Outdoor Scene questions for the pro's

[moonunit7]

This post is kinda aimed at the guys and girls here that work behind the scenes in the TS porn world. Perhaps they could enlighten me on the reality of this issue.

Recently, a friend of mine gave me a bunch of those crappy compilation DVDs with mostly brazilian girls, and the more I watch, the more I realize the crew shooting the outdoor scenes either doesn't give a shit, or doesn't know what they are doing. Although the same could be said for several of the indoor scenes as well, it's the outdoor scenes the vex me most.

They consistently shoot scenes wherein the bright midday sky is directly behind the performers. Naturally, the camera exposes for the sun and causes them to become silhouettes. Yet, the camera operator keeps shooting as if everything is great.

If they desperately want to shoot at that angle, an effective scrim can be home made at very little cost. They could bring a cheap hot light (or even a flashlight) and an extension cord to fill in the shadows. They could use cheap poster board for reflectors, etc... I refuse to believe there isn't enough in the budget to do this.

My question to you guy is, when shooting a typical scene, how many people are in the crew and what do they do? Do you even have a crew? What equipment do you typically bring for a video shoot? Do you prefer shooting indoor or out?

[Ben in LA]

From my experiments on the set (SMC Studios), it was only the director and an assistant. That was indoors though. I'm pretty sure in most cases it's the director and one to three assistants.

When Buddy Wood shot Selina Malone and smith, I think it was only B-Dub and the talent. I think Bob works alone. When Krissy and me shot our video, it was just us lol.

Other directors and talent can chime in on this.

[bluesoul]

moonunit7: i don't think they use camera operators in most porn- maybe only the bigger budget projects from adam & eve, digital playground, vivid etc

i've seen porn where they didn't even do a white balance. if you want porn that's shot with a somewhat professional eye + budget then check out holly randall's website (http://www.hollyrandall.com/) otherwise forget it. most of the new stuff is strictly blind amateurs running around in the dark with a fancy camera and both eyes closed

btw ben in la: i saw your joke (you pervert) ;)

[youngblood61]

From my experiments on the set (SMC Studios), it was only the director and an assistant. That was indoors though. I'm pretty sure in most cases it's the director and one to three assistants.

When Buddy Wood shot Selina Malone and smith, I think it was only B-Dub and the talent. I think Bob works alone. When Krissy and me shot our video, it was just us lol.

Other directors and talent can chime in on this.Is that the way you like to shoot Ben, just you and the girl?

[Wendy Summers]

Most times we shoot for my website, it's myself & the producer I hired. Occasionally Remy brings along her assistant when we've set up an intense schedule but that's rare.

[Merkurie]

I like outdoor shots the best -- when done well. I wish we saw more of it, but apparently it is harder to do right.

I would looove to see the girls shot in high quality outdoor scenes like you see Hegre-art.

[LibertyHarkness]

hegre art is stunning my fav website ... i am just waiting for some sunshine here in uk so i can start shooting some stuff like that here lol

[moonunit7]

LOL. The white balance is a whole other issue. There are lots of scenes shot under incandescent lights and it comes out orange and they don't even make an effort to clean it up in post. With todays editing software and in-camera WB, there is no excuse for this.

[moonunit7]

It's not hard to do outdoor shoots. It just takes a BASIC knowledge of lighting and a few inexpensive lights and/or light modifiers. One person to shoot the video and one to do the light mods.