Quote:
Originally Posted by MiaLelani_SocalCamCash
Ahh I remember in 2006 all shoots were paid same day & in cash! DvD was the hot ticket & people looked down at me for taking internet shoots, but hey work is work & I didn't care if my scene landed on a DvD or site, I was excited to bang  |
Getting paid on the same day happened with a few mags and videos companies, never online. It had to be sent, received and then paid which usually took a few weeks.
David Sullivan and John Graham, partner at Score, would write me a check while I was in the office. PRO would send the invoice straight to the accounts department for payment when the set was accepted by the editors of the US mags. With commissioned work the check was sent on the same basis.
Most magazines would issue a check right away if the price was dropped. Instead of $1800 for a set they would pay $1200. The vast majority of shooters had built up a reserve, so waiting 3-6 months for $1800 instead of $1200 on delivery wasn't an issue. We chose to take the long term view.
Selling to magazines if the work was good enough wasn't hard. The editors were professionals with years experience as an assistant and then as the editor, they knew what they wanted and what was right for their readers. So when a trusted supplier sent in work, it went to the top of the pile for consideration. If you went to visit them they would usually give you the time of day to look.
As someone who had a track record they would want to get you to visit them first, not just me it was like this with all the shooters.
A new guy had to make a trip or a very very good phone call. Once in front of the editor it was just a matter of laying the set out, it was film until 2005, then digital. If accepted you were in. Most magazines published the shooters name, most editors read other magazines. Once you had a set published all you did was phone and say "I'm MiaLelani and would like to see you/send you some recent work of mine." The more you got up the ladder the easier it became.
Once accepted by an editor you were in the pack.
Keeping up a steady flow of work, was a problem. If you're waiting a month for payment, you need to keep shooting. At least once that month. So a small reserve of cash is good. If you can wait the 3-6 months you need a larger reserve. A shoot day with film could cost $600 to $1,000 per day. $300, model, $100, film, $200 extras. No extras if you shoot her at home for amateur. Film was $10 a roll, 10 rolls for a new shooter is more than enough.
So let's assume the shooter is selling in the UK and does 1.5 shoots a month and has to wait 6 months for his money. And shoots solo girl.
6 months x 1.5 = 9 shoots @ $600 a shoot = $5400.00 investment.
Revenue on 9 shoots, 2 sets @ $1,000 a set per shoot = $18,000.
As opposed to 9 shoots for ATK and many solo girl sites $13,500
Difference of $4,500.
This is without any further sales. Add US, EU, second rights and the difference is $40,500.
This has nothing to do with me and what we did and what a crap shooter I am. Blah blah!!!
This was all magazines shooters of a decent level and why Steve Hicks, Suze Randall, Jack Harrison etc. Aren't shooting for online companies.
So An online shooter couldn't wait for his money. OK accepted. So just shoot 1 day a month over and above what's being shot for online. Or are they saying they couldn't afford to spend $600 for a days work that will get them on the ladder to make $6,000 from a days work?
DVD was harder, they mostly wanted BG and doing a shoot good enough to get into that market was expensive and tough. But the rewards were far higher. Forget $2,000 a scene. Maybe $6,00 or even higher for good work, unedited and paid on the day. And $6,000 was for one region like the US.
They had the girls, equipment, know how and everything else if you listen to their posts. Were they bad at shooting or business management?
I suppose my problem is a very low tolerance to bullshit and knowledge of how offline worked. When I see BS I call it.