Producer of a new slate of series could use your help!

General discussions about superheroines!
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Greetings, beloved superheroine fans!

I'm new to this forum and in the process of registering as a producer here.

I have been working for many months on an exciting, brand new slate of series and just put a team together to produce them just for you! We're experienced filmmakers but are well aware that this genre is vastly different from what we've been accustomed to working on. We have done our research and have a relatively strong foundational knowledge of what you guys want and love in your episodes, from the kinds of actresses you find most appealing to the peril "activities" that characters encounter regularly in each and every scene. We are absolutely committed to making certain that your hard-earned money isn't wasted on videos that lack what you expect in a great episode!

We have a very talented, beautiful and diverse cast who will portray an array of interesting, powerful and alluring characters, from unique and original to the more familiar and traditional.

Cameras are about to roll this Saturday for our very first shoot, so we would love to get your feedback or any advice or request that will ensure that we deliver to you the highest quality product.

We'll keep you updated on our upcoming website and other important info. We'd truly appreciate it.

Thanks!

Finn
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Fitness type models with muscle tone and costume destruction (battle damage) from fighting are my favorite.
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I'd love to see some sample pictures.
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Hello Finn, Welcome to the Forum.

Sounds interesting but it might be an idea (before you ask for ideas!) to spell out what level you are pitching at - is it non nude or adult for example, or will there be fighting , bondage , or peril only elements etc or an eclectic mix as it were. Are we talking female villains with henchmen or henchwomen, or a male villain or a heroine duo etc.

Depending on what you are aiming for kinda dictates the advice /suggestions, so at this stage all I can offer is 'don't work with children and animals' ;)

Remember you won't please everyone (and for the love of god please don't start the pantyhose /bare legs debate again, we are enjoying a rare ceasefire at the moment! :yes: )

Good luck with the shoot (even with the vagueness it sounds cool!) and enjoy your time here!
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This sounds awesome! :lol:
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What seems to separate the videos I buy from those I pass up are these qualities (and this is just one mere fan, but perhaps others feel the same):

1. The model. If she's not attractive, I pass every time. Though tastes vary, there are certain models who just have "it" for most fans.
2. The costume. Can't stand the cheap Halloween outfits. They worked when the genre first came into popularity in the late 90s, but producers have upped their game big-time and it's hard to go back to those outfits.
3. The set. Love what I've seen Rye, Kendra, TBfE, Logan, and others have been able to do. Not seeing the set be someone's house or a hotel room makes a big difference. Obviously as people's budgets were tight when they started, they weren't about to rent out some major studio or set, but now producers have incorporated more extravagant sets and props. The superheroine restraints used lately are excellent!
4. A good variety of peril. The action can become formulaic after a while. It becomes new again for a bit with a new actress and costume, but admittedly there are only so many ways to defeat a heroine. Any new ideas always intrigue me.
5. ACTING! I want a decent script that makes me believe the heroine is cocky and that she is in trouble. This includes the peril. Choreography can be tricky when using an actress with limited experience in that field. Camera angles and repeated takes can improve that aspect.
6. Some element of sexual peril. A villain having captured a gorgeous superheroine isn't going to pass up a quick feel?! The sexual tension is very much appreciated. I'm not a fan of nudity, but I love the simulated sexual scenes with the heroine in costume.

That's my piece. Thanks for reading it; I don't know what it's worth but figured I would at least put it out there.

P.S. Soak the heroine in water or some fluid and/or get her outfit dirtied up through the course of the video!
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shouldn't this type of post belong to Lounge section?
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thrifty wrote:shouldn't this type of post belong to Lounge section?
Yes thats a very good point! I didn't notice it wasn't, I'll ask admin to move it.

<EDIT> As you may have guessed MH has actioned this now :)
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What sugarcoater said
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Yeah Finn, could you pass on a few more details about what cast, costumes, and locations you might be using? I mean I could explain my ultimate Supergirl video to you but wouldn't do me much good if you've got a WW costume, male baddies, etc.

So a few more details about what you have for the upcoming shoot would be great.
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I agree with Tallyho you can never please everyone.

