How to Become a Porn Director: Making Amateur Adult Films

Rating:
Summary: Quite a disappointment
Review: I expected something more than the bare basics (no pun intended). The author covers stuff that anyone with even a rudimentary sense of good business principles and a cursory understanding of porn-videos could probably figure out on thier own without reading this book.
Additionally, his writing style tends to be a bit juvenile at times...
Do yourself a favor: don't waste your money on this book like I did...

Rating:
Summary: Good book. Good buy.
Review: I found this book well written on a very interesting subject. This is a good book to read if you are interested in making sex videos. The author covers everything from the basics to advanced principles in a concise, no-nonsense style.I especially like that you don't have to have really expensive equipment or a lot of money to make decent amateur videos. I would recommend this book. Good buy.

Rating:
Summary: intriguing look at an intriguing industry
Review: I was cautious when I first approached this text, but acutually found it quite useful in my studies as a film student. Ryder's text is well-written and not just for industry insiders. It is a worthwhile, and often entertaining, look at a very lucrative aspect of the film industry. I would suggest this to anyone who aspires to work in film -- porn or otherwise.

Rating:
Summary: Good "How to" Book.
Review: If you have a boring desk job, counting beans and staring out the window of an office building, dreaming about directing and producing your own porno movies... then you don't want to buy this book. The first half of the book was a depressing, pessimistic outlook on getting involved with the adult entertainment industry. In your part of the world, if you file for a business license as a photographer, will the cops come banging on your door? Will the local District Attorney drum you out of town? Will the town clergy mention your name (and spit) during Sunday Service? Read this book and you will be convinced this to be your fate.

This depressing first third of the book was followed by some extremely basic photography techniques. A glossary which follows is very short collection of the most common terms, which was also disappointing. The sample model release was good, but not great.

The author missed his target audience. The book might have been useful if there was less doom and gloom, a better glossary of terms, and a much enhanced section on shooting video. The large type font hides the fact that this book has as much information as a pamphlet (the glossary and model release are page fillers).

The vast majority of people will buy this book looking for tips on how to break in their new camcorder with their spouse or their neighbors. This book isn't for you. The central idea of this book is: If you live in a U.S. town where everyone knows your name, don't become a porno film director without moving to L.A. or N.Y.

Rating:
Summary: Don't waste your time reading this book
Review: If you have a boring desk job, counting beans and staring out the window of an office building, dreaming about directing and producing your own porno movies... then you don't want to buy this book. The first half of the book was a depressing, pessimistic outlook on getting involved with the adult entertainment industry. In your part of the world, if you file for a business license as a photographer, will the cops come banging on your door? Will the local District Attorney drum you out of town? Will the town clergy mention your name (and spit) during Sunday Service? Read this book and you will be convinced this to be your fate.

This depressing first third of the book was followed by some extremely basic photography techniques. A glossary which follows is very short collection of the most common terms, which was also disappointing. The sample model release was good, but not great.

The author missed his target audience. The book might have been useful if there was less doom and gloom, a better glossary of terms, and a much enhanced section on shooting video. The large type font hides the fact that this book has as much information as a pamphlet (the glossary and model release are page fillers).

The vast majority of people will buy this book looking for tips on how to break in their new camcorder with their spouse or their neighbors. This book isn't for you. The central idea of this book is: If you live in a U.S. town where everyone knows your name, don't become a porno film director without moving to L.A. or N.Y.

Rating:
Summary: A good overview
Review: This book gave a good overview of what to do in getting started in the adult industry including potential pitfalls. Although it lacked the some of the in depth instructions needed to get a person cemented, I think it is enough information to get your feet wet. The "doom and gloom" that was referred to in the first review is a reality, and only a fool would ignore the kernal of advice in the first chapter.

Rating:
Summary: Good but...
Review: This book has a lot of nice concise information of the basics. As some others have said, you can find all this information with a little digging on the net, but it's nice to have it all in one convenient location. This being said, it is the basics. But it's a lot of need to now information including what to expect when you enter the business.

Weighing in at just over 100 pages, it's an awful slim book for it's price. Also, for all the authors talk of making sure you come off looking as a professional that has his/her stuff together, he could have used some of his own advice on the editing of this book.

Typos, poor grammer, missing words, misspelled words, all give an overall feel of, well, unprofessionalism. When the glossary itself even has mispelled words, you have to wonder. Constant, multiple problems on every page force you sometimes have to re-read a sentence to get it's meaning. A spell-check would have been nice and at least one cursory read through to catch mistakes would have been better. "Hole" instead of "Whole", etc.

All in all, it has some nice basic information to digest and think about and incorporate into your plans. He goes over the pitfalls that can plague you fairly well.

The biggest thing is for [$$] it would have been nice to have somethign that was a little more polished and in-dept than something that seems like a big brother dispensing wisdom to his little brother.

Rating:
Summary: Good but...
Review: This book has a lot of nice concise information of the basics. As some others have said, you can find all this information with a little digging on the net, but it's nice to have it all in one convenient location. This being said, it is the basics. But it's a lot of need to now information including what to expect when you enter the business.

Weighing in at just over 100 pages, it's an awful slim book for it's price. Also, for all the authors talk of making sure you come off looking as a professional that has his/her stuff together, he could have used some of his own advice on the editing of this book.

Typos, poor grammer, missing words, misspelled words, all give an overall feel of, well, unprofessionalism. When the glossary itself even has mispelled words, you have to wonder. Constant, multiple problems on every page force you sometimes have to re-read a sentence to get it's meaning. A spell-check would have been nice and at least one cursory read through to catch mistakes would have been better. "Hole" instead of "Whole", etc.

All in all, it has some nice basic information to digest and think about and incorporate into your plans. He goes over the pitfalls that can plague you fairly well.

The biggest thing is for [$$] it would have been nice to have somethign that was a little more polished and in-dept than something that seems like a big brother dispensing wisdom to his little brother.

Rating:
Summary: Good "How to" Book.
Review: This book is a really good "How to" mannual for those wanting to get into the amateur porn business. It's hard to believe how easy it is to get started making your own adult videos. I like that the book covered both the basics and more advanced ins and outs of the business. I bought my copy used, but if I had bought it new it would of still been worth the money. This is a good starter book for anyone wanting to make their own adult videos.

Rating:
Summary: Good "How to" Book.
Review: This book is a really good "How to" mannual for those wanting to get into the amateur porn business. It's hard to believe how easy it is to get started making your own adult videos. I like that the book covered both the basics and more advanced ins and outs of the business. I bought my copy used, but if I had bought it new it would of still been worth the money. This is a good starter book for anyone wanting to make their own adult videos.