Restrained Elegance is a very nice site with good content and a character all its own. I have been a member for only a short while but I don’t think I will leave anytime soon. Please keep this in mind when reading this comment; even though I criticise some parts of RE, the fact is I like it.

A lot of what I have been thinking about has been said here already, so I’ll just quote appropriate parts and add my own comments. A good summary may be Quality beats quantity every time.

”We’re also thinking of changing our update schedule so we put up new photo sets on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and a new film every Saturday.
(Hywel)
(Yes, I know there is a function for quoting but I don’t like it. It disrupts the flow of the text too much.)

This is perfectly acceptable if it leads to even higher quality, from storyline to post processing.

“There’s just not enough spare capacity, especially on the editing and processing side, to do these things. Not enough Hywel-hours in the month, specifically.”
(Hywel)

Cull the shots before processing them. That would lead to less work post shoot and would make the sets better and more stringent. I don’t have anything against sets with fewer photos, on the contrary, since I won’t have to do the culling myself after downloading the sets.

How hard would it be for the non-Hywels on the team to learn how to process the shots according to guidelines?

“We totally could run RE as a production line. Shoot almost everything in our house, shoot the popular ties in places we know how to light already, get the models to bring their own clothes, and try to get eight updates out from a day’s shoot. That would be GREAT for a year or two actually!!!”… “But… would it really retain the “soul” of RE to do nothing but that for the next ten years? I don’t feel it would; I think it is a trap, in the long term.”
(Hywel)

Yes, it’s a bad idea! Variety and quality are important. After being a member for less than two months I already feel that many sets look generic and too much alike. Though admittedly, many of these are older ones in the archive.
Many photo sets contain lots of pictures that hardly differ at all. Unless the set is clearly telling a story, 60-70 photos from a single shoot will hardly make me any happier than just half as many or even a third. This doesn’t really matter that much to me since I can just delete the ones I’m not happy with. It could be more important for Hywel though, having to process all these shots and having to pay for the necessary bandwidth for the resulting large zip files.
One thing that make many shots look almost like copies is the models. Not that they look alike, but their facial expressions and poses often do. Sure, they are models and they get paid to do a job, but does it have to be so obvious? This is not a cat walk; the idea is to tell a story. Some models manage to do this, others don’t. Or could the fault be with the photographer/director?
One would believe that the videos would solve the problem with too similar posing and partly they do. Unfortunately many models can’t act believably, which turns some videos into very stilted theatre instead.

“So the third possibility is to go back to the early days. Define “an update” as (say) 50 photos minimum, 100 photos maximum. If a set consists of 100 photos, it gets split into two, regardless of whether or not that makes any sense to the storyline.”
“I should also add that multi-part STORYLINES are not really the issue here.”
(Hywel)

By all means, split the set if it can be clearly motivated by the storyline. Just make sure you don’t walk into the 100+ trap.

“I would rather present each idea as a single set even if it took two or three hours to shoot, but not have to produce so many of them. That will allow for more time to be dedicated to the sets…”
(Hywel)

This is perfectly fine as long as the result is worth the wait. I’d rather wait two or three days for a set I know I will like, than get a less good one today. (I only download sets and videos that I rate 4 or 5.)

“Location shoots are exciting, interesting, stimulating and fun, and they lead to sets which we would have found it really hard to think up without that initial spark from being somewhere new.”
(Hywel)

I tend to like these sets a lot better than sets made in the studio. The setting is more interesting and gets incorporated into the story in a way that no studio background can ever be, the posing and acting is often more natural, and these sets simply set off the imagination in a way that very few studio sets do.

Videos in Blue-ray-quality
It would be nice but is not at the top of the wish list.

It will also allow us to develop new ideas we have in the works- like a regular live show controlled by you, the members…
(Hywel)

This sounds like a nice idea, provided that there’s enough interest. Have you checked? Live shows without active viewers would be a disappointment.

“For the live shows I’ve not looked into possible technologies yet…”
(Hywel)

Please use open and non-patented technologies whenever and wherever possible. It’s a pain in the a*** not being able to use some technology on your platform of choice because some vendor or patent holder refuses to publish the specifications without any strings attached.
For example, here is an article about recent changes to the H.264 licensing: http://blogs.computerworlduk.com/simon-says/2010/08/hold-the-h264-celebrations/index.htm

“I am all for making each photo update more of an event. As a photographer, I would much rather invest my time in producing a single set with a substantial idea / tie / storyline than feel the pressure to produce three less meaningful sets.”
(Kate)

I agree 100 percent. As I said, quality beats quantity.

“You have also had the courage to let go of the site enough to bring in others (Kate, Steve, Merlin, Ariel and others I’m sure I’m forgetting) to help with the site and that has only added to it’s charm, class and quality.”
(Jeff)

Variation is good. Getting more people involved should also make RE more resilient.

“I generally do tend to read the story line trailers for the sets and videos and some become my back ground story when I look at the set or video and in others I insert my own. I’m not sure the videos need to be fantasy neutral or at least a percentage of them doesn’t have to be.”
(Jeff)

Without a good story some photo sets would turn into nothing but a generic and bland collection of photos. The story should preferably be easy to follow in the set. Sets that lack a clear story may still contain individually beautiful shots but they don’t necessarily work as a whole.

“I’ve always been a big fan of the outdoor work the RE has done. Part of that is just the wonderful backdrops you can get as well as the natural lighting.”
(Jeff)

I agree. These photos have a much richer atmosphere. They are often more beautiful and interesting to look at than the ones taken in the studio. They don’t necessarily have to be taken at exclusive or exotic places; it may be enough to just step outside the studio. The set “Hiding the Handcuffs” is a good example.