My two cents

Female superheroines need to look in shape. Flabby Wonder Woman don't do it for me
If you have male superheroes no bald spots
Try to stay traditional with costumes, for some reason several Catwoman shoots have used the Halle Bery catwoman ike costume
do not make you superheroine a punching bag, she is suppose to be powerful
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Shooting tomorrow. Too late for advice then, but curious what images you're going to be able to show next week.

Reading the OP I can't help thinking you may wanna contact Logan Cross. I'm guessing you two would get along really well.
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Never did get the whole producers posting "Oh, I've never contributed to this community before, but I thought I'dcome say hi.. and by the way I'm filming this saturday!"

I can only hope someday the community realises generally the script for quality productions is written more than a week in advance. So your contributions, although I'm sure valued (dubious), are actually more about publicity than anything else.

If only producers would actually get more involved with the Lounge, rather than just using it as a platform to promote their own works we might end up with more threads that actually go somewhere, rather than endless semi-promotional threads spammed.

Nothing against Finn, a comment more on the community at large. Certain characters seem to think this is an extremely effective marketing tool, rather then realising their product is speaking for itself.
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Swampy's absolutely right. You would generate a lot of goodwill here if you actually participated in discussions without the agenda of market research and advertising. Of course producers use the forum for that purpose, but the ones who get the most respect (from me, at least) are those who might also just chat about an old episode of Wonder Woman, for example, simply because they liked it and it means something to them.

Also, there are so many subfetishes that taking "advice" from a small (but possibly very vocal) sample group could give the illusion of consensus. This community does not have a collective voice. We are never going to settle the pantyhose vs bare legs debate, for example, because both sides are informed by their own kinks.

These broad and general "What do you want to see?" threads are hardly ever productive. People say exactly what they want to see every single day on various threads on this forum. It's just a matter of identifying the market(s) you want to serve and coming up with something for them.

As tallyho said, you'll never please everyone.
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Heroine Addict wrote:Swampy's absolutely right. You would generate a lot of goodwill here if you actually participated in discussions without the agenda of market research and advertising. Of course producers use the forum for that purpose, but the ones who get the most respect (from me, at least) are those who might also just chat about an old episode of Wonder Woman, for example, simply because they liked it and it means something to them.

Also, there are so many subfetishes that taking "advice" from a small (but possibly very vocal) sample group could give the illusion of consensus. This community does not have a collective voice. We are never going to settle the pantyhose vs bare legs debate, for example, because both sides are informed by their own kinks.

These broad and general "What do you want to see?" threads are hardly ever productive. People say exactly what they want to see every single day on various threads on this forum. It's just a matter of identifying the market(s) you want to serve and coming up with something for them.

As tallyho said, you'll never please everyone.
I hear you (and everyone else here). What you read was my very first post, as was clearly stated. Which means that I'm "green" about how things work here but I suppose this is one of the reasons I posted here to begin with. Furthermore, I've only recently learned of this forum, so the timing of it in relation to our production schedule couldn't be helped. Yes, I realize that perhaps my initial inquiry may have been a little nebulous, but even such vagueness generates valuable feedback, as is evidenced on this very thread. Every single reply so far has been extremely helpful and will determine how I interact here in the future. I'll do my very best to earn the respect of this community.
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Not your fault Finn! - just every other post is now a thread of a similar ilk :-/

Hope production went well :-)
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tallyho wrote:Hello Finn, Welcome to the Forum.

Sounds interesting but it might be an idea (before you ask for ideas!) to spell out what level you are pitching at - is it non nude or adult for example, or will there be fighting , bondage , or peril only elements etc or an eclectic mix as it were. Are we talking female villains with henchmen or henchwomen, or a male villain or a heroine duo etc.

Depending on what you are aiming for kinda dictates the advice /suggestions, so at this stage all I can offer is 'don't work with children and animals' ;)

Remember you won't please everyone (and for the love of god please don't start the pantyhose /bare legs debate again, we are enjoying a rare ceasefire at the moment! :yes: )

Good luck with the shoot (even with the vagueness it sounds cool!) and enjoy your time here!
Hello, tallyho. Thank you kindly for your reply and well wishes on our production.

