How to be a tickle producer?

[kingmaker]

Any other programmers on here? Making a website for tickling content sounds like an awesome side project! I mean if a producer isn't tech savy what do you usually do to get your content online? What about those that are and write the source code for their sites themselves?

Clip4sale hosts the videos, if you aren't a big name you are forced to deal with them.

Making a video website isn't like making a normal one, you have to make sure people can download their videos securely, at any time, at great speed.
Even being a good programmer, you'll need to have financial ressources to be able to imitate what they do.

C4S has the clients, the tech, so it's really hard to go solo beyond having a standard website to tell what you do and how to buy your clips.
At least, this would need a lot of tickle producers to reunite and make something common.

 

[Comfort Eagle]

Any other programmers on here? Making a website for tickling content sounds like an awesome side project! I mean if a producer isn't tech savy what do you usually do to get your content online? What about those that are and write the source code for their sites themselves?

I use SquareSpace, essentially idiotproof but it isn't a clip "store" in the traditional sense (mine is literally just a personal website with embeds everywhere). One idea I floated to another small-time guy was setting up an order form type situation, where people could send in something saying what they wanted, paypal the money, and you just mail them the files directly. It's an extra middleman I don't imagine a ton of people want to deal with, but it is an alternative.

 

[kingmaker]

What are a few starting tips for a person with zero money? Especially when the content they intend to produce is unlikely to make a profit.

Find a model (friends can help), something to film with, a tripod to be hands free and go.
It will be crappy I can't say more than comfort Eagle.

Bear in mind that 95 % of models that see you working with a phone will run, that's too suspicious and they'll think you contacted them just to seduce them.
That's why you start on people you know more or less.

To have decent quality (enough to sell) I think you need to invest around 600 $ :
-The camera itself being quite an investment. (you can get something second hand for 400 or 500 with a kit lens)
-Lightning is inexpensive, for 60 $ you can have a pair of 80W that will work well in a room if windows are already open.
- Bondage and tools should be around the same price.
- Also some things for the sound is important I think, built in mics are often quite terrible
And time to learn to use all this.

Everyone is a particular case, because you might already have things here and there.

The hardest thing for me is to find a place to shoot and I don't really want to spend in hotel rooms (in France cheap motels don't exist, at least we have Air BNB...).

Costly passions are risky, as in photography you can choose to begin cheap and then buy more, or buy big and be disapointed when you decide it's not for you.
Any way it has a cost, money and time, so you need to buy carefully if you really want to do tickle videos.

 

[kingmaker]

One idea I floated to another small-time guy was setting up an order form type situation, where people could send in something saying what they wanted, paypal the money, and you just mail them the files directly. It's an extra middleman I don't imagine a ton of people want to deal with, but it is an alternative.

That's definitely doable and I like this kind of crowdfunding type business model. You also could be "patreon style"

"if I get X $, I'll be able to shoot this video, pay the model, repay a tiny bit of my investments, without ruining myself so I can still do that for you guys."

But when you decide to sell videos you've already done, it needs to be available right when they pay. Just saying for others.

 

[Comfort Eagle]

That's definitely doable and I like this kind of crowdfunding type business model. You also could be "patreon style"

"if I get X $, I'll be able to shoot this video, pay the model, repay a tiny bit of my investments, without ruining myself so I can still do that for you guys."

It's a nice idea, but I wouldn't limit myself to it. Producers will often claim of being unable to move copies of videos they've already filmed, thinking you'll be able to get people to buy it before it's even made will be a challenge, if not impossible.

Find a model (friends can help), something to film with, a tripod to be hands free and go.
It will be crappy I can't say more than comfort Eagle.

Bear in mind that 95 % of models that see you working with a phone will run, that's too suspicious and they'll think you contacted them just to seduce them.
That's why you start on people you know more or less.

This is important too, one or two solid shoots will make a world of difference than just trying to explain the idea and not having anything you've done to show them.

 

[kingmaker]

It's a nice idea, but I wouldn't limit myself to it. Producers will often claim of being unable to move copies of videos they've already filmed, thinking you'll be able to get people to buy it before it's even made will be a challenge, if not impossible.

Not if you have already done things, I 've seen this model with youtubers and it works terrific if there is a community following you.
Like that everyone is happy :
- Producers working with serenity (without the fear of not being able to make money, but the positive fear of disapointing people)
- Viewers who can have clips for free or small money because some of them are paying for all.

