Setting a JAV Company in Japan. Possible?

[Hans Kowalski]

They're avatars for the otakus.

Just like the white dudes in that one movie with Yuma Asami were, lol. I always wondered who the intended audience for that was, because I doubt the production company expected crazy sales figures from the US and Europe.

 

[Supmop]

I don't think that's down to them not letting foreigners in. It's more towards making their consumers more receptive to the fantasy. Like, how is the typical Japanese man able to indulge himself into thinking he's bonking an actress when he sees a white dick attached to himself in POV mode The experience would feel foreign and awkward. And the Japanese actors are usually unattractive or their characters losers. They're avatars for the otakus.

yes your opinion are make sense
many people like JAV because its more reality than western, using unattractive actors, ecc

but how about viewer's fantasy for japanese womans getting fuck by foreigners other than the black ? I mean don't use athletic & handsome foreigner like Private's actors, but unattractive non athletic foreigners, I'm sure they are market for it, some people will say because language barrier, but most of the black actors in JAV can't speak japanese fluently

and in the early era there no AMWF and black actor yet (or very rare) I believe because older generation can't accept interracial, today's japanese generation are more open to interracial stuff, but I think still not totally open yet

 

[Supmop]

Just like the white dudes in that one movie with Yuma Asami were, lol. I always wondered who the intended audience for that was, because I doubt the production company expected crazy sales figures from the US and Europe.

I think S1 tried to make innovation, but seem it did not get successful respon so they stop it

 

[Inertia]

Supmop: if you're a non-Asian guy who speaks near fluently, has good charisma, does not have any STDs, can get hard and perform without issue on an AV set, you can definitely find work as an actor in the AV industry. You haven't seen many foreign faces because most are missing strong communications ability. Also, when I mean strong, I'm not talking JLPT L1 which is a joke for communications, but actual serious conversation skills in a business setting. Can you maintain a conversation for several hours straight with groups of Japanese people? That's the level you need to be for studios to feel comfortable with you. Otherwise, work may be possible such as bukkake shoots, but you won't get far.

 

[Supmop]

Supmop: if you're a non-Asian guy who speaks near fluently, has good charisma, does not have any STDs, can get hard and perform without issue on an AV set, you can definitely find work as an actor in the AV industry. You haven't seen many foreign faces because most are missing strong communications ability. Also, when I mean strong, I'm not talking JLPT L1 which is a joke for communications, but actual serious conversation skills in a business setting. Can you maintain a conversation for several hours straight with groups of Japanese people? That's the level you need to be for studios to feel comfortable with you. Otherwise, work may be possible such as bukkake shoots, but you won't get far.

thanks for your answer Inertia

but how for the non japanese asian guy ?
in other thread I've read people asking for japanese females vs arabian / india / south east asian males, how their chance ?

 

[Inertia]

Supmop: if you're a non-Japanese guy who speaks near fluently, has good charisma, does not have any STDs, can get hard and perform without issue on an AV set, you can definitely find work as an actor in the AV industry.

 

[jppilot]

japss: that's some random clip of uyoku. Seriously you can't assume a group consisting of many Zainichi Koreans can serve as an analogue for the bulk of the AV industry.

In fact, why am I arguing about racism with a person whose username is 'japss'?

My username is not connected with topic.


How do you know about AV industry and racism in Japan? Do you have connection with this industry?

 

[Inertia]

I work in the industry here in Japan and I'm a foreigner with PR. I think that covers all bases that you're concerned with.

 

[Supmop]

Supmop: if you're a non-Japanese guy who speaks near fluently, has good charisma, does not have any STDs, can get hard and perform without issue on an AV set, you can definitely find work as an actor in the AV industry.

OK thank you for your answer

I hope will be more non japanese non black male performers working in JAV industry

 

[jppilot]

I work in the industry here in Japan and I'm a foreigner with PR. I think that covers all bases that you're concerned with.

Tnx for answer. Well, seems my vision about AV industry not really correct.

Do you know japanese? And you are not from asian ethnic group?What is your work?

 

[EroMura777]

I stumbled upon this while checking some topics on another forum (AdultDVDTalk, ADT for short):

^ Hi. I'm not a complete industry insider, so I don't know how much the camera man makes for example, but I can tell you the performer rates.

Normal rates (not for first anals etc.) run something like this:

blowjob: $600
g/g: $800
b/g: $1000
b/g IR: $1100 (NOTE: some performers/agents don't charge more for IR, some do)
b/g anal: $1200
b/g DP: $1400 or so

And DAP etc would go up from there in similar increments.

(These #s are not perfect. They're what's in my head from various interviews over the years, so please no one get angry at me if I mis-remember some of the numbers, or everything is slightly low or whatever.)

This is related to, mainly, USA porn. Thoughts?

It's totally possible to hire a crew to shoot for you while you just stay at home.

This would be more of what I had in mind (even being a crazy idea). It's not that I want to start directing or being a main actor, maybe getting a short scene from time to time if everything went well mid-term.

