Boy, people beat the piss out of me for something I said. The minute people read the words "less valuable" or "not so special", they were out with their pitchforks. But I'm going to defend myself a little bit. Granted, it was a poor choice of words to use and I think I invited criticism onto myself. So yeah, it was kind of my own fault. But I'm going to explain what I meant by it.
It was said that I'm not the only one she makes customs for. It was said that she's not the only girl who does this. It was said that I don't know her in real life and that I don't own her. Here's the thing: None of those things were points I was trying to make. Those are not the issues here. I know I'm not the only one she makes customs for. I never met the person in person, so it's impossible for me to know her from a whole in a wall. Yes, I know she was playing a role for me. Whether she gets one or eight million custom video requests a day, it doesn't change the narrative that multiple custom videos of hers were leaked (literally) all at the same time.
I take what I said to mean as it's fucked up that this had to happen to her. One time she thanked me for sending her the money to do the video. In response, I told her that she was the one who should be thanked because she was the one putting in the work and me sending her the money was the easy part. Which is to say, I know that it's hard work to put that kind of presentation together. As an amateur photographer, I tell people that I don't take requests because I know I won't be able to keep up with so many of them. The fact that she's able to is more than impressive and more than admirable.
I take what I said to mean as I was fearful that more leaks were to come and that I was afraid I was going to lose an incentive to want to request for another video from her, which is the last thing I want to have happen because she deserved every last dollar she got from me to make my video. So much so, that whatever she charges for my next video from her, I will surprise her and give her more than what she asked for because she was that much of a consummate professional in her approach for organizing the video and for completing the project in the time span that she said she was going to complete it in.
I was afraid that with the possibility or probability that more leaks are going to happen (because these fucking idiots just might do that just to fuck with her), I was afraid I wasn't going to have an incentive to request for more. In other words, why would I, or anyone else, want to pay a shit load of money for it if people feel that all they have to do is look at their watches, figuring it's going to be a matter of time before another leak happens? That's a question she must ask to herself as well. I mean, why ask for a certain exclusive thing in a custom video if that same certain exclusive thing in someone else's custom video is being leaked out there for everyone else to grab and download for free?
Why did I say my video lost value? Everything was happening so fast, everything was all in the heat of the moment, and I somehow thought that if more leaks happen, the less likely it is that I would want to buy another custom, and the more I would feel like all that effort on her part was all for nothing.
In any event, by the time I sent that email to her today, the videos were already taken down (only to be reuploaded to PornHub later in the day). She said that it was in the hands of the police. I hope she becomes a hawk when it comes to taking down content that wasn't authorized to be posted in places where they shouldn't be. I hope she does well, I hope her clientele increases, and there's a sea of money out there that's there for the taking. The thought of her (or anyone else doing this line of work, for that matter) losing out on that pisses me the fuck off. If this makes me an insensitive, misguided, or misinformed person, then I give up.
And thank you to RealJesebel.
I am glad that you took the time to write this reply and clarify what you meant. I think you were right - in the rush of posting, the bestest words weren't chosen, and it definitely made it seem like you were approaching the situation the wrong way. But your clarification helps a lot, and as someone who definitely got a little peeved yesterday, I understand where you were coming from a LOT better. And I appreciate that, so thank you!
The thing about clip making is that piracy is going to happen. It is inevitable. It's a super shitty, super awful part of filming videos, and as a clip artist myself, I can't tell you how devastating it feels to have your work uploaded for free by people who claimed to be fans. There are genres now that I refuse to film in, because piracy is so bad. It isn't worth it to me, y'know?
But the only person who can attach value or worth to her videos is you. As long as YOU don't watch pirated videos, and continue to pay for the work you enjoy, then you are giving her work the full value, and you are doing everything you can to not contribute to the actions of unappreciative fools. If you continue ordering customs, you could offer to pay exclusive prices to ensure that no one else gets to enjoy the hard work she did for you. And thus, no other pirate can enjoy your fantasy. But it all comes down to this... You are the only one in control of your feelings and your actions. Directing your dream porn is incentive enough to buy a custom. Or you can wait and BUY other people's customs when she uploads them to resell. Neither of those actions are bad, because you are still offering your appreciation and support through proper financial channels. If you choose to stop buying customs and only watch pirated videos of other's customs, I hope you know that would be just as awful as the person who uploaded it in the first place. You would be supporting the pirate, not your favorite artist, actively putting money in the pirate's pockets. Judging from your clarification letter, I don't think you'd go down that road, but I wanted to comment, just in case! So for proper incentive... Just being an appreciative fan is incentive enough, just avoiding being a vile, vile crocodile pirate is incentive enough, just watching YOUR dream fantasy come true is incentive enough. Whether that means buying customs or simply buying the resell videos from her directly, that's still supporting the work that you appreciate!
As for why people will pay for customs if they can be pirated... I think it's because as the director, you can choose all of the details. For example, I do Femdom/fetish videos. I have a TON of heel worship clips that anyone can buy for like fifteen bucks. But I get customs for heel worship a lot, so people can request those little details that make the video special: i.e., wearing a certain kind of heel, an anklet, emphasizing a certain word, using the person's name (if they pay that fee!). It's those little details that make it unique. The custom-director pays a big fee to direct his fantasy, I work hard to create the best product that I can. And then I usually resell it on my site, for others to buy at a deeply discounted price. It won't be their Perfect Video, because the details will be slightly off, but they'll still enjoy it. And even though they get it at a deeply discounted price, I don't think that devalues the product. There are people who won't order a custom EVER, although they can afford it, waiting around in hopes that I'll upload someone else's custom so they can buy - but honestly, most of those are people who don't value my work enough to pay custom-prices anyways. Then, there are others who simply can't afford custom prices, and snatch up Resell videos, never minding if the Details don't exactly match their Perfect Video. I super appreciate those fans because they still go out of their way to show their support and how much they value my work, even if they cannot afford to order their own custom. But when someone orders a custom and I have the chance to bring their Specific Fantasy to life, it is so much fun. I throw my heart and soul into creating something they will enjoy over and over again, and I think that makes custom-clip prices worth it. I am sure your clip-artist is the same way.
Leaks are going to happen. It isn't a probability - it's an inevitability. It's so shitty and demoralizing and awful feeling. And although you get used to it, although you expect it to happen as time goes on, it never stops hurting a little. It never stops feeling so awful. OP, you personally cannot control what other pirates do. There are people who are so cheap that they will never give artists their proper value, especially those in the adult industry. There will always be people who find excuses for actively contributing to the financial harm of the artist they claim to like. All you can do is continue to buy the videos that you enjoy, and avoid the pirate-sites like the plague. If she plans on making clips long-term, she'll roll with the punches and either hire a DMCA service or send notifications to her main websites, asking them to take action for her. Or on places like Pornhub, she can transfer the videos to her account and claim the earnings that would have gone to the pirate instead. Or she'll start charging crazy high prices on the custom clips that are more likely to be pirated, to make it worth her while.
