Members Login
Username 
 
Password 
    Remember Me  
Post Info TOPIC: New DVDs?


A Virgin

Status: Offline
Posts: 3
Date:
New DVDs?
Permalink   


Omar, I'm a HUGE fan of your dvds. When are you releasing more g/g vids via dvd?

__________________


HumbleCameraSlinger

Status: Offline
Posts: 472
Date:
Permalink   

Probably never. Unfortunately, the economics no longer work. The number of outlets is on the decline, and it trickled down to the point where my distributor simply stopped paying me. I would get about 50 cents on the dollar about 6 months after shipping a title. Remember, this is all after I paid for the shoot, the production, the DVD replication, cover artwork, shipping, etc. up front!

I get way less business by just posting files online for download, but at least I get to keep most of it, and don't have to shell out thousands of dollars ahead of time for manufacturing costs. I think it's 'game over' for DVD releases from small producers.

__________________
Life is short. "Enjoy every sandwich" - Warren Zevon


A Virgin

Status: Offline
Posts: 3
Date:
Permalink   

Thanks for replying. So, I want to go into g/g filmmaking. I would produce and direct out of NY City. I've gotten some profession interest from LA, mostly I'm told to go through the agencies. I will definitely look into local talent too, wherever that may be. Anyway, once I have ... lessay, 4 full scenes (w/ 8 actresses) finished up and ready to go, would it be a better money maker to create a website for viewing or go the DVD route? I hear you on what you just said, but pornstar Lily Cade just told me that the dvd market for g/g is booming now. Not so much with a solid web presence yet. Is she right or doesn't know what she's talking about? 
Seriously, dude, from the movies you've made, you're sort of a hero for me.


__________________


HumbleCameraSlinger

Status: Offline
Posts: 472
Date:
Permalink   

I'm flattered. Truly. I'm glad I've made stuff that people enjoy. G/G is booming in that indie studios such as Triangle and Sweeheart are making some noise. The reality is that only Girlfriend Films has enough volume and distribution to really make it. Triangle is struggling and Nica at Sweetheart is making B/G now. As much as my distributor liked Bellezza, it would only be worthwhile to them as a regular series with at least two DVD releases PER MONTH! (That's more work than it sounds). As much as they liked my stuff, one release every three months or so made it an unattractive product to distribute. Unfortunately, it's similarly true for a website of your own. CCBill won't let you sell monthly subscriptions unless you update frequently, and most people won't pay a subscription unless there are almost daily updates. That's why I sell tokens to download files rather than subscriptions. That all being said, life is short and you've gotta follow your passions and see where they lead you. You can also shoot scenes and HotMovies.com will put them up and share revenue with you. That might be a relatively easy way to get started. Who knows where it can go if you pull off something different that people really respond to? You've got to at least find out, right? Have fun!

__________________
Life is short. "Enjoy every sandwich" - Warren Zevon


A Virgin

Status: Offline
Posts: 3
Date:
Further conversation
Permalink   


Once again, i appreciate your feedback/advice. I have a bunch of other questions for you, but do you have a myspace or facebook account so I can make this a bit more private? I want to expose my business plan and goals to a select few, as you can imagine.  Plus, I wouldn't mind getting your opinions on business related things.

__________________
Anonymous

Date:
No FB; No MySpace; No problem
Permalink   


Understood. 
Here's what I don't understand. Bellezza was flying high in terms of getting 5 star ratings at LezLovevideo.com. You were working with great actresses that could act AND give you hot sex scenes. It seemed like you kept your production costs low (no grand sets, costumes, luxurious LA home rentals, etc). You were next in line with the pantheon of the rich guy from Girlfriends films, Kathryn from Triangle, and Nica from Sweetheart (and her wealthy backer).
WHAT HAPPENED???
I only ask because about 5 years ago, I talked with a guy that owned his own distribution company and he said that the REAL money was in production not distribution. He said all you had to do is make a film that had hot chicks in it with decent a decent production. Then you can sit back and collect the money. I understand that paysites (and free sites) have made the dvd market change from 5 years ago, but still. AND, is it that hard to set up a content only site and bring in girls once a week to produce scenes? I just look at L Factor and shake my head. Whoever is in charge over there churns out tons of content and quite a number of dvd. L Factor seems like a big money maker.
Omar, set me straight, man. You're in it. And I want in, but i don't want to go in with unreal expectations.


__________________


HumbleCameraSlinger

Status: Offline
Posts: 472
Date:
RE: New DVDs?
Permalink   


In the early days - say Bellezza Vol. 2 or 3 - I'd get an initial order for maybe 1500 units. Ultimately, I don't think any Bellezza title sold more than maybe 3000 units. (Keep in mind that about 3 years ago, Bellezza was LezLove's top seller behind Viv Thomas, so that gives you a more realistic and sober view of the market). If I was lucky, I got about $6/ea wholesale. It cost me a buck fifty to reproduce, package and ship. That money was due in 30 days. I paid the actresses between $700 and $1000 each per scene, plus misc expenses. That was all incurred at the time of the shoot. But, I'd get only a partial payment from my distributor, and that was only after maybe 60 days, and sometimes 4 months to get the balance. I could scream all I'd want, but it wouldn't help anything. The only leverage was to withhold the next title until I got paid. My distributor, by the way, WAS LezLove. As the market headed south, they'd beg me for more titles more often, even as the payments got further and further out. Now, if I were younger, single, didn't have another career, lived in LA, etc. I may have 'gone for it' and upped the production. However, none of those things were the reality of my life. So my only choice was to quit losing money making DVD's and instead go the web route. Again, I think it's viable with a 'specialty' product to find enough loyal customers to sustain it. But again, I think that's only true if you can produce enough volume, something I could only do if I decided to make it my full time gig. It's not currently the case with BellezzaVideo.com. I went with CumCloser because it's an under-served fetish market and easy (and fun) to produce. So far the numbers aren't encouraging. And within about a week of releasing something I can google it and return at least 20 torrent sights giving it away. So, while I think it's a nut that can be cracked, I've not succeeded in doing so.