With this kind of subscriptions, people are not buying clips, but rewarding your long term project, and you build a special relationship with your viewers.) After all we are one small family of tickling lovers ^^

You can them imagine that big donators can have gifts like tickle tools or ropes you used to restrain "that particular model they fell in love with"

What do you think of the overall Idea ? Is it flawed ?

 

[ticklishdanny]

Wait a second here, didn't the people behind Stryker set up something super secure so that piracy could be deterred? And they don't mess with c4s either right? I mean I saw a post on here from them a while back about this but I can't seem to find it.

 

[tickletherapist]

What are you people doing with sound recording ?

Sound quality is nearly of paramount importance. We've got a thread somewhere here in which most posters chose sound over image if they had to choose only one of it from the clips.
Hearing to tickling reactions is something we enjoy so much.

Internal mics are really no good in most cases. Using external mics or recorders is advisable.
I've watched quite a few clips with great models and tickling that would be perfect if not the creepy sound that ruined the overall impressions much.

However, once in a while you are doomed to encounter a model whose reaction is loud screaming and shouting that won't be possible to record nicely, until you've got an expensive sound recorder with a function of backup recording on lower levels and have the enthusiasm to spend hours enhancing the sound in post-production

 

[Comfort Eagle]

YouTubers generally make ad revenue in addition to a Patreon, so it's not as biog a deal. Most YouTubers can work without crowdfunding, but use it as a supplement. Porn and fetish people are fleeting, and again, most regular producers will complain about clip previews getting great buzz and positive comments galore, but when it comes time to buy it, those same people are nowhere to be found.

Now I myself am hip to the perks of the Patreon, but I'd highly recommend it as a sole business model.

 

[Comfort Eagle]

Wait a second here, didn't the people behind Stryker set up something super secure so that piracy could be deterred? And they don't mess with c4s either right? I mean I saw a post on here from them a while back about this but I can't seem to find it.

I've talked to a few people with other services besides C4S, but they're all apparently very expensive and not recommended for start-ups.

 

[kingmaker]

7$ a month, well if I had that budget I 'd have one video every 8-9 months, maybe 4 if I tried to pay the models with rubbish.

But maybe you're doing it wrong, you started too soon without having people eager to see your next video.
Personaly I have 4 to 5 C4S stores that I check every day, if they'd go with this business model I'd be there.

What we need is experiments, as I am actually in the thinking of what to do with my few videos I'm interested to see best options.

 

[Comfort Eagle]

I mean if you think you can pull it off, by all means go for it. That little crack about my shiny $7 a month is pretty shitty, though.

C'mon man. Rile up the masses and show me how it's done. It'll be the most amazing thing when you get dozens of people throwing money at you for shit you haven't even made yet.

 

[kingmaker]

Didn't mean to be mean at all, I admire you, I was sympathetic. I even defended you in the other thread.
I'm just putting things on the table to see what is viable as a way to get things going.

 

[Comfort Eagle]

That's very nice, however you really need to come at this at a business perspective, even if you don't intend to do a traditional "business" model. The tickle comunity, to put it bluntly, isn't exactly a "loyal" one, and to try and build up a fanbase while merely constantly teasing content that might come will fall flat, and you don't need to look much further than this board. The Tickle Room, who is largely considered to be one of the fastest rising studios, often mentions how despite his popularity a lot of times material that gets rave responses from previews just falls flat when it comes time to profit on them.

If even he can't count on a stable fanbase willing to routinely pay, many other people are going to find it significantly harder.

 

[turtleboy]

Sound quality is nearly of paramount importance. We've got a thread somewhere here in which most posters chose sound over image if they had to choose only one of it from the clips.
Hearing to tickling reactions is something we enjoy so much.

Internal mics are really no good in most cases. Using external mics or recorders is advisable.
I've watched quite a few clips with great models and tickling that would be perfect if not the creepy sound that ruined the overall impressions much.

However, once in a while you are doomed to encounter a model whose reaction is loud screaming and shouting that won't be possible to record nicely, until you've got an expensive sound recorder with a function of backup recording on lower levels and have the enthusiasm to spend hours enhancing the sound in post-production

I've got to disagree with some of the comments about internal mics. Personally, I find that they are fine, most of the time if you are using a 'decent' quality camcorder (by that I mean something that will also produce a reasonable picture, and not necessarily a 'pro' level cam) - smartphones, budget camcorders and DSLRs are a different matter, and all of them generally have pretty bad internal mics.

