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Hi All,
At the end of January we always hold a “Restrained Elegance Management Meeting” to set out our plans and priorities for the year. It would be superly helpful to have some ideas and feedback from you as to what you liked on the site last year, what you’d like to see more of, anything different you like to see, or anything you think we didn’t do so well and would like to see improved.
We’re in an interesting position this year, quite different from last. The priority for the next few months is to set up a new studio in our house, moving everything from the old studio by the end of the lease which is now scarily close. There’s a lot of time and money needed to get the new studio exactly how we want it, but we’ll be doing it in stages. We plan to get the “domestic” parts of the house up to scratch first so we can start shooting in those parts first (and also live in it, of course). Then we’re going to convert to garage to a more “formal” photo studio for building sets and so on.
Fortunately, the mortgage comes to a lot less than the studio used to cost. This means that as we decorate we should also be able to do more location trips. The way the exchange rates have changed means that we’ll probably be looking to shoot mostly in the UK this year (one pound = one Euro = very expensive to go to Europe now) although we will probably do at least one or two foreign trips as well to take in some new landscapes. Ariel is very much fancying dunes and deserts, for example.
While obviously we have our own ideas on what to do and in what order, it would be very interesting and helpful to hear from you what you want and what you like from the site.
Do you like the fact that we shoot on location and have lots of different sets, or doesn’t the setting really matter to you and all you care about is the girl and the bondage?
Do you like suspensions? We want to get suspension points put in the house but should we have lots, or just one or two?
Do you like the storyline-led videos, or do you just like to see girls tied up and struggling (maybe with a little scene setting first)? That’ll affect what sort of videos we shoot next year and where we shoot them.
What stuff would make you really sad if it were to disappear from the site (even for a while)? Is there anything on the site right now you’d rather we didn’t do?
Is there something you’ve always wanted to see, or to see more of, which we don’t do?
Or have we got the mix about right, and you’d like to see it stay as it is? If so, what would you say are the things which you really like about the way we do it now?
It would be really helpful to have a bit of feedback to feed into our plans for the year 🙂
Cheers, Hywel.
I would like to see more detailed storytelling. Showing a tied model is fine but how and why was she tied up and by who.
I have some story ideas if you are interested.
Hi,
That’s a conclusion I’d come to regarding the photosets as well. It struck me going through the archives how much more often I used to do that in the days before we started shooting video. We’ve probably tended to keep the better storyline ideas to shoot on video, and we should go back to doing more of them for stills as well.
Always interested to hear story ideas! The most useful thing for us is story outlines of a paragraph or two, rather than anything too detailed, so that we can adapt the details as we need to to fit in with the location, the model, what clothes we have to hand, etc.
Cheers, Hywel.
The shoots should be like a striptease. The model starts off dressed and unbound and winds up bound and naked.
I liked the shoots of Ariel wearing the explorer outfit. It reminded me of an old Sharon Stone movie, I think it was called
Alan Quartermain. She was a bumbling explorer who seemed to get captured and tied up by the bad guys, natives, cannibals,
cults, and slave traders throughout the entire movie. She would weakly struggle and say “no stop that, let me go” as the villains loosely tied her up until the hero saved her.Of course being a main stream movie there was no real bondage or nudity. What I would like to see is those scenes if I had directed the movie. They would all involve Ariel being captured, loosing her clothes and being tied in some mildly perilous situation .
1. Interrogated tied to a chair by bad guys using nipple clamps and a vibrator. She has to tell them what they want to know or die from pleasure.
2. Captued by a satanic type cult. A hypnotized Ariel walks up to an altar. A robe clad cultist waves his hand and she
removes her clothing as if in a trance. Another wave and she climbs onto the altar. I should say I loved the virgin sacrifice position from the Lexicon. She is tied tightly to the altar and gagged. Another wave of the hand and the spell is broken. She stuggles as the cult leader drips wax on her from toe to neck.3. Captured by a mad scientist. Ariel is snooping around a lab. She is grabbed by the doc and he exposes her behind and pretends to give an injection. She wakes up stapped down on the table. Shes naked except for a strip of cloth covering her chest and one covering her hips. The mad scientist is going to erase her mind using stereo headphones and a metal hat.
