Custom Clashes: From Script to Screen - Warren Griffin explains "How"

by:   Warren Griffin
Connect with him - HERE

For this article, I started off doing a review of a particular video for which I wrote the script.  But along the way, the article morphed into a more general editorial on the process of commissioning a custom match. 

I thought some of my experiences in this regard might be helpful for those who haven't ordered a custom match yet but have wondered how it goes.  So I dropped the video review part altogether and will tackle that later.  Instead, I've organized this discussion around some FAQs--just things I've heard come up on various chat boards over the years, or things I used to wonder myself.  My answers will be just that: mine. 

I'm not trying to be totally comprehensive or speak for everybody, but rather will just answer from my own (potentially quirky) point of view.  Others are welcome to add their perspectives via comments below.

So let's take it from the top ...

1. Why commission a match of your own when there are so many videos already out there?  Can't you find something you like without going to the trouble and expense of a custom match?

It's true, there is a lot of fem-fight material out there already, and more coming out every day.  If your interests are fairly general, or at least fairly common within the genre, then chances are good that someone else already is commissioning things right up your alley, or producers are coming up with scripts of their own that suit your fancy. 

In this case, it sure is a lot cheaper to buy an existing video than commission a new one yourself, and you may be all set.  But the commission bug might bite if you have more specific interests that aren't being represented a lot out there already, or if you have specific performers in mind who haven't yet done much of what you're looking for.  These were my main reasons for getting started with customs. 

Some of my favorite performers weren't showing up (or weren't showing up very often) in some of my favorite types of matches, and rather than keep waiting for it to happen by someone else's doing, I finally decided to try commissioning some matches myself.

Other reasons to bust this move might include the fun of the creative exercise of writing a script and seeing it brought to life (how often do you get to be a Hollywood screenwriter?), the intrigue of "interacting" with your favorite fem-fight stars via your scripts (this is perhaps a little geeky, but there's a certain appeal to knowing that for a little while, at least, a performer you admire from afar is actually thinking about your ideas and how to make your particular wishes come true as they read your script and shoot the video), wanting to affirm/support a favorite performer or company by providing them with business, and the list goes on. 

I'm actually curious to hear what other people's reasons have been for making the leap to custom matches, so please add your comments!

2. How do you come up with the idea/storyline for your script?

Obviously, there could be a million answers to this, but for me personally, script ideas generally have come from a few places:

(i) An existing video made by someone else that was interesting but during which I kept thinking, "Yeah, but this would be perfect if they'd just done this, that, or the other differently."  So I might start with the same basic concept and adapt from there to be more specific to my ideal.

(ii) A long-standing fantasy scenario that I've never seen anyone else get all that close to, so I decided to stop waiting and put it out there myself.

(iii) Or I see a favorite performer in a particular outfit that I'd like to see them in again, so a script might come to mind based around that attire.

3. How do you actually write the script?  How much detail should you include?

How much detail is acceptable varies by producer, so partly you just take your cue from them.  In my experience, really detailed dialog may be a tough sell, but taking the time to give a little explanation of the style of action you're looking for and any really important plot details that are make-or-break for you might actually be appreciated by the producer, so they don't have to guess what you mean by general instructions like, "And then the girls have a really hot catfight!" 

Producers want satisfied customers, so they generally respond well to clear explanations of what you're really going for, as long as the plot itself doesn't become overly complex.  It's a balance.  I generally start with as much detail as comes to my mind when I'm first writing the script, and then I go back through and try to weed out details that I don't think are truly critical, so the producer and performers do not get bogged down in side-issues and miss the main boat.

4. How do you pick the performers you want to request for your script?

This might seem like a silly question.  Duh!  You pick the performers you like the most!  And to a large extent, that's true.  But it's worth considering how well the performers will work together and how naturally they will fit in the particular roles you've requested.  Some performers really seem to have chemistry when they work together--they just flow and seem to anticipate each other's moves and play off of each other well in the action.  But the same performers might have more stilted performances when matched with someone else.  So think about the combination of performers, rather than just picking them because they individually appeal to you. 

