A Sexiest® (and sensual!) Movie Premiere: 'Sensual Desires'

This might be the longest post I ever wrote...and it would be that just if I stick to transcribe the credits from this massive project that took our community by storm this spring! So before you get bored...I mean, before you get deeper into the article, I am telling you that the movie premiere will take place at 7:30 PM this Friday 14th!

So, which movie are we talking about today? We're dealing with the first movie from Stachel Studios. The director is Rachel Avro, a virgin in this particular role, but so vastly experienced in front of a camera as multiple time award winning actress and who already produced, assisted, wrote effectively co-directed several flicks in the past. This movie is a wonderful collaboration and labor of love between herself and her wife Stacey Lucciano, who we all know for her energy, passion and creativity.
I think it's already time to leave you to the interview I did with them, and to the massive credits of the movie: I can't stress enough in particular the excellent voice work done by Athena Mariposa, Moonie Mouse, Seddy Constantine and Vixxen Clowes, together with the narration of the legend that is Larry Vinaver. Enjoy!

- First question to a debutante always is: why did you decide to get into the filmaking business ?

Rachel: I decided to get into filmmaking as I though it was a natural progression for my photography; being the assistant of Mitzy Broadway I got to watch the process and was involved in it. The likes of Mitzy, Isa, Dillon and other film directors inspired me.

- The story of this movie...has an interesting story behind it, in itself! How did the major theme for this movie come about?

Stacey: Rachel originally wanted just to do a bunch of sex scenes with valley girls! I started then asking "Well why is this happening, and why is that happening?" So I kinda made her think about the scenes a bit more and write dialogue that flows as there is MUCH more of this story to unfurl over the next two movies if we find people like this one. We are both Subs. I sometimes swap for her but the S&M kink always caught my fancy so I think there is an attachment to that lifestyle a bit as we both live it in Second Life.

Rachel: I have been thinking about a D themed movie for a while. Having Stacey as my partner and wife and bouncing ideas off her it started to come together. We talked alot about it and slowly ideas came about and the movie started to take shape. The funny thing is the movie was a flowing process and was changing all the time.
Stacey: To sum it up for the audience, it's about two lesbian lovers that feel they need a little somthing else in their relationship as it was growing stale, so my character calls up her former Mistress and uses that crutch to fall back on to bring some life back to their sex life and they start to fall down that rabbit hole...

- What was the first step in order to begin the movie? Can you remember 'the first day of shooting' ? Which scene did you start with and how did it go?

Rachel: I remember the movie was going to be called "Sunset Lovers" and I filmed the start on the sim island with a sunset, filming myself walking out to masturbate on the beach. Was going to be 7 minutes long...the whole sunset shots ended up on the cutting room floor.

- Typical! As you mentioned, you have experience as both an actresss and as an assistant director, but getting to try and be behind the camera yourself is still a steep transition. Which parts did you find  the hardest?

Rachel: The hardest for me is staying focused on a direction. Stacey was invalubale with keeping me on track as I ideas were all over the place.
Stacey: Well I tried! When she wanted to go off on tangents I reigned her back in to keep it simple and keep it on track, and to try to keep the movie flowing well. Made her move a few scenes to make it make more sense

Rache: If I was going to do this right I needed to learn editing, so i watched 100 hours of youtube videos about the editing tools, I watched scenes of movies i loved with the attention to detail on how they were cut...Also watched some of Mitzy movies over again so that started to become natural to me. And I started to incorporate my style of photography in it: you will see in the movie the closeup shots and intimacy I usually get on camera.

- Yes, for sure it shows. So let's get again more into the evolution of the idea. From the basic "Sunset Lovers" concept, how did we get to where the movie is? 

Rachel: The story developed a lot because Stacey thought it should be more than just sex scenes. We developed the storyline together about Faith being her ex Mistress and it was her orgy, then we liked the idea of a neighbour involved, which was you. And we thought about Faith having a sub and that was Partee and.... I wanted things that joined the movie together that were sex scenes. One thing though I did want was to have pornstar voice overs in this film. It would nmake it something different. I started with Athena and was going to use her for all the voices but they would be too similar, so ended up with 4 of the girls and one male narator. You and Stacey were a big help in the voice scenes I did.