4. Captured to be the queen of a native ritual. Ariel is tightly hogtied and stuggling. A native woman removes her gag and forces her to drink from a cup. She quickly stops struggling and becomes submissive and compliant. the native woman unties her and undresses her, Her token resistance is overcome with more of the drink. She starts swaying to the beat of drums as the native woman covers her body with native (baby) oils. She is “dressed” is ropes and native jewelery. Her hands have to be slapped away because she is getting horny and trying to touch herself.. She is helped to her feet and tied in a standing spreadeagle. Shes writhing as a huge whip is held up to her face.
5. A human sacrifice suspended over a volcano. Red lighting on the floor. She should be struggling as she was tied up.
6. You mentioned deserts and dunes. You have to do a staked out speadeagled in the desert preferably with water left just out of reach.
These next two are harem type stories, they involve a kidnapped tourist.
7. A slave auction. the woman is standing frightened on a stage. A metal collar is around her neck and a chain goes up to the ceiling. The auctioneer circles her poking, fondling, examining. He lifts her skirt to show off her legs. Whenever she resists she is punished with a riding crop or switch. He slowly undresses her. She tries to cover herself with her hands. Then her hands are chained above her head.
8. After she is sold she is prepared for her new master. A kindly harem slave removes the new girl from a cage. with calming worlds she reduces her terror. She takes the girl by the hand and leads her to a bed. She puts gold jewelery on her and combs her hair. She then ties the trusting girl to the bed with her legs spead very wide. She then kisses the girl on the lips as the bedroom door opens. We then have the masters eye view as he approaches the bed.
My thoughts:
o As I mentioned when picking my favorite sets from 2008, I seem to like the concept of location shoots more than the results. Or at least they seem to produce a number of sets that I think are good, but not “the greatest.”
o I do like you having different studio sets.
o I’d say “just one or two” suspension points. I’m not a big fan of suspensions. At least not “full” suspensions; “semi” suspensions with just the arms or legs held up can be good.
o I’m not a video fan at all.
o I seem to recall past discussions about how stories and storylines can be a problem. Some RE members like scenarios that are little darker, some prefer those that are a little lighter, and putting in a storyline tends to squeeze out desirable ambiguity in a photoset. The “optional” storylines you currently use with your photosets are a good way to do things.
o For the most part, I think you have a good mix.
Some suggestions for props, and for bits I’d like to see (or see more of)
– Bring back the one or two extra-large photos in each set.
– Use of rubber or leather straps to bind the captive models
– A nice set of black leather cuffs, preferably fleece or fur lined. The current cuffs you have manage to look both fetish and twee at the same time – a bad combination.
– A solid, well-finished set of wooden stocks (not a pillory)
– A solid post or pillar to which models can be bound
– A display platform or auction block
– A platform-style bed.
– Bondage that incorporates the use of dowels or poles.
One last idea: A RE “mascot” – a signature character than can be drawn in various ways and that “represents” the site. My own thought would be for a grinning imp dressed in top-hat and tails but there are other possibilities.
I would miss the chats tremendously if those were to go away.
I really like the variety in RE these days. Gone (and good riddance) to the distant past when 90% of the sets involved rope.
I love the concepts of story lines and complicated sets, but the results often fall short. On the other hand, I find myself increasingly liking the light and playful sets – Paige playing by the Christmas tree with cuffs for example.
The exploits of the RE team’s trip to Sweden were quite entertaining. I envy those members that were able to go and shoot their own scenes, even though the work seems quite daunting.
Good luck and continued success in 2009.
Lockjaw
Hywel,
As I indicated in another post, elsewhere on the forum, I tend to like sets that are a] totally nude. b] more than just a little bit graphic. There are several sets/videos featuring Ariel that are wonderful because of this. I also belong to Jasmine Sinclair’s site, where she routinely puts herself on full and total display. I know that you can’t do this every set, but would love to see a few more of them in the future. How they are bound, and what the story line is, doesn’t make much difference to me. I’m just not a fan of shoes, stockings, frilly nightware, etc. etc.
