I Will Never Balk at Custom Quotes Again

[Nyghtfall]

Last December I announced that my wife gave me a fantastic Christmas present by greenlighting a long-held interest in becoming a fantasy death fetish producer. I quickly geared up and started learning everything I might need to work with real models.

I'm sorry to write that my interest will likely never come to fruition. Simply put, I can't afford studio space or model fees, so I'm going to relegate myself to financing customs with other producers. Meanwhile, I'm putting my gear to use in macro photography.

On a positive note for any producers reading this, my learning experience has given me a new perspective about behind-the-scenes processes and made me appreciate the costs involved in producing content for us.

To my fellow fetishists, please support your favorite producers. This shit ain't cheap. I recently found a contemporary home studio in my area that would've been ideal for home invasion shoots but it rents for $90/hour.

[tommygun]

Nyghtfall, thanks for posting this. It's the unfortunate fact that everything about producing one of these little clips costs far more than anyone could realize, unless he or she tried to do what you did. And it isn't just the $500 a day for the legitimate actors, or the hundreds of dollars for the location, it's the dozens of other, seemingly insignificant, elements that you have to provide, from food/drinks on set to wardrobe, and on and on. They ultimate add more hundreds of dollars to a day's shooting costs.

John M. commented the other day in another thread that his custom prices for a Shooting clip was more than a strangling clip just because the darn things take so much longer to produce. The make-up and set-ups and editing/special effects are probably five times more time-consuming for an edited five-minute Shooting sequence than for the average Strangling scene. Obviously, this all drives the costs up significantly.

Simultaneously, the revenues from clip sales have been on a very steady decline over the years. The average clip now brings in less than 20% of what it would generate in the heyday.

Bottom line, all of us as producers are either coasting along at break-even, or losing money on most productions and continuing anyway, because we can and because we enjoy the community and the scenes we all produce.

So, yes, if you think a custom price is high, just realize that no one is trying to gouge you. It's just that doing something that is special to your tastes costs a lot more than you think!

[Nyghtfall]

Nyghtfall, thanks for posting this.

You're welcome. All of my research boiled down to a redefinition of the term "sticker shock" for me and a much better understanding of the costs involved with fetish productions. Gear-wise, I paid $1300 for lenses and accessories for my Canon Rebel SL2:

24mm f/2.8
50mm f/1.8
60mm f/2.8 macro
10-18mm f/4.5 - 5.6
Speedlight Flash (x2)
Wireless Flash Receiver (x2)
Camera Backpack

I don't regret having them in my toolkit now but I could've financed a PKF custom with that money. For example, I would love to cast Ashley Lane in a lift-up strangle and I think her fee is around $1500.

[Deathtrap]

Hey there, Nyghtfall, sorry to hear that you're looking at giving up your dream so early. As someone who has been doing this for about a decade, allow me to offer some unsolicited advice.
Make a film. Just do it. Make it short and simple and include those elements that will make it a Nyghtfall film, whatever they might be. Just a couple scenes. Set up and pay off. You don't need all day to shoot it, maybe a couple hours at most. And for a two hour shoot you don't need to feed people. Then go edit it and see what you have.

Did you enjoy shooting the film? Did you enjoy editing it? If not then, yes, get out now because that's what this job is. If the experience of making your first film isn't fun and exciting then it's never going to be.

But, if it is something you enjoyed, then maybe this is for you.

Next, look at your film. Does it suck? If you've never made a film before it probably will. Watch the film with as critical an eye as you can bring yourself to muster. What's the worst thing about it? Do shots go out of focus? Is the acting wooden and flat? Does everyone sound like they're at the bottom of a can? Find the worst two or three things about your film and research how to make them better. Youtube is a bottomless pit of good advice from professionals on every aspect of filmmaking.

Now make another film. Repeat. Are you still enjoying the process? If not, then quit. Because, again, this is what the job is. But if you like what you're doing, keep at it.

[jasne]

Really good advice there. My few first videos were so sux:) but it was fun to do that and still is.

[Nyghtfall]

Thanks for the tips, Deathtrap. Much appreciated and will definitely keep them in mind.

I recently looked into proper etiquette for using hotels for shoots and may look into available options in my area. Would love to do a series involving traveling business women attacked in their rooms from behind and garroted while hoisted off the floor. I am rock hard imagining myself scrubbing through shots of their feet straining to reach the floor mere inches below.

[xj900uk]

It sounds as though you are keen to try something, Nyughtfall.
At the end of the day perhaps it would be easier for you (and cheaper!) just to hire a suitable hotel room for a day/night if you can scope one out in advance and find out which is most suitable. And make sure all your gear is portable and easy to set up and use.
But, Jasne is right, the first few attempts are likely to be terrible, so you need to persevere and learn from what goes right, what goes wrong, what is hard to shoot and what is easier.
As I said before when you were first given the green light to proceed, for now you just need to shoot, shoot and then shoot somemore at anything, just become familiar with your camera and equipment, find out what it can do and what it can capture perfectly, then try experimentations with lgithing for mood, etc and what you can do to enhance your photography.

[Nyghtfall]

It sounds as though you are keen to try something, Nyughtfall.

Keen, yes. Financially ready, not by a long shot, and there's no telling when I will be. I'm just exploring ideas and learning what I can.

[Awol Nate]

I totally understand that filming is quite expensive, but sadly I'm at a point where I just cannot afford any customs. The last inquiry I sent to a producer about a drowning custom she quoted me $850 for the shoot. I simply do not have that kind of money now. Customs are going to have to be put on hold indefinitely for me, perhaps for good. The money situation these days is getting a bit tight.