Well, the weekend's shoot is over. At our investors' request, we decided to front-load by shooting 3 per day for Saturday and Sunday. We encountered our fair share of challenges, including a couple of diva actresses who either have no interest in returning or are not invited back. We're in Los Angeles, so casting for replacements will never be an issue.

Since I was doing most of the preproduction work my schedule didn't afford me the time to post here earlier as I had desired. But we covered a great deal of what these guys want in their episodes based on our research.

To address your first issue, we're going for non-nudity. And there's definitely fighting, including an assortment weapons, hand-to-hand, aikido (our choreographer is a black belt), grappling of course, punches to the face, gut punches, crotch punches, kicks, definitely some bondage, and plenty of peril elements that include choking and bear hugs (yes, I made sure they're prolonged).

Someone here also mentioned something about the writing. Well, you're talking to a top-notch screenwriter who also has a knack for comedy. According to one insider, you fans would rather not hear dialogue that's too wordy or intellectual. No problem. But I did add some Judd Apatow level of humor to certain episodes that call for it. For those characters, trust me, it's very fitting lol.

My only concern was the quality and, just as importantly, the running time of each episode, which as I understand it determines the price of the episode and may have been compromised due to the tight schedule.

Much of the vagueness of what we're offering is for our protection. Once our episodes are fully edited and registered with the copyright office in D.C. we will of course disclose details. Trust me, I'm dying to reveal our characters. I take pride in my unique ideas, and I think they'll be a real asset to add to the already rich variety of what's available in this genre.
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sugarcoater wrote:What seems to separate the videos I buy from those I pass up are these qualities (and this is just one mere fan, but perhaps others feel the same):

1. The model. If she's not attractive, I pass every time. Though tastes vary, there are certain models who just have "it" for most fans.
2. The costume. Can't stand the cheap Halloween outfits. They worked when the genre first came into popularity in the late 90s, but producers have upped their game big-time and it's hard to go back to those outfits.
3. The set. Love what I've seen Rye, Kendra, TBfE, Logan, and others have been able to do. Not seeing the set be someone's house or a hotel room makes a big difference. Obviously as people's budgets were tight when they started, they weren't about to rent out some major studio or set, but now producers have incorporated more extravagant sets and props. The superheroine restraints used lately are excellent!
4. A good variety of peril. The action can become formulaic after a while. It becomes new again for a bit with a new actress and costume, but admittedly there are only so many ways to defeat a heroine. Any new ideas always intrigue me.
5. ACTING! I want a decent script that makes me believe the heroine is cocky and that she is in trouble. This includes the peril. Choreography can be tricky when using an actress with limited experience in that field. Camera angles and repeated takes can improve that aspect.
6. Some element of sexual peril. A villain having captured a gorgeous superheroine isn't going to pass up a quick feel?! The sexual tension is very much appreciated. I'm not a fan of nudity, but I love the simulated sexual scenes with the heroine in costume.

That's my piece. Thanks for reading it; I don't know what it's worth but figured I would at least put it out there.

P.S. Soak the heroine in water or some fluid and/or get her outfit dirtied up through the course of the video!
Greetings, sugarcoater. What an awesome and very informative reply! Thank you for taking the time to post it. We've already covered a good deal of what you alluded to, but some of what you discuss will definitely have to be considered for future shoots. We shot in a studio, albeit the same one, but at least we avoided the type of locations that you discourage us from using. Some of the episodes were shot outdoors in an urban industrial setting. My writing pretty much delivers what you mentioned. And we made sure that peril elements were our top priority. More to come! Thank you again.
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Here's a thought: as experienced filmmakers, link us to some stuff you've worked on that isn't even superheroine, like on imdb, youtube, hulu, etc. So we can get an idea of your top-notch writing, filmmaking, etc.