Thanks for the chance to expound…Jim
Dear Hywel
I’d start by thanking you for producing such a very enjoyable site.
For me the attractiveness of the model is of paramount importance and you photograph some lovely girls.I almost always prefer them nude so that I find that a pretty model in a simple wrist and ankle tie can be more erotic than another in technically more complex bondage.This brings me to my suggestion for the new year.
I tend to use leather cuffs rather than rope because the models positions can be changed quickly and they are easy to apply.Leather harnesses also look very good but my main reason for using them is because I’m useless at tying with ropes!Either the lengths are too short making it difficult to complete the knots or too long to make it hard to obtain a neat finish.I really love the strict and tidy rope bondage you seem able to achieve with seeming ease.Could you run a set of stills showing a step by step guide or maybe perhaps better still a video?!Failing this I’ll have to apply to attend your next workshop.
Regards
c
To be honest i canceled my account 2 weeks ago.
When i joined i saw the most beautiful bondage sets ever. Simple and plain bondage, most of them where the standard bondage positions, rope harnesses in different variations, pols and/to ankle bondage and all kind of hogties. Always rope was used in different colors. The girls wears all kinds of clothing, some don’t wear anything 😈
High resolution photo’s although the pictures are never as sharp as the the lower resolution pictures on Modelstied, never understood that. I dont know or it is the saving method or the lens. But the difference is big, i can send you an example if you want.The standard positions are still the best imho. Just thight bondage where the model cant escape out of or even move if you want .
Nowadays it seems that all kind of experimenting is going on on photoshoot, cages, chains cuffs, just sitting or standing, doing nothing wit a chain, boring.
I dloaded a lot of the new sets but i hardly look at them. Only when something old comes by i get a smile on my face. I bought also a ton of sets from you archive.ps the setting/location i dont care of, important to me is the model/position and that rope is used instead of all kind of metal cuffs.
Maybe experiment with liquid latex.
Do an alien abduction scene where the model is cocooned in silver metalic liquid latex.
Don’t really care much for location shoots. It often gets too “experimenty”, like the bondage was made to fit the setting, not the other way around. Stories are alright, but the 5 minute talking parts in the start of videos are kinda wasted when I skip them (not that I mind them much, as long as I am free to do just that).
But regarding what I’d miss (and have been sort of missing lately). I’d miss Gowns and dresses. I’d miss tight rope bondage that’s not just a hogtie where you can’t really see the girls curves. I’d miss the occasional combination of the two. In general, gown sets have a sad tendency to stop at handcuffs or get all ‘curl-up-on-the-ground’ where the dress (and the girl) doesn’t really show, and robe bondage often goes whole-body when it doesn’t have to to do the job 🙁
I don’t really recall what is from 2008 and what is from 2007 (and what is older, but has been brought back in the archives). I also don’t remember what the older sets were called, because I usually just save them with the “default” folder name.
But for a few examples of the style I’d like to see at least once in a while, and which I have been kind of missing lately. In no particular order.
‘aimeeangel’ (Just about anything with Zoe is great, but the rope bondage in this one in particular)
‘honeybyoke’ (“First Date”. For the dress)
‘gemmachantablinds’ (“A new plaything”, I think. Probably my all-time favourite)
‘sophiaharemarchway’ (Fantastic ropework, fantastic dress)
‘sammiechainstrappado’ (Fantastic set. Its not about the girl showing off the bondage, it’s the bondage showing off the girl)…
Oh, and a ballgag/harness now and then is always good, but you don’t seem to need me to tell you that 😉
Exactly what i thougt, take the 3 sets of today 11012008, the first two new sets i dont even dload, but the “old” set Vika Ropewebbed looks great! Just plain and simple a girls with white stockings and a white background, blue rope and nice and beautifully bound, it looks sexy.
Its a pity the old way had gone but that life, time to move on.
I would like to see more fantasy ‘damsel in distress’ (DiD) scenarios.
I have a foot-fetish and like RE since it caters to that interest. Some things I’d like to see:
* Dirty feet bound and scrubbed clean – use a large brush on her soles, toothbrushes between her toes.
* New foot torments: ice, Wartenberg wheel, heat lamps or space heater.
