jb0911
Member
North Hollywood, CA USA
74 Posts
1/00
|  Posted - Feb 25 2000 : 9:25AMHi! I'm the head of DVD production for OGV/Men of Odyssey. We're the studio that made titles such as Idol in the Sky, Ryker's Revenge, Technical Exstasy, etc. We are in pre-production for a new Ken Ryker feature and I will be working directly with the producer and director from the very beginning as this is going to be our first project shot with DVD in mind. I have pretty much been given carte blanch to make the very best DVD possible. As we are now in the planning stages, I want your input! What do you want to see? As it stands I am planning to have a Director's audio commentery; FULL cast bios; mini-interviews with all the stars shot just before and after each scene where they can discuss how they feel going into and coming out of the scene; a photo book of exclusive shots that won't be available anywhere else; and a behind the scenes/"making of" featurette. We will also be utilizing the multi angle feature in some way. I have yet to be impressed with the typical multi angle feature and was thinking of shooting and editing so that at the beginning of the movie you could choose harder and softer versions. Choice A would give you lots of close-up, down and dirty footage while Choice B would concentrate far more sensuality with more faces, full body shots, etc. What do you think? Is this something you would interested in having? Would you want to be able to switch back and forth between the two? Please give me your thoughts on all aspects of the production I have mentioned. Jim Steel is going to be producing the movie and we both want this to be a project that people will love. I can't wait to hear what you guys have to say! Faron  [Link] |
alanbenson
Member
Lompoc, CA USA
156 Posts
11/99
|  Posted - Feb 25 2000 : 4:46PM
Hi, Faron! Great to have you here! All of the features you've mentioned sound great! The behind the scenes stuff and interviews are probably the most interesting, to me, of the stuff you've mentioned...
The state of gay porn on DVD is not yet a very encouraging lot... But with people like you around perhaps that can change before too long...
The branching between two different versions of the movie sounds very ambitious. It would be cool, if you could make it work, although I'm not sure what the market would be for the "softer" version... 
(Actually, I've often wanted more face & full body stuff in some porn films. I'd make sure that each version has some unique angles, though, rather than the "softer" one just being an edited cut of the "harder" one...)
The single most important ingredient in any porn scene, for me, is communication (often non-verbal)... It's something missing from a lot of scenes, particularly with gay-for-pay performers, who tend to "zone out" into their private fantasy world. It doesn't work for me unless both (or all) participants are actually focused on each other, and getting into whatever the other is feeling, whether it's romance, buddy sex or hard S&M. Communication.
I've been eager to see Idol in the Sky for a while now, and I notice that Men of Odyssey was mentioned several times in the GayVN nominations... Congrats and good luck! It's great to have another major player committed to DVD... [Link] |
netguy
Member
687 Posts
12/99
| Posted - Feb 26 2000 : 6:25AM
AWESOME!
If you include what you are proposing that is going to be one helluva hot seller!!!!
Go for it!
My interest is the making of/behind the scenes features. I saw a british show not too long ago where they followed this guy on the set of a gay porn and it was so intriguing-I couldve watched it for hours..unfortunatel it was only 30 min! But it was neat seeing them behind the scenes, them not being able to perform etc.
How bout a blooper reel??? It could be pretty funny..although I am sure the stars probably wouldnt like that aspect.....or at leas the stars interacting with each other.
Overall it sounds like youve got some great ideas! Look forward to it!!!![Link] |
jb0911
Member
North Hollywood, CA USA
74 Posts
1/00
| Posted - Feb 28 2000 : 9:54AM
Hey!
Thanks so much for responding! I really want to be on the right track for this project.
We will ABSOLUTELY NOT be cutting any image to make a softer version. It won't be soft in the same way a cable version is soft. We still plan for both versions to be fully hard-core, it's just that one will be shot with more emphasise on the full body rather than "in the hole" camera angles. That's a big reason that we have not done multi-angle DVD's yet. We will never have an alternate angle unless the angle was actually shot! Unlike some folks I won't name
Both versions should be very good. We've actually increased the overall shooting budget of this feature by more than a third just to accomodate DVD. The sex scenes will be shot as though there are actually two different movies. It's gonna be a challenge, but I think we can do it!
Please keep posting as to what you want to see!
Also, for the interviews, would you rather access the interviews from a menu or be able to jump to an interview with the actors during the scene and have the player send you back to the moment you left? I'm pretty excited about this idea. Please let me know![Link] |
alanbenson
Member
Lompoc, CA USA
156 Posts
11/99
| Posted - Mar 1 2000 : 8:37PM
Sounds like you're fascinated with the idea of "immediate access" interviews, somehow interwoven with the movie itself through the multi-angle or some other method...
