Suggestions for First Time Producers

The most likely first-time producer will be someone bringing a single performer to the studio for between one and three days. The production budget will probably be miniscule, and the intent will be to produce a video for either personal use only or release as a semi-amateur production.

For a shoot of this type, it is recommended that the plan be for a mix of different kinds of materials, perhaps including melodrama, comedy, eroticism, screen test or introduction to the medium, mock advertising, shorts, partial scenes, dance, or fetish elements. This will provide the performer with the maximum opportunity to demonstrate performing ability. For one day only, it is suggested that the producer should plan on doing from two to four stories or scenes, one of which will be done after dark if the weather is cooperative. Completing four will take a lot of luck.

The producer with any experience will probably want to create original story or element ideas. However, Studio 588 does have a growing collection of script/storyboard material that may be used on a non-exclusive basis.

To make a complete DVD, with at least an hour of edited material in the final cut, plan on at least two days. It could take much longer if the stories are complex or if the weather is bad.

The following are some thoughts on each of several types of story, and some synopses of available script material.

The First Time Tour

The first time tour is a filmed, guided tour of one or more of the various pit facilities at the Studio. At each pit, the new performer, dressed in a bathing suit or other light outfit, will be coached through entering the pit, adjusting to the pit material, and various techniques related to making a scene including submergence. This tour does not involve the performer going "into character" although that could be attempted if desired. Because at least one clean-up is required between use of the clay and peat facilities, plan on counting this as two story elements toward a daily goal of two to four.

Screen Test

The term "Screen Test" originally meant a try-out for a part. A performer would be given a synopsis or script for a scene and asked to perform their interpretation of the scene and the director would use these to decide who got the part. In the context of the quicksand scene, the "Screen Test" has come to mean performance of a series of very brief scenes, just as if trying out for a part but actually as a final product. Typically, a performer might do one brief melodramatic scene, such as simply blundering into a pit and struggling, possibly all the way under, and one brief erotic scene, such as intentionally entering a pit for self-indulgence. In the melodrama category, Studio 588 has several very brief chase scenarios that lead quickly to a pit. A variation of the erotic screen test is what we call a "Sink Tease" scene. In these scenes the performer usually talks to the camera while intentionally entering the pit. Sometimes the scene remains erotic and sometimes it might turn melodramatic. It might be useful to think of a scene of this type as a kind of analog of a strip tease.

Erotic

Erotic scenes are those in which the performer enters the mud intentionally. They can be very tricky. Often such scenes end up too "over the top" in a sexual sense or else they are unconvincing. Why, for example, would a person intentionally enter a quicksand pit knowing from the beginning they will go all the way under. This can be worked around by making the story a dream sequence or by contriving some other explanation. The "Sink Tease" type of story, mentioned above, is, of course, also an erotic type. Although it has been done before, a night scene by torch light and in a formal evening gown is always popular.

Fetish

The term "fetish-type" is used here to refer to any kind of scene in which the performer wears some article of clothing or in which the story involves some plot element that constitutes a "turn-on" for the viewer. Common clothing elements of this type include high heels, long boots, hip waders, cheerleader uniforms, nurse uniforms, leather clothing, rubber clothing, panty hose, wet suits, and evening gowns. Other fetish elements might include bondage or bondage apparatus, very long hair, very short hair, super-hero outfits, or almost anything one can think of. In planning an element of this type please keep safety in mind at all times. Things like high heels can be pretty dangerous around a slippery mud pit, as can some bondage equipment. If you are going to make something of this type, don't forget to bring whatever you need; its a long, LONG way to the nearest mall.

Commercials

This type refers to mock commercials in which mud or quicksand plays a role. These have actually appeared on regular broadcast TV so it isn't as weird as it might sound. Studio 588 currently has scripts for over twenty different ads, although some are too complex for production by a novice producer or require more that one performer. For one performer, there are ads for giving up smoking, life insurance, and coffee. Mock commercials will make a great transition between longer elements of a video.

Shorts

Okay, these are ALL shorts. The term is used here to refer to a very short (two to three minutes) story, such as a simple nightmare scene or fragment scene. Studio588 has several scripts for "nightmares" each consisting of a simple set-up scene, followed by the nightmare itself. The nightmare itself in generally a pretty simple plop and sink.

Dance

If you are musically inclined you might want to attempt a dance sequence, by which we mean a sinking sequence, probably of an erotic nature, done to a musical soundtrack. Please do not attempt to make one of these using music taken from a copyrighted recording, unless you are prepared to make arrangements to pay a licensing fee. On the other hand, if you perform your own arrangement of a work composed prior to the 20th century you should be okay.

Melodrama

A melodramatic scene is what is done in 99 percent of all quicksand scenes done in commercial movies or television. Someone gets into quicksand in some manner and struggles for their life. Melodramatic scenes are referred to as "grim" if they end with the victim going completely under.

Re-enactment and Fragment

There are several scenes from commercial movies that are considered "classics" by quicksand fans, although many fans wish they might have been done a bit differently. The re-enactment scene is an opportunity to do it your way. Everyone knows the rest of the story so just re-do the key scene. A "fragment" scene means any scene that would be the centerpiece of a longer movie, at least for quicksand fans, but without the longer movie. It would be a re-enactment if the longer movie really existed. A fragment might also be a key scene that SHOULD have been included in a real movie, but wasn't. We've all heard on many occasions, "What a perfect set up for a quicksand scene! but wasted." Okay, let's fix that.

Comedic/Farce

Obviously, this means a scene played for laughs. An excellent example is "The Quicksand Hunter" available on the DVD, "Nessie, Quicksand Girl" and produced at Studio588. Studio588 has an additional script (three really) for this type of scene called "The Sinking News, Weather, and Sports," in which the performer willingly sinks (all the way) while delivering the evening news. A farce scene is primarily comedic, but might contain some elements of melodrama, eroticism, or even dance or music. You're on you own with this type.

Combination

Obviously, a combination scene is one that is simultaneously two or more of the above types. For example, a scene might be both comedic and melodramatic.

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