What to do with disappointing tickling footage?

[The Last Laugh]

Thanks for your high standards and hard work Francois. I appreciate hearing about some of the process behind your productions, and have enjoyed the clips I've purchased through the years. Best wishes.

Thank you, I'm grateful for your support. I like to think that some people do indeed enjoy reading about what goes on behind the scenes (even when they realize it's not nearly as fun or as easy as they've always thought it was). I'm glad that you feel that way. I find it therapeutic to vent some of the frustration involved in running a business like mine by sharing my thoughts and experiences here on the TMF.

They're just being sarcastic, poking fun at you because you seem to have over thought a simple decision.

Sorry, but I didn't get the impression that TickledToDeath was being sarcastic. Possibly trying to be helpful somehow, but I still didn't like the tone of his message at all. I did very much enjoy your own antics, though.

Besides, it's not that simple a decision, considering how many completely different suggestions I got in this thread. Although I must admit that my mind was already half-made when I posted the original message. I pretty much figured I would toss the footage out the window. I guess I was hoping I would be inspired to do something more useful with it. But I'm afraid it hasn't happened.

Thing is, I fully realize I already don't have the "hottest" or the most ticklish models in the business. Not even close. I don't want to make things even worse by releasing the mediocre footage from my latest shoot.

You should do whatever you want with it, but obviously no one will complain if you post it here for free.

I don't know, it seems to me there's always someone who has the gall to complain even when the material is free. And the footage I have really isn't very good at all, especially the scene with the second girl. Why would I want to post a clip that has virtually no laugher in it? Also, I don't want to sound selfish, but as I explained, even a free clip requires time to edit and process, and if I'm not going to sell it I would really rather use that time to do something else instead. Like work on better clips, for which I happen to have tons of raw footage that will take me an eternity to process.

 

[gentlefeather007]

Put it up for sale on c4s, hell I'd buy it now just for the hype.
There is always a market but just like you did here, be honest about the product.
I give you major props for that!!
That's my $0.02.
Ultimately do as you wish and forget the haters!!

 

[The Last Laugh]

Put it up for sale on c4s, hell I'd buy it now just for the hype.
There is always a market but just like you did here, be honest about the product.

Hype probably isn't the best reason for buying a product. But I do appreciate your kind words.

 

[WheresThe Clip?]

Don't give it away even for free, as if it is as poor as you say, it will be detrimental to your reputation as a producer (people will soon forget it was a freebie).

One suggestion however (if it is possible) would be too add a laugh track from another shoot to the footage, and then sell it at a discount (provided you make clear the method).

 

[Teal]

Just trash the clip. Yes, it's unfortunate you invested time and money into this for nothing, but it's sunk loses at this point.

 

[mart]

I would choose your work before that of Tickle Abuse anytime. While Tommy's models may be ticklish, they are certainly not as ticklish as they act and have obviously been briefed to go over-the-top. You see them in other clips saying how much they enjoy it, or reacting normally without any bondage. Much of the hype is producer's hype during shooting, not just hype in the product descriptions.

This makes me prefer clips that have no bondage, or clips where the tickling is more sensual. I am so tired of the whole Tickling-is-Torture hype when clearly tickling is for money and for fun.

In your case I would now trash the clip, yes, but in future, if a model turns out to be less ticklish why not rather do something more sensual right then and there, get her to talk about her ticklishness and her feet and so on. Chuck out the bondage and get the girls to do something they enjoy. I don't mean strip and sex, but a tickling that is fun, communicative and erotic.

 

[The Last Laugh]

Don't give it away even for free, as if it is as poor as you say, it will be detrimental to your reputation as a producer (people will soon forget it was a freebie).

I agree. Even if I explain the context, I'm not comfortable distributing a clip that I feel isn't good enough for sale. I mean, my store does include a number of clips that I wish were better/more intense. They're not all classics, far from it. But I feel they all have something to offer, enough to be worth selling (or trying to sell, anyway). Not so with last weekend's footage. Oh, a few people might find it appealing in some way, but not enough to compensate for how other people will dislike it.

One suggestion however (if it is possible) would be too add a laugh track from another shoot to the footage, and then sell it at a discount (provided you make clear the method).

