clips vs. dvd's

[daryl]

I hear people talking a lot about the quality of clips these days, and I was wondering if it is the medium itself that has changed.

Once upon a time, a video or dvd was released, and it was not so often. Plots were more common, and more thought seemed to go into each. Now, there is a much greater volume and you don't have to wait for the mails, but few companies seem to be doing "plot driven" tapes (exceptions include Laughing gas zone, and clips like the "cia declassified" and similar).

is it the medium itself that has changed due to the new way of doing business?

 

[GuldenVleugel]

About the pros on DVDs, watching a (tickling) porn clip with your girlfriend is much more enjoyable when you do it on television than behind a PC monitor. But then again, you can burn the clips you bought to a DVD anyway, so it's no big deal.

I prefer clips over DVDs for that very reason, and I think the consumer also does. 😉

 

[Capnmad]

Haven't been here long enough to say if there's been a significant change, or if that change is responsible for a commensurate change in quality.

I will, however, say this... I think clips or dvds that lack even a premise beyond "I've paid this girl to get tied up and tickled" are often missing something when compared to those with some tension-building premise.

I've heard from plenty of people here who seem satisfied with bondage, a girl being tickled, and a camera, but I'm of a different mindset.

Most pleasure is ultimately broken down to tension and release. Often, the more artfully managed the tension is, the more pleasurable the release.

Consider foreplay before sex, or even the flirtation before foreplay. Each heightens the anticipation of the next. Anticipation leads into sexual tension, which is amplified during foreplay and released during sex.

Consider your favorite dessert... Being deprived it for a long time, and thinking about it leads to anticipation and desire. The desire unsated becomes tension and the desire finally satisfied is the pleasure.

For a dvd or clip, regardless of premise, there's already some personal anticipation because you have some sense of what's on it. But for me, the anticipation is heightened when there's something of a premise to build tension beyond that. This can be established through "plot" like an interrogation scenario (we don't stop until you give us the info -- I'm guessing "Declassified CIA" is like that), challenge/repercussions scenario (if you safeword out, or other, you lose an article of clothing -- like in "Tickle Baby"), home invasion (there being no reason for the tormentors to stop -- like in some clips from "Tickle Revenge"), or similar.

Tension can be established without plot, though, too... Challenge/repercussions scenario of losing an article of clothing upon safewording was the basic premise of MTP's "Strip Tickle", and required none of the plot set-up like the naughty student "plot" of "Tickle Baby". And tension-building and inducing reactions from a 'lee can be created with only good "tickle-talk", like that of TMH at BleuFetish.

I suppose I don't need a real plot, but I'd like at least an interesting premise or someone good with tickle-talk and building tension... Those are the sorts of clips I like best. Just some person tickling some tied up girl, without talk, tension, or nuance gets old kinda' quick...

 

[GuldenVleugel]

I believe there were more quality production from the same producer in the past. And it often occurred that they made like ten high-quality productions in a row. Still, old skool FM Concepts was shit as well, just like I don't like Ticklehell (which is from FM Concepts).

I can some up some great productions like ViperGTS's, Bleufetish, Frenchtickling, Ticklechicks, Ticklecentral and many more, but the most memorable videos from the calibre of old skool Paradise Vision or Realtickling are rarely from the same producer, but we still have great material and tickling has become more widespread too (though the non-con vids sucked, as well as the Tickleslaves', harrass porn makes me mad, Realtickling had relentless sessions but were always with her consent despite their hit "Without Consent" 😛).

We now have to dig deeper to find the best material. I don't mind though, because there's enough to choose from. Things also always come with ups and downs. The grass also always seems greener on the other side. I remember enjoying really bad tickling vids, just because they were tickling. Tickling was scarcer before. Paradise Vision and Realtickling were the only production worth a buy.

I got to know the tickling fetish' existence thanks to Belgian television were VT4 bought an American erotic series (forgot it's name: could be sexcetera, but it wasn't about MTP) and they interviewed Calstar Productions tickling Stacy Burke (she said she was from Ohio and acted really innocent and naive in it, for role-playing, rofl). This made me type in tickling at Altavista (back then).
I joined these forums as a lurker even though I was a minor (bad me ). Many lurkers over here will get outside their shell when they celebrate their 18th birthday, that's a fact.

