1) Model Contracts - You can use a lawyer they are pretty
general you can find then on the Internet.
2) A way to copy driver license + tests.
3) Verify Tests!
4) Don't forget to charge your digital cameras for pretty
girl Pics.
5) Soda, food, the more comfortable your guest are they
better they may perform.
6) Clean towels, baby wipes showers...
7) Check sound levels/lighting around the shoot before hand.
8) Go over in detail what you would like the performers to
do what they will do, wont do, video tape it if you must.
9) Clothing, makeup if you offer.

Shooting wise, gonzo I presume. I think its best to shoot one act at a time, take some pretty girl pics in between, some softcore shots, cover all your bases. Look at the strength of the performers work with that, stay away from complex scenes for now!

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Some great info. You guys are great!

Max

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I am SURE you already have your work sold. RIght? And I am sure you have already shown them 3 or 4 finished "movies" with all the bells and whistles. Right?IF you are producing your own work, then you have a distributor. Right? Or you have your own website set up and marketed. RIght?

The bottom line is that I am sayin g that shooting on spec is a proposition that rarely does more than land the shooter/director with a bunch of pron secnes of he and his friends... and a loss of a lot of money.

I am on the east coast, and I have been talent for many people who just shoot (and pay me!) scenes with no goal where they will end up.

Not to be negative... Just realistic.

lANCE cUMMING

Edited by - dood on 4/4/2005 9:03:54 AM

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lANCE CUMMING

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and VSurgeon hit on the main points to actually do.

For model release - a lawyer is the best bet. Aside from anything that would go into a normal release for a non-sex actress, make sure the release includes that the person acknowledges they will be having sex and that they give up the right to any editorial say in the recorded images. You may have right to use any of their fictional stage names, past, present or future. You may use their image for promotion of the material.
Most importantly, they are working for a flat fee with NO residuals (unless you're paying on the back end, in which case you need to line item exactly how much they will and won't make). There should be something in the contract which states whether they are responsible for claiming and taking care of their taxes on their own or whether they will receive a payroll check from your company. As you are just starting, a 1099 is probably the way to go.

For tests - see if AIM has a partnership with a clinic anywhere in your area. They have connections at clinics in several (many?) different states. If they don't have connections at a clinic in your area, ask the people at AIM for advice on EXACTLY which diseases your talent should be tested for. The tests should be performed 2 - 7 days before the scene takes place, depending on the turnaround time of the clinic.
You are responsible for these people. DO NOT cheap out on the testing.

For what it's worth, I agree with EVERYTHING Lance had to say.

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-PornoPunK

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Current total = $2,200 (I already have filming equipment)
So I figure if I film around 3-4 scenes to make a DVD
it will cost around $6-8,000. As far as distributing
in the beginning would EBAY be good for starters?
I could do it myself on a DVD-R I would guess.
Not sure, hmm, lots of things to consider.
I guess the best describe the way I feel is like
I'm a job hunter looking for his first job, LOL!

Thanks

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No. Don't. Stop.

</Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka Voice>

-T.C.

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There's so much porn out there that unless you have a plan, you're not gonna sell much. You at least need a website. If it's just familiar porn stars fucking each other, what sets your product apart from any other? It sounds like a lot of fun for you, though. But if you don't have any business agenda, don't expect to see much return anytime soon.

Also, don;t feed the girls if you're shooting anal! (Unless you have a particular niche in mind).

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Concerning self-distribution, how will you keep up with legal cases across America concerning community standards/obscenity that might put you into jail for sending porn into such an area/zip code. Sounds like your $300/hr attorney needs to do that for you? As I understand it, because of the glut of present day producers hoping to make "millions" and to get laid, and the situation with excess footage, many of the good Distributors have waiting lists of "new" producers.

If you're doing this for fun, have a great time---but, be aware of financial difficulties in making money now days versus five years ago???

Good luck,

Dave Cummings

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Where are you shooting?

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LeChayim!

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Shooting in Woodland Hills.

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Here's some stuff about it:

FROM THE TRENCHES
February 2005
BY: Dave Cummings---Actor/Producer/Director
How To Make Adult Films
I teach “How to Make Adult Films” in Los Angeles and San Diego for The Learning Annex, a fine educational organization that provides a variety of classes for adults in eight American and six Canadian cities. Students of the three-hour class span a wide age spectrum, and most are usually guys hoping to invest some money and make a LOT of profits while also getting laid and becoming famous. Rather than report sexual escapades since my last monthly column, let me instead tell you about a typical class.

To give you an idea of content presented, here is a copy/paste of the class description off of the www.learningannex.com site:

San Diego Classes: Course 421GSD Section N

Whether you want to make an adult video for profit or make sensual films for your private pleasure, come learn the ropes first-hand from Dave Cummings.

Learn about: * Selecting a theme, genre, objective, video length and content * Camera and lighting scenarios * Budgets, permits and locations * Production ins and outs * Casting and legal requirements * Editing * Packaging *Advertising * Marketing * Male performance aspects * Problem solving * What happens on adult sets.

Dave Cummings, winner of the X-Rated Film Critics 2001 "Unsung Swordsman of the Year" award, is known worldwide among adult film consumers and insiders. A retired U.S. Army Lt. Colonel, he is a Bronze Star Medal recipient from his duty in the Vietnam war.