I sympathize with the producers, because yeah it all adds up. But I have to prioritize now. These are essentially fetish films, and I do not have that kind of extra cash for something that falls in the "leisure/entertainment" category.

[tommygun]

Nate, I totally understand your position and don't want you to think that any producer thinks otherwise. It's just a terrible situation where the general sales of the clips don't pick up much of the costs these days, and the more specific the custom idea, the less the sales are likely to be.

You have been an incredible supporter of the work of so many of us over the years. All we can do is hope that you, yourself, are ok and can enjoy the work that gets produced over time. I'll try to get some good boob squeezes in some future productions in your honor!

I'm thinking of doing a big-boob extravaganza in Florida in February. If "HITMAN" proves to be popular, it will support the idea of more of these multi-girl killings. I've already got Jemma Jordan and Jeannie Blaze committed to coming in for a fun day. And Quinn Taylor is also available. Not sure about Lady Brittany. Let's see 3 x DD = ?? Must be a groping opportunity in there somewhere.

[Awol Nate]

Nate, I totally understand your position and don't want you to think that any producer thinks otherwise. It's just a terrible situation where the general sales of the clips don't pick up much of the costs these days, and the more specific the custom idea, the less the sales are likely to be.

You have been an incredible supporter of the work of so many of us over the years. All we can do is hope that you, yourself, are ok and can enjoy the work that gets produced over time. I'll try to get some good boob squeezes in some future productions in your honor!

I'm thinking of doing a big-boob extravaganza in Florida in February. If "HITMAN" proves to be popular, it will support the idea of more of these multi-girl killings. I've already got Jemma Jordan and Jeannie Blaze committed to coming in for a fun day. And Quinn Taylor is also available. Not sure about Lady Brittany. Let's see 3 x DD = ?? Must be a groping opportunity in there somewhere.

Thanks Tommygun! I will be up for purchasing anything you produce that you think might trigger some of my fetishes - and since I worked with you on a production, you certainly know what those are! ;) I'm always happy to support a producer by purchasing material that gets me going. Unfortunately, I must be in a minority lol. It appears that there are not too many folks here who enjoy watching a naturally busty gal get her boobs felt up while she's getting strangled or drowned. I'm not too keen on the sex part so prevalent in death fetish material. Sex for the most part bores me. And necro sex does absolutely nothing. I love the frantic struggle of the victim, the victim's clothing getting violently torn off her body as she is attacked and killed by multiple male killers. I love seeing her getting molested (specifically groped up) while she's getting offed. My preferences are strangulations and drownings. There tends to be a lot of cookie-cutter fetish material where the formula looks like this: Woman gets attacked, woman gets knocked out, woman gets leisurely stripped while she's knocked out, woman wakes up, woman gets attacked again and killed this time, woman gets necro raped. This sort of formula bores the hell out of me. I want to see three dudes pounce on a gal and viciously tear her clothes off and grope her up while she's getting strangled or drowned. The scene should look like something out of Road Warrior - brutal and savage. If I can find something resembling that in a production that I didn't script, I would definitely consider purchasing it, and possibly for more than the asking price if it looks super crazy hot.

[tommygun]

LOL... Well, we're in total sync.

Never have the three dudes, since that's just one more expense. But let me see if I can figure out something that works sort of that way for February. Again, thanks for everything you do and have done for the community.

[jhsnuff]

I want to see three dudes pounce on a gal and viciously tear her clothes off and grope her up while she's getting strangled or drowned. The scene should look like something out of Road Warrior - brutal and savage. If I can find something resembling that in a production that I didn't script, I would definitely consider purchasing it, and possibly for more than the asking price if it looks super crazy hot.

Just one dude, and hardcore rape, but you might like the most brutal film I've seen, PsychoThrillers "New in Town". The woman is never unconscious, even though she would prefer to be, and had her head banged against the wall, then against the floor twice. Her clothes are ripped off her and she endures a long "catch-and-release" strangle. Their website at https://www.psycho-thrillersfilms.com/ is timing out right now, so you'll have to find ordering info on your own.

[xj900uk]

I totally understand that filming is quite expensive, but sadly I'm at a point where I just cannot afford any customs. The last inquiry I sent to a producer about a drowning custom she quoted me $850 for the shoot. I simply do not have that kind of money now. Customs are going to have to be put on hold indefinitely for me, perhaps for good. The money situation these days is getting a bit tight.

I sympathize with the producers, because yeah it all adds up. But I have to prioritize now. These are essentially fetish films, and I do not have that kind of extra cash for something that falls in the "leisure/entertainment" category.

Have you considered working with Antony over at Wild Stories, Mr Nate, as he is still shooting material. And we are currently just about to start on a new production 'Rain on the Window' which will have your favourite subject in (bare boobs) and he is charging me less than half what you have been quoted.
Also if you don't mind waiting, you could do a lot worse than talk to Advocate over at Crime House/Dark Rooms as although he's got a lot on his plate, I am sure you and he could do something together and his prices as well are very reasonable.
To be honest, this is why I work with our Russian producers, Antony and Advocate as they can afford to legitimately charge cheaper prices for top quality high-production content - Advocate has lots of cash and a excellent production team/equipment, whilst Antony (Wild Stories) is just such a bloody good cameraman and photographer of the female form...

[AntonFr]

Thank you for recommending me, xj900uk!
But I read above about what Mr. Nate likes and I think I won't be able to shoot something like that.