Internal camcorder mics used to be terrible but have improved a lot, and the built in stereo mics on newer cams offer good controls, pretty clear sound, and save you a lot of time. If your cam has an external mic input, a Rode mic or similar does a good job for less than £100, but I don't think you need more than that. Aside from being very expensive, external sound recorders are a lot of faff for this sort of thing, where you are shooting a lot of vids at a time (I often do 3 or 4 scenes in one shoot), and you then have to sort the seperate audio files out later on from yet another memory card. There's also more opportunity to get things wrong with external equipment if the person is new to it and doesn't know what they're doing.

If you're shooting quiet videos, interviews or other dialogue, external mics are a good idea as you will get a cleaner sound. With tickling vids though, it is mainly loud laughter/screaming, with lots of moving around and I find little difference between internal and external mics. Typical issues tend to be in getting the room right, and setting the right sound levels, gain control, etc so you don't have weird distortion (usually from recording levels being way up) I also notice people sometimes do little things like leave fans or air conditioning units on, which can get picked up and make the clip sound like it's been filmed in a factory.

Another fairly common problem occurs where the camera guy keeps putting their hand over or near the mic when they're moving the camera, making that constant crackling/clicking noise. External mics help avoid all that but it can be avoided just by being aware, and by holding the camera with a monopod or something.

 

[kingmaker]

That's right, and people are used to get free videos, that's why I think you can't fight it.
The business model now is a few people paying the entertainement of thousands, so what's changing ?

What I think disturbing on patreon is that backers are public, and I wouldn't give money if it makes me an openly known tickle fetish guy.
Is there a way for you to privatise this ?

 

[Comfort Eagle]

That's right, and people are used to get free videos, that's why I think you can't fight it.
The business model now is a few people paying the entertainement of thousands, so what's changing ?

What I think disturbing on patreon is that backers are public, and I wouldn't give money if it makes me an openly known tickle fetish guy.
Is there a way for you to privatise this ?

No idea. I personally just don't write "tickle fetish" all over it. Just have a fairly ambiguous name and go from there I guess.

 

[kingmaker]

Well we'll see, as for you keep going. I think the key in delivering free content is to deliver regularly.

 

[duderino84]

I've talked to a few people with other services besides C4S, but they're all apparently very expensive and not recommended for start-ups.

Ah, forgot about fees. Ya those can kill you. Need a backlog of videos and previews so you can get a workable selection of material. Plus promotion.

Little off topic. ...the stocks featured in your videos. ..did you make them?

 

[Comfort Eagle]

Ah, forgot about fees. Ya those can kill you. Need a backlog of videos and previews so you can get a workable selection of material. Plus promotion.

Little off topic. ...the stocks featured in your videos. ..did you make them?

Nah, bought from here;
http://www.captivepleasures.com/

They're pricey but well worth it.

 

[duderino84]

I was thinking about building my own. ....I've come across speaker cabinet blueprints, kit guitars, and stock designs. I just gotta get the resources and time in to actually become adept. ....

Ya, strictly custom jobs look like they get pretty expensive.

 

[kingmaker]

Nah, bought from here;
http://www.captivepleasures.com/

They're pricey but well worth it.

Too bad delivering one in France would be uber priced. My best guess would be that any carpenter could do that, but the guy will look at you like "are you a serial killer or what ?" haha

Really like this one , the model helps

 

[Comfort Eagle]

Too bad delivering one in France would be uber priced. My best guess would be that any carpenter could do that, but the guy will look at you like "are you a serial killer or what ?" haha

Really like this one , the model helps

I also have that, it's great.

 

[kingmaker]

Indeed really liked the videos with Kas. Great job

 

[SoleMates]

What are a few starting tips for a person with zero money? Especially when the content they intend to produce is unlikely to make a profit.

Spend zero money, or as close to it as possible.

Use your phone to record video, and use free editing software like Windows Movie Maker, iMovie, or my personal favorite, Hitfilm. I use Pro, but the express version is free.

Get models who work for free. Unfortunately, this usually means either friends or the occasional low-rent wannabe who is willing to do TFP (time for prints). If you DO manage to get a TFPer, grab some individual frames from your video for them to use in their portfolio or as promotional material for the video (this is what Mya is doing; I send her clips and stills from her videos and she posts them on her Instagram).

You can also try to find someone willing to work on a pay-as-you-go basis, in that they do the work up front and you pay them as the money rolls in. Unfortunately, the money most likely won't roll so much as lie there in a heap and not get anywhere near you, so I wouldn't recommend this.

It's quite possible to shoot a clip for free, but you need to be lucky enough to have access to people willing to make free content.