If OP has the money, he can always just contact a studio that shoots what he likes, offer them big financial support for the title, and maybe it will get made that way. I know of examples of this happening right now but I can't say which companies and who's funding it (no, it's not yakuza).

This big financial support would be in the $7000-1000 budget? would it be more? or would it be less? would I earn a revenue for each sale or would it be money lost?
Also, how much actual power of decision have the people behind those examples?

 

[Inertia]

EroMura: the prices you quoted for USA porn you can probably double for Japanese AV (the pay goes to to the agency which then pays the AV star after taking their cut).

If you're dead serious about hiring a crew from an AV studio, send them an email in Japanese (have it translated professionally). Don't email any big name studios like the ones owned by DMM. Instead email independent ones where things like this can be done a lot easier.

Chipping in big-time for a joint venture title would vary on how much you put in (half? 75%?). It's impossible to answer what you'd get back and how much power you'd have in calling the shots because that's all a case-by-case.

 

[Supmop]

EroMura: the prices you quoted for USA porn you can probably double for Japanese AV (the pay goes to to the agency which then pays the AV star after taking their cut).

Yes I agree with this, thats why many american and european porn stars work for japanese AV companies, but very rare for Japanese AV stars to work for american / european company

 

[EroMura777]

New material from the DMM website thread:

Im not sure where you got this numbers from but this is not the case in Japan. That may be the case of 1 scene but not one full DVD for sure.
In Japan, if it is not a very amateur maker were the camera/director/producer etc is the same guy you have at least all this cost:

- Director fee.
- Director assistant.
- Make up/hair artists to make up the actresses.
- at least 2 camera man.
- Camera man assistant.
- Light and mic staff.
- Photographer.
- Producer staff (at least 2) supervising the project.
- Actors.
- Actresses (Japanese actresses are not cheap. Just cheap if they are a street girl that no body knows her).
- Actresses managers. Japanese actresses do not got alone anywhere. They are always with the manager.
- Studio/location rental (This is also not cheap in Japan). Renting just a one location studio for a day may cost you already $5000).
- Travel expenses.
- Editing cost (This is not cheap also. Just adding the mosaic to a 2h movie will cost $1200). You need also to cut scenes, etc.

Above is the cost just to make the movie. After making the movie the makers have to do rev share of each sale with the retail stores or online shops as well as the cost of printing and packaging the DVDs if they sell it physically also.

So if you guys are talking about makers like ideapoket, S1, Moodyz, SOD etc, you can be sure at least you have all the mentioned cost to make a movie.

My $10K figure came from a friend who directs for MOODYZ among other makers.

Your breakdown is accurate for super high end productions such as for the studios DMM/CA owns. I don't recall hearing a separate fee for the b̶a̶b̶y̶s̶i̶t̶t̶e̶r̶ manager. I believe studios simply pay the agency who then pays the model her share (which isn't as good as forum members here think). A different director who has been directing AV for almost 30 years now told me pay is super secret. They pay the agency who then pays the model her share. One of the cardinal rules of the AV set when there are multiple actresses is never to talk about pay with each other. Even if a title starred two famous names like Hibiki Otsuki and Yui Hatano, it's not safe to assume they were paid the same. Even if they were, their actual payout from the agency(s) may be different.

Things such as on-hand staff go down way quickly once you move to independent studios. Since they don't have their own big marketplaces to sell to, cuts must be made. One studio I know who shall remain nameless laughed when I asked if they usually spend $10K (a million yen) on titles. He said it's a fraction of that and this is for a pretty bit indies studio that pumps out 8-12 titles a month.

For your non-DMM/SOD studios, you may have:

Paid for the shoot staff:
1 director
1 AD
1 or 2 cameraman and possibly a photographer
Possibly a guy in charge of sounds and/or lights
Actors/Actresses

Production staff from the studio may be present, but those guys are on salary so they're being paid no matter what.
Studio rental is not cheap, but $5000 is Hanazono Room w/ Pool pricing and you should know better.
Editing will be done by someone in the company on salary. This may be the same person who was on the set as the production staff if it's a tiny company.
Mosaic will also probably done by the studio itself again by a salaried staff. $1200 for a 2 hour movie is an insane quote. If it's a 2 hour orgy and you want pin-point accuracy then maybe. I've another friend who does mosaic and he charges a quarter of that for a 2 hour movie and his quality is fantastic.

Look, I'm sure some mosaic productions can go over a million and I know DMM and SOD have competitive advantages that allow them to go all out with larger budgets and staff. I just think those on this board should know that their very numerous smaller competitors have much tighter budgets and spending a million+ per title for most AV studios is rare. The industry is sucking right now if you're not at the top and many of these guys are in serious financial straits at the moment due to friendly internet fans.

Anyway, disagreements are great! It keeps the board active full of good AV news and info rather than 'sharing'. Everyone please go to R18 or any other non-file locker sites and support your favorite studio.

Edit: for the paid staff, you would also have A makeup artist (1). Editing old threads are tricky here so place forgive the extra post.

First, Thank you for the support!

