Im going to get on my soap box a bit here and offer my opinion on reviewing sites and such. While I can se ehow this could be useful to a person looking to spend his money, I would like to se ethe people provided some more info about what it takes to actually make these sites. I think its important because sometimes I think people may get unrealistic expectations of the sites.
I am going to try and explain my site and maybe other producers will offer there expirences as well and then when you guys review us maybe take soem of this into consideration.
What I think people need to remember is first and foremost almost known of us have been formally trained in photography , videography etc. It shows in our work especially mine. I am fully aware that my camera skills are les sthen good LOL but I try... now that varies between sites of course there are some folks in the SHiP genres that do excellant technical work. Plus things like setting s and such most of us work out of our homes , hotels etc studio rental is very expensive and tough to do. Building sets as well is also tough, again some sites do it and I totally admire them for it but most just dont have the economic or overall skills to do it.
This is an area where price is very important...my site for instance I think is cheap as my work is a bit cheap so to make up for my lack of tech skill I try and keep my prices down. But again thats my choice we dont have industry standards on price etc. Also a big thing I've noticed on other forums and yahoo groups etc. within the genre of heroine sthere are many sub genres. An example, my sites are girl/girl I dont ahve any male villains or hero's. So if thats your intrest area then you will hate my site and I dont think you can give a fair review. Sex is another big sub genre... many like forced sex etc. While I do enjoy forced orgasms I dont do them on my site. So again if you are looking for that and my site doesnt have it you will not review it well. Its a tough to be partial I think. The sites I perosnally like I would review good cause I like them. The sites that dont intrest me Im not sure I could review fully. I think I could review tech skills etc. But the content Im sure I would not be fair since I didnt care for it in the first place.
Finally and I promise I will get off my soap box! The cost of these sites is enormous. I think thats another factor to think of when reviewing. While we all cant tell you exactly what we pay we do all pay alot of the same expenses. Server space, bandwidth (video eats up bandwidth for instance) size of the sites, models, costumes etc all cost money. So a guy or gal working on a smaller budget will of course not meet alot of the high standards I see you some of you expecting. Also alot of us do our sites as a hobby I still have my day job for instance.
Now I hope im not coming off as a brat..I dont mean to be I think all in all this is a good idea and can be fun. BUt if I have offended anyone Im really very sorry and if you tell me I will grovel appropriately....
Thanks for your input Vesta, you give some needed insight for many fans. I was going to cover some of these point in an upcoming article dealing with paysite pricing. I want to let you know, and I mention in the forum on how I rate the sites I think, that I understand most are not professional producers or technical people and I do take this into account when rating site and videos. I rate based on the genre average standard. So no one here is getting held up again Hollywood or Glamour Magazine standards here. Its myy opinion that the standards have and continue to increase as site increase the bar. That means while hotel settings where the norm and more acceptable a few years back, they are less so now as most sites have moved beyond this level.
You are absolutely correct on the pricing thing. Certainly sites that use a single bedroom all the time as a set cannot demand prices of say ShiP, since you mentioned them. I can’t recall off the top what you charge but I do know you mix up your locations, and actually I don’t find your site cheap, in content and what if offers that is.
Yes it is hard to remain impartial to what one enjoys when reviewing. Which is why if I get more actual Site Reviewers this site supports they will have to meet certain standards. As for myself, I think I can be fair among niches in the genre. If not for the reason I have had a membership and a wide spectrum and mostly because, yes I feel I can look at each from what those fans who enjoy that site like to see. If I didn’t do that this whole site would be a waste of time. I’ll be reviewing Sooperheroine.com soon which is much different than the ones I have so far.Just stick around and give my reviews a chance. Now for the basic fans who may add in I can’t control that too much other than to say we ask for constructive criticism. Saying, “Want more boobies” is not close to constructive and will be removed.
As far as pricing and what goes into that I mentioned I was going to do an article on that as I know that’s a beef of producers, for the reasons you said. I don’t run a site but have enough business background to know most of the costs involved just by looking at a website. I know no ones getting rich off these for sure. I hope my article, and your post here, will help others understand that.
Now to you comment in the last paragraph!!! Mmm such a nice image of Avenger groveling You have no need to but please do, and send pics
Thanks for your post!
