THEMES

The first thing i start to think about is what is this video going to be about? What story is it branching off of? Who are the characters involved? What am I trying to get across when it is done. When everything is in a pretty layered universe this piece is important.  I am a big believer in getting continuity correct.  While I am not perfect, I take some time to run through the themes.  Should it be romantic, raunchy, funny etc...all of this matters in how things get put together.

MODELS

Once I know the them it is time for the models.  For me. not every model needs be a doll or bimbo or some ugly fuck, but their look should match the theme.  I sometimes use models from other creators which I just like, but most of the time models are of my creation. The model says a lot and for me I try to make them look unique in their own way from hair to the little details.  I should also mention I do have XBody presets for Normal and Naked for every model I use.  Why? Because clothing tends to make everything nice and tight.  Once gravity kicks in the tits sag, the nipples pop out, and the ass loosens up. .  For some models I have multiple XBody presets due to maybe the clothing they are wearing.

Speaking of Presets I also have a customizer morph presets for each model I use that way I can load all their presets in one file and save them by Model.

CLOTHING

Ahhh the clothing.  This is one of those things that can easily change on the fly but the clothing almost directly goes into what type of vibe I am trying to give off by that character.  School, Club, working, smut, etc.  This is the core reason you see me create more casual clothes then maybe your normal modder.  Shoes also are important as they can slut up or down any outfit. I need variety..and the only way I can get that is to make the stuff I need myself.  Outside of my own shit...I mainly only use @Smoke's or @Euphie's clothing.  Not because I do not like anyone else's stuff because the quality is consistent, they always have morphs, and most importantly they are optimized.  When doing video I really need optimized clothing...to ensure I can get 4 models into a scene and to ensure my FPS does not dip below 30.

Why 30 FPS? Because the human eye cannot distinguish anything under 24 FPS

I cloth the models in Customizer first, and then save each outfit that will be used.  I set the default outfit for each model to whatever scene I am doing first and change them as I go on.  I do this to minimize unloading and loading of addons when the game loads.  Especially if I am using a heavy room.

LOCATION

Location, Location, Location....some not going to lie big ups to @Sexvision for his insane amount of rooms as they have helped keep my universe from looking too much the same.  I know @Oz70NYC and others can attest to the need not to constantly have to use the same location for different things when you have a connected universe.  That said many times there are multiple rooms that will fit the bill, so I usually judge on which captures the mood of the scene the best.  Also simply put..what rooms looks better in video. In my recent video I was going to use the old Dorm Room made ages ago but found @RzyKns re texture of the bedroom was just more crispier when recorded.

I will almost always modify the Level Definition for any room I am using.  1) To add includes to make it less resource heavy 2) To remove things I do not need or want 3) To adjust lighting to my taste.  Since I am using ReShade with some color changes it impacts the lighting, so sometimes I need to ramp down the Red if it is too much.

POSES

Next it is pose creation time. To give you an idea of the amount of poses I create it is about 2 poses for every minute of video.  I am extremely particular about poses, which is why I pretty much use the same pose creators and make modifications to them as I go along.  My rule is once a poses is used, I try not to use it until I have gone through 3-5 episodes. If I must use it...I try to modify it so it is not the same pose.  I modify 90% of the poses from other creators. I am not good at creating from scratch.  I use different creators for different themes.  @Xalas, @ddman2 are usually for the more raunchier "fuck her up" poses. @riddleclue and @wHORe-NY is when I want something more sensual. Finally @Nickcockman are what I say are the neutral themes...they can be made sensual or raunchy depending on how you edit them. Yes, there are others I add to the mix too but these are the core.  I also tend to mix up different aspects of poses with others, when I am looking for something very specific.

I also have a shit ton talking and lip movement poses.  I have not used them recently as I am trying to add speech and I find there are tricks to using speech in video without having to do lip movements.  Those tricks are when a character I try to get an indirect shot so their face is not in clearly in the camera. Anyways...

When I first start with poses that is just creating the what I think is going to be needed in the video.  I only organize into what you see below after I have recorded the shot.  So I have a shit ton of just random poses that I ultimate move to an archive when done.