__________________
Life is short. "Enjoy every sandwich" - Warren Zevon


Pornstar Wannabe

Status: Offline
Posts: 34
Date:
Permalink   

I think that's why the most successful sites are now in Eastern Europe, but as a consequence none of the G-G stuff comes close to what you do. 

Have you ever considered temporarily teaming up with someone in Eastern Europe? They could produce more content at a lower cost until you were able to turn a profit. You could even show your prospective partners "the ropes" while you were there on that trip you planned to take.

I spent waaaaaaay to much time searching for stuff that doesn't even come close to what you make, would be great if things just worked out for you.


__________________


C-List Pornstar

Status: Offline
Posts: 51
Date:
Permalink   

@popsmash: wrong, the most successful sites ane in the US. Reality Kings, BangBros, Brazzers, FTV are the top sites now.
In Europe was 21sextury but the site is american now and sells packages only in dollars ( in the summer when i subscribed i did it in euros and there was the option in my country's currency but now only in dollars) and another indicator is that Sandy (from ClubSandy) is doing make-up jobs for Reality Kings models.
Now the best sites in Europe are SapphicErotica ( 1 new scene in 2 days) and DDF (they do mostly solo and fetish scenes and a few gg-EuroGirlsonGirls).
What Omar is trying to say is that in order to be successful you need to post at least 1 new scene/day.

__________________


HumbleCameraSlinger

Status: Offline
Posts: 472
Date:
Permalink   

Yes. That's the general idea. I also wanted to dispel that myth that if you make a movie with sexy chicks in it, you can sit back and collect the money. NOT! On DVD, a couple thousand units is success! It doesn't take a math genius to see that at those sells level, you'd better have many titles out at the same time each selling 2000 copies to make any money. On the web, my 'heroes' are FTV and InTheCrack.com. Especially ITC. They shoot stuff absolutely no one else on the planet shoots. It may appeal to a small portion of the overall market, but they OWN 100% of that small portion. I've run the numbers, and if they have 2000 subscribers, they're grossing at least $45,000 per month. Spend 10K on new content... you see where I'm going. No distribution costs, Pay maybe a couple people tops. That's why they can get away with $34.95 a month and never have discounts or trial offers. They're really living my dream!

__________________
Life is short. "Enjoy every sandwich" - Warren Zevon


C-List Pornstar

Status: Offline
Posts: 51
Date:
Permalink   

it's $45 a month now and 10 secens/month. holly cow that's a lot of money.
i only had subscription for a month to download the Cindy Hope scenes, now with her new boobs i wouldn't spend $45 to see her. :)
maybe you should do the same thing omar, itc is mostly solo girls and even in the gg ones you don't get very much gg stuff.

__________________


HumbleCameraSlinger

Status: Offline
Posts: 472
Date:
Permalink   

True. So many of their gg scenes are such a disappointment. I mean, the girls are RIGHT THERE! You're paying them anyway... do your awesome stuff with them! I just re-signed with them last month and it was still $35. Did they raise it in Europe!?

__________________
Life is short. "Enjoy every sandwich" - Warren Zevon


C-List Pornstar

Status: Offline
Posts: 51
Date:
Permalink   

it's $45 or 34 euros so i guess they upped the subscription, damn crisis. :)

__________________


Pornstar Wannabe

Status: Offline
Posts: 34
Date:
Permalink   

Thanks for the info tenfan, I had completely forgotten about all of those factors.

I guess my point got lost in all of my assumptions. I essentially thought that while those sites are successful, none of those sites offer the unique balance of gg that you find in the bellezza videos. There are some ways in which Omar could make find a way to work things out (FTV "leftovers"/ teaming up with European producers etc....).

Most of the regular gg companies don't have any passion, while the stuff made by women doesn't really get the angles that most guys like. It's finding material in that middle zone that is sooo frustrating.

I think there is a niche market for what you do, and that it would be awesome for you to find a way to take advantage of it.




__________________


C-List Pornstar

Status: Offline
Posts: 51
Date:
Permalink   

popsmash wrote:



Most of the regular gg companies don't have any passion, while the stuff made by women doesn't really get the angles that most guys like. It's finding material in that middle zone that is sooo frustrating.

I think there is a niche market for what you do, and that it would be awesome for you to find a way to take advantage of it.








my thoughts exactly, i would subscribe to omar's site if he can manage to post 1 new shoot every 3 days.

__________________
Page 1 of 1  sorted by
 
Quick Reply

Please log in to post quick replies.

Tweet this page Post to Digg Post to Del.icio.us


Create your own FREE Forum
Report Abuse
Powered by ActiveBoard