Category Archives: Rants and Ramblings

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Video Sale Rankings – Some Interesting Stats

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We were crunching some numbers in our various databases and we came up with some interesting stats. OK, we were really wasting time avoiding doing real work, but the numbers do have some entertainment value 🙂

So if you look at just the sales of the full length videos, excluding individual scenes, clips and the more recent short story videos, here are the top 10 selling videos of all time:
1) IS03 – Bound to Bitch
2) IS68 – Let’s Tie up …
3) IS67 – A Pantyhose Bondage Bonanza
4) IS22 – Babysitter Chronicles
5) IS47 – Pantyhose Peril
6) IS80 – Bound in Leather
7) IS71 – Tape Bound Beauties
8 ) IS60 – Wrap Her Up! Mummification Tales
9) IS128 – 13 Hogtied Damsels
10) IS76 – Bound & Bundled – Mummification Tales 2

Of course, this list doesn’t take into account how long each video has been available, so it is biased toward older videos. And some videos (such as IS02 and IS13) have not always been available, or they might have also cracked the list. In terms of themes, it contains 2 pantyhose videos, 2 first person perspective videos and 2 mummification videos. Of course, Mia Chen (IS03) just dominates the list. In a way, it is a shame we met Mia so early on – i.e., back when we were shooting on analog equipment in one room of a small apartment and we were not particularly skilled with storyline development, pacing, camera work or even quality ropework. Oh, if we could work with Mia now what fun we could have!! 🙂 Of course, Mia would now now be in her 40’s and Imago Studios may not have succeeded if she had not appeared so early on!

If you look at just the more recent releases (from about IS130 on), the following lead the pack:
1) IS153 – Don’t Mess with a Dominatrix
2) IS144 – Damsels in Skirts, Heels, Blouses & Pantyhose
3) IS143 – Cooking the Books – Bound Burglar – Pounced
4) IS150 – Tightly Tied Vignettes
5) IS145 – Busty Damsel Tales #1 – Writer’s Block

Interestingly, IS153 is the most recent release of these, but it is actually way ahead of the others in numbers sold. The other 4 are relatively close, with several other videos (IS161, IS154, IS147, IS148, IS118, IS132 and a few others) just behind them. Other than possibly the dominatrix based videos, no particular theme repeats. The most interesting one to us is IS143 ranking 3rd. In general, our black models get very little positive feedback compared to our white models, which is one of the reasons we elect to work with so few black models.

The recent dominance of our dominatrix themed videos (OK – bad pun) is seen further if you look at the most frequently downloaded videos from our Bondage Warehouse site:
1) IS153 – Don’t Mess with a Dominatrix
2) IS161 – Dominatrix in Training?
3) IS094 – Turnabout is Fair Play – The Inheritance
4) IS068 – Let’s Tie up …
5) IS154 – Duct Tape Tales

What does all this tell us? Well, videos which feature pantyhose, tape, mummifications, 1st person perspective, Mia Chen and Dianne as a dominatrix do very well. So now we just have to come up with a storyline which features Dianne as a dominatrix dominating a pantyhose clad Mia Chen by mummifying her in duct tape – and somehow shoot it in the 1st person perspective! 😀

Membership Discounts and Bondage Warehouse Coupons Going Unused

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A few weeks ago, we posted two blog entries detailing the special coupon offers we are currently offing to both Photo Club members and Bondage Warehouse repeat customers. To our surprise, many people are not using their coupons. We are not sure if people are unaware of the offers because they are not reading their emails or looking at the members’ home page, but many are placing orders without taking advantage of these coupons. These include:

  • Currently, anyone placing a Bondage Warehouse order will receive a 10% coupon which can be applied toward thier next order. This coupon is good for a limited time and will be emailed to you after your first order is complete (it is usually mailed at the end of the day so you should receive it the next day), provided you use a valid email address and choose to subscribe to the Bondage Warehouse newsletter.
     
  • All Imago Studios Club Members get a minimum of 5% off any order from the Bondage Warehouse. Details are listed on the members’ home page.
     
  • All new member signs ups instantly receive a $10 coupon to use in the Bondage Warehouse. This coupon is good for a limited time, so it you do not use it, it will expire. The coupon code is included in the welcome email you receive that includes your username & password and other account details.
     

Warehouse Videos on CD vs DVD

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We’ve been discussing it, and wanted to get your feedback – of those who purchase physical DVDs and CDs, would you prefer to have the short stories available as DVDs instead of CDs? The primary advantage would be you could watch them on devices other than your computer, but the primary disadvantage would be each one would have to be on a separate disc and so you potentially would pay more postage since we couldn’t combine 2 or more stories on one disc. Let us know what you think.

