Model Citizens continues with the world's greatest low-life smut peddler, Mark Rockwell. Read on for answers to burning questions like, "will we ever get that face reveal?"
Let’s start with The Mark Rockwell Story.
Well, I started my smut peddling journey circa 2011. I was nearing my retirement date from the US military and thought getting my cock sucked for a living sounded pretty good, you know, as opposed to sleeping in a hole, crapping in a slit trench, and side stepping landmines. [Laughs]
I’ve been a pervert since I found my grandparents porno collection in the mid 1980’s, so the idea of fucking on camera seemed pretty rad to me. Being in the military, I had to keep everything very lowkey, that’s why I hid my face and tattoos; I wasn't trying to have the Army find out what I was doing. I don't know what they would have done.
Northing good I'm sure.
First, I did a little browsing on the old Google machine and purchased a camera, some lighting, and the rest of the equipment I would need. Then I had to find models that would actually shoot with me. I used a site called sexyjobs.com and Twitter. Twitter turned out to be the best option.
I started reaching out to a lot of amateur and fetish models that I saw performing on clip sites, and that's how I got a lot of my first gigs. One of them knew Jada Stevens and they gave me an intro. When I shot Jada, she and I hit it off, and she started recommending me to some of her friends. That's how I kinda got my foot in the door and came to shoot some bigger name porn stars. That certainly didn’t happen overnight. I was strapped for cash and struggled to stay afloat for the first couple years. But I was determined to be successful. I suppose “obsessed” is a more accurate word to use.
So it all happened kind of organically, just one connection after another. You did good work, so people got on board because of that?
Exactly. That was the key in the beginning. I was like, "Man, I gotta be good to the models. If you're good to the models, the models will be good to you." You get great scenes and then the girls recommend you to their friends, so it really works out. Being polite and professional is the way to go.
Your video production is consistently super high quality. How much of your camera and lighting setup are you willing to share?
I get asked this a lot and I always try to take the time to answer.
I'm not trying to hide anything and I certainly don’t think I do anything special. I always buy Sony cameras. Probably 90% of my clips were shot with a Sony NEX-VG30. I really enjoy the excellent picture and deep colors the Sony cameras produce. Although all of my cameras are capable of shooting 4K, I prefer shooting in 1080p. I just don’t feel there’s a need for 4K when shooting super up close POV porn. 1080p at 60fps is absolutely beautiful. Honestly, I prefer to keep it simple and inexpensive when it comes to lighting, although I think it’s super important. You can get a set of three soft box lights for pretty cheap off of Amazon. I prefer 5500K bulbs and soft boxes that allow you to turn each bulb off and on individually. Also, make sure your lights come with a compact and discreet carrying case, in the event you travel. Get a few outlet splitters and extension cords too, there’s never enough outlets and they are never where you need them, especially in hotels! I find that the LED panels can be pricey and the light a bit harsh, especially in tight areas, but that’s just my opinion.
I also use a ring light mounted to my camera, which gives the little "donut" in the girl's eyes that most people enjoy. If you’re going to invest in a ring light, make sure the light is dimmable - they can be extremely bright when close to your subject. Also, be sure that it is compatible with your camera model, they are not one size fits all! I don't really feel like I have a certain secret. I do minor editing to make my videos pop and to give them their own unique look. Sometimes it looks cool, sometimes I dick it up.
"It can be the difference between making a few hundred dollars, or making a shit-pot of cash."
That’s something you do in post-production?
Exactly.
How much editing do you typically do? Is it pretty close to the original footage?
It's pretty close to the original footage. If it's POV, I try to shoot straight through - I think people enjoy it more when there's less cuts. They feel like they're seeing everything.
What editing software are you using?
I do everything on Final Cut Pro.
What's something simple that our readers could do today to improve their video quality?
Lighting. Invest in some lighting. A lot of amateur porn is poorly lit.
Amateur doesn’t necessarily mean poor quality. Most cameras shoot a pretty decent picture now a days, even camera phones, you just need to feed them some light. Start cheap and upgrade as you go. Also, it doesn’t take much time or effort to clean up your “set”. Hide the lighting and the electrical cords, make sure there isn’t anything distracting in the background or anything personal like a family photo! A clean set just looks professional.
How is Modelhub going for you so far?
Awesome. I tweeted earlier, I’ve sold 666 videos so far [Laughs], and I think I just went over that now. But yeah, it's going really well.
What has your strategy been for selling videos on Modelhub?
I'm starting off with low prices. I did $1 for my videos that were already free on Pornhub and I'm doing $3 for all the premium videos.
They seem to be selling pretty well. I think that’s because the prices are significantly lower than what I use to sell on other clip sites.
There’s two reasons for that. One, producers are earning 85% off of all sales for the first three months. So I think everybody can start off a little bit lower to entice people to start spending some money.
But also, I think I’ll be able to keep my prices pretty low because the amount of traffic Pornhub is pushing to Modelhub. I really like how those two sites are interwoven together. With that much traffic, I should be able to lower prices and rely on sales volume. After all, I want everyone to be able to afford and enjoy my clips, that’s why I make them!