Likewise, there are some performers that I love in the role of the aggressor but find surprisingly less effective when they are on the losing side (or vice-versa).  So if the script calls for a lot of back and forth in terms of who has the upper hand, I may decide to go with a performer that is a second-choice overall but who happens to be able to carry both sides of the battle well. 

On the other hand, if the script is really one-sided, then versatility is much less important, and I may just focus on trying to match my favorite dom with my favorite submissive (again, accounting for chemistry).  It's also worth thinking through some alternates, in case your first-choice performers don't come through on the day of the shoot.  I have not always done this and have learned the hard way that a last-minute substitution of someone you don't know at all can have unexpected results.

5. Which company should you send your script to?  How much attention do they pay to what you've asked for?  How do you know the producer actually "gets" it?

With so many producers out there nowadays, and so many of them working with the same cadre of performers, deciding where to actually send your script can be non-trivial.  I obviously have not worked with every producer, or even a large fraction of them, so I can't give comprehensive ratings or anything like that. 

But in general terms, I think one would naturally gravitate toward producers that already are putting out material that is close to what you have in mind for a particular script.  Asking a producer or performer to do something far afield from their experience probably increases the chance of a misfire.  If they've done something similar to your script before and they handled the concept well, then the chances are good that they will "get" your script too. 

In my experience, producers and performers really do want to get on your wavelength and put on a good show that does justice to the script.  It's a performance industry, and good products and happy customers make for good business.  So hopefully you're less at risk of someone taking your money and just not giving a rip about how satisfied you are with the product (at least I've never gotten that vibe from a producer). 

But even with the best of intentions on both sides, you are always at risk of simple miscommunication, and it's always possible that the producer or performers will have a hard time grasping all the nuances of your script because they don't live and breathe your specific cup of tea and won't always be able to tell whether they're hitting it out of the park or totally striking out until you see the finished video and give them that feedback (more later on feedback).  All of this is why it makes sense to go with a producer that you know already has done some things close to what you're looking for and has done them well (in your eyes).  That is probably the single best predictor of your satisfaction with your commission.

6. How much does it cost?

I almost didn't put this on the list, but someone is going to ask it.  The price range is so huge and the factors so numerous that answering this is almost meaningless.  You really just have to come up with the script and decide on the preferred performers, and then start inquiring with producers about the cost.  Some companies, like Double Trouble, do post clear ballpark pricing right on their website, which can be a helpful guide so you're not totally sticker-shocked.  But in the end, you won't really know about the cost for a particular script with a particular producer until you ask.

7. What happens on the day of the shoot when the performers actually get involved?

I have never been on-site for a shoot, so I don't claim to know a ton about what goes on behind the scenes (although you can get some idea from the raw footage, if the producer shares that with you, and from corresponding with the producers/performers after the fact).  I mostly put this question in here to make just two points: 

First, in many cases, the performers will not have seen your script until the day they show up for the shoot. 

This is important because it reinforces the need to have a clearly written script that can be quickly digested and put into action.  The performers probably are not going to show up having spent hours rehearsing your dialog over the past week, but more likely will be seeing the script cold with just a few minutes to get the idea before the camera rolls. 

Second, producers vary on the issue of retakes.  For some, once the camera starts rolling, pretty much whatever happens, happens, and if the performers get off track or start taking some creative license with the script, that's just the way it goes (for better or for worse).  Other producers may be more inclined to stop and start the filming frequently to make sure things are sticking reasonably closely to the script and to correct any major flubs.  If this difference matters to you, you should choose the producer accordingly.

8. What will you receive after the shoot?  Raw footage?  Edited footage?  Photos?  A "thank you" message?  A personalized card?

Like everything else, this will vary by producer.  But it's a good idea to ask up front what you can expect.  Some producers, like Double Trouble, will by default send you raw footage immediately after the shoot, and then follow up with the final edited video later.  Other producers only send the final edit by default, but might be willing to send raw footage if requested.