I'm surprised you haven't posted any images from the shoot (behind the scenes stuff showing set, maybe gear, maybe an actress), or promo photos, but seems you want to register copyright first. Although you should know as experienced filmmakers that your stuff is copyright protected right when you create it, registering is not needed unless you plan to sue somebody, and there's been so very few indie production level copyright suits because of the high cost of suing.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright_registration
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theScribbler wrote:Here's a thought: as experienced filmmakers, link us to some stuff you've worked on that isn't even superheroine, like on imdb, youtube, hulu, etc. So we can get an idea of your top-notch writing, filmmaking, etc.

I'm surprised you haven't posted any images from the shoot (behind the scenes stuff showing set, maybe gear, maybe an actress), or promo photos, but seems you want to register copyright first. Although you should know as experienced filmmakers that your stuff is copyright protected right when you create it, registering is not needed unless you plan to sue somebody, and there's been so very few indie production level copyright suits because of the high cost of suing.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright_registration
It's coming. We literally wrapped just a few days ago and our editor is finishing up some previous work. Please keep in mind that the intention of my original post was to get some last-minute ideas from the community that I might have taken into consideration going into the shoot. The real promoting will be done in the coming weeks, with behind the scenes stills, trailers of course, etc. Thanks for your patience, but just as a token of our appreciation for fans like you, here's a capture from a video I took with my phone behind the scenes of one of our series. Let me know what you guys think ;)
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Oh yeah, as for your initial suggestion, Scribbler, for the sake of "branding" I prefer to separate my mainstream work from SH. You or I may not have a problem with it, but I'm currently dealing in high-profile projects with major studios, networks and A-list talent, so I'm just being cautious. Hope you understand.

And thanks for the copyright information. I usually register prior to releasing any material, but I will consult my partners on the "fixation" rule as stated in the Wiki page you provided the link to (thank you for that). Trust me, I would rather start blabbing now about what we've got going rather than wait. So if it's cleared with the rest of my board, then you guys should be hearing more about what we've got soon enough. Have a great day. Cheers.
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frankzito wrote:I'd love to see some sample pictures.
Here's one for you. In this pic our two actresses Amanda and Sophie are taking direction. More to come.
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I would suggest that if you are doing WW-esque or BG or SG -type heroines to go for a better costume. I appreciate you might want a degree of separation from the conventional SH cozzies, but good SH costumes MAKE this fetish.
A pretty girl in a halloween SG costume is a pretty girl in a halloween SG costume.
A pretty girl in a good SG costume IS Supergirl to us SH fetish fans.

I appreciate some may be expensive, but it is kinda what this fetish is all about. (The pink Samurai cozzy looks great but the WW above, not so much).

Good luck with it and look forward to more.
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Both pictures look fantastic. Really like the tall, leggy Wonder Woman, hope to see her put through a lot of peril!
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frankzito wrote:Both pictures look fantastic. Really like the tall, leggy Wonder Woman, hope to see her put through a lot of peril!
fankzito, we're really glad you like her. That's Sophie, we all thought she was great. She was very supportive throughout the production. I'm a big time leg man myself, and she was perhaps the most in-shape actress out of all of them. She also played a different character in another episode we shot the day after. And don't you worry, we put WW through the ringer.
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Happy to hear it. Obviously, I think all of the women in this genre are beautiful in their own way, but I'm definitely a fan of the in-shape performers playing the superheroine role, so I'm looking forward to checking out that video of her!
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tallyho wrote:I would suggest that if you are doing WW-esque or BG or SG -type heroines to go for a better costume. I appreciate you might want a degree of separation from the conventional SH cozzies, but good SH costumes MAKE this fetish.
A pretty girl in a halloween SG costume is a pretty girl in a halloween SG costume.
A pretty girl in a good SG costume IS Supergirl to us SH fetish fans.

I appreciate some may be expensive, but it is kinda what this fetish is all about. (The pink Samurai cozzy looks great but the WW above, not so much).

Good luck with it and look forward to more.
Thanks, tallyho. Yeah, budgetary constraints. I know costume is an issue with the fans. Hopefully we'll at least generate enough revenue from the initial sales so that we can go custom. Trust me, I really want that to happen.