14 Years Ago It All Got Started

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Fourteen years ago today, Imago Studios got off to a flying start. On May 23, 1998, we shot IS01 with Alexa Close. Seven days later, on May 30th we shot IS03 with Mia Chen, followed by IS02 with Mary Olson & Katie Ladd on May 31. Of course, we had already shot two videos and numerous still photos with other models for Harmony Concepts under the name Imago Studios, not to mention the dozens of personal photos we did under the name the wanDeRers. But these 3 videos were the first we shot knowing we were about to start our own company. It would still be a few months before the Imago Studios website would go live, but this week marked the start of content production for our fledgling business. What a trip it’s been!

  
Alexa Close in IS01		   
Mary & Katie in IS02		   
Mia Chen in IS03

Nagging Items on Our “To Do” List

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There are always one or two items on our “to do” list that never seem to get done. At the moment, two of those items are redoing the samples page and updating the model directory. The samples page is badly out of date and needs to be updated with more recent photos, sample video clips and a better overall description of the members’ area. The model directory is even more out of date – it hasn’t been updated in over 2 years! There are nearly two dozen models that haven’t been added to it, going all the way back Rebecca Mosley, Cody Blue, Heather Johnson, Yania Fernandez and many, many others. What the model directory really needs is a total make over, not just an updating, which is the main reason it keeps getting put off :-). We haven’t come up with an idea for it yet that we really like, and the thought of going through and picking out and editing a sample photo each for nearly 250 models is overwhelming – not to mention having update all the individual descriptions and redo all the links! And since neither item is something that has to be done now, they always end up taking a back to seat on the priority list to more important things such as geting updates ready, filling orders, and editing new videos.

Kicking an Idea Around – Feedback Wanted

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Last week we had dinner with the lovely Tomiko. Most of you probably know Tomiko is a very well known fetish model and producer. We worked with her for our Willingly Helpless site. She also lives right here in Vegas and that got us to thinking about possibly helping each other out. We discussed a few ideas, including the possibility of Tomiko appearing in a few of our short story videos for the Bondage Warehouse, not as a damsel, but rather as another female villian/domme, possibly working with Dianne to “tag team” a few of our models. So here is the question – how much interest is there in seeing these two sexy ladies playing duel villians tying up our regular models? Having two female villians creates the possibility for some storylines we can’t currently do.

Goodbye to Another Site and Comments on the Reasons Why So Many Sites are Failing

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Yesterday we learned that Vesta’s Bondage Divas site is closing after 13 years. On her site, she mentions increasing costs and falling membership numbers as being the primary reasons for closing. We also got an email from another producer, who has been around just as long, voicing serious concern over one of the many tube sites out there that features nothing but stolen content. We couldn’t help but see a direct cause and effect between the two.

Bondage Divas has been around almost as long as we have and it is always sad to see another of the early bondage sites close. Not sure how many of you remember, but 13 to 15 years ago, there were very few bondage sites that were actually producing new, original content. When Imago Studios went live about 14 years ago, there were only a handful of such sites. Most of the bondage sites were just ‘scan sites’ that did nothing more then put up scans from existing magazines. In a few years, the web would explode with new bondage sites, but in those early years, we were a very small group. Unfortunately, over the last year or two, it seem like more and more of those original sites are going under.

In a previous blog entry, we mentioned that we have also seen a decrease in membership numbers over the last few years. While the bad economy may be partially to blame, the glut of stolen material, hacking, and illegal file sharing sites are the main problem. Unfortunately, there seems to be no easy solution. Otherwise honest people seem to have no problem with posting large quantities of copyrighted material to these sharing sites. Perhaps they see no harm in what they are doing. I doubt any of them would break into your home or business or mug you in the back alley, but what they are doing is really no different. It is simply far easier to post and share stolen content, which probably explains why so many are willing to ignore what ethics they may have and do it. Or perhaps they just feel a need to be part of something anyway they can, to get some recognition from others that share their willingness to do wrong simply because it is easier and cheaper than to do what is right & honest. It is not as if these people have actually produced the content, paid for the models or the equipment or taken any of the financial or legal risks associated with the business. But some seem to crave the recognition as if they had somehow done something noble or good. Perhaps a few are simply ignorant of the harm they do – but we sincerely doubt it. Regardless of their motives, it is a very sad commentary on the dark side of human nature, the ease with which people will act unethically and the misuse of social networking and file sharing sites.

With all that is going on, it makes us wonder who will be next. It will be quite ironic if what finally kills off the bulk of bondage websites is the misguided actions of their own “fans” and not the actions of those that despise what we do and push for more government regulation, fees, and out & out censorship. Ironic & sad.

Sick, Sick, Sick!