I must admit I'm not sure whether you're being facetious or not. In any case, I doubt many, or even any customers would be interested in a clip with a soundtrack that has nothing to do with it. It's not like it would even be synchronized.

I would choose your work before that of Tickle Abuse anytime. While Tommy's models may be ticklish, they are certainly not as ticklish as they act and have obviously been briefed to go over-the-top.

I'm not sure I agree with that assessment of Tommy's models, but I do appreciate your support.

In your case I would now trash the clip, yes, but in future, if a model turns out to be less ticklish why not rather do something more sensual right then and there, get her to talk about her ticklishness and her feet and so on. Chuck out the bondage and get the girls to do something they enjoy. I don't mean strip and sex, but a tickling that is fun, communicative and erotic.

Is there really a demand for clips in which models just talk about their ticklishness and feet? It might possibly appeal to a few people, but I doubt it would be enough to make such clips lucrative. I would probably have more success by releasing the so-so tickling footage (which I don't intend to). I'm also not sure I understand what I could have the girls do that would be fun for them but also appealing for customers. No bondage, no decent tickling... I'm very sorry, but don't see it being very popular. It seems to me a simple, dedicated foot fetish shoot would have more potential. But even then, as I explained before, my foot videos stopped paying for their production costs a long time ago.

 

[goalie34]

Maybe release it as a foot clip? I like the ones you have up quite a bit.

 

[xiahou_dun]

I've always enjoyed your stuff over the years (was always curious how you would name em after a while too) It really is a shame that these two didn't work out, that girl on the right is cute. I would like to see simply because she is cute, but this is a business and time is money. If you gonna put in time you wanna make money right? As much as I wanna see it, it probably belongs in the trash.

Keep up the good work man, your stuff rocks!

 

[Sunriseticklee]

I would put the up as a foot fetish thing only. Make some of the video footage into still shots. Market it strictly to people who enjoy feet and are not die hard tickle fans. Also, some people like the lighter side. Not everyone's cup of tea, but find a way to let folks know using a more positive approach.

 

[Sunriseticklee]

Oooh... don't ever do a laugh track, and it isn't my suggestion to give it out for free.

 

[Rod]

Not sure if the video qualifies for that...but how about releasing the footage as is, raw and unedited but with the entire scene, from the very begining (on screen bondage, I mean) and all comments you and the models may have had during the shot? I've been looking for a video like this for ages!

 

[The Last Laugh]

Not sure if the video qualifies for that...but how about releasing the footage as is, raw and unedited but with the entire scene, from the very begining (on screen bondage, I mean) and all comments you and the models may have had during the shot? I've been looking for a video like this for ages!

I'm afraid most people wouldn't find this very interesting and would find it wasteful to pay for a clip that features several minutes without any actual tickling. Sorry.

 

[mart]

Sell it to some video editor who can dub it, edit it and break it up into clips that he can sell - all on condition that he does not name where he got the footage from.

 

[The Last Laugh]

Sell it to some video editor who can dub it, edit it and break it up into clips that he can sell - all on condition that he does not name where he got the footage from.

I'm afraid I'm not comfortable with that option. I don't like the idea of someone else selling/distributing my material. I prefer to keep as much control over my own work as possible. And even if the footage isn't that great it would be disappointing not to get any credit for it. Besides, I'm pretty sure some people would recognize my style.

Actually, I've been going through the "disappointing" footage again, and I have to say, while it's not my best work, some scenes aren't that bad after all. I'm thinking of producing and releasing a few of them. They might not appeal to everyone, but some people might enjoy them for various reasons, possibly as mild tickling/foot fetish clips in some cases. So I've kind of changed my mind about some of that material, apparently less bothered about people's reactions to those clips as I was when I started this thread. Sorry about this.

Some of these scenes I'm considering are part of shoots I haven't released at all so far, and I figure some people might like to see the new models (and their feet). But a few of the scenes are actually from shoots that I've already released (namely Last Laugh Isa, Jera and Eiwaz). They're scenes I dropped at the time but that now seem to have some potential. So they're new clips from old series. I might release those fairly soon.