For poses the details matter, feet curve, feet placement, movements, etc.  All of that will either make or break your video.  Time and Time again I see models feet or hands burried into tables and floors, asses, boobs, you name it. That is the easy stuff that should be easy to correct.  While you cannot 100% get rid of clipping especially with bodies I try my best to control it. I remember on one of my first videos @Xalas left me a comment about the insane amount of clipping in the video.  Welp....I could have ignored it but paying attention to it has just made me better.

I will hide body parts on clothing if I need to using the dress tab to minimize clipping. I also use XBody morphs and XBody Anti Clipping  a lot here.  Not all clothes has AC morphs built in and these come in handy for interesting positions.

A big thing that really sets video apart from others is transition poses.  I like to use what I call 3 Stage Posing.  Basically the start, the main action, and the finish.  So for a sex pose something as simple as penetration, fucking, cum shot.  You can even go more stages and have things like a pull out after the cum shot.  I have been trying to add more and more of this as it gives the videos more depth.

I basically use the DP16's Room Import mod for every pose.  Being able to rotate all over the place comes in handy.

Pro Tip: If any pose is out of whack to due translation of 2 different size models, move all models using the Hip Manipulator back to the origin location or center of the room.  This will get it pretty close so you can just make more slighter adjustments. Then use DP16's Room Import mod to to move the pose to wherever you like.

COLORS and LIGHTING

If you want your shit to look good you need to pay attention to lights and colors.  For lights, This goes without saying...it cannot be too dark and cannot be too bright. Sure, the theme will play apart in lighting selection, but I try to at least in a dark scene highlight the faces with a low level Omni which works wonders.  Color is big too.  I use ReShade for my game to control the color and vibe of scenes.  Something I recently modified a couple of videos back.  Not really necessary but if your going for a specific look modifying the colors, and other things with Reshade helps.  This is another reason why I need optimized assets.

RECORDING

Now this is where it gets interesting.  Many folks just use sequencer to record. I was one of them until @Smoke was like "Bro why are using sequencer", so I tried without and got used to it. The best thing about using Pose Edit to record is that you can change a pose on the fly if you do not like how it looks.  Just going to say that up front. My tool of choice to record is OBS Studio and I don't record game sound. I record at 50FPS.

For me I do not like telling linear stories.  Basically we start and we finish.  My stories tend to be complex and flashbacks in flashbacks as well as a lot of cut scenes.  Because of this it makes for a lot of recording and paying attention to sequencing. I try (key word try) to organize my poses in the order they would appear in video. So yes, I will close and restart this game  a lot when making a video.  One thing I do is record 2-3 angles for each scene. I try not to have any single angle playing for more than 30 seconds (Even that is a lot).  Honestly, my preferred timing for any angle is 12-20 seconds.  I usually record a minute for each angle to give me flex. But the number of angles should really depend on how long the pose is.  So if I am dealing with a full 48 second timeline pose, I am recording 4-5 angles.  This minimizes having to go back and record more.

Most of my camera movements, if there are any, are done by hand.  Sometimes I might use a 3rd model to do it but I have gotten good with hand camera adjustments.  Plus....the fact that it is never 100% perfect adds to the look.  Pro Tip is to slow the camera down for better control. I only use pans and camera movements for very specific occasions. It is a big thing in sequencer but I find fading in and out of multiple angles gives me a better effect.

Yes, angles matter.  Sometimes I am panning all around the room to find just the best angle for the shot.  Some poses, like blowjobs, will always look the best at a specific angle so I take time to get this right.  I also record 3 vastly different angles.  This is important. It gives a better effect vs having the same shot just maybe a little but more to the right or left.

Framing the scene is also important when I am recording. I am using a letter box with Reshade so I always want to minimize unnecessary clipping out of the scene.  I know some folks do not like Depth of Field but I am using a Reshade DOF option that gives a bit better control than the H5 option. I keep it on at a minimal level as it just adds to the scene while not making things too blurry. I can use the middle mouse button to choose my focus points so when I want to give a DOF effect change in the video, I just make two recordings at different focus points.

MUSIC

For me Music is everything. It sets the mood and vibe and vibe of the video and could make everything crap if the wrong music is chosen.  Also how music is used matters. 

If the music is part of the scene its an easier selection.  This is music playing on a radio, in the car, in the club, or cafe.  It is part of the scene so it just needs to match the scene.  For example, you are most likely not going to hear Nicki Minaj Anaconda in a coffee shop.  That said this music should not overtake the scene as it is background.  Also pay attention to how something sounds from different spaces.  What music sounds like outside of a car will sound vastly different from on the inside.  Use EQ settings like "Low Bass" to give a more muffled sound like music playing inside a car heard from outside of the car.