-- Edited by Alex on Monday 23rd of March 2009 09:38:10 PM
I think it is appropriate for me to say something about reviewing sites as well, seeing you added this link to one of my Yahoo groups, lol. I read Vesta's comments with a great deal of interest and agree with her in all the points she made. When reviewing sites, you really have to keep in mind that the people that are involved in bringing these sites to us lucky people are fans themselves. With Vesta's site and the others , they bring their own style to the fore, so whether you like all female action, or male / female, a bit of b&d , or good old superheroines simply losing the good fight , well there is a lot of choice.
I got involved in a huge and at times nasty spat over superheroine sites being reviewed on the internet and I don't think it is good practise to review a site, change it because someone disagreed with you and then review the site and basically bag it because you didn't get specifically what you wanted. As an owner of Yahoo groups and Moderator of some others, I sometimes get quite shocked as to what some of the members want from me as with pics and I guess there is always going to be that element out there. There are some sites here that I really enjoy and I also know the people involved and to a degree I have some involvement, so it would not be fair of me to review those sites. But as a fan I admire the hard work that people such as Vesta, Becca do to appeal to the fans, it isn't easy as Vesta said, and some of the sites are struggling financially due to the tough economic days that we have everywhere.
I think Vesta was being hard on herself for her technical abilities, the people that run the sites offer a fair bit and if you are smart you should join their Yahoo groups for previews, sometimes check out film previews on Youtube where you can, from there you will get a pretty good feel for what that pay site is all about.
I have only been involved in the superheroine stuff for a few years now and I love it, the people are great, and I truly appreciate the wonderful friendships I have made from all lovers of this fantastic genre. You Americans are truly lucky, there are comic cons, fet cons, all sorts of things you can go to get your dose of superheroine fun, me, I get to go to a comic con this weekend in Melbourne, where there will be a couple of sites dedicated to flogging comics and a couple of unknown American actors coming here for a signing session. Enjoy what you have you lot !!
Thanks for your comments. You are always welcome to comment here regardless and feel free to plug your group if you want!
I agree with your feelings on Vesta being hard on herself. She commented that her camera skills are less than good but from what I have seen from her site (and i was a member back before the format change to L.A.W.) she is certainly being hard in herself. I don't know her personally but maybe she's just a perfectionist at heart.
My sincere apologies to the Supa Nova Comic Con in Melbourne, Australia. I went to the first day and it was fantastic, the costumes, the stalls, the stars and the comics, the organisation was first class, Ran into some old friends and had a terrific time and you can't beat Melbourne when it is a beautiful day there. And Vesta if you read this, even my partner got into the swing of things with a WW and Super shirt and me , a new Batwoman shirt, lol. See what you lot have done to us !!
Alex,
You have a good site going here, keep it up, people will join and I will push your site in my Yahoo groups, it is good to see a site ran by a fan, a fan that is fair dinkum and wants to do the right thing by the many superheroine sites that are out there, and to have Vesta comment in here, is a bit of a boom for you , she is top class, well done and keep up the good work !
I think Alex you have built up a great forum and the professional manner in which you are maintaining it.
I am not as gifted with words as the wonderfu Vesta, so I will state I am 1000% in agreement with her. She and I have talked about this before and all her points are valid. The thing about this genre is no one has the exact same interests. As a producer for 2 years now, I can say that stuff I enjoy as a fan and pay for are not necessarily the things I produce. I know it sounds odd, but the videos/stories I create are different. I do try to keep a variety of things at the site. I try to use different villians and do use villianesses when I can. My videos are story based and usually compact in nature.
I try to share images from each weeks update (posted both at the site and in my yahoo group) as well as a video promo I post at youtube. I thoroughly enjoyed your article about the pricing ( http://www.heroinereview.comyr.com/index.php?p=1_5 ) and believe your report is very accurate and detailed.
I try to keep myself open to the members and subscribers alike. Even now when my time is limited due to regular work, I believe it is important to keep them involved.
Thanks for allowing me to add my 2 cents! The Mayor, your humble servant.
-- Edited by MetroCityMayor on Sunday 19th of April 2009 04:44:37 PM
You have no need to but please do, and send pics 