14/09/2024
Where to find and how to make content?
People often ask how I find examples of men's leather looks? Where do these unknown TV series or old movies come from? And how does it all come together in a single collection?
Of course, there are classics, like "Terminator" and "Mad Max". Looks that were most popular in the 1990s: the films were shown on TV, photos and posters flashed in magazines. But where does everything else come from? As of 2024, the collection already has more than 100 examples, and there are still a lot of them in the archive, waiting for their time (or my retirement).
If we go in order, the key is immersion in the topic. When you are seriously into something and for a long time, the material and principles of working with it come into your hands. And of course, there are some qualities given by nature that also help. One example: when you assemble a video, combining all the frames into a single canvas, you can get a comment like: "I've watched this movie many times and never noticed that the hero wears leather pants." How can you not notice such a bright element? But someone does not notice. The eye, as they say, is not trained. Therefore, simple attention to detail helps to assemble a leather collection. Saw a movie poster somewhere, noticed a hero in leather, found this movie - excellent material, something to work on. Or no, two scenes and a so-so image - material in the trash.
Of course, all materials I get from the global network, there is no way without it. But there was a period when I bought movies and TV series on DVD or Blu-ray, because there was nothing on the Internet. Today, most media content is posted on the network. The only problem is that not everything can be downloaded.
By the way, about downloading. I try to indicate everywhere that my material is not commercial use. It's a hobby. I do not make money on it. But copyright is a complicated thing. Is a video with excerpts from a film, posted for review, considered a violation? As it turns out, it's different on each media platform.
Another source of materials were... the readers of this blog. As soon as the first videos posted gained popularity, I started receiving examples of images from movies, TV series and pop music in messages. I gratefully archived all these examples and added them to my collection. Why those who send them don’t sit down at the editing table and put the videos together themselves is an open question. Well, that means I’m destined to do it... someday.
If we divide the materials by the degree of complexity of processing, then leather fashion will be in first place. It’s very difficult to follow any trends, because there is a kaleidoscope of images before your eyes, sometimes very pretentious. And these are just images for one season. It’s good if you can find an example of how a celebrity tried on an image from the catwalk. In this case, you can collect some material and present it in the blog. But most often, leather fashion is just a digest of what fashion designers presented in a particular season, without any detailed analysis.
In a leather image, for me, the moment of presentation is important. i.e., banally, the presence of photo and video material. When an image is presented for a few seconds on the catwalk, there is nothing to talk about. But when an image, or at least a semblance of this image, has become popular, has appeared in films or TV series, or these images are actively tried on by celebrities, there is room for roaming.
In second place in complexity are the images of stars. If it is a video clip or a performance on stage, consider yourself lucky. This can be analyzed, put together some kind of video. If these are only photos from a social network, then it can be a shame: the image is cool, but there is no video. I am not interested in simply reposting photos.
TV series are next in complexity. And the complexity is mainly in their length. When a hero shows off leather for several seasons, more than a dozen episodes, and the series is incredibly boring, you have to watch it... on fast forward. Yes, this happens: you select episodes where the hero you need is in the image you need; you put these episodes on the editing table and simply play the video in fast forward mode, cutting out the necessary scenes. Then you select good shots in these scenes that present the image in the best light. And there can be a ton of such shots. But you don’t need that much. A few minutes at most. This is enough to get an idea. And in order to collect these few precious minutes, you need to snip and snip shots, sometimes sacrificing many good angles. But what can you do, you have to choose the best of the best. Not always, but you have to. Especially if it’s a soap opera, where all the action is built on dialogues and the number of similar shots is cosmic.
Of course, if it's a cool series, expensively filmed, you can watch it from start to finish. And here you just need to take notes, in which episode, in which scene there are interesting shots. And then, based on the notes, quickly put everything together.
Well, the easiest thing to prepare material for, if you again focus on timing, is cinema. One and a half to two hours of video material that you can watch in detail and choose the most striking shots.
And a little about the editing process. First, the video sequence is assembled. Moreover, I try to dance from the image, collecting it gradually. If the material contains scenes where the hero is without outerwear, then we start with them. If there are scenes where the hero gets dressed, then we start with them. That is, the image needs to be assembled in the literal sense, to show how it looks in parts: first the hero indoors in pants and a shirt, for example, then the hero on the street, already in a jacket, etc.
If the hero has several leather looks (and this happens), you have to get by. The easiest way is to put together several videos for each image. But it is better to combine similar images into one scene and create an idea of the style in one video. After all, it is clear that the hero is one, and he wears leather for one reason (an idea of the era or the character of the hero). And several images are just the costume designer's fantasy.
When the video sequence is assembled, I begin the most unloved, but necessary technical work. It is difficult to watch the video without sound, as if something is missing. And the sound that is obtained after assembling the video sequence is a mix of scraps of lines, music and noises that will only spoil the impression. Therefore, you have to... redub the video. That's right! Where the hero still says something, you need to substitute intelligible lines, sometimes taken from completely different scenes. And all the rest of the sound is done anew!!! This is necessary for the video to become integral. So that there is no feeling that this is a rigid cut. To do this, new music is added to the soundtrack, street noises, indoor noises, etc. are added. And in some moments, ... leather is voiced!
To emphasize the image and create an even more voluminous picture with the help of sound, I add creaking leather when the hero turns, sits down, gets up or walks. Not always can I do it well. This causes a lot of difficulties. But I have room to grow. The sound bank is constantly replenished so that there is a good noise for any occasion. Leather can also be different: bikers have one, lords have another.
When the video is redubbed, there are little things left: color correction, covers and description. Of course, these are not little things either, because some films are so darkened that you have to brighten the picture. And if the material is good, then you just want to make a cover from each frame. Well, you also have to work on the description, somehow try to analyze why the costume designers dressed the hero in leather?
Thus, brick by brick, a new work is born, not of art, alas, but of some kind of creativity!