Stacey: Rachel was pretty instrumental in the concept and film direction. She did so much better than I ever thought she would being a first time director. When she said she wanted to do a movie I was like "ok!"... but had no real expectations of it being a serious project. She dove in head first and seeing her excitement over it made me realize "She is serious! We need to put real effort into it!".
Then it just grew and grew to 40 pornstars. Originally it was gonna be Rachel, me, you, Partee and faith. Then it went to.... "Ok we need extras for some shot..." to a full blown picture, and Rachel really did great. I helped more in the case of lines and story but the camera shots were all her.  she had a vision and as the story progressed in our heads she took the ball and ran with our ideas. I think she killed it. In a good way obviously!

- You added scenes , such as the orgy shot at Maui's, to the original beach atmosphere....but also a very different change of pace and setting around the middle of the movie. Which still is coherent with the basic premise. Tell me more about these 'additions' that make the movie what it is now.

Rachel: Well, I did want a orgy scene in the movie and wasn't sure where I was going to shoot that. Maui came about because I asked Bandor to sponsor the movie with his furniture and he mentioned that Maui might be a nice place to film. I asked Renni, she was a friend. That was how the orgy scene developed at Maui.

- Do you want to tell us more about your collaboration with Aquilae in terms of locations, and working on a very special dance sequence there? It was an ambitious scene and i remember the actors being impressed as it was happening, even.

Rachel: The dance scenes and the dungeon scenes were to be part of a "coming soon" feature in kinda a take on the how the Marvel movies put scenes in the middle of the credits. After talking with Stacey about it, the flow was better placing them towards the end of the film. Heather was kind enough to let me use her dungeon and castle for those scenes. I had looked at several movies with masquerade balls in them and so that is how they were shot .

So I asked Sasha Johansen to make a scene with couples walking down the stairs and dancing. I then added in the masks of several of the actors: they were all so creative. I got some other dance sequences and filmed several couple around the castle. It really made the film so much better as a movie. I remeber you watching it and saying it also flowed better when we changed the end.

- You chose to do not many have done before, real voice acting. How was it working with Athena, Vixx, Seddy, Moonie and Larry, and how difficult was it to make it all work? Did it require many different takes on their part? And also, you did in fact a lot of work on sound editing which was also a big part of the revisions this movie went through. It's often a forgotten part of the craft. I know you may want to talk some about your music choices.

Rachel: They were all so great to work with and they were very accomodating with their time. I didnt need to ask them to do it other and they did that themselves. I something got three takes as they thought they could do better. Yes, sound editing was very important and I got advice for Mitzy and Hailey on that I actually improved the voice overs and was able to make all of them stereo .

The sound selection took a lot of time for one, they are all royalty free and common music to be used for no commercial projects. So went you are watching the movie listen to the music each song has a direct impact on the scene i shot. I also needed to learn sound editing as well and I am still in the learning process for that.
An interesting story: when I asked Larry to be the narrator of the film he sent me his voice and voices he could do: Sean Connery, Richard Burton, Alec Guinness and after Stacey and I listened, we both picked Larry's own voice for the movie.

- You have several 'Technical advisors' listed in the credits, from miss Kiki to Brunella, Laura, etcetera. Do you want to tell me more about their role and involvement?

Rachel: They are all people that helped with dialogue  and I bounced thing off of to make it a better experience. I am not they greastest in writing dialogue so it flows properly I know they direction and what I want and they would help with the proper grammar and saying what i meant.
Mitzy was a wonderful mentor to me in so many ways.
One thing I waned to stress, is that that we used 43 actors in this movie  4 voiceovers, 1 narator and 15 songs so what started as a small first time movie as a director, morphed into something very large.

- So, the last obligatory question: you already gave us a hint but, what's next for your studio? Tell me your plans for your next movie if there are any already, you in general, etc.

Rache: We are in development of a sequel to this movie . We are going to explore the couples sinking deeper into submission and flesh out some of the characters we had in the movie and maybe add a new character involved with more voice overs and Larry contiuned narration.
Stacey: I will save the future story as I don't wanna spoil where it is going, but there is going to be more of how deep that rabbit hole goes, and what it does to the lovers and people around them.

