Dave Cummings porn class at The Learning Annex

Dave Cummings porn class at The Learning Annex

Porn director/star Dave Cummings teaches a "How to Make Adult Films" class at The Learning Annex. The students are usually "guys hoping to invest some money and make a LOT of profits while also getting laid and becoming famous". Cummings tells them not to get their hopes up.

I brief students that the big porn profits and sales figures they see in the media are not actually indicative of what they can easily make in the present day supply-demand environment. I suggest that they might be a few years too late in beginning their filming career, given the glut of footage of the last few years from people just like themselves who have had a head start on them, and how many now are stuck with costly footage and no meaningful distribution means to recover their outlays of capital.

[...] Unfortunately, in my quest to be informative/truthful/helpful, I also have to expose some myths to students, e.g., visitors to sets and the crew don’t normally get sex just because there are adult actresses around, no more than seeing a porn actress shopping in the first aisle at the supermarket means a guy can easily sweet-talk or BS the young lady into a blow job in the parking lot; likewise, “auditioning” girls before booking them is a scumbag thing, not reality.

If that doesn't kill your interest, the class sounds very informative.

I discuss general actress/actress talent fees and other budgeting costs, crew composition, lighting and audio considerations, box cover photos and design/printing costs, dialogue matters, types and adult industry popularity of video cameras, supplies, catering, location costs and considerations, money shot matters, make-up, permit and legal requirements like the government’s age verification and documentation requirements, monthly HIV/STD DNA testing matters, outdoors versus indoor shooting, where to find and how to book talent, distribution and sales options, “wood” and/or money shot problems, management challenges for handling talent, considerations for open versus closed sets and whether or not to allow the husband or boyfriend of actresses to be on set (will it hold down her enthusiasm/attitude/etc, or will he be helpful and not under foot or disruptive?), impact of the internet, DVDs versus VHS, shooting/production values, production “in’s and out’s,” insider “secrets” and personal hygiene matters, “quiet on the set” discipline, sequence/techniques of shooting, packaging to enhance sales, editing matters, duplicating, DVD authorizing, advertising and marketing, income and revenue potential and sources, and a whole bunch of other aspects.

More discouraging advice from Dave Cummings to wannabe pornstars and pornlords here and here.

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