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Course 421GSD, Section N
Thursday, March 31, 2005 from 06:30 PM to 09:30 PM
Location: Hotel Circle Note: X-rated materials will be used in class. You must be 18 years of age or older to enroll in this course. Materials fee is $12.00

US $ 59.99 / $ 54.99 VIP members

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In order to get my classroom effectively set up and organized, I try to arrive at least an hour before class start time. Usually The Learning Annex provides upscale hotel meeting rooms, but sometimes we meet at places like the Hollywood Film School. Invariably, three or four of the usual 10-50 students also arrive an hour or so early and barrage me with questions about the Adult Industry, and their own specific ideas for what they want to do with the thousands of dollars they recently inherited from their long-lost uncle or grandmother.

Students get an extensive handout packet, an outline with space for them to insert notes, a Dave Cummings Production VHS or DVD, and examples of marketing and promotional materials. Because the class has so much to cover, I ask students to jot down and hold their questions so that they can ask them during the question & answer period if I don’t automatically cover them in the presentation of the class---usually, because I present so much pertinent material, the students smile at the end and compliment me about having already answered their questions. It’s a dynamic and extensive class, and I feel it is well worth the registration fee. For questions specific to individual attendees, I stay after class until each and every question has been answered, no matter how long it takes.

Some of the many things I cover are as follows. I brief students that the big porn profits and sales figures they see in the media are not actually indicative of what they can easily make in the present day supply-demand environment; I suggest that they might be a few years too late in beginning their filming career, given the glut of footage of the last few years from people just like themselves who have had a head start on them, and how many now are stuck with costly footage and no meaningful distribution means to recover their outlays of capital; and I opine that if they still want to pursue porn-making, I’ll certainly give them a lot of useful info during the class. I go over basic definitions (they all seem interested to hear about fluffers, and they look disappointed when I tell them that fluffers are seldom used except for the large gangbangs); I define what encompasses a “scene”, a “creampie”, and an amateur/gonzo/wall-to-wall/feature/etc video and the elements thereof; genre’s and the type of sex they might want to specialize in (e.g., general boy/girl, new young fresh faces, interracial, transgender, gay, fetish/BDSM, gangbangs, etc.); and, an examination of the number of scenes usually needed in different types of videos, length of scenes and the overall videos, types of filming such as cable versions versus hard core, etc. I discuss general actress/actress talent fees and other budgeting costs, crew composition, lighting and audio considerations, box cover photos and design/printing costs, dialogue matters, types and Adult Industry popularity of video cameras, supplies, catering, location costs and considerations, money shot matters, make-up, permit and legal requirements like the government’s age verification and documentation requirements, monthly HIV/STD DNA testing matters, outdoors versus indoor shooting, where to find and how to book talent, Distribution and sales options, “wood” and/or money shot problems, management challenges for handling talent, considerations for open versus closed sets and whether or not to allow the husband or boyfriend of actresses to be on set (will it hold down her enthusiasm/attitude/etc, or will he be helpful and not under foot or disruptive?), impact of the Internet, DVD’s versus VHS, shooting/production values, production “in’s and out’s”, insider “secrets” and personal hygiene matters, “quiet on the set” discipline, sequence/techniques of shooting, packaging to enhance sales, editing matters, duplicating, DVD authorizing, advertising and marketing, income and revenue potential and sources, and a whole bunch of other aspects.

Unfortunately, in my quest to be informative/truthful/helpful, I also have to expose some myths to students, e.g., visitors to sets and the crew don’t normally get sex just because there are adult actresses around, no more than seeing a porn actress shopping in the first aisle at the supermarket means a guy can easily sweet-talk or BS the young lady into a blow job in the parking lot; likewise, “auditioning” girls before booking them is a scumbag thing, not reality! Although people like different things, I urge class members not to automatically think it’s always appropriate for them to edit-in loud or distracting music; instead, I suggest that many viewers might want to hear the actress’s “NON-porn acting” natural pantings, breathing, sighing, moans (real ones, not fake ones!), whisperings, and the other sounds one normally hears during sex or love-making (yes, including slurping and squishing sounds during fellatio and intercourse). I also strongly urge students to realize that just because they personally prefer close-up shots (versus a wide-angle or a variety of camera recordings), short set-ups that visually-attuned guys often like (versus the seductive dialogue/flirting/touching/feeling/etc that females might prefer), or blondes, or tall girls, or sexy clothing and a slow/fast undressing of the actress, or reverse cowgirl or missionary position (versus a variety of camera-friendly sex positions), or natural breasts versus enhanced boobs, or a whole host of other preferences, it doesn’t necessarily mean that everybody likes what they personally and specifically prefer, at least not enough to make their movies releases as profitable as possible! We seem to be a species of different sexual excitement triggers, and porn producers have to be cognizant that their way isn’t the ONLY way! Lastly, I discuss how thousands of porn releases fall into the $10,000-30,000 range to produce, not the multi-millions that are spent on the 300-400 mainstream films each year, AND that we need to always be realistic and remember that we’re shooting porn, not “Gone With The Wind”! In this regard, I suggest that presenting sexual sights and situations that contribute to the viewer’s quest to be turned on is indeed very important, in others words “whackability”!!!

The above doesn’t cover everything I include in the class, but it gives you an idea. I thought and hope that non-Industry readers might find this of some interest.

Hang in there---nicer weather is just around the corner!

Dave Cummings

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