* Flat-style sandals – not just high-heels – with thong and straps that buckle around the ankle. Some straps have a nice bondage look to them. Various types of flat-style slippers are nice too. High heels imply professional and ‘business-like’, while flats imply casual and playful. In foot-torment scenario, damsel starts in footwear (preferably sandals) but captor removes her footwear – a tip-off that the captor has plans for her feet.
* Nude or near nude damsel, ball-tied, being packed in a trunk for shipment to distant torture chamber. Perhaps include ‘gag’ documents, such as shipping labels (Deliver To: Dungeon. Dr. Fetish Private Island, Pacific Ocean.), special packing instructions (toe ties, nipple clamps, vibrators, etc.), perhaps even ‘documents of enslavement’ (‘contract’ stating damsel is being enslaved to work off debts, etc.). Depending on shape of trunk, she can also be hogtied or ‘standing’ tie.
The Missing Scene or the Scene Too Short: Those DiD movie scenes from our formative years the way we WISH they had been done. :^)
– Dr No (1962): How did Dr. No’s soldiers keep Honey Ryder ‘entertained’ before Bond rescued her, shackled on spillway?
– Thunderball (1965): Wonder the details of happened in the cabin of the Disco Valente between Domino & Largo?
– Adventures of Hajji Baba (1954): Harem girl interrogated by having her feet whipped.
– Wonders of Aladdin (1961): Female ‘friend’ of Aladdin is captured by an evil Vizier and when she is rescued the next day, she is found suspended (nude?) with her bare feet over hot coals. Ever wonder what else happened to her in between her capture & rescue?I don’t think we’re really changed “the formula” much. Certainly not consciously. I’ve always tried to be experimental. I’ve been doing location shoots since November 2001, for example, and there has always been a mix of rope, metal, and other styles of bondage.
I do tend to bring back sets in the archive more often if they went down well the first time around. So the “good old days” is more about bringing back the stuff that people liked more frequently, in this case 🙂
Cheers, Hywel.
Generally, I like RE’s style as it is. However, there are a few things I would like to see a little more often.
* While the model looks more comfortable dressed, I would like a set to end with at least partially
exposed breasts.* You have done stocks and yokes occasionally. I would like to see more of that.
* Many prefer rope or leather; I prefer metal.
But thank you for an excellent site, with excellent models.
@Guest wrote:
Hywel,
As I indicated in another post, elsewhere on the forum, I tend to like sets that are a] totally nude. b] more than just a little bit graphic. There are several sets/videos featuring Ariel that are wonderful because of this. I also belong to Jasmine Sinclair’s site, where she routinely puts herself on full and total display. I know that you can’t do this every set, but would love to see a few more of them in the future. How they are bound, and what the story line is, doesn’t make much difference to me. I’m just not a fan of shoes, stockings, frilly nightware, etc. etc.
Thanks for the chance to expound…Jim
Hi all;
Perhaps a bit cheeky to be wishing everyone a happy new year on January 19th but heck, it’s my first post of the new year (I was doing so well towards the end of last year too – I hang my head in shame!) so, happy new year to you all – how’s it been so far?
In response to the question – what does CD want to see on the site in 2009? Clearly, I keep paying my site membership so personally I don’t think that there is too much wrong with the site, and I am not going into a big list of the sort of things that CD likes in RE sets – I fear that may be going over old ground! Just a few comments though:-
1; I am really looking forward to shots from your new studio/home. I think you may have exhausted the possibilities of the sets you had at the old/current studio (the prison cell, black set for example had maybe been seen too often).
2; I guess I would encourage you to put up suspension points in multiple positions. I quite like suspensions and having the points there doesn’t necessarily mean you have to always use them for complete suspensions. Also, having points in a few locations will extend the life of the new place in terms of original looking sets.