Next is the music used to fill the scene.  This is the music that is not part of the scene but is playing in the background while the scene goes on.  The soundscape for the scene is still playing like talking or sex sounds but there is music setting up the vibe of the scene.  You see this a lot with romantic sex scenes with some sexy slow mood song playing under the sex sounds and moans. Most of the time this is instrumental music as someone singing, rapping, etc...just gets in the way, however there are always exceptions in my case.

Finally there is the music used to actually tell the story of the scene. Like a music video. Basically this is the music playing in full stereo at full volume.  This is the hardest selection as the music especially if it is a real song should in many ways bolster what is happening in the scene.  It does not need to be exact but it should be close enough.  Ultimately the theme in the song, should match close enough to the theme in the video.

You can experiment with different ways of chopping this up.  Like background music turning into scene music and other things. The most important thing about music is to change scenes, clips, shots, or angles on the beat.  You will be surprised how much this improves your videos if you sync the scene changes to the beat changes.  In addition choosing music that flows close to the same flow of your scene also helps to give the impression that the music was specifically made for the scene.  You know when you have the right music for your scene...because it just feels right.

SOUNDSCAPE

Outside of music, sounds just adds so much to the movie.  For me I have about 35GB of sounds files from sloshing, smacking, dripping, moaning, etc.  Just stuff I have collected over time.  For me I do not create a sound for everything.  I create sounds for the things that in my head matters. It's hard to explain in writing but if something is happening off camera and it is important...I would find a sound for it.  I also make sure every scene has an ambient room sound.  Why? Because all rooms have sound, even "quiet" ones.  Even if it is a low drone of an AC or fan, there is always a sound.  You know how scary a 100% quiet room is?  This is why videos sound off without that ambient sound.

SEX SOUNDS

Ok its a porn so you need some fucking sex sounds (Pun Intended). Not all my scenes will have them, especially if the music is supposed to be telling the story..however most of the time they will. For moaning I will use porn videos. Nothing more can be said about that.  However, what porn video that is used is important.  I try to use something with minimal random talking with moans that fit the category and the intensity of the sex. I also prefer that I don't hear too much flesh slapping as this is never in sync with your video....all though sometimes you get lucky.  Yes it means a lot of cutting and editing but it works well.  SexArt tends to be my favorite source for porn video material for sounds, as you mainly always get just moans.  For the slapping sloshing and everything else I edit these by hand 1 slap, slosh, and drip at a time.  LOL Yeah it is time consuming but if you want ass slaps and wet pull outs to be perfectly in sync you need to do them by hand.  Oh, and there are sooooo many different types of slaps.  So I usually run through a few to add variety.  I used to do cum sound squirts....buttt part of me these days is like, "when did someone cumming sound like a squirt?"

"Ooooo I'm cumming" <Squirt Squirt>

VOICES and NARRATION

Ok so lately I have been using ElevenLabs to add narration to my stories which is turning out well.  Narrating a story is interesting, as you need to be a level of specific. It is almost like writing a romance novel as you are describing in vivid detail what is happening and even not happening on screen.  I find if done well it levels up the video...however it can be too much in some cases.  Because of that I have tried to bring in a conversational aspect into the stories so I don't have to narrate everything breaking things up a bit.

In the most recent video I went all in well may 90% on conversational voices and talking. Basically I scrapped the sub-titles. I felt I was at a good place with controlling the type of voices I get out of 11Labs to go down this path.  Curious on peoples feedback.

OTHER STUFF and the DETAILS

There are other little things that help with bringing my videos to life.  For starters I just use a fade transition.  I go this route so if I need to convey a specific thing with the transition it jumps out.  However a 2 second fade is my go transition for all clips and scenes

Adding titles in the lower thirds or other things to help set the context of the scene is also helpful.  Something as simple as "Meanwhile" or "Two Weeks Ago" or "6 Hours Later".  All this helps to set the timing especially for non Linear stories.

I also fade in and out of audio next to each other. Especially if transitioning from one sex scene to another, the transition creates a smoother soundscape. Now there are some reasons where you want an abrupt transition, which also helps to set context.