And while we're on the topic, I don't know if it's been discussed before, which I'm sure it has, but what's the consensus on preference between the 70's Lynda Carter style or the New 52? I personally favor the latter, big time. I'm aiming to drop at least 200 or 300 on the costume for our next shoot with her.
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frankzito wrote:Happy to hear it. Obviously, I think all of the women in this genre are beautiful in their own way, but I'm definitely a fan of the in-shape performers playing the superheroine role, so I'm looking forward to checking out that video of her!
Thanks, frankzito. Your taking a chance on us will mean a lot. Maximum respect.

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theScribbler wrote:Shooting tomorrow. Too late for advice then, but curious what images you're going to be able to show next week.

Reading the OP I can't help thinking you may wanna contact Logan Cross. I'm guessing you two would get along really well.
I'm aware of Logan, and much of what he's done with CtL has been a major influence on the work I'm trying to do now.
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Production pics interesting.

Was wondering how you're going to register Wonderwoman character with copyright office though? Best aiming for parody, surely?
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swampy170 wrote:Production pics interesting.

Was wondering how you're going to register Wonderwoman character with copyright office though? Best aiming for parody, surely?
Yeah, we're looking into that. Obviously we've seen plenty of characters in other episodes with her likeness and given names like "Lady Wonder" or "Wonder Womyn." I mean, I don't know if what we did is technically a parody (in the legal sense), but by all appearances it is. Of course, if you compare it to the WW in the upcoming Batman v. Superman, it most definitely would be lol. It's actually the character she's playing opposite in our episode that I'm more interested in protecting since she is my original idea. But in the end, this much I've learned: ideas themselves cannot be copyrighted, unless the creator gives it specific uniqueness. When it comes to literary bodies of work such as a screenplay, unless something specific, in dialogue for instance, has been plagiarized, then an infringement case would hold no water in court. Of course, there's also trademarking, which is a whole other discussion. I doubt we'll go that far, at least not at this stage. Thanks for your input, as always.
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It kinda depends what kind of production values you're shooting for. If you're selling it, and have incredible production values - you can bet the corporate big wigs are going to come by for a chunk of the pie.

Ofc, that's probably a little above what you're shooting for at present - the costumes alone are hardly what you'd call production quality in bigwig terms.

Something to consider if you're aiming to match the production values from your experience with larger studios however.

Batgirl Spoiled is case in point. Admittedly, shooting in this genre, you're unlikely to get the kind of social media attention they were. However, if you're anywhere near their level of production values, better to watch your back.

Ofc, nobody currently working in this genre is anywhere near that level. Bluestone, Rye-UK, Alex B, TBFE - just a few of the more "up there" producers off the top of my head. None of them at that level, although maybe near it on a good day. Perhaps one of the reasons we haven't really seen much in the way of lawsuits ever.

For sure - best to try and cover behind with the parody laws!
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swampy170 wrote:For sure - best to try and cover behind with the parody laws!
Although parody really needs to be transformative in some way. Making a comedy or porn video with a Wonder Woman-esque character may be OK, but just selling a straight action video for profit would be asking for trouble.
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Heroine Addict wrote:
swampy170 wrote:For sure - best to try and cover behind with the parody laws!
Although parody really needs to be transformative in some way. Making a comedy or porn video with a Wonder Woman-esque character may be OK, but just selling a straight action video for profit would be asking for trouble.
Thanks for bringing this most important point to our attention. I'm researching information on fair use and how transformation is determined. There appear to be certain gray areas as to what is and isn't transformative. Would you happen to know how all these other producer's are getting away with using the likeness of copyrighted characters? Are they adequately transformative? Based on some of the clips I've seen they don't actually appear to be. And, at least in my observation, these familiar characters are the core of this fetish genre.
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swampy170 wrote:It kinda depends what kind of production values you're shooting for. If you're selling it, and have incredible production values - you can bet the corporate big wigs are going to come by for a chunk of the pie.

Ofc, that's probably a little above what you're shooting for at present - the costumes alone are hardly what you'd call production quality in bigwig terms.