 

[daryl]

being a fan of teasing/begging and tension building myself, I can see that. One of the reasons I'm always drawn to the "plot" vids/clips.

 

[mabus]

Okay, quality wise, DVD's will be better, becaues a DVD holds 4.7 Gigabytes of Data, where a clip is usually from 5 MGs to 250 Mgs. (Always aim for the highest Mgs possible.) 5Mg clips are grainy, all the frames aren't even there, the audio sucks, amd the resolution is 320 by 240, or smaller, which, when blown up full screen, looks even grainier.

I've been begging companies to ask TickleCentral what there conversion software is, because they produce the highest quality stuff, along with Czech Ticklish Girls But, since many of them just want the fast buck, as I explained in the TIB is Gone Thread, they could care less, and would never make that minor amount of effort.


Also, I love plot too, which, again, takes effort and thought to produce, and more work. It all depends on if the company gives a shit or not.

 

[The Last Laugh]

I've been begging companies to ask TickleCentral what there conversion software is, because they produce the highest quality stuff, along with Czech Ticklish Girls But, since many of them just want the fast buck, as I explained in the TIB is Gone Thread, they could care less, and would never make that minor amount of effort.

Personally, I would love to use better conversion software, and would be more than willing to pay a fair amout for it. I do care very much about the quality of my clips. I'm just not aware of such software. I've asked around, but nothing seems particularly more efficient than Windows Media Encoder for converting to WMV files, which is what I use. Still, it seems to me that there has to be a commercial product out there that does a better job than something you get for free. It's a bit frustrating to be eager to pay for something better but not to be able to find it.

Also, I love plot too, which, again, takes effort and thought to produce, and more work. It all depends on if the company gives a shit or not.

I don't think that's a fair assessment of how much companies care. I don't use plots in my videos, but it's not because I'm lazy or don't care about making a good product. I just don't like plots. From what I've seen, most such products tend to be on the cheesy size. Most models aren't actresses, and in my opinion, tickling isn't a topic that lends itself to a credible movie. I also don't think that the technical limitations that most producers have to work with allow to produce the level of quality necessary to support a plot-based movie. My videos are very amateur-like, and having an actual plot would seem too weird. Frankly, most of the time, plots in tickling videos make me cringe. But that's just my opinion. Anyway, what I'm saying is that the lack of a plot doesn't mean a producer doesn't care. It can very well be that the producer feels a plot doesn't add to a video, or even hurts it.

 

[tcklft]

I don't have a preference for a plot v. no plot. I prefer downloading clips rather than a 30 or 60 minute DVD; the clips are easier to store and I prefer watching shorter, 5-10 minute scenes. I do wish more producers would take pride in the image quality of their clips, however, either by investing in better equipment or by learning how to better utilitze their existing gear.

 

[alex]

I just don't like plots. From what I've seen, most such products tend to be on the cheesy side....It can very well be that the producer feels a plot doesn't add to a video, or even hurts it.

Exactly. When playing videos, I invariably fast-forward through the plot setups to get to the tickling, which is what I bought the video for. If clips, which charge by the minute, spend a lot of time setting up a plot, I feel ripped-off and am less likely to buy another clip from that producer.

Nonconsensuality is important to me, but this can be established during the tickling (bondage, pleading, etc.). The fact that clips now tend to minimize the nontickling plot elements is, I think, a great step forward.

 

[Texas_Tickle]

I like plots, if they are done well. But the main emphasis should remain on tickling. The plot should just be to add spice and flavor, not to over-shadow the tickling, itself.

 

[skelyrata]

I prefer clips over DVDs

As a costumer and as a producer I prefer downloadable clips over DVDs because they are instantanous! You don't have to wait days to get it.

From the producer point of view it happens that I am a one man crew and I don't have the time to devot into burning hundreds of DVDs and then having to package them and mail them to the costumer.

As for the image quality, to make a file not too heavy so that it can be uploaded and then downloaded by the buyers, it is necesarry to sacrifice some picture quality.

When I started back in february I used the mpeg2 format which delivered DVD quality videos, but the files were too big, and not everybody could playback that format.

In exchange, wmv is a more popular format, which allows a fair quality conversion in a reasonable file size.

I would do quicktime, but in a poll that I did a few month ago that option didn't get too many points.