3; I do like videos. Yeah I know it’s a bondage site, but there have been occasions when I would happily sit and watch Ariel being Ariel with the bondage being secondary (the Ariel as a cowgirl videos crack me up – not sure they were supposed to be comedy). I also encourage more of the instructional behind the scenes-type videos such as Ariel’s diary and the Chanta tying model X up tutorials – these really bring out the personality of the models and make the site that bit more intimate than some others. Don’t get me wrong I wouldn’t want all videos to be of this nature and you have shot some great story-based videos – see on)
4; Stories; I think this is a balance thing. Sure, develop stories and shoot sets around them – perhaps, as discussed, where we see a progression from girl wandering along looking beautiful and elegant through to being captured, bound, stripped, interrogated…. Having said that I think there is something to be said for a simple setting with a bondage model looking gorgeous and bound – no need for a story (some of last years Paige sets stand out as being of this kind). Following on from the video comment above there a have been some great story-based videos throughout 2008 (Sammie, Ariel and Kate in Medieval epic for example) and I think this is something I would like to see more of (I mean the same amount as in 2008 – I appreciate these are longer to shoot.
5; When first asked in the forum about half way through last year I didn’t register a strong objection to more spanking on the site (I now realize this question was the precursor to the Ariel Interview videos). If I am really honest, having seen the videos, I would probably move myself to the not all that keen on seeing all that much more camp. Perhaps worth bringing that discussion back.
6; I echo the comments of some of the others, would like to see some more damsel in distress – the perils of an RE model-type sets. I am sure that we all have tons of ideas (if you are anything like me most based on childhood memories – the perils of Penelope etc…). Tickling?
7; Outdoor shoots; I really like the idea of shooting outdoors – great photography, great scenery, beautiful model it’s all good. I think I am with Lurker though, in that I think I sometimes like the idea more than the results. Thinking about it I think it is because other than providing a more interesting background than the studio for the bondage being outdoors doesn’t really add all that much. It would be good if you could better use the fact you are shooting away from the studio. Actually being outdoors perhaps works best in your videos where very often you have the victim say walking through the woods and is then captured and taken to a scene perhaps indoors (is this making any sense?). In summary I do really like the outdoor shoots (some of the Sweden shots were fab – oh and who cold forget the Ariel Sweden set in the yellow top, blue jeans and blue rope)
8; Feet (OK it was always going to be on the list); one of the key RE selling points for me and I know for a fair few others is the barefoot bondage. I would like to see a bit more done with that. More bastinado, tickling, waxing etc. Can we see more like the Jasmine’s barefoot torture series of videos of old?
9; Having read some of the others posts, I went back and had a look at the some of the recent few months sets and there has been a lack of the ‘elegance’ costumes that I have come to associate with the site. Perhaps more long silky frocks and costumes.
Damn – I can’t think of a 10th…
Had better add the age old caveat that there is no pleasing all of the people all of the time. As I have said the overall balance of the site is just right.
Heres to a fab 2009.
CD
Hi CD, and Happy New Year!
@cavalierdriver wrote:
1; I am really looking forward to shots from your new studio/home. I think you may have exhausted the possibilities of the sets you had at the old/current studio (the prison cell, black set for example had maybe been seen too often).
I agree. I don’t think we exhausted the possibilities of the sets so much as exhausted our own inspiration for shooting things in them. Our friends from Northern Spanking did a shoot at the studio just before Xmas and it was very interesting seeing the place with fresh eyes. It was also interesting how quickly I could rustle up props and costumes when they decided on the spur of the moment that our white brick wall set could make a good Medieval Market square. (In the space of 30 minutes I had produced props, stocks, straw for the floor, and costumes for about six cast to wear). What’s even more interesting is that it never occured to me to do it.
No, the trouble is exhausting our inspiration when shooting on the same sets. It is still possible to shoot new and fresh stuff with interesting lighting patterns and new bondage and new models, but at a certain point the studio becomes more of a creative hinderance than a creative stimulus.
So for that reason and many others I’m also looking forward to creating a new shooting space at home, and also to the increased number of location trips which the reduced overheads will allow us to run. I don’t just mean outdoor locations, I mean interiors, modern cottages and houses and hotels and warehouses and other people’s studios and all manner of places to shoot which are hired for the day or the week rather than semi-permanently ours. It is a lot easier to come up with your first six ideas for a given room than to come up with your sixtieth. That sort of location shoot has been a part of the site from the very beginning (the first shoots for the site were done on location, in that sense) and I look forward to a more stimulating balance of those and a new space of our own to shoot in, too.
