And welcome to the fourm.

DenverDon

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I know that they are different studios under the same roof, but I call Ana/Diabolic as such, because it saves me a few precious keystrokes.

I love Debauchery 1, as well as the four Down the Hatches that I have. The two Un-Natural Sex's I have are also incredible.

Mike, I love you're work... Perverted POV 3 was great.

I only have Gangbang Auditions 8, and loved that.

I didn't care for Oral Consumption 5, but I didn't/don't like Khan Tusian.

I think it's great to have studio types here in the forum, wish there were more. No one will top Evil Angel, unless a studio somehow manages to grab JOEY SILVERA. But Diabolic is on the list of my top 5 favorite studios. And while I may not be as knowledgable about Diabolic as say Red Light District, Evil Angel, or Elegant Angel, I do like what I have seen from you.

Un-Natural sex #6, 7, and up, are definitely on my want list, $ permitting, of course, as well as a several others.

I, just like a lot of people, hate waiting. But in the end quality should be placed over quantity.

-If I look hard enough into the settin' sun
My love will laugh with me before the mornin' comes-

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Thanks Mike

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BEEEEAM!

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i should be so lucky, lucky lucky lucky

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Dion Giarrusso wrote:
Red Light District.

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Mike John, all I can beg of you is to keep making Peverted Point of View exactly as it is; they have a replay value much higher than any other dvd I own.

My only request is that they come with a 'Diabolic' beanie....

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midget,moron photographer

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Cal
Somewhere licking a crusty used tampon I found in the dump.

Edited by - cal444 on 11/6/2002 6:26:20 PM

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Dion Giarrusso wrote:
Red Light District.

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Pontus

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Cal
Somewhere swilling pig shit

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It's threads like this that make me glad to wear the raincoat in the hot sun. Quality should always be a first... and I know Anabolic has a huge back catalog, where Red Light District didn't, seeing is how they started the DVDs from release one.

I may have, or may not have, been out of line in the past, with some comments. I realize that producing quality porn can't be easy. Sure it may be easy to pick up a camera and shoot shaky/sloppy/unfocused sex, but it takes skill to shoot quality porn. I may not like every release, but what I dislike, another will love, and vice versa.

keep UP the good work.

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and over and over again, but expecting a different result. - Albert Einstein

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Pontus

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OK Cal,I'll sit next to you in the editing room and watch you work while Bella Maria sits on my lap.

You forced me.

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I cannot agree with you more. I've shot a bunch of Cocksmokers at Extreme, usually in a drunken stupor, and I can tell you I'm absolutely ill qualified to be a camera man. I feel like a monkey stuck in quicksand with a camera in my hand trying to figure out angles and all that bullshit. It's tough and requires ungodly amounts of technical and creative skill AND you have to keep the editing portion in mind.

This is precisely why I'm jealous of guys like Mike John "The Human Tripod" and the affable Jules Jordan. The problem with most porno is there aren't enough qualified shooters? Why? Because they're all taken by the top companies! And another reason, most other companies don't give a shit but would rather prefer to dish out a bunch of generic garbage which goes to catalog prices within months.

It's easy to criticize the top companies in the business. That's because they SELL and have a fan following through product identification and a WYSIWYG integrity.

You have any idea how many complaints I received at my former company from fans for videos that were actually compilations or cheap foreign tapes with dubbed in wrestler voices? That's misleading the public.

As far as I'm concerned, there's room for everyone and competition simply makes everyone better. It is an intimate relationship a company has with its fans, developed over quality time, that creates a following.

Most people simply aren't attune to the porn market as this forum is. Based on sales, then this forum would be talking about nothing but Leisure Time and Vivid compilations.

But to sell videos to stores at premium prices for premium product, day in and day out, that's where only a handful of companies can compete. And that's why these companies have the best shooters and production values on the market.

Do I sound drunk?

