Yesterday, I got this email from Mike B. of Phase One Graphics. I guess Mike reads the site once in a while, and it seems I hit on a few of his personal peeves with some recent articles I wrote.

Here's Mike's email:


JimmyD:

You betcha' things are in the toilet! Simply, because anyone can produce a porn flick and do it cheaper and shittier than the next person! Hell, all you got to do is buy a cheap camera, a computer for editing, find a stupid ass cheap graphic person and get a 3rd world printer to do your printing ... hey kid, you¹re in the porn biz.

I've been doing graphics for adult companies for 30 years. I started doing 8mm boxes and was the first to design a video box; I've been through all the good times and bad times. But, never has it been as STUPID as it is now. It used to be producers were proud of what they did, today it¹s just "get the shit out there." Look at the packaging today, it all looks alike. Look at the quality of the scans... they¹re CRAP! Just like the stuff that's inside. And the wholesalers are eating it up! Prices are low, and cheap deals are the calling of the day. The more they buy, the less they want to pay... the more the prices drop, the less the producer has to spend on his product! If the shelves are full of cheap no-good stuff, there's nowhere to put the good stuff! When push comes to shove, it¹s all about price. SO GET RID OF THE ASS HOLES WHO SELL CHEAP by putting out good stuff and demand a fair price!

I use to do quality boxes for two grand, and the high design and quality would sell and last a long time on the shelf. I have a few proud producers that go for quality, and you know what? Their stuff sells good, it¹s not cheap but it sells and has a long shelf life! When I do the low end stuff, I charge $400 and even at that I'm over priced. The only way to do design for the low end guys, is by giving in and do it cheap. The design is minimal, the scans are done on a desk-top scanner, and the one-week design becomes a two-hour turnaround job and that is just what the producer himself faces with the wholesalers. That's the way the business is today... No quality, Nothing new and just give them shit that all looks alike!

Yet look at the guys who are doing it the right way (You call them "the big guys"). Their still putting devotion into their products: Good camera work, good editing, good looking talent, good (studio shot) covers and designed boxes. Their stuff sells. People aren't dumb; they want quality with their sex. And that is the stuff that will last!

There is enough crap out there! The shelves are full and the buying public is getting tired of shit. It's hurting everyone and soon it's going to go bust. Shock is good for a quick sale, but it doesn't last. And the harder it all gets, the sooner the busts are coming down and that puts shit on everyone! Believe me, I was through it before, when the heat comes down everyone will want quality not shock! Lets get rid of the one-timers and crap makers by showing them were proud. We need to produce quality again. Spend a little more throughout the project, stand up for a higher price and you¹ll get rid of these no quality, cheap sell-it-cheap assholes!

Mike B
PHASE ONE GRAPHICS

Thanks Mike! Couldn't have said it better myself.



"