 

[tkl-pen]

Why not simply post if for free on a forum like this where it can still be enjoyed and provide some advertising for your paid videos?

 

[blargblarg]

You could post a preview, like one of your regular videos, and decide whether to release it or not based on the reactions

 

[The Last Laugh]

Why not simply post if for free on a forum like this where it can still be enjoyed and provide some advertising for your paid videos?

Because I would still have to spend a fair amount of time processing the footage, time that would be best spent on better videos. I also feel that releasing weak material, even for free, isn't the best way to advertize my work.

That being said, as I mentioned in my previous message, I've decided to release some of the shoots and scenes I initially thought weren't good enough. Some of them, while not great, do have some potential, and I'm hoping they'll appeal to some people. As long as I mention the flaws I see in those videos it shouldn't be much of a problem.

You could post a preview, like one of your regular videos, and decide whether to release it or not based on the reactions

While this is a perfectly reasonable suggestion, I'm afraid that the reactions to a preview often don't give me a very good idea how successful the actual clip will be in practice. Some of my previews got a lot of very positive replies, but the full-length clips sold very poorly. Other previews barely got any notice and yet the clips some reasonably well. Not to mention that the comments I get sometimes go against my personal feelings about a clip. I mean, a clip I find so-so might get a lot of praise and sell decently enough, while a clip that I feel is clearly above average as far as my own work is concerned might get few or no replies at all and be a commercial failure. It's very confusing. So it's actually difficult for me to gauge a clip's commercial potential based on the feedback I get.

 

[blargblarg]

Decided anything yet?

 

[The Last Laugh]

Decided anything yet?

I thought about it some more, reviewed the footage again, and now I'm considering the possibility of releasing some of the footage after all. It's not all bad, it would add a couple of ticklees to my selection, and some people might actually enjoy the results. I'm not 100% sure yet, but we'll see.

 

[blargblarg]

Glad to hear it!

By the way, out of sheer curiosity, who is the first girl and who is the second girl in the picture? (i mean who is the freather sensitive and who is the squirming one)

 

[Darth Sidious]

I agree with the be honest and show it for what it is approach. I've done that with a couple that didn't meet my personal standards. Funny thing is...one of them actually turned out to be a hot seller. To this day I don't know why, but it's not about me, it's about the customer and what he or she likes to see.

 

[The Last Laugh]

By the way, out of sheer curiosity, who is the first girl and who is the second girl in the picture? (i mean who is the freather sensitive and who is the squirming one)

On the left is the one whose toes were sensitive to feathers and who was more reactive (verbally) than her friend. The girl on the right was the squirmer who didn't laugh out loud or even giggle very much, though you could see that it was getting to her.

To be honest, my personal preference would have been for the squirmer to be the most sensitive/reactive of the duo. But that's just me. In any case, I think both were quite attractive and easily qualified for one of my videos in terms of looks.

I agree with the be honest and show it for what it is approach. I've done that with a couple that didn't meet my personal standards. Funny thing is...one of them actually turned out to be a hot seller. To this day I don't know why, but it's not about me, it's about the customer and what he or she likes to see.

Indeed. I find it very hard to predict how successful (or not) a clip will be, as many clips that I thought were superior efforts didn't do very well while others that I thought were so-so were significantly more popular among my customers. I guess I don't know my clientele's tastes as well as I should. Not that it would have much impact on which models I hire or on the types of scenes I do during shoots, mind you. I just do my own thing and hope other people will enjoy the results.

So anyway, yeah, you're right, you can't always tell which clips will sell well, so I guess that as long as a clip isn't obviously terrible it might be worth giving it a chance. While being as honest as possible about the content, of course.

 

[blargblarg]

Now that you are back, out of curiosity, will this video be one of the new releases? The girls were gorgeous

 

[Darth Sidious]

My advice is to cut your losses and move on. Releasing sub-par content like that will only hurt your brands reputation and it's not right to ask people to pay for something you know is not good or genuine. Unfortunately we already have sone companies on here who do that, so being above that will only help you long term.

In my experience if I come across someone who doesn't meet standards I just cut them loose once its obvious it won't work. Sorry this happened to you.