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We have been trading a cold back and forth since the holidays. Nothing special, just the common cold. But we haven’t been able to shake it. Up until last week, it was simply annoying. But this past week simply annoying has become almost incapacitating. We had to cancel a 4 day canyoneering trip for this weekend. We have spent the last few days mostly sleeping. We limped through a two day shoot with Alaina Lael this past week. We have at least 2 new models waiting to make their debuts. But all we want to do is sleep. Yes, we are sick – sick & tired of being sick!

A Salem Williams Sighting

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Last night we went to the pharmacy to pick up more medicine for our never ending colds and on the way out we ran into Salem Williams. Although we haven’t seen Salem in almost 4 years, we recognized her immediately. She is doing very well, she has almost completed her degree. Oh how time flies!

The Behind the Scenes Section – 42+ Hours of Video and Counting

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The largest section of our members’ area is the behind the scenes section. It is also perhaps the most unique part of the site. In addition to having over 7000 photos, this section has over 550 video clips totaling over 42 hours of video. And for the last year and a half, those videos have been shot in HD and are presented at a huge 1280×720 format. Looking back through the years archived, this part of the site really tells the true story of Imago Studios – the goofiness, the laughter, and the fun times we’ve had.

Tattoos – Oh How We HATE them!

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Call us old fashioned, behind the times, traditional, or whatever you like, but WE HATE TATTOOS!. They just look so damn trashy. From the very beginning, we have always avoided working with girls that had large or easily visible tattoos. Yes, we have worked with a few otherwsie highly attractive girls that had one or two small tattoos that were not in readily visible locations (i.e. no ink on the chest/breast, arms, thighs, calf, etc.) – it had to be small, tasteful and easily hidden. But lately it is getting almost impossible to find a girl under the age of 30 or 35 that doesn’t have one, if not several, ugly tattoos plastered over prominant parts of her body. Over the last few years, we have turned down dozens of otherwise very attractive girls because they had tattoos on their arms, thigh, chest, etc. Like reality TV shows, tattoos seem to a extremely annoying fad that just will not go away. In a few years, it may be impossible to find a girl without tattoos, but until then, we are sticking to our guns. If you want to work for Imago Studios – no trashy ink!

Image Size Growth

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We recently did a post on the increasing size of our photo sets. Also increasing in size over the years has been the size of the images themselves. When we started 13+ years ago, the images were approximately 800×600 pixels, but sometimes smaller. At that time (the late 1990’s), the main limitation was the actual file size as everybody was on dial-up and download times were SLOW. You really wanted to keep images in the 100-120KB or smaller range to prevent excessive download times. To a lesser extent, the quality of the scanners of the day also limited image size (we were shooting 35mm). Even with a good quality negative scanner, you didn’t want to make the images too large or the overall quality of the scan deteriorated. When we switched to a digital camera in January 2000, overall image quality improved dramatically. But most people were still on dial-up, so we were still limited on how large we could make the file sizes. The resolution on those early digital cameras was also not the greatest. Our first digital cameral was 2.5 megapixels with a maximum resolution of 1712 X 1368 pixels – but at least it was a true SLR and we didn’t have to waste hours scanning images any longer! But as the years pasted, technology improved (as it always does). Broadband connections became standard, digital cameras improved dramatically, and even monitor sizes increased significanly. All these changes allowed us to continually increase the size of our images. Currently, we size horizontal images at 1600 pixels and vertical images at 1200 pixels (click on the samples below). We could make the vertical images larger, but then the image would be significantly larger than the vertical resolution of most monitors and thus require resizing or scrolling to view – something we personally find annoying. We do wonder how much bigger image sizes will go. Monitors are continuing to get bigger, but more and more people are using smartphones, touch pads and the like to surf the web, and those have considerably smaller screen sizes. But in all liklihood, as technology moves ever forward, we will continue to increase our image sizes.
                                    click to see full sized image

click to see full sized image                      

Photo Set Growth

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Over the years, you may have noticed that there has been a significant increase in the number of photos we take of any given tie or position. This increase has mainly been due to progressively improving (and affordable) photo equipment. Thirteen or fourteen years ago, when we were shooting with a Canon AE-1 35mm camera and had to focus manually and actually change film, the average photo set was only 12 to 15 photos. When we switched to our first digital camera, the size increased to 20 to 25 photos. But the first digital cameras were slow to focus and write to the storage device. You could quickly fill the buffer and then have to wait 20 seconds or more for the buffer to clear – not the greatest thing when you have a model tied up in a uncomfortable position! But digital cameras rapidly improved and our average photo set size gradually increased with each new camera we purchased. The limiting factor then became the recycle time on our strobes, so we updated those too. The main limitation now is how quickly we can shoot, not the speed of the equipment – LOL. We routinely find ourselves shooting 50 or more photos of a given tie and sometimes we shoot more than 80 or 90 photos. Our photo sets now average about 30 to 40 photos, slightly more for progressive storyline sets, and those numbers seem about right to us.

