A few thoughts on making porn, based on my observations, not any kind of “science” because there is so little on this subject:
Porn is all about fantasy. One main reason men indulge in porn is to take themselves out of their painful existence temporarily and into another, fantasy world where everything suits their needs. He can pretend he’s the male actor, at least long enough to gratify himself to orgasm.
But even porn won’t be “perfect.” There will always be something not-quite-right about any given production – some aspect of the woman’s physique, shitty acting, dumb dialogue, the guy’s too vocal, etc. Even if a clip hits the mark, the dopamine factor will diminish over time, and the viewer will grow dissatisfied with what he’s seeing.
It seems to me (including observations of myself) that when a fantasy isn’t perfect, it makes us angry. I see that in comments here on the various clips that come up – nasty comments about the star(s), production value, etc. I’ve left such comments myself, and felt like it more times than not.
I’m getting at a cautionary bit of advice to producers: Don’t take advice from viewers about what they want to see. It won’t be universal, and you cannot possibly meet everyone’s needs with a given production.
Copying what other studios do just makes more similar content. So what? That shit’s everywhere.
Personally, what I like to see is something different each time, and that takes creativity. The fact is – no offense intended – porn doesn’t attract many creative people. Instead, creative people are in, or trying to enter, the business of Hollywood, where careers can be made. Porn is a one-way door leading away from Hollywood.
Furthermore, porn viewers are notoriously parsimonious. Look at all the “Anyone got a copy?” comments when someone posts a paid link here, and the recent bundling of dozens of paid clips into a free torrent. We don’t want to pay for any porn. We will steal and distribute it, especially if it’s high-value. So I don’t know how anyone makes money in the business, unless he’s part of a syndicate selling user data or ad space. Content just isn’t sellable by itself.