And that's it for the interview!
Needless to say, I am really looking forward to it! I urge you to come over at 7:30 PM Friday to get to the premiere, with party to follow at 8 PM with Hailey as DJ! It's gonna be a really memorable event for a movie unlike any other in this feeling of being crowning of a career as a student of the game, a force behind the scenes and an universally loved person who brought together so many individuals to assist and be part of her vision. This movie showcases a lof of the good that there is in this community, and if you were not part of it, you'll still want to come over and take part to this celebration and perhaps being able to be part of the evolution of this project.

Sensual Desires 

A Rachel Avro Film
From Stachel Studios
Directed by Rachel Avro
Screenplay by Rachel Avro & Stacey Lucciano

Starring

Rachel Avro
Stacey Lucciano
Katina Cazalet
Partee Mytili
Faith Darrow

Mitzy Broadway
Renni
Anyka Aiseiri
Sasha Johansen
Kaylai Cucco
Vicki Concertina
Hailey Redrose
Zuby Gloom Redrose
Tricia Danielson
Vixxen Clowes
Monique LeFry

Moonie Mouse
Seddy Constantine
Whimsical Aristocrat
Heather Ashford
Isa Cheviot
Debi Whitfield
Escy Asadar
Kara Hawk
Kiki CC Blackwood

Alexandria Topaz
Ali Lancrae
Ayara Illios
Nakuru Bergamasco
Larry Vinaver
Candy Kane
Tour Diddy
Arienne Evangeline
Athena Mariposa

Daimaju Clowes
Scottie Leigh
Enki
Daxie
Lesley Aristocrat
Maximus Morningstar
Kelli Kristan
Grim Skall
Cream Release

Executive Producers
Stacey Lucciano

Sound mixing by
Rachel Avro

Coreographer
Sasha Johansen

Music
Break Through
Keeping our love alive
Art of love making
Curious
Only You
Break free the stranglehold
I'm trouble

Tied up
Be your slave
Don't hate me
Ofeliasdream from Bensound.com
Skyabin etude Op8 No12
Evolution from Bensound.com
Sexy from Bensound.com
Like we did before-

Voice over
Athena Mariposa
Vixxen Clowes
Moonie Mouse
Seddy Constantine

Narrator
Larry Vinaver

Filmed on location at
Maui Resort
StachelLands
Aquilae
Lust

Props provided by
Debauchery Adult Furniture

Set design
Rachel Avro
Stacey Lucciano
Partee Mytili

Thanks to Renni for all the help on location

Shot, Cropped and Scored by
Rachel Avro

Technical Advisors
Kiki CC Blackwood
Brunella Voelisa
Laura Richards
Stacey Lucciano
Katina Cazalet
Hailey Redrose

With Special Thanks to Mitzy Broadway

A Dirty Girl Production

Wanna watch the movie? Here it is, after the jump!

This week...month...something....in challenges!

We love to give coverage to every and any initiative aimed at the crowd of passionate photographers, filmakers, artists who make up so much of our active community. I admit my limits and tell you that I am a rather poor 'hunter' of opportunities not being on Flickr a lot, so I will suggest to please, share your findings on the in-world pornstars group or just IM me, Katina Cazalet, in world, especially if you are unsure about the appropriateness of the entry.

I appreciate the work done by our own Jadelyn McAuley relaying us the information about the "Fun in the Sun" photo hunt. From the blog post about it by one of the sponsors (the other being our favourite US-time party venue Hard Alley Social Club )

What is the idea behind a photo hunt and how does it work? The idea is you pick a sim, and all contest entry photos must be taken on whatever Sim was chosen. For our very first photo hunt we will be using Vice Beach. You are welcome to use the entire sim is not just limited to the beach area.

Rules in short? Take a photo at the Stroker Toyz sim, submit it at this flickr group here before the 18th of the month, the photo must have NO EDIT work done except cropping, that's the biggest challenge! This is a wonderful opportunity for every aspiring photographer and for the more established ones as well, with a solid 10'000 L$ grand prize, and other equally impressive gifts. Be creative!

Kayla puts Johnny to work for the winning photo of the last contest in 'Motivation'! 

In the nawties department as well, I am also giving a shoutout for Bibble Sugartooth's group, 'Bibi's Photo Contest'. Join the flick group, and the inworld group as well, to hear more about it all including the full list of winners. The current contest that just closed was 'Spank that Booty': as you can see Kayla Bombastic really nailed it, and I don't just mean JohnnyWhadd's booty.Prepare for the 15th of this month and the new theme "Erotic Bondage"

Marika Djannovic's winning entry for the P.A.S.S. contest, sponsored by Swallow. Features herself and an indentured servant.