@cavalierdriver wrote:
2; I guess I would encourage you to put up suspension points in multiple positions. I quite like suspensions and having the points there doesn’t necessarily mean you have to always use them for complete suspensions. Also, having points in a few locations will extend the life of the new place in terms of original looking sets.
Have started this discussion with the more practically-minded of the “RE regulars”. I definitely want multiple points
suitable for full suspensions in the garage part of the studio. In the house part, I think we need overhead fixing points for sure but winches and points strong enough to definitely do full suspensions in all the rooms may be a tall order as it might involve removing all the flooring in the top floor to get at the joists.I completely agree that overhead fastening points are a very good thing and will be trying to get as many as I can. Overhead lighting points, too, for that matter.
@cavalierdriver wrote:
3; I do like videos. Yeah I know it’s a bondage site, but there have been occasions when I would happily sit and watch Ariel being Ariel with the bondage being secondary (the Ariel as a cowgirl videos crack me up – not sure they were supposed to be comedy). I also encourage more of the instructional behind the scenes-type videos such as Ariel’s diary and the Chanta tying model X up tutorials – these really bring out the personality of the models and make the site that bit more intimate than some others. Don’t get me wrong I wouldn’t want all videos to be of this nature and you have shot some great story-based videos – see on)
🙂
I think one of the strengths and weaknesses of RE is that we do have such a variety. I think we could probably do better business by the Kink.com “one concept and one style per website” approach, but dammit, I like variety and I would get bored doing the same thing over and over again. So it is nice to know that some of the long-term members also like the mix.
I wouldn’t want the behind the scenes videos to encroach too much, either, but as you say it does give site a more human feel to see Ariel or Chanta in full flow 😉
@cavalierdriver wrote:
4; Stories; I think this is a balance thing. Sure, develop stories and shoot sets around them – perhaps, as discussed, where we see a progression from girl wandering along looking beautiful and elegant through to being captured, bound, stripped, interrogated…. Having said that I think there is something to be said for a simple setting with a bondage model looking gorgeous and bound – no need for a story (some of last years Paige sets stand out as being of this kind). Following on from the video comment above there a have been some great story-based videos throughout 2008 (Sammie, Ariel and Kate in Medieval epic for example) and I think this is something I would like to see more of (I mean the same amount as in 2008 – I appreciate these are longer to shoot.
Again, I agree with you that a mix is probably the healthiest and best thing. It certainly fits in with my own preferences, and I do still try to aim the site at what I wanted to see when I was a member of sites rather than a producer.
@cavalierdriver wrote:
5; When first asked in the forum about half way through last year I didn’t register a strong objection to more spanking on the site (I now realize this question was the precursor to the Ariel Interview videos). If I am really honest, having seen the videos, I would probably move myself to the not all that keen on seeing all that much more camp. Perhaps worth bringing that discussion back.
I don’t think it is giving away any state secrets to reveal that Ariel is a spanking star in her Amelia Jane Rutherford persona, and does quite a lot of pure spanking work. Our own preference is for a mix of BDSM activities, in fact so long as Ariel/Amelia is on the receiving end and Hywel is in charge, it is pretty likely to work for us. 8) I’m conscious that there is a big divide between the bondage and spanking worlds, and that a lot of people find mixing the two to be offputting or downright unpleasant. Curiously there seems to be less objection to “going the whole way” to full-on BDSM scenes (like Ariel’s 100 strokes, or the slave training sequences) than to mixing a bit of bondage into a pure spanking scene, or having a bit of spanking in an otherwise pure bondage scene.
RE has always been first and foremost a bondage site, and I think that’s the way it should stay. You are quite right to say that the question was a leading one, testing the water before posting the job interview video (which we shot as a custom video, something we usually don’t do because it isn’t at all cost-effective). We threw in some dom-sub elements and some simple but effective bondage in order to bondage it up a bit, but I knew when I was editing it that it had come across as more of a straight spanking video, which isn’t the core of the site. I decided to post it anyway because I liked it, but the pure bondage fans probably don’t like the caning and the pure spanking fans think it is a bit too light (!)
http://rohrstockpalast.blogspot.com/2009/01/perfect-arch.html
and possibly also find the bondage a bit unnecessary and maybe even freaky.So my plan is to eschew pure spanking stuff, but to do more of the slave training stuff this year (following on from the Long Term Bondage and Resident Slavegirl series).