This increase in photo equipment speed has produced several advatages. First, we can be far more selective in the photos we choose to use. We don’t publish all of the photos we take as the sets would be highly repetitious and boring – not to mention it would take us forever to edit all those photos! (Although editing time has also decreased with faster computers and better software, it is still a very time consuming process). Second, when shooting, we have far more time to get varied and interesting shots from different angles, experiment with different lighting styles, and to move the model around into different positions and poses. We have never understood why some sites tie a model to a chair, shoot 50 photos all from the same angle, never getting close ups or different views, and then actually publish all 50 photos with little or no variation! Third, we can shoot more sets in a given time period. The main factor limiting the number of sets we can do in one sessions now is the length of time it actually takes to tie and untie a girl. Your average photo set (without video) takes 40 to 50 minutes and some more complex ties can push 90 minutes or more. Sometimes we joke about how much material we could produce if we were doing something simple – like shooting foot fetish material! And finally, the faster photo equipment allows us to get models untied from difficult positions more quickly, which is beneficial both in terms of safety and a model’s happiness. And happy models make happy photographers! 🙂

Not a lawyer, but wow, what an email!

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Every now and then we get an email or comment that is so absurdly funny that we just have to share. This is one we got yesterday – cut and pasted with no changes.

The subject was “Pics/Vids with that terrible Lächeln Lorieau”

“Dear Sirs,

evidently you think to gain custommers experimenting around with strange and absurd shibari-positions (especially with the above mentioned model, so I think it might be her thing, too). Let me tell you that you’re just losing custumers, i.e. me and my wife. I’ll have our membership cancelled, if you continue that way. Phantasy is not proved by doing strange positions and shibari was never your thing, so keep your style, damn it!”

This one is so ridiculous, so over the top, it is difficult to know where to start. The note reads like a 3 year old having a hissy fit. We actually had to sleep on this one over night before responding. But here are some thoughts that crossed our mind when reviewing the note this morning.

The composer is unnecessarily rude – a personal attack on a model is simply classless and never called for. If you do not like a particular model’s look or style, simply do not look at their photos or videos. We have worked with over 200 models with quite varied looks – if you don’t like one, ignore their work.

He uses meaningless threats and greatly over estimates his value. Does he honestly think his opinion is the only one that matters? That we should produce only material that appeals to him? Hell, if he had had the balls to include his name or send the note from the email address he used when he signed up, his membership would already be canceled (and his name added to our permanent blocked list). While we value our customers’ opinions, we created the site for our own reasons and the fact that thousands of you are enjoying the ride with us makes us unlikely to change or limit our “style” to suit one individual’s tastes. Besides, the old saying “you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar” holds true in any culture – if you want something, a polite request goes a lot further than a threat and a demand.

He knows the word ‘shibari’, but has no understanding of what it means. We have never done anything with Lächeln Lorieau that we would call ‘shibari’. It could even be argued that we have never done anything with any of our models that could be classified as being authentic ‘shibari’ – and we wouldn’t disagree.

He obviously knows little or nothing about us, our models, Imago Studios, or our history. Those of you that have been with us for several years know that our personal tastes and interests vary greatly and that we produce a wide range of material. Glamour bondage, D.I.D., “shibari” variations, goth, rope, chains, tape, suspensions, mummifications, etc. – our work has included all these elements and many others in varying degrees over the years. We have written about this numerous times – but to repeat, if we had been stuck doing just one or two of these things over the last 14+ years, we would have gotten bored and quit long ago. We have researched Chinese bondage (see our site chineseropeart.com), attended and taught at Shibaricon, and opened willinglyhelpless.com, all in order to explore different styles of bondage and our varied interests.

We could go on, but we have already wasted enough time on one idiot.

BTW – Wednesday’s update will feature Lächeln Lorieau and some of those absurd positions our friend seems to like so much.

WTF (?)

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We have noticed a trend on some bondage sites that we find somewhat perplexing. When watching the video clips from certain sites, the models do nothing but curse, as does the producer/villain. Now we can understand such dialog from the ‘villain’ being used for dramatic effect or the occasional expletive being shouted out by the damsel in a moment of defiance. But when did listening to profanity laden diatribe coming out of a woman’s mouth become sexy? We guess it comes natural if that is their normal level of discourse, but personaly I do not believe the ability to curse like a drunken sailor does anything to add to a woman’s appeal. Opinions?