And in closing for this post, another group that offers to its members a regular challenge is Brea Brianna's P.A.S.S. group. With the sponsorship of a famous brand of clothing/jewelry/skins/awesomesauce, Brea offers to the group members the chance to take part to a photo competition that nets pretty nifty prizes to the winners plus the outfit you see in these pictures, that was at the time an exclusive Fetish Fair item. Here you see the photos, starting with the 6 winners in order, and then the runner ups in alphabetical listing

by Lara Sands-Dieterle

by Athena

by BeeQueen Smythe

by, hello again, Kayla Bombastic

by Monique LeFry

by Biarzenne Necro

by Callista Aries

by Carola Conover

by Dakota Faith

by Missy Lovesu

These 3 contests blogged all offer a tangible monetary reward, but there are so many groups on flickr about 'challenges' of creativity. What's your favourite one? I'd love to hear about it in the comments below, or in my nawty box inworld.

"She said she wanted to feel my meat and who am I to say no to that." by Talisker, because...title.

“The biggest challenge after success is shutting up about it.”
― Criss Jami

Blah blah, Sexiest Blog, blah blah, write post if you like, blah blah, IM me and suggest me stuff, k tnx bai!

The Pornstars' Rack: Suitable Magazines!

What to wear what to wear? Well it's summer dammit. Wear a swimsuit or something. It is shark week and those cuties need to eat something. And if you are short on ideas, how about having a look at....

Attention Magazine



As the woman behind the metaphorical printing press Athena details in the blog post of the debuting Attention blog, the next issue of the magazine will be up this Friday, with yet another party coming up to celebrate it.
The issue will have a special feature of a level and scope that rivals with this month's, and will be a whole theme throughout the pages. From an idea of co-owner and lead photographer Rachel Avro, it will be a 'Boys of Summer' issue. You can see the photos from the first release party of Attention here and here, and Yana Grau's photos from the second party will follow this week. If you haven't checked the magazine out yet, you REALLY might want to fix this mistake.

Morgan St.Cyr is one of the many models inside this issue, in a truly epic photoshoot coordinated, shot, edited by Partee

I am itching to give you some 'insider scoop' about it, even post a preview of the cover! But Athena has been charmingly perfidious, throwing so much material and then making me swear to silence about...stuff!

" I'm all fangirly ... I got to take pictures of Dillon Lecker.  [...]
Some of the people we are featuring for the July issue will blow people away. I'm pinching myself."

Forgetting for a moment how, I am sure, many of you would like to relieve Athena of this whole pinching task and perform it yourselves, let me just say: if the first issue seemed really well put together already, it's with the second and subsequent issues that you can really see what a magazine is made of. And Attention, after a strong opening, capitalized on the momentum and managed to put some twists and turns.

Attention magazine has a blog page, a presence on MP, an in-world group for modeling, and also a flickr group! This pic from Jos Loll was one of the editorial picks of this month.

Examples of the first kind, in Athena's words: "Some of the people we worked with in May led directly into June. We heard from the sim designer of May that she had opened another sim after our article came. out. So we featured her again. Then we wound up doing boats a second month in a row because the partner of Analyse Dean was keen after hearing about her experience with us."
Talking with Athena, it was easy to feel that she had sincere enthusiasm for the lineup of this issue, which mirrored mine from the sheer name value, and added to it what sounded like a positive personal experience. Not difficult to believe at all.

Brunella's interviews shine in magazine format.Waiting on her getting her own morning show, just a matter of time!

And for the second type, well...I do have an obvious example and once more in Athena's quotes, but first: Brunella Voelisa's interviews with movie director, photographer, blogger, writer and all around babe Alexandria Topaz about her latest movie, and with, enough said, Mr. Collinson. The newest addition to the Attention ranks, Graham perfects the presentation of his past work and perspective on life and photography through what he does best: showcasing one of his favourite models in a fab spread. Shyla (imcalgal).






An obvious choice for a cover model, Brea ended up with her natural engaging demeanor being an integral part of the staff and vision of the magazine.