“I would not like to see the number of outdoor and location shots cut back to any great extent although I know they are expensive and can be a logistics headache.” … “I can’t say I would find set after set in front of the same white or black background that interesting in the long term. There are only so many positions and scenarios that can be presented that way. To me it makes it much more interesting and realistic (even if I know it is all fantasy) to have shoots done in the bedroom, the living room, the kitchen and so forth.”
(Jeff)

I agree.

“I’ve always liked the Ariel’s Video Diaries and particularly the ones with an interview of a model or just having a camera rolling during the shooting of a set or video. “Fly on the Wall” point of view so to speak. I would certainly enjoy more of that in the future.”
(Jeff)

Behind the scenes material can be at least as interesting as the usual updates. It all depends on the content.

“…there are a couple of things I’d love to see RE bring into the mix in terms of attire, restraints and general scenarios. We’ve seen some latex, spandex and leather or leather like attire from time to time but I don’t think we have seen much of it in more recent sets.”
(Jeff)

I’m with Ariel on this one: too kinky clothes take away much of the effect. And they often look ridiculous or plain ugly.

“Some of your videos have been superb; however, for my taste they tend to be too long.”
(j8tennant)

The length doesn’t matter as long as the content and the acting are good.

“…I prefer sets (still or video) where the model is obviously enjoying herself; smiles are wonderful.”
(j8tennant)

I agree, though all expressions (anger, happiness, shyness, fear, etc.) are good. Bored looking models and models with a face seemingly capable of only one expression are not.

“…I hope you’ll continue to focus on the elegance and simplicity of bondage, and not fall into the pits of hardcore pornography that other similar sites have been unable to avoid.”
(Dante)

I agree. Some excursions into that territory may be fine from time to time but the porn end of the spectrum is not where RE’s strength lies.

“…lets have plenty of variety in the model’s posing.”
(panther79)

I agree.

”If you want to save production time my personal preferences would be:
– Drop all videos or make them a lot rarer.
– Do more studio shots.
– Don’t worry about constructing elaborate storylines…”
(panther79)

No, no, and no!

Videos, IF they are well scripted, well acted, and with at least a passable technical quality, generally give me more than stills. The photos sure look better, with careful lighting and post processing, no decapitation of the models, and so on, but a good video can often tell so much more than a collection of photos. Or at least it tells it differently.
Unfortunately, the ratio of good videos is probably lower than the ratio of good photo sets. I think I’ve said this before in another thread but I’ll say it again: To me the Nights videos stand in a class by themselves.

The sets Daydreams in the Bath pts 1 & 2 are excellent examples of how much the setting means to the character and quality of a shoot. Please refresh your memory by taking a look at them. Don’t forget to read the stories.
Now, keep the stories in mind but forget the beautiful bathroom in the French château. Try instead to imagine Ariel crammed into a small, pink, plastic bathtub on the studio floor. That wouldn’t be quite the same, would it? 😛 Add a rubber duck and a snorkel and the parody is complete.

When I first came here I didn’t think the storylines would be very important for my impression of the sets. I even found them rather silly. It turned out I was wrong. A well-written story gives a background, a context, and an extra dimension to the photos and helps setting the mood. And though I still find them silly, most of them are silly in a nice and entertaining way.

I’d also like to add a few things that I don’t think have been mentioned before:

The site is clean and inviting with a nice layout. It’s easy to navigate.

RE has an open and inviting atmosphere, much thanks to Hywel’s and Ariel’s open-hearted posts on the forum and their blogs, as well as the input from members. I tried to imagine RE without this part, just with the daily updates and nothing else, but I couldn’t. All the texts, comments and thoughts are essential to the character of RE.

There is no bad language. Not that I normally care much, but it is nice to get a break from the usual ”fucking cunt”, ”bitch”, and ”whore” that get thrown around on so many other sites.

The photography is high standard and very flattering for the models. There are pretty models, pretty poses, pretty rope work, and pretty and flattering lighting. There is, however, another ”pretty” to add to this list, which kind of turns it on its head: Pretty models, pretty poses, pretty rope work, pretty and flattering lighting – and pretty static.
The stills sets often show a more or less frozen tableau, sometimes with an implied action but without much actually happening in the shots. I don’t pretend to have a solution to this – stills do have their limitations – but somehow making some sets more dynamic would be a good thing.
On a related note, there often isn’t much variation in mood between different sets. It seems to be connected to the “prettiness problem”, with more or less the same lighting, the same poses, the same restraints, and so on. There are exceptions of course, like Sabrina Dirty and several of the tutorial shoots.
It would be nice if you dared to leave the familiar path a little more often.

I don’t quite understand why you are adding high resolution photos for downloading. How many of us have got the screens to actually benefit from them? I certainly don’t, and my 22” wide-screen is probably a common size. You do this while at the same time complaining about how much time the post processing takes. Touching up hi res shots can hardly be any faster. Then there’s the question of bandwidth. Lots of people will probably download the hi res sets whether they need them or not, which will lead to an increased cost for the Internet connection.
The hi res version may still be nice to have for the right sets but I’m afraid “The Lady of the Lake” was not one of those. Goose bumps may show what the model has to put up with and just how dedicated she is but they sure make the sensuality meter drop through the floor. In this case I prefer the low res version.

Hywel mentions that RE has turned into a small community over the years and he seems happy with that development. If this is indeed what you want, and I think of a community as being made up of a major part of the members, not only the inner circle of photographers and models, a lot more work is probably needed to sustain it long term than it would take to just publish updates every second day.
The basic “We show, you watch” does not necessarily promote the building and management of a community. It is too much a one way communication.
If you do manage to sustain a community long term I suspect it will show in the number of members who stay with you.

Martes