Ultimately, I don’t think I wanna charge more than $4 for a clip.
You're betting on low price, more sales rather than higher price, less sales.
Exactly. I always feel like the customers and the producers are at a standstill. The producers are forced to charge more because they're not getting the sales they need (mainly due to piracy), but the fans who do pay for content don't wanna break the bank on a single clip, so we actually wind up pushing the good customers further away. Something’s gotta give. So, I'm lowering my prices and hope customers see the value. Pirates are going to pirate, regardless of the price.
How do you choose the models you wanna shoot with?
Most of the stuff I shoot is POV, really up close in their face with the ring light. So I'm usually looking for girls with very attractive faces and very beautiful eyes, which comes down to my personal taste, I suppose. Like when I saw Britney Amber for the first time, I was like, "Oh, I gotta shoot this girl. Her face is perfect for POV." Along with looks, I look for models who I think will be able to shoot the kind of scenes that I shoot, the slow and sensual type. I’ve learned that some girls only know one way to suck a dick; by gagging on it!
Let's talk about marketing a little bit. You're on Twitter. How important is social media for your marketing?
You're probably not gonna like the answer: it's not important to me. Honestly, I just don't advertise that much and I never have. I did a very small amount on Twitter starting out, but I've just never seen an impact from it. So in my case, the juice isn’t worth the squeeze.
Do you think it's because the content is quality enough, that it speaks for itself?
That’s what I like to think. If you make good content and place it on a site that gets a lot of traffic, it'll sell itself and you shouldn't have to do too much. I don't wanna say that and sound like a cocky asshole, but it’s true.
Do you pay much attention to your video titles?
Yes! That is extremely important; it can be the difference between making a few hundred dollars or making a shit-pot of cash. The title and the thumbnail are what decides whether or not you get that click. So you really have to nail that. Sometimes I’ll have a clip on the front page of the “hottest” videos and I can tell within the first hour or two that it's not doing that well. In my experience, if it’s not getting around 10,000 hits an hour it probably won’t stay on the front page very long, and that’s exactly where you want it. So I'll go in there and change something, either the thumbnail or I'll email Pornhub and ask them to change the title, within a few hours, I'll see a huge difference on the amount of traffic it's getting.
So it’s important to pay attention to video performance, even once it’s already live?
Oh, absolutely. If you're serious about making money you need to be paying attention to your page, I'm on there all the time monitoring how well things are going, what’s getting viewed and what’s not, what’s being purchased and what’s not. If something is being featured, I'm definitely monitoring the stats to ensure I’m getting enough views to remain competitive on the “hottest” page. “Features" and the “hottest” page are where the money is made when it comes to ad rev. Same principle goes for selling videos on Modelhub though - if you upload a new video and notice it’s not getting any sales, consider tweaking up the title or thumbnail.
Do you have any tips for creating a good title?
I think you just have to be really descriptive. You only have a small sentence to grab the potential viewer’s attention; be descriptive and graphic!
What factors do you think have contributed to you winning Model Program awards?
People like the content. You know, it's like we were saying earlier, make good content, they'll come. [Laughs] I didn't mean it like that, but that works.
Everything comes down to the content. Start with that and the rest will follow.
Exactly. Also, if you can build a unique persona that helps too. I used to keep my face and my tattoos hidden because I didn't want the military to find out what I was up to, but now it seems to have played in my favor - it’s made a lot of customers and fans very curious about the mystery man behind the camera, getting his cock serviced by beautiful women for a living. [Laughs]
Are we ever gonna get a face reveal?
I don't know. I don't know if I'll ever do that. There's some videos where I've let it peek in for a few seconds, but I don't know if I'll ever fully show my face. I like being able to go grocery shopping and not have somebody recognize me - not because I'm embarrassed of what I do, I’m just a really private person and prefer to keep to myself.
What changes do you think we're gonna see in the industry this year?
I think that the switch from pro to amateur has already been happening. A lot of the focus seems to be going from mainstream porn to more of the amateur stuff. Anyone can shoot and sell porn now, it’s beautiful. Sites like Modelhub are giving amateur producers like me the ability to get their content out there, get recognized and make a little cheddar.
I feel like all the mainstream producers are now trying to jump on our stuff.
Related question, what changes would you like to see in the industry?
I'll probably get some hate mail for this. I'd like to see less agencies and more independent models. As a low-level producer, agencies are typically hard to deal with and are just another obstacle I have to negotiate. I’d also love to see some type of centralized booking site for the entire industry.
What's something the average person can do to support sex workers?
Buy our content. That's a no-brainer, isn't it?
Any exciting projects coming up?
I'm doing a trip to California in early August, so my fans can expect a bunch of new content coming out. I've already got some amazing models booked. One of them being Brandi Love.
Much love to Mark for taking the time to share his knowledge and expertise. Check out his videos on Pornhub and Modelhub. And for any models in California looking to shoot with Mark, shoot him a message on Pornhub!
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