Also ask if photos will be included, and if so, whether they will be shot during the live action video or whether the photos will be posed images taken separately from the video.  Personally, I prefer separately posed photos, because they generally have less motion blur, better angles (since the photo camera and the video camera aren't competing for vantages at the same time), better lighting, and the performers can really polish their facial expressions while posing for the still shots.  The resulting posed photos invariably deviate from what actually happens during the live video shoot, but it's an interesting way of seeing two different interpretations of your script--the live video interpretation and the posed photo interpretation.

A simple but nice touch that some producers also add is a short clip at the end of the video in which the performers talk to the camera and say hello, perhaps give a little spontaneous commentary on the experience of shooting the match, and often thank the person who commissioned the video by name.  The extra clip might be only 15 or 30 seconds, but I always think it's nice to see the performers being themselves after the shoot in this quasi-interactive bonus clip, which generally goes only to the person who requested the video.  One self-employed performer I worked with even mailed a hand-written "thank you" card with the finished DVD, which I thought was very gracious.

9. What will you think when you finally see the video?  Will it be all you hoped and dreamed?  Will you finally have exactly what you want and not have to keep looking for more videos?

I've only had a couple true disappointments with custom matches.  The rest of the time, I've ended up thinking the final product was somewhere between pretty good and fan-friggin-tastic! 

But the funny thing is that even for the videos in the latter category, they almost always had to grow on me a bit at first.  Expectations are so high when you first receive the video from the producer, and you're hoping that everything went just the way you'd imagined it in your mind's eye when you wrote the script.  But then you watch the video for the first time, and inevitably not everything is quite the way you imagined. 

The costumes are a little different, the setting a little distracting, the dialog is changed, maybe whole segments of the plot are dropped or altered (either by accident, or for convenience, or because time ran out, or sometimes by performer request--for instance, maybe it turns out on the day of the shoot that a performer just won't do something you had asked for, so the producer changes things around on the fly and revises parts of your script, as has happened to me), or just the way the performers execute the moves you requested is slightly different than how you thought it would look, etc. 

On your very first viewing of a commissioned match, it's almost inevitable that you'll be distracted by everything that didn't go exactly as you'd hoped.  But once you've absorbed the first impression and then take a closer look at the video for what it is rather than for what it's not, you may find that many of the differences aren't really detractors.  Things that might not be what you had envisioned might still turn out to be every bit as entertaining, and in a few cases, I can honestly say that I liked some things BETTER the way the performers pulled them off compared to what I'd actually asked for. 

But even if you ultimately love the finished product, it seems like there's always room to think of taking things in a different direction the next time, or clarifying that one critical element that the performers didn't totally get, or just trying a different setting or costume or premise or what have you, and before you know it, you're halfway to your next script idea, and the commission bug just keeps biting!

10. What feedback should you give the producer and the performers?  Do they listen?

I think a little follow-up note to the producer with your reaction to the finished product is a good idea.  Like anyone else, I'm sure producers and performers would always rather hear praise than criticism, and you probably should lead with the former.  But if there's something in particular that didn't match your expectations, then it's an opportunity to politely clarify what you were asking for, so that next time the producer is more likely to "get" your script. 

In one of my early commissions, a key request for the fighting style was totally misinterpreted, but I realized it was my own fault for not having been clearer in my script.  The performers were just trying to implement what they thought I was asking for.  The producer (who also was one of the performers) accepted the clarification very graciously when I sent her my feedback on the video, and not only did she totally correct that detail in subsequent commissions, but all on her own, she actually found a creative way to make reference to the improper fighting style used in the earlier video and turned it into part of the overall storyline in a way that made sense, which I thought was very cool.

11. Any final thoughts or lessons-learned?  Would you recommend getting into custom matches?

I think the whole process of commissioning a match and working with the producer on the details and seeing your own script turned into a live-action video can be a lot of fun.  If you're interested, and you can swing it, I would recommend giving the custom match thing a try (with the caveats above).  Doing commissions can add a whole new dimension to your experience of the fem-fight genre!  All of the producers linked on the right of this page accept custom requests, so don't be shy.  Drop them a line with your script idea and get rolling on your own female fighting masterpiece!  And then leave your comments here to tell us about your experience. 

Good luck!

by:   Warren Griffin
Connect with him - HERE
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