Hopefully someday the internet will be so advance that it will be possible to upload and download HD video with no problem.

 

[evilwomanhehe]

I prefer clips..

I have bought dvd's/vids over the last few years and have been disappointed in them--whether it looked good on the back cover or it just interested me. Once I got it home and watched it--wasn't what I thought. Clips are instantaneous and I think producers describe it better.

Victoria

 

[drew70]

Vicky makes a good point about the descriptions.

Now I know some may disagree with me, and feel free to post such disagreements...but...For me a good tickling scene need only be a few minutes. These mega long scenes are exciting at first, but they tend to bore me after a while. I think 5-7 minutes is a good length, unless you actually have some kind of plot going on that offers changes of scenery, different characters tickling and being tickled, etc.

Given this concept, I think the clips are better suited for the 5-7 minute tickling scenes.

 

[The Last Laugh]

From the producer point of view it happens that I am a one man crew and I don't have the time to devot into burning hundreds of DVDs and then having to package them and mail them to the costumer.

Are you saying that business is good enough that if you offered DVDs you'd actually manage to sell hundreds of copies? If so, I'm very impressed. I do offer DVDs, and it would take me nearly 6 months to sell only about a hundred. Naturally, I'd sell more if I didn't offer clips too, but I don't think the difference would be that great.

Personally, I don't find the job of making copies and shipping them to be that bad. I'm not overly crazy about it, but it doesn't take that much time. I just pop a DVD in my burner once in a while and let the computer take care of the job while I do something else. Preparing packages, while tedious, takes a few minutes.

That said, I can certainly understand not being thrilled about the idea of investing a lot of time and effort just to offer the same material in a different format. Especially since clips really are more popular nowadays. I find it to be quite a hassle myself. I have to make a big AVI master clip, convert it to MPEG2 and build the DVD presentation with an authoring program. Due to habit and, well, "tradition", I kinda feel compelled to write a long, detailed description, which is one of the things I dislike the most about the entire process. Clip descriptions don't need as much work. That's not counting the research, software/hardware/media expenses, and the painful trial-and-error experimentation that I needed to go through until I got it right. Oh, and offering DVDs also represents some extra work when updating my website and Videos4Sale.com store.

Still, since I have been selling DVDs for a few years now, I know that some of my customers prefer that format and have gotten used to buying my videos on DVD. I wouldn't want to disappoint them by dropping that format, like I eventually did with videotapes (and before that, clips on CD-ROM). Besides, despite the extra work DVDs represent, I do like having a tangible product for each of my videos. Somehow, it makes my work, you know, more real to me.

 

[The Last Laugh]

Now I know some may disagree with me, and feel free to post such disagreements...but...For me a good tickling scene need only be a few minutes. These mega long scenes are exciting at first, but they tend to bore me after a while. I think 5-7 minutes is a good length, unless you actually have some kind of plot going on that offers changes of scenery, different characters tickling and being tickled, etc.

Given this concept, I think the clips are better suited for the 5-7 minute tickling scenes.

I have to agree with this. A given scene can only last for so long until it gets repetitive. After that, you may want to see a different position, a different setting, a switch of roles for the models, or even different models altogether.

In the past I used to offer physical videos exclusively (videotapes at first, then DVDs). But since I started selling clips, I've been trying to do shoots with 5-8 minute scenes in mind. I can't say that I'm always successful, however. When the action is good, you kind of lose the notion of time, and it can be hard to interrupt a scene that has a lot of potential. So I still end up with some clips that are longer than I'd like.

Given that I agree with Drew's opinion that making a scene last longer doesn't necessarily make it that much more valuable, there are some technical aspects of selling clips that bug me. For instance, I don't think a 12-minute scene is worth that much more than a 5-minute one. As long as the models have enough time to dish out some decent tickling damage, that's good enough for me. After that, I want to move to something different. The problem I have is that while Clips4Sale.com does offer a number of price choices for a clip of a given duration, it's not quite as flexible as I'd like. For example, a scene may have lasted, say, 12 minutes, but because of what I just explained, I don't feel asking more than a couple extra dollars for it compared to a 5-minute clip is justified.