Something to consider if you're aiming to match the production values from your experience with larger studios however.

Batgirl Spoiled is case in point. Admittedly, shooting in this genre, you're unlikely to get the kind of social media attention they were. However, if you're anywhere near their level of production values, better to watch your back.

Ofc, nobody currently working in this genre is anywhere near that level. Bluestone, Rye-UK, Alex B, TBFE - just a few of the more "up there" producers off the top of my head. None of them at that level, although maybe near it on a good day. Perhaps one of the reasons we haven't really seen much in the way of lawsuits ever.

For sure - best to try and cover behind with the parody laws!
Very much appreciated, swampy. Coming here to this forum especially at this stage in our development has undoubtedly been a very wise move on my part. Funny, I was having a discussion with one of my partners earlier this evening regarding production value. Basically she's calling for higher value in future episodes. For my original characters, that obviously won't be an issue.
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swampy170
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Original is definitely the way to go.

If you're shooting with trademarked characters that's always going to give you a ceiling.

Currently we've seen somewhat of a lull, but if the DC universe movies do take off - can bet good money DC are going to get more agressive in defending their trademarked characters.

Top notch productions'll be their target.
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Finn wrote:
Heroine Addict wrote:
swampy170 wrote:For sure - best to try and cover behind with the parody laws!
Although parody really needs to be transformative in some way. Making a comedy or porn video with a Wonder Woman-esque character may be OK, but just selling a straight action video for profit would be asking for trouble.
Thanks for bringing this most important point to our attention. I'm researching information on fair use and how transformation is determined. There appear to be certain gray areas as to what is and isn't transformative. Would you happen to know how all these other producer's are getting away with using the likeness of copyrighted characters? Are they adequately transformative? Based on some of the clips I've seen they don't actually appear to be. And, at least in my observation, these familiar characters are the core of this fetish genre.
I wouldn't like to speculate too much on where the lines are drawn. In the context of explicit pornography, Axel Braun openly uses the DC and Marvel characters including their names and costume designs. Even then, he is still careful to avoid copyright music and trademarked elements such as chest emblems.

It seems that placing the characters in the context of "porn parody" is OK. (But that could change if the major studios start to flex their muscles.) When stuff gets too mainstream and PG-13, it becomes harder to justify as a parody. Except when you're using parody in the traditional comedic sense, of course.

Bear in mind that the big boys have very deep pockets for legal fees. Disney (owners of Marvel) even tried to suppress the manufacture of domestic VCRs in the 1980s. They didn't win, but they had the legal clout to take on the likes of Sony in a protracted court battle.
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swampy170 wrote:Original is definitely the way to go.

If you're shooting with trademarked characters that's always going to give you a ceiling.

Currently we've seen somewhat of a lull, but if the DC universe movies do take off - can bet good money DC are going to get more agressive in defending their trademarked characters.

Top notch productions'll be their target.
Fortunately, the WW character is the only copyrighted one in the mix that we shot over the weekend. There will probably be a couple of other familiar ones in new episodes that one of my other partners shot independently, but we'll exercise caution with those based on what I've researched and what you guys have advised. Definitely not studio or network level of slickness, though lol. I'll get a final say from a friend who happens to be an intellectual property attorney.
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Thanks, H.A. Yeah, I was just talking about avoiding emblems and logos to a partner this morning. Disney has had a notorious reputation for bullying anyone using their characters. There was a well-publicized case years ago when they sued a daycare center because they had MIckey and Goofy (?) painted on their walls and was forced by the studio to remove them. But they have since soften their stance given the evolution of electronic media. We now see a myriad fan vids on YouTube, for instance, using characters from Marvel, Star Wars, Frozen, etc. The studio has perhaps realized that going after them will probably not be the best P.R. move in today's market. By the same token I am aware that we are marketing directly to consumers for profit, so this is where we need to exercise caution. While the big companies are not going to have access to our books, they probably also know that these vids don't typically pull in figures massive enough to raise red flags. So I think what swampy said regarding production value should be at least one rule of thumb to abide by.
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