Tube sites receive (and perhaps rightfully so) much scorn from non-tube site owners because of their offering of full length scenes — a practice those other site owners blame for lagging subscription and DVD sales; but does offering full length clips really matter?
It all depends on who you ask.
There remains a perception that tubes are invulnerable to competition because they offer full length scenes, but this may not be much of an advantage.
Personally, this author remembers fast forwarding through VHS tapes “to get to the good parts,” and never viewing much of the video. I’m certain that I’m not alone in this, so for me, viewing full length clips is more of a nuisance than a benefit.
Still, there remains a perception that tubes are invulnerable to competition because they offer full length scenes, but this may not be much of an advantage.
For other opinions on the subject of scene length, we turn to the XBIZ.net community forum to see what today’s front line operators think:
James S. of the Body-Rockin Promotions Network is also a fan of fast-forwarding.
“I rarely watch a full video,” James S. stated. “But it also depends on the subject of the video, what it is depicting in the scene, if I need to watch the whole thing or not.”
Clearly the subject of subject matter dramatically influences the viewer’s propensity for picking and choosing the desired material and is a very personal choice.
Master Ryan of Porn CMS agrees, stating that each viewer’s scene preference varies.
“I can’t stand watching a dude’s balls while a girl is on top, but every hardcore producer loves to film 5-10 minutes of balls,” Master Ryan explains, adding that there are probably some viewers that ‘blow their load’ on those scenes. “Porn is just a fantasy trigger and we all have a different list of fantasies in our spank bank.”
Gary B & Natalie K of GSpotProductions agree with Ryan.
“I love filming the open pussy, the cock sliding in and the close-ups, but more so, the woman’s parts than the balls,” Gary B stated. “I think full scenes are needed though, to get the facial expressions, the hands tightening, the entry, and the tits bouncing. To catch all of this, you need long length of film to edit.”
Robin Banks of BritSexCash / WMIT Ltd explains that regarding viewer preferences, she prefers seeing the whole picture, with fewer close-ups.
“I like seeing a woman’s outfit, her tits swinging around and a ‘fuck face.’ All that while taking a few lengths, is what I prefer — and a bit less of the ‘gyno’ shots,” Robin says, noting that full scenes do not necessarily work in some niches. “We have to edit amateur bukkake and gangbangs down to the important stuff, or there would be too many flaccid cocks and guys jerking off; and that’s not conducive to compelling footage is it?”
Context thus also plays a role.
“Personally, I prefer the bits where the woman is looking sexy and the sex scenes,” Cyntertainment stated. “What I don’t like is all that cocking about with the ‘story’ and ‘acting’ you get in some films — I skip that all the time, every time.”
According to tony404, if you give it all away there is no motivation to buy it.
“No one says ‘I’m horny so I jacked to a free full scene, came, and now I have to go spend money and join,’” tony404 offered. “Tubes want longer and longer videos because it benefits them. The longer the clip the longer people stay on the tube the more they get for ads.”
Other viewers prefer to skip the sex and enjoy the story instead.
“Back in college, some friends got really drunk and went and rented a porn movie,” Barry of MB Entertainment confided. “They fast forwarded through all of the sex scenes and just watched the story.”
James Cybert told XBIZ that much of the money is made off of the plot.
“People want a reason for the sex — some kind of reason to set their fantasy off,” Cybert explains. “If they just want to watch people fuck, there are a million and one tube sites for gonzo, but if you want to make money, you need to make vignettes — 20- to 30-minute scenes with a reason for the sex.”
Cybert shared stats that he obtained by heat mapping viewing habits.
“[We] see that 90 percent of the people will watch five minutes of buildup and that about five percent watch the remaining sex,” Cybert says, noting that when you are paid per minute it’s extremely important to add a reason for the sex. “It’s not women watching the plot, it’s everyone — and they are not watching the whole movie — they just want a reason for the sex.”
Oscar Storm of Oscar Storm Studio was clear when he stated “In short, NO!”
“It is not a one size fits all, it depends on the genre being portrayed. A slow seductive erotic striptease requires time — but it is knowing the end results that makes impatient viewers skip to the end, just like the school kid who looks up dirty chapters in a book.”
Oscar notes that if this generalization transcended to webcams then his models would be performing for a set time per client, but they don’t, as the length of the show varies to suit each clients’ needs.
“I have stated several times before, if I were gay I would watch heterosexual porn,” Oscar offers, “[Since there is] plenty of balls, cocks and male arse to see!”
According to howardd1955 of Exile Dist., the art of holding someone’s attention is very much like the sex act itself.
“If it starts off with the money shot, it is kind of all over before it begins,” Howard told XBIZ. “If you can seduce someone and build up to the final money shot within 10 minutes, you have something people will watch over and over.”
But not everyone agrees.
“I’ve never needed a full scene. Seems most people don’t either, hence the need to scrub through a video and move to another part, even on sites like YouTube,” Asian Money Machine DWB told XBIZ. “All I need is a few good minutes, or even one that I can loop. That’s all it takes.”
“Everyone has their positions or angles that get them off — you don’t need a 25 or 30 minute scene to do the trick,” DWB added. “A good tease buildup is indeed nice, but I don’t need it to flip my trigger.”
Black and Blue Media see opportunity for both full-length scenes and short clips.
“In general, the production companies (Vivid, Wicked, DP, etc.) that are still making money produce a variety of content types that fulfill the needs of both the ‘just show me the money shot’ and the ‘forget the sex, I want good plot’ crowd — and many other porn watchers in between.”
Black and Blue Media explains that the analogy is similar to that of liquor stores, where a film such as “The Four” is top shelf, and that the average consumer for this type of product is not going to fast forward through the storyline — if anything they will fast forward through the sex; while porn with a wraparound story line and wall to wall sex (such as Joanna Angel’s productions) is the mid-line booze, whose customers may fast forward through boring bits, but they want a set up of some sort to make the sex have continuity. Fetish, BDSM and softcore tease forms the liqueur category, where buyers are very discriminating and once they find a brand they like, won’t fast forward too much.
Finally, gonzo, all-sex and compilations fall under the tag of ‘Beer Can Porn,’ where customers wear out their fast forward button and can’t even stand credits at the beginning of their jerk off material — the very consumers that tube sites (contradictorily) cater to.
“If a producer only caters to one type of consumer, their overall profit margin will be dismal because there are six revenue streams for adult content, and if a producer can’t hit more than one or two, they might as well give up before they start,” Black and Blue adds.