Unfortunately, there are limits to how much you can lower the default price of clips when you upload them. I couldn't make the price of the 12-minute clip, say, 7$ or 8$, which I think would be a reasonably attractive price for customers. The price menu doesn't go that low for that duration. And even then, while 7-8$ for 12 minutes isn't a bad deal when you only consider the cost per minute, it's still 7-8$ for just one scene that could very well have been a few minutes shorter, and thus cheaper, while remaining nearly as satisfying. If I bought clips myself I'd rather get three 5-minute clips for 15$ than one 20-minute clip for the same price.

Now, I understand that the C4S people have put a lot of thought into their store, and they have reasons for the settings they've selected. But I do find such limitations to be a bit frustrating sometimes.

Of course, different people have different preferences and priorities, and that's just fine. I'm just speaking for myself, here. That's part of the reason why I have a mix of short clips and longer clips on my store. I even have some that are full-length videos or half videos, which allow customers to get the equivalent of a few clips for less money than if they bought the clips individually. After all, I have to agree that a decent cost-per-minute ratio is indeed desirable.

Whoa, I've really been going on and on, there. Sorry about that.

 

[SirDigbyChickenCaesar]

I suppose that if I had someone to watch tickling videos with, it might be nice to own some DVDs, but as was mentioned it is easy to just burn some clips onto a disc if you need to. I spend most of my time on the computer, so being able to download digital content is just superior for me.

I tend not to care one way or another about plot. I will say that an overarching plot for an entire shoot can really help sell the clips if the description is good, at least for me anyway. But when it comes down to watching the clip, all I really care about is the action. For me, when I watch non-tickling movies I don't really care about action; I'm looking for plot, character development, and acting. So tickling videos that just drop what is almost undoubtedly going to be very amateur acting and plot in favour of action is probably going to be more enjoyable for me.

Realtickling and Paradise Visions had some good plot driven work back in the day, but a lot of that was helped along by their passion for what they were doing and keeping things simple. By the same token, I love the stuff from Frenchtickling and Last Laugh because it is obvious there is a passion going on there. At Frenchtickling you can tell that the main guy is just thrilled to be tickling this girl, but at the same time is making sure that it is a good video. At Last Laugh Francois doesn't tend to do the tickling, but he does focus on camera angles, interesting bondage and positions, and girls that are with only a couple exceptions very girl next door and finding out all about tickling for themselves while doing the video. Frenchtickling also has very girl next door models. For me, when I watch a video like that I think, "Wow, I could meet a girl just like that down at my local bar or something like that." I didn't really get that with Realtickling or FM Concepts.

 

[Johnny Ticklish]

DVD's are good to watch with a partner. If you're trying to set a mood during a tickle date, it's tough to do that with a clip on the computer.

 

[dusty rhodes]

I don't think that's a fair assessment of how much companies care. I don't use plots in my videos, but it's not because I'm lazy or don't care about making a good product. I just don't like plots. From what I've seen, most such products tend to be on the cheesy size. Most models aren't actresses, and in my opinion, tickling isn't a topic that lends itself to a credible movie. I also don't think that the technical limitations that most producers have to work with allow to produce the level of quality necessary to support a plot-based movie. My videos are very amateur-like, and having an actual plot would seem too weird. Frankly, most of the time, plots in tickling videos make me cringe. But that's just my opinion. Anyway, what I'm saying is that the lack of a plot doesn't mean a producer doesn't care. It can very well be that the producer feels a plot doesn't add to a video, or even hurts it.
__________________


Yes,i agree for the most part.But your clips-videos are some of the best i have ever seen.

 

[LindyHopper]

My favorite video (yes, of the actual VHS variety) is one of Jeff's full-length "First Time" videos. The reason I like it so much is the long buildup and exploration with the 'lee. It's all tickling (no plot really, only brief pre- and post-session interviews), but her reactions change immensely over the course of the video: from surprise at how much it tickled, to suppressed giggling, to struggling against her own ticklishness, and finally to unrestrained laughter, just giving in to the experience. Her overall demeanor evolved from initial nervousness, to a relaxed happiness at the end.

To me, that progression is what gets lost in a 5-minute clip. Just tickling, with no context, just doesn't seem as interesting to me.

 

[Rose Madder]

Unless there's some dynamics, I get really bored with the one-room one-camera tickle videos. For me, motivation must be demonstrated.