Edited by - wanker_wang on 11/7/2002 6:47:29 AM

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Mike, if you read carefully all the previous threads, I said that you and Erik are good cameramen and did not associate your work with bad camerawork. I also stated in an old thread that I did not dislike the 2 camera approach, I just do not like the way Christopher Alexander utilize two cameras in the Gangbang Girl and World Sex Tour series; it might also be a combination of the editing style with the camerawork and not a strict function of the camerawork per se. I did post some ideas of how to utilize two cameras effectively and will not repeat the details. Basically, both cameras must be used actively and the director must not have a static or still rear camera.

It is nice to read more and learn from the inside. It is possible to discover a lot about various techniques by careful observation of scenes, but the inside scoop is also useful for learning more about the actual process. The last few "controversial" threads have helped me learn more of the actual process.

Keep up the good work guys, and if I am allowed to make one more pitch, "Shoot more double anal scenes."

Ron

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How do you keep the damn camera still? With my comsumer mini dv camcorder, I cannot hold the camera steady for very long. My hand gets tired and begins to twitch. I know that using a professional camcorder may be easier, because even though it is heavier, one can rest the camera on one's shoulder.

Any advise?

Ron

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Actually - RonK, don't know about Mike's tricks, he's probably just a natural (damn!). But the heavier cameras are actually a plus. I have a Sony 950 DV and a Sony 2000 DV. Even though in general I prefer the 950 (better zoom), I am MUCH steadier with the 2000 because it weighs more and so my balance is much more even. With the lighter cameras, my arm kind of floats around a little.

Also, a very smart person told me to ALWAYS use both hands, and to kind of squeeze the camera like you would in isometrics. Those 2 hints improved my steadiness greatly.

Cal - they're not still having you edit linear, are they?? Yeah, I guess that would give me kind of a short fuse too.

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Cal
Somewhere wondering how Tricia keeps her hair looking so
great

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So, dude, you've got cool toys and cool videos to work with on them.
So no need to be uptight. Enjoy your work!!!!

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Cal
Somewhere

Edited by - cal444 on 11/8/2002 2:35:02 AM

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Think about it this way, when was the last time you read a sports column and the writer spent his column writing about some no-talent player that's been in the league forever and still hasn't gotten his act together? Very Very few. Now think about how many writers will take the time to critique Michael Jordon's slightest errors. I think you get my point. If you're not mentioned, chances are people aren't looking at your stuff. You should be proud. :)

BTW: WOAD.....fantastic work. Aptly titled. Well executed. McKayla's scene could have been a little better. Overall, Beautiful stuff.

Boat Drinks!!!

RoccoFan

Edited by - roccofan on 11/8/2002 7:15:08 AM

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Cheers

SQUID

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RoccoFan - You're absolutely right. They always say "it's when they stop talking about you that you should worry."
When I see a negative comment about Evil anywhere, if it's a board I post on, I give my point of view, and hope that the original poster takes my thoughts into consideration.
If it's not a board I post on, I just take his thoughts into consideration and see if it's something I agree with it. If so, then I try to figure out if it's something that's within my ability to accomplish.

I mean, if he was bitching about not having Jenna Jameson fuck Lex in our latest release, I just move on, but if it's something about our general style, I take those critiques seriously.

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Now I'm pissed.

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Ron

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The 150's biggest downfall is it's audio, so be careful about wind noise and stuff like that if you get the 150.
(I TOTALLY love the new Sony 950, and you've got many votes for the 2000 between me, John, Jules Jordan, and Mike John.)

The guys at DreamGirls in Tampa, Florida all got new GL-1's earlier this year, and they seem to like them quite a bit for the on-the-fly type stuff they do.

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I'll have to check out the 950 ... I know the 2000s are pretty affordable now. I'm looking to make little personal documentaries (not amateur porn .. not yet, anyway!), and arty nonsense. But don;t wan't to go over 2 grand. If the 2000's good enough for EA, I'm sure it will work fine for me. (Just add Belladonna!)

thanks!
skronker

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Cal
Somewhere doing something dirty, dirty, dirty

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Are these camera's readily available??

Some advice required!! Many Thanks

SQUID

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---BIGmike, going and going and going since MCMLXXX---

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Thanks for the info BM!!

SQUID

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The 1000 is also great, and significantly cheaper than the 2000.