Attention does an excellent job showcasing locations and fashion, through a cohesive and elegant graphic presentation and editorial work. Every staff member has an area of focus, but you will see the names of the co-owners Athena and Rachel Avro recurring with their photography, together with the work of substance and concept carried out by product-researcher (and Beauty of the month for this issue!) Brea Brianna and by Jon Demen , who has a vital role at the direction of the magazine .
And the entertainment and artistic contributions from BeeQueen Smythe and from Whimsical Aristocrat are the wildcards that escape narrow definitions and give that stroke of genius or madness that gives extra spice to the mix.

Whims' writing and photography always surprise. 

(no Attention Construction Editors have been harmed during the making of this shoot)

Have I forgotten something? Well yes, I owe you still a quote from Athena...

"When I hired Partee for Attention, she immediately expressed an interest in doing a swimsuit issue. I loved the idea. Several brainstorming sessions later, we came up with the idea of building the entire issue around the idea of the swimsuit. That idea has set the tone for future issues of Attention and really gave us the focus we needed. Moreover, Partee gave her heart and soul to that article. She was, without question, the star for the month of June."

Together with the beauty that is Envy Watts, let me list briefly the models shot by Partee: Aerala, Ali Lancrae, Ally Glendale, Anyka Aiseiri, Arienne Evangeline, BetteAnne Page, CeeCee Storm, Dayjavuu, Erin Cedarbridge, Faith Darrow, Fawn Serenity, Jo Devoitine, Kimmyo, Lara Sands Dieterle, Michelle Deveraux, Monique LeFry, Morgan St.Cyr, NP Milneaux, Racheal Rexen, Rachel Avro, SaraWW001 Warwillow, Shyla, Sunday Whitewood, Tisha Carfield, Tomcat Tackleberry. Damn, this is so hard to read!

I find fitting to close on this particular note, and I know that for the next issue i will have to write even more names and spend even more superlatives about this magazine. Get your copy on Marketplace, or on any of the kiosks, before the new issue comes out this Friday!

Want to be on the blog as well? Feel free to write me about your projects and let's see if we can put some more...stuff! in here!

The Pornstars' Rack: Attention, Please!

There would be so many puns about the name of this one, but this will be a totally serious post!

Attention Magazine



This May has seen the debut of a few more quality productions in the world of erotic magazines. I'd say 'porn', but as we had to point out many times, one of the most palatable concept when it comes to making a SL mag is to put together a 'lifestyle' publication. In the case of this new Attention Magazine, the mix of marketable mainstream attractions and openminded recognition of the sexy and sexual side of SL, is a very fruitful one. And it couldn't be any different, with the kind of names this magazine has in the staff, beginning from the co-owners Athena, Jon Demen and Rachel Avro.

Now, Athena has been so kind to answer my third degree interrogation, so I'll leave room to her interview!

- First and foremost, congratulation at what I consider a fantastic first issue. You already matured a certain experience in SL magazines: tell us when did you and your crew get the idea to make a new magazine and what made you think it was an idea worth pursuing?

" I had the luxury of being introduced to the SL magazine world by Edvard Taurion. I will always be grateful to him for taking a chance on a newcomer. I learned a lot about the SL world in general and magazines in particular. My time on SL Connoisseur is something I'll always cherish and I'll never take it for granted. There is no question in my mind that I would not be in the position I'm in without him and I would like to publicly thank him.

However, after five months, the time had come for us to go our separate ways. I had no intention of starting my own magazine, but my boyfriend Jon Demen, as well as some close friends encouraged me. Yana Grau in particular. So, I sat down with some old photos I had taken and tried out a few things. I discovered my love of making a magazine hadn't died and I felt like I still had something to offer. So, I talked to Jon and Yana and Rachel Avro and some other folks and suddenly, I had a magazine. "

The talented Rachel Avro is the cover photographer and co-owner of the magazine

- As you said in the introduction, you aim to be 'eclectic yet cohesive, and a lot of fun'. Share with your readers if you please how your first issue was born.

" There are so many different ways to live a Second Life. The magazine aims to show different ways different people have done it. As I talk to some of the various people who appear in the magazine, I find that no two stories are alike. We have a charming article coming up in the June issue that's going to make everyone say "Awwwwwww." I'd like to think that without Attention, no one would have dreamed this particular person is such a sweetie pie. I feel privileged that we get to show this side of him and that he trusted us to do it properly.

