I've talked before about the little things that sometimes go wrong in spanko films which you wouldn't get away with in Hollywood. This isn't to have a go at these film producers - it's just a bit of fun really, and we do realise that when you've just given your leading lady a sound thrashing on her bare bottom and take a look at the footage, you're not going to wait for the marks to fade so that you can shoot it again without that stray accessory in shot.
The main problem seems to come down largely to tripods, microphones and other people. Tripods especially seem to yearn stardom and crop up over and over again.
Here's a great example - I mean, what schoolroom doesn't keep a hefty video tripod in the back corner?
And even in this long shot from AEG, the foot of a tripod can't resist making an appearance.
And who doesn't have a tripod or two in their bedroom?
And when you're about to place your leading lovely face-down on a whipping bench, tie her down, and give her bottom a thorough caning, well there's another handy tripod.
I've used a microphone on occasions when giving presentations - especially in large lecture theatres - but they were usually discreetly clipped on a lapel. This one seems a bit overly intrusive in an ordinary sized schoolroom.
Mirrors are also rather tricky things to film with. Look really closely on this one and you'll see the hand held camera filming itself.
However, the biggest problem seems to be other people.
In this AEG scene a crew member seemed to find it necessary to cross bottom-left, just as the hand spanking of the first model, Corey, was getting interesting. However, what seems really strange...
In this Xerotics scene we can see not one, but two males in the background as the girl is being told what she's done wrong and what she's going to get for it - one in a suit in an adjacent room to the left and one by the window.
Perhaps if you shoot a lot of these films, it all becomes a bit "same old" but I'm pretty sure if was there and this very lovely young lady was about to have her bare bottom caned, I'd be a lot less disinterested than the guy in the window.
The suited guy also seems not interested enough to watch. I have seen another Xerotics clip with the same lead model that appears to be shot on the same premises where she is in trouble with her headmaster for getting three detentions. I pretty strongly suspect that the suited guy is that headmaster just waiting for his scene to come around.
We don't see quite enough to know whether they guy in the background of this one is a cameraman, director or interested onlooker but at least he's looking in the right direction to see the action.
This is a conventional one-on-one scene with the girl getting her bare bottom turned a nice rosy shade. Simple and straightforward - nothing can go wrong. Well nothing except the spare lighting rigs in the background, the camera tripod to the side - oh, and another model wearing a schoolgirl outfit waiting for her scene to come around.
You'd think that cameramen, of all those present, would understand that cameras tend to film whatever's in front of them.
So, if you thrust you hand-held in for a really tight close-up, there's a very good chance that the fixed camera is going to record it.
Which is bad enough when you just get your camera in shot, but...
...is probably worse when you become the unexpected star of the show.
With thanks to all the hard working people - behind the cameras and in front (and sometimes, both) who devote their time to making this stuff for us.