A couple of things:

1- MOODYZ is part of DMM group companies.
2- Yes, b̶a̶b̶y̶s̶i̶t̶t̶e̶r̶ managers are a must. I do travel with them all the time. Actresses are never alone like in overseas. (If you come to Macau or Las vegas I can introduce you to all the girls manager that will come to the events )
3- If the girl are some of the big names as your talked here, this girls (well, the agent itself) may cost already +1M JPY.
4- DMM is not a studio. It is just an ecomerce company. SOD is an studio. DMM does rev share for with the studios for the movies we sell.
5- Production staff even if they are salary staff from the production company you still need to pay them at the end of the month, so it is a cost.
6- Most studios do not have their own staff to add mosaic. even if they do, you still needs to pay their salary at the end of the month. You need to go frame by frame to add mosaic to a 2h movie, review and make sure you are not missing any place with genitalia so it is really time consuming.

1. See 4.
2. Yea, managers also seem to act as a combination of babysitter and psychologist for these women. The incestuous relationship of AV companies like studios, agencies, ethics groups, and more can be a book onto itself. It's not all good, but it's also not all bad! Some of these girls don't have the brains and drive to do it all on their own and that's just the tip of the iceberg. I'm in Japan kind of near you guys so I'll pass on the Macau/Vegas invite.
3. My MOODYZ contact said a certain unnamed, but very famous actress that EVERYONE on here knows cost about 400,000 yen to shoot for a 2 hour starring title. I'm going by what he said so yes, I could be wrong and my apologies if I am.
4. I'm aware of this. I try to keep my replies a bit simplified so all the forum readers can understand. DMM/CA/Outvision/etc. does a lot more than just AV. SOD Create is the studio for SOD unless they changed things recently. They also own a bunch of studios just like DMM on top of Create though I'll eat my shoes if you don't know that already.
5. True, but the pay is not very good (read: abysmal) for pretty much any salaried employee in Japan and you can't deny that. The pay at AV companies isn't much better than average so the cost to pay out employees for being on set, putting in mosaic, etc. is negligible.
6. Kind of true, but smaller studios will go out of their way to film scenes in ways that mosaic application isn't even necessary. A 2 hour movie may end up only having 30 minutes of material that needs mosaic this way. Larger companies like DMM (yes, the studios you own but for the sake of simplicity...) can go all out with huge orgy titles, but smaller companies can't afford that so they need to think differently.

I want R18 to be a good place for people to legally download their favorite AV. Anyone's reading can't deny that new titles may be pricey, but everything older than like 3-6 months is a really good deal. From the user's perspective, DRM aside, there isn't much in the minus column.

Sorry if I come off as brusque sometimes in my replies.

 

[EroMura777]

I was wondering how much power of decision when choosing a genre/actress for a new movie is held by the director and how much by the high ranks.

So, it is more like:
- A director presents a given script featuring X genre & Y actress/es to a company / group of companies.
or more like:
- The company presents a given script featuring X genre & Y actress/es to a group of directors
or both, or depends on the studio?

 

[Inertia]

Depends on whether the director is freelance or actually works for the studio. If the latter, it's more of a group effort. They may have a certain actress in mind or if not, they may contact an agency they work with and explain the type of movie and the agency can then provide model info for women who are OK with that theme. Most big AV stars are managed by agencies so they'd never agree to star in a title directly. It has to be handled by the agency or serious repercussions may occur.

 

[Supmop]

I was wondering how much power of decision when choosing a genre/actress for a new movie is held by the director and how much by the high ranks.

So, it is more like:
- A director presents a given script featuring X genre & Y actress/es to a company / group of companies.
or more like:
- The company presents a given script featuring X genre & Y actress/es to a group of directors
or both, or depends on the studio?

I think its depend to which studios the director are working for, some studios have contract girls, and signature series

 

[Supmop]

Depends on whether the director is freelance or actually works for the studio. If the latter, it's more of a group effort. They may have a certain actress in mind or if not, they may contact an agency they work with and explain the type of movie and the agency can then provide model info for women who are OK with that theme. Most big AV stars are managed by agencies so they'd never agree to star in a title directly. It has to be handled by the agency or serious repercussions may occur.

sorry I've asking a lot questions to you, but I want to know many things

is it true if the studio already had contract girls, you know studio like Maxing and Alice, they don't need to search for actress, they just use that already available, the director only need to direct those actress with theme or series that already provided by the studio ?

 

[Inertia]

Studios like Prestige also are their own agencies so the steps to get an actress on board for a title are really simplified. If you're a small independent studio who wants to cast a huge name (assuming she's not on an exclusive contract), it's an uphill battle and you better have a big wallet. Just because XXX-san did an anal title with <big studio> for (apparently) 400,000 yen doesn't mean she'll do the same for you even if you're using the same director and paying the same.

 

[arnold22947]

I've seen same small studios doing works I like as of lately not necessarily JAV. Assylum comes to my mind. They're a small crew but I quite like their works. I saw a "giga wannabe" micro studio the other day and it was hot as hell. There's also people doing porn in their own house or next door hotel with prostitutes, hyper low budget; Farangdingdong comes to my mind. Gonzo porn must be super inexpensive, things like legalporno and facial abuse.