One interesting problem here is finding people to dominate on screen. Lots of people, myself included, don’t generally like to see random men on screen dominanting the girls, especially not male models and especially especially not male porn stars. I’ve always had a bit of a special dispensation because it is my site, I think, and I know VERY well that I should intrude into shot as little as possible because it is all about the girls 🙂
I am very happy doing on-screen domination with Ariel (well, duh. Clearly. That’s one of the ways we fell in love, and why lots of people have since said they weren’t in the least surprised). A less obvious corolloray is that I’m less happy doing on-screen domination with people other than Ariel, especially BDSM scenes. (It helps if she is there, either modelling or on the crew). Most models are, frankly, RUBBISH as on screen doms and can’t really tie decent knots. Ariel can just about do it but feels guilty for days afterwards. Chanta is great but there’s only one of her and she’s based on another continent. So this is a definite problem with shooting some sorts of video, especially if it is starring someone other than Ariel. It is something we are working on.
Actually, not all that many models are really good at translating great submissive bondage modelling to great acting for video either, so casting the videos is always a bit of a trial. We’re doing better now that Ariel and I team up and share directing, as her acting training is a good counterpoint to me doing the technical side.
@cavalierdriver wrote:
6; I echo the comments of some of the others, would like to see some more damsel in distress – the perils of an RE model-type sets. I am sure that we all have tons of ideas (if you are anything like me most based on childhood memories – the perils of Penelope etc…). Tickling?
Yeh, you are right. We’ve not done so much Damsel In Distress stuff recently. Point noted!
@cavalierdriver wrote:
7; Outdoor shoots; I really like the idea of shooting outdoors – great photography, great scenery, beautiful model it’s all good. I think I am with Lurker though, in that I think I sometimes like the idea more than the results. Thinking about it I think it is because other than providing a more interesting background than the studio for the bondage being outdoors doesn’t really add all that much. It would be good if you could better use the fact you are shooting away from the studio. Actually being outdoors perhaps works best in your videos where very often you have the victim say walking through the woods and is then captured and taken to a scene perhaps indoors (is this making any sense?). In summary I do really like the outdoor shoots (some of the Sweden shots were fab – oh and who cold forget the Ariel Sweden set in the yellow top, blue jeans and blue rope)
Good points which I’ll definitely have a good think about. You are right that we’ve not made so much of the actual outdoors in terms of progress and story and walking through the woods so much as plonking ourselves down in a pretty spot and shooting what is essentially a studio set with a pretty outdoor background, less controllable light and a lot more mosquitos. Making more of that aspect is REALLY something we must do at whatever outdoor shoots we manage this year.
I think we made more of it in the storyline videos we shot in Spain which are just starting to get edited, but we made very little use of it in Sweden.
Incidentally, it is looking like of necessity most of our location shoots this year will be in the UK because of the exchange rates, so outdoor stuff will largely be at the mercy of the British weather!
@cavalierdriver wrote:
8; Feet (OK it was always going to be on the list); one of the key RE selling points for me and I know for a fair few others is the barefoot bondage. I would like to see a bit more done with that. More bastinado, tickling, waxing etc. Can we see more like the Jasmine’s barefoot torture series of videos of old?
Yes. I’ve got some really evil things in the pipeline for Ariel….
@cavalierdriver wrote:
9; Having read some of the others posts, I went back and had a look at the some of the recent few months sets and there has been a lack of the ‘elegance’ costumes that I have come to associate with the site. Perhaps more long silky frocks and costumes.
I think more of a temporary effect of which sets have taken my fancy than any change in shooting policy, there are definitely some coming up in February.
Thank you all very much for taking the time to let us know your thoughts. We will try to take as much on board as we can at our management meeting next week so we can plan to make 2009 even better than 2008.
Cheers, Hywel.