Like I said, I prefer the 950 or 2000, but I don't know what kind of quality you're looking for.

I buy almost all of my professional equipment online at
www.bhphotovideo.com.
They may not be the cheapest, but I've had nothing buy fabulous experiences with them, and when I'm spending a few thousand dollars at a time, I don't like to take chances.
www.sonystyle.com is the Sony website store.

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As an outside observer, it appears to me that Annabolic/Diabolic has a number of strengths and a number of weaknesses. You'll have to excuse me if I lump both companies together, but since both are owned by the same people, employ the same directors, tend to use the same female talent interchangeably, and produce very similar content, I pretty much think of them as the same company.

You're biggest strengths are your brand name and some of the people you have shooting content. Your brand name recognition among porn fans is awesome. Everybody knows who you are and what kind of content you try to put out. Your best shooters are yourself and Erik Everhard. Jon Dough is okay as well. The other directors are mediocre to bad. Of course, that is simply my opinion.

You also have the advantage of having a number of established, extremely popular titles. While I don't have access to sales numbers, my best guess is that these include Up Your Ass, Balls Deep, Lewd Conduct, Nasty Nymphos, Debauchery, Down the Hatch, PPOV, and Sweet Cheeks. I'm sure there are others that I'm not thinking of at the moment as well.

The first thing I would put in the weaknesses column is the sheer number of series that you guys are putting out right now. I think you need to start focusing on your most popular titles. You indicated in your original post that A/D is currently producing 24 separately titled lines. Do you ever ask yourselves why? It seems silly to me to have so many separate titles when, in fact, so much of your content is interchangeable. And even if you disagree with me about that, do you really think it's smart to have that many titles? Wouldn't it be better to figure out which titles are your biggest sellers and focus on those?

I think you guys should be aiming for a twelve to fourteen week release cycle. Figure out which titles are in highest demand and then focus on releasing one from that group every week. My sense is that Panochitas, Initiations, Women of Color, and World Sex Tour are among your weakest lines right now and should be among the first to be eliminated. But again, I don't have access to your sales numbers. My only source of information is what I see renting really well or really poorly at my local video store. Those titles, for the most part, just sit there. I also think Ass Cream Pie is a stupid, stupid idea. But that, of course, is simply my own personal opinion.

The second issue is quality, which is a huge topic in and of itself. One aspect of quality includes basic concepts like lighting, sound, wardrobe, makeup and hair. I have found A/D to be sadly inconsistent in these areas. Sometimes you do really well whereas at other times it looks like nobody is really paying attention. At any rate, these are constant factors that will be present in any scene you shoot and should always be under your control. Of course, quality also includes variable factors that may not always be under your control such as the particular female and male talents used in a given scene. But even in those cases, I'm sure there are steps you can take to make sure that you get better talent. You would obviously know more about that sort of thing than I do. More importantly, however, you need to realize that quality is defined by the customer and what the customer likes and doesn't like. That's really the bottom line and it's what makes communication and feedback from your customers so important. One way your customers are going to communicate with you is with sales numbers. But sales numbers only tell you what sells and what doesn't with no input on why or why not. More avid fans will post on sites like these, but of course the people posting here are exactly that, extremely avid porn fans. If I were you, I would start thinking creatively about how to get more in tune with what my customers want.

In a general sense, I think your company needs to put more effort and resources into each release and focus on making each scene a good one. Look at what Jules Jordan does. His release schedule is slower than most of us would like, but he makes damn sure that the worst scene on each title is still pretty good. Porn fans know that they can count on that, which obviously helps his sales. I also think you guys are cutting your own throats by not releasing simultaneously in DVD on every release. It seems like a no-brainer to me.

Uh, that's all. (Of course, it would be nice to know when the next Up Your Ass is coming out)

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Cal
Somewhere snorting snail trails

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Many thanks for your help again. I'm basically looking for top qulaity pictures, like those produced by EA. I'm not too bothered about the zoom, as I'd rather just move myself into and out of the action.

Like you said, if your gonna spend alot of money, then you may as well buy the best there is. Cheers for the website info as well.

Now I know what I'm dealing with!!

SQUID

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