Hello, noob here with questions for the collective wisdom

[mrdonjones]

First, I'm Don and I am trying to get into this racket at the age of 51, lol. I also have no budget, so I hope to take advantage of this forum to kneel at the feet of the successful and experienced. I'm no longer too proud to ask someone who knows more than I.

My current questions are,
1. I am shopping for camcorders. How essential is 3D? How essential is HD? Which resolution, 1080i. 1080p, or is 720 good enough? Is quality consumer equipment sufficient, or do I need $5,000 to $20,000 cameras? (Cuz I ain't spending more than $1000 to maybe $1500 if you tell me I have to.)
2. Related, can I get away with used equipment? How many cams should I take to a shoot? 2, 3, more? I expect to use no more than 2 at a time, but getting sound, lights, talent and crew together just to lose a camera would suck. Do any of you shoot with more than 2 at a time? Do you do stills separately or at the same time?
3. I am recruiting local raw models/actors. Niche is Gay Latin Twinks. How much is fair pay for a 1-2 hour pictorial still shoot, clothed to nude, but without J/O? How about solo J/O? Then mixed doubles, lol?
4. I have encountered a talented amateur photographer/videographer. What is fair pay? I will provide the video equipment, but he will bring his own DSLR for still. Really there is no film to buy, so do I provide any other expenses? It's all local.
5. Getting to the sticky stuff: Do you guys have any boilerplate model releases, release of rights to the content in return for compensation documents? Or do I have to hire a lawyer?
6. What about location etiquette? I intend to approach an adult venue for shooting locales, and offer online mention and a banner. Do I need a release from them?

I am not terribly concerned with professional quality content immediately. Sometimes I think the amateur look is more interesting, anyway. But I don't want to waste any time, and a year from now throw out old material because it doesn't match the current product.

Please don't think I already know the answer to something you wish to share, because I don't. If I haven't read it on the web, I don't know it.

One more thing, I am doing my own website, currently with the kind assistance of Ryan at PKS. I have built and designed for the internet since the late 90's, but in an entirely different context. While I find amateurish content to be sexy, I abhor amateurish web pages. I also dislike any obstacles to easy access to the good stuff after paying, and I don't really like web pages that are hobbled together from various bits and pieces. I hope to offer a professional-looking experience, but not a personal experience. In other words, this is not a site about a person, but rather a subject. Gays are also pretty judgmental in my experience, and aren't going to tolerate quirky navigation or slow response times.

I am on a shared hosting arrangement, and will be offering a variety of options: Community/Dating/Hookup with free and premium memberships, including C2C, chat/IM, and contests, which I hope to build into a traffic source; free and premium tube and DVD sections using purchased, promotional FHG donations, and original content; and a free review section. I have big dreams of a multi-site "mega" complex with the commonality of a Latino/Latina theme, and eventually some straight content.

Is there a floor rate for premium sites? At what point is it futile to try to operate such a business? I can't offer all the content of the Next Door group or DogFart or Bel Ami, so I hope to build value with the free and purchased content until I have the critical mass to be independent. Is it feasible to have a $10 a month membership? Will I attract a single affiliate? $15? I hope to keep a little of the money for myself and for adding new content and paying Ryan, et al. It seems even the scuzziest sites charge at least $24.9 recurring, and most are about $30. Is that the lowest functioning business model?

I know I'm getting wordy, but I just got posting rights here and I have built up a backlog of mysteries. I have an AEBN DVD PPV gallery set up, but no traffic, although I haven't tried yet. It seems the dating site is getting 10 new members a day with zero promotion except organic. I am bilingual and will have a bilingual site, with the hope of increasing the appeal to both English- and Spanish-speaking subscribers. Anyone think I should stick to English only? Are there payment gateway issues with any Latin countries?

A;; that and whatever you think I should know that I didn't ask will be humbly appreciated. Thank you for the opportunity to learn from the giants of the industry. I truly hope to join you someday. Perhaps we can all form a flotilla or regatta or whatever they call it when I get my first yacht. Otherwise, I'm in the hotel business in Texas in case you head this way.

Don ([email protected])
HotLatinTwinks.com (Project now, residing on the hard drives at PKS)
HotLatinMale.com (Pointing to my AEBN PPV)
HotLatinMuscle.com (Uncommitted)
HotTamales.co (Intended to be the umbrella site)
VatosCachondos.com (Dating)

[fonsolo]

I'll start with you're subscription fee by saying that I feel if you shoot too high right out of the gate that you are going to get a wealth of angry members complaining about lack of content. Many sites that charge $29.99 and look "scuzzy" or as if they were designed in 2000 probably were and have been building archives of content since, so they can more than likely justify that price tags despite their ugliness. I just started producing content in September and I sometimes feel guilty charging $10/mo but my content is quality so no complaints yet. I suppose it comes down to how much flak your willing to take and If your front end looks appealing enough to convert your visitors.

Feasibility would depend on too many variables that can't be determined yet. Since there is no finite amount of product, the factoring issue is how much can you sell? Which essentially comes down to how many people visit your site and how appealing it is to those people. Too broad of a subject to talk briefly about so I'll move on.

As for models it really can vary. Some models will pose for free if the photographer is esteemed enough, but usually only if it can help their port. If it's one model solo JO(I'm assuming mean Jack Off?) I'd say $50-100/hr would be reasonable, especially for a guy who would be more easily coerced than a female. When looking for models I usually ask them their rates than barter a little bit.

You can easily find a release form template by Googling those exact words. Make sure you create a 2257 compliance page that lists who ever is keeping your records.

For cameras, you'll probably pay $3,000+ for a decent HD(1080p!!)camera, but if you're shooting for amateur, a $500 handy cam should do fine. When it comes to shooting, a huge aspect is lighting. For video you'll be using continuous lighting setups so be sure to look into that also(google).

As for the rest, I stopped reading you post due to the length. Hope that helps!

[mrdonjones]

Thanks, fonsolo. I've been reading you guys for a couple of months, and I feel like I am starting to get an idea here and there. I appreciate your comments, particularly the rates suggestions. I figure that the PPV will bring in a little money, and I couldn't agree more about the angry members. And sorry for the length. I knew it was too long about halfway through.

[fonsolo]

Glad I could be of services It's somewhat hard to find advice for producers on this site, or anywhere for that matter, so I am also learning as I go. To touch again on models, If you are looking you should check out modelmayhem.com. It's not solely for the adult industry so you may want to approach models in a more formal fashion, but there is a wealth of talent there depending on your location.

Another small bit of advice is that if you are just starting out as a producer, you may want to narrow your sights a little bit, as "Latino Gay Amateur" is a heavily competitive niche. I would suggest researching your competition and find some way to differentiate yourself, i.e., find a smaller niche.

Good luck!