That sounds very cool, yes, but I'm much more interested in the CONTENT than in the manner that it's accessed. It doesn't matter greatly to me whether I'd get at them through a traditional menu feature or what.
I'm getting VERY used to the direct access features of DVD. It's finally sinking in that I don't have to fast forward thru the scenes I'm less interested in... I'm thinking more interactively, and getting used to nagivating while watching. This means that branching options DURING a movie are terrific, but it also means that a few menu clicks one way or another are mattering less and less. At least on my player, the movie will automatically pick up where it left off after using the main menus anyway...
Still--I love the way you're thinking, and thanks again for your interest in our ideas!<small>
[This message has been edited by alanbenson (edited March 01, 2000).][Link] |
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onebigtool
New Member
San Francisco, CA, USA
1 Posts
3/00
|  Posted - Mar 29 2000 : 4:13PM
Multi-angles on gay DVDs have been VERY disappointing! :-(
True multi-angles should be alternate angles; same scene, different angle -- not "bonus" angles. It would be HOT to be able to see a scene from different angles, shots, with close ups & zoom outs.
Vivid Studios seem to do a pretty good job (Straight films only) with multi-angles.
Also, slide shows/galleries are a waste on DVD. Star interviews and/or behind-the-scenes or making-of featurettes would also be nice.
[Link] |
S Thorens
Member
Washington, DC
16 Posts
1/00
|  Posted - Apr 6 2000 : 4:06AM
To Faron of OGV/Men of Odyssey:
I agree that most slideshow options on DVD are a waste of time; however, a bio of the performers accompanied by a filmography with photos of the performer would make much more sense, giving us useful information with the pics. If you are going to use interviews of the performers, give us genuine and interesting information. I've read several "interviews" of pornstars in some of the skin magazines and been really disgusted with what I read as I knew the performer and knew, because of knowing him, that the "interview" was totally false -- an invention of the magazine or studio to self-promote. The sad thing is that a real interview of two of the three performers I have met would have been much more intersting that what was printed. The third is a different case -- the performer is now long dead of drug abuse and AIDS and was used and abused by the porno industry way back in the late 70s and early 80s. An article about him would have been an indictment of the industry at the time.
I also HATE multiangle "bonus scenes." Multiangle should be an alternate view of the scene taken and paced the same as the scene from which it is revived. Something else I hate is looped segments, especially cumshot loops whereby the video is edited to appear as if a cum shot lasts much longer than it really does.
Something that might be a cool use of the multiangle feature could be an alternate closeup of a cumshot in slow motion shot with a high frame-rate camera -- not just the standard 30 fps slowed down to 15 or 10 fps.
When I am watching the video, I am not likely to want to stitch to an interview -- it kind of kills the mood if you get my drift. I'd prefer a well-laid-out menu system that is very easy to navigate with the option of returning to the point I left watching the film if that is how I entered the menu -- best of both worlds, I think.
Something else I'd like to see is for you to delve through your library of master tapes and offer DVD transfers of some of your most highly rated and best selling videos of the past. I have totally quit purchasing videotape as it is a very poor media. In truth, I never bought many in the first place.
With DVD prices set at reasonable levels (the $70 "suggested retail price" of many premium DVDs is outrageous), I will begin to accumulate a substantial library. I already own over 200 DVDs of legitimate films. I've bought about 30 porno DVDs thus far and learned in the process that "Sunshine" is totally worthless and a total ripoff. I've bought Titan and Bjorn titles when I could find them on sale at substantial discounts only.
I don't mind paying a "premium" for porno videos; however, the premium should not be 350%. Provide quality content and price reasonablly and I will buy your product.[This message has been edited by S Thorens (edited April 06, 2000).] [Link] |
jb0911
Member
North Hollywood, CA USA
74 Posts
1/00
| Posted - Apr 6 2000 : 4:00PM
Hi Guys!
Once again, huge thanks for the input.
As it stands, it we're going to do three sets of interviews. One will be a general interview with the actor discussing past work, future projects, co-stars, embarassing moments, etc. The second will be a short interview done immediatly before the actual shooting of a scene begins and the third, immediatly after the scene is over (while they are all sweaty and sticky) to get their thoughts on how it went, what they really enjoyed, etc. The main interview will be accessed from the actors cast page, which will include bio and filmography info, while the second and third will accessed from the movie, placed in relation to the individual scene.
We are shooting as I write and so far the inverviews are going really well. I think everyone will be pleased.
We have a cameraman on set whose sole purpose is interviews and the behind-the-scenes feature.
The current plan for pricing is that the DVD and VHS versions will be very close in price. I think you should see a difference of no more $5.00.
Keep up the input folks. We have two more features coming up very soon![Link] |
