that stuff for like 5-10 minuets then go on with their life. Good looking models, a good 3-5 minuet set-up, lighting, editing and a hard core edge are a must for really good videos but that is about it. People only want to see augmented reality not real reality.:china:

Personally, I would call that average or "mediocre" content, not necessarily "good content," Max. To me that sounds just like the content that everyone else is doing. I acknowledge that my standards are much higher than the norm, but I think you'd be surprised how many people I talk to who think like I do. Interestingly enough, they're the people who WATCH it, not necessarily those who MAKE it. Interesting disconnect that I see. I wonder why that is...

I also think that audiences have been trained to ask for less, b/cuz porn people got lazy and started offering less, especially in the '80s. A lot of people will say "Why should I strive any higher than what I can convert off of?" and I always want to say, "Because you can, and because it will make you stand out from everyone else."

Sure, you can slap together some decent-looking content and offer it on your site and get people to join. My question, though, is: Why NOT strive higher than that?

[XXXWriterDude]

its just content no one really wants true reality that sucks.

By the way, I mean no offense by this, but that statement, to me, sums up everything that is wrong with this industry.

A) You should never say "it's JUST content" or "it's JUST porn" or "it's JUST sex." To me that shows that you have very little personal investment in what you do, or that you just do it for the money and don't really care what you're putting out there as long as it makes a dime.

B) I always feel insulted when porn people say "Nobody wants reality" or "Nobody wants dialogue" or "Nobody wants story." That's simply not true. I think people do want that, only they don't get it, so they settle for what they do get b/cuz that's all that's available to them. Chi Chi LaRue will be the first to say, "I don't do dialogue because I don't like it." But I wonder how much bigger her audience would be if she did step outside of her own comfort zone and do it? (Actually she did, with Wrong Side of the Tracks, and that movie has sold VERY well for her. Which proves, to me, that there is a market out there for porn that is above average, and that people will buy it if you make it.)

[maxpower]

Personally, I would call that average or "mediocre" content, not necessarily "good content," Max. To me that sounds just like the content that everyone else is doing. I acknowledge that my standards are much higher than the norm, but I think you'd be surprised how many people I talk to who think like I do. Interestingly enough, they're the people who WATCH it, not necessarily those who MAKE it. Interesting disconnect that I see. I wonder why that is...

I also think that audiences have been trained to ask for less, b/cuz porn people got lazy and started offering less, especially in the '80s. A lot of people will say "Why should I strive any higher than what I can convert off of?" and I always want to say, "Because you can, and because it will make you stand out from everyone else."

Sure, you can slap together some decent-looking content and offer it on your site and get people to join. My question, though, is: Why NOT strive higher than that?

Well that’s all nice in theory, hell I would love to make a “gone with the wind” porn movie, but people really just want NEW content and lots of it. I know some might say they want better stuff, but you have to understand that is just talk. We are dealing with people with a attention span of less than 10-12 minuets “about the same time the brain can survive with out oxygen Humm” People that run sites are under huge pressure to push out new stuff, and would rather have 3 ok films than one really good one that people will still bitch about. I want to create PORN not art or push some kind of agenda, I want to get them off quick so they can go to work or to bed after a bad date and get them off my site that’s it. If you want award winning films watch that stuff on cable.

[XXXWriterDude]

Well that’s all nice in theory, hell I would love to make a “gone with the wind” porn movie, but people really just want NEW content and lots of it. I know some might say they want better stuff, but you have to understand that is just talk. We are dealing with people with a attention span of less than 10-12 minuets “about the same time the brain can survive with out oxygen Humm” People that run sites are under huge pressure to push out new stuff, and would rather have 3 ok films than one really good one that people will still bitch about. I want to create PORN not art or push some kind of agenda, I want to get them off quick so they can go to work or to bed after a bad date and get them off my site that’s it. If you want award winning films watch that stuff on cable.

No one's saying you gotta paint the Sistine Chapel, Max. I'm not saying you should make "art." I'm just saying your content should have a point of view, and you should CARE about what you're putting out there. It starts with you. Your pride in your work will come through on your sites. That's what it boils down to.

[maxpower]

I think some of us just get confused sometimes about what it is we really do so I will tell you, We make/provide content so people can sit at home a jerk-off that’s it. People do not join a site the see exotic location or award winning scripts, they want hott guys doing bad things so they can get off. If you really think you are doing much more you are kidding yourself, good location and scripts are fine, but people really just want to get off.

My .02

[XXXWriterDude]

I think some of us just get confused sometimes about what it is we really do so I will tell you, We make/provide content so people can sit at home a jerk-off that’s it. People do not join a site the see exotic location or award winning scripts, they want hott guys doing bad things so they can get off. If you really think you are doing much more you are kidding yourself, good location and scripts are fine, but people really just want to get off.

My .02

Ahhh, yes, but studies have shown that sexuality is one part of the human makeup that has a lot of affect in other areas of their lives and also in how they view themselves as people. I think if you create a sexual experience for them that goes above and beyond the norm of what others are offering -- and if everyone strived to do that -- it would have a pretty powerful impact on people. People always talk about how people use movies and porn or whatever as a form of escape. Well, then, why not offer them a place to escape where they can really get something out of it?

I'm certainly a realist. I understand what porn is primarily used for. But you can work within the limitations of any genre to elevate those who watch it. Yeah, it's porn, but there's no reason why it can't be GREAT porn.

Right?