So my plan is to eschew pure spanking stuff, but to do more of the slave training stuff this year (following on from the Long Term Bondage and Resident Slavegirl series).
Excellent, I love those two series they are among my favorites.
I’d like to give a suggestion.
Use an electronic training dog collar on the model. In the past you’ve used that little cattle prod and that electric tennis raquet on models, the collar should be no difference.
The model wakes up in a barren room with the collar locked on her neck. After a minute of “Hello, is anybody there” an emotionless voice comes over a speaker. “remove your clothing”. “Go to hell” zap
Well you get the idea. Is this some kind of government program, Or an experiment of some kind, Or a white slave ring.
Hi
Would like to see more of the devices used in
HONEYSOFALINGERIE
SABRINAHAREMFLOWERS
TIGERRBEDSTEELSTOCKSa couple of models to see more of are
Amy Hunter
Loulou
a couple of outstanding sets were
MELANIEREDDRESSDUNGEON
SAMMIECHAINSTRAPPADOprefer to see metal bondage and dungeon settings
now some negatives
don’t like the low light sets where its hard to make out what is in the picture,
there are not enough (most times none) pictures taken from behind the model.
Its not that the models are ugly, but it is nice to be reminded of where the word restrained fits in.Appreciate all your efforts
troubleHi;
On the subject of UK-based location trips, a function of our falling currency (boo!), I was wondering if this might include the occasional dungeon visit? I guess there is a bit of a balance to be struck here as I wouldn’t want to see RE going down the path of too industrial bondage but there is some interest in the juxtaposition (get me!) of the elegant bondage model in the harsh dungeon environment that you have shot very well in the past (Belle and Sabrina spring to mind). Would also provide a variety in the sorts of restraints/cages and contraptions that we see on the site.
Just a thought
CD
I would like to see the spaceship set used for a barbarella inspired set.
there are not enough (most times none) pictures taken from behind the model.
Last time I shot for RE, I really thought of this comment – I bet Ariel was sick of me asking her to turn round in the end… sometimes it is tricky though. For example, models tied to trees / beds / up against walls / railings.
I was wondering if this might include the occasional dungeon visit?
Ooh, that would be interesting – good idea CD….
I would like to see the spaceship set used for a barbarella inspired set.
That is *exactly* what we said when shooting in the spaceship set at the studio for the very last time… although we didn’t exactly ‘channel’ Barbarella, we did shoot a pretty cool set with Ariel inspired by post apocalyptic grungy sci fi (think Bladerunner, Mad Max etc). It was great to shoot as it was a total collaboration – Hywel set up some ace lighting and dressed the set and helped with rigging, Ariel did a fantastic job with styling (and permanent glitter – eek!) and I shot and brought a rigging idea I had to life.
It was one of my favourite sets to be part of and it seemed a fitting way to say goodbye to the spaceship set… I can’t wait to see the finished pictures!
I am so up for shooting the Barbarella orgasmatron scene in the future though!
Kate x
First of all, it’s great that you regularly ask our opinions. I
remember the 1980s when you had to go into the seedy parts of NYC to
get any bondage materials. The publishers were almost totally
anonymous and certainly not in regular communication with their
readers.I should also say that experimentation is good. A lot of your
experimental sets haven’t done much for me, but you never know when
you’ll hit something new that’s really good.I’d say the girl and bondage are much more important than the location
and story line. They can detract from the main attraction. Costumes
are often fun, but they can also detract. Nudity is best.I don’t particularly care for suspension or any other position that
looks strenuous or painful for the model and can only be maintained
for a short time. Bondage must be strict and inescapable but also
reasonably comfortable. She should be able to relax and remain tied up
for some time without a problem. Hogties are great when you use a
waist chain or rope to take the leg strain off the hands.I’d like to see some more restrictive but comfortable positions, such
as standing with her hands cuffed behind a pole behind her. She’s
completely exposed and vulnerable, unable to turn away. Come to think
of it, I don’t think I’ve seen any such scenes on your site.I’d hate most to see you lose nude handcuff scenes, which have always
been my favorite.Variety is still good even when much of it is not my favorite type. I
never know when I might discover something new.
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