One of the hardest parts about giving birth to that first issue was coming up with a name to encapsulate it all. First of all, all of the good porn possibilities were taken. How I wish Busted or Aroused had been available as choices! I wore out the online thesaurus looking for different ways to say what I wanted to say. I had a pretty active campaigner in Brea Brianna suggesting "SL Hot," which might have been perfectly acceptable. Then "Attention" got into my head and I couldn't let it go. I can't imagine it being called anything else.

The first important decision I made was not to try to put out a first issue for April. I needed time to decompress. I also wanted to take my time on things. Jon and I kicked around a lot of thoughts and ideas. One day, he said "You should cover automobiles and boats and trains. Things that move. There are a lot of people who like those kinds of things on SL." I said, "Great, you're hired!"

The magazine features personalities from our 'porn' world in particularly interesting interviews and articles.

Anyone who knows me in SL knows I can't even ride a bicycle. The only real experience I have is looking good on a boat while my former partner and I sailed around. I said, "Try Bandit Boats." So Jon goes to one of the most successful boat makers in SL, Analyse Dean. To our utter shock, she agreed. Jon and I pretty much stalked Dutch Harbor, taking picture after picture of boats in varying windlights. That was the first article and really set the tone. He wrote it himself and then I edited and re-edited it until I had the look, font, and feel that I wanted. Everything else in the magazine grew out of that one article.

I was really excited when Rachel Avro decided to come on board. We have a similar aesthetic, I wanted her as the lead photographer to create the cover. I was very clear to her that she would have the final say in who she hired. Her first choice for the first issue was Louise Kristan-Faulds. I didn't even know her! I had never talked to her, but it was important to Rachel, so I told her to book it. I think the result of our first cover speaks for itself.

That's my philosophy. I trust these people to take good pictures. Period. I can't babysit them, nor should I have to. They are all talented adults. If I don't trust their judgment, I have no business working with them. I try to walk the line between providing support vs. smothering them. I never want them to groan when I log on. Our magazine staff group is a place for jokes and letting off steam, asking each other questions and just general chit chat. They give me some great work and in return, I try not to screw up the work they give me. It's a give-and-take relationship. They are all super.

As to the "eclectic yet cohesive" aspect, you're going to see that come together in subsequent issues. Think of an apple? You can eat an apple, you can paint one, you can turn it into a pie, make juice. You can give it to your teacher. You can write a story about Johnny Appleseed. Apples represent a lot of different things to different people. So we're going to take one idea and look at it from a lot of different directions.

Whimsical Aristocrat brings her solid photography and writing experience to the team

Regarding building the team, I had a couple of people I was leaving behind on SL Connoisseur (Whims and Isle) and felt I owed to them personally to let them know of my plans. Sadly, they were also thinking of leaving and were both excited about some of the ideas I had been kicking around.

I had worked with Partee before, she was a natural choice to work in fashion. Rachel brought her on board. Then Jamie joined us to cover builds. I was super excited to work with BeeQueen Smythe agains as well. If you look at a single page of one of her comics, there are 9-10 pictures there. She always does a minimum of 3 pages, so that's a lot of work! Moreover, her comic really tied the whole first issue together. She's fun to brainstorm with and brings a whole European perspective to the team.

The final hire was Brunella Voelisa. She had wrapped up her work for Isa Cheviot and was looking for a new project. She was another hire by Rachel and is so easy to work with ... always professional and polite. She just likes to interview people, tell their stories in their own words. She's our Barbara Walters ... she's going to be introducing you all to a lot of cool people.

My secret weapon is Brea Brianna. OMG, that girl could sell an ice cube in Alaska. She's just unreal. She was the one who landed the Chop Zuey article for May. That article was probably my favorite .... although it's a tie between that one and the article with Sasquatch Rhino. They both represented a big jump for me creatively and for the setting the tone of the magazine as a whole.

We have a surprise or two up our sleeves for June. Stay tuned! "


Brea Brianna has a very factive collaboration with the magazine, and of course appears also as model

- A professional presentation is very important, and your magazine has a very well made layout, with some lovely touches. What sort of tools do you use to 'make' the magazine, and do you have any advice to give to anyone with the ambition to make a new magazine (and there are many!)

" The first thing I did was buy some of my favorite magazines and really looked at what they looked like. I pretty much had to scrap everything I had learned in my time editing the previous magazine I worked on. I didn't want to be accused of plagiarism.

I work primarily in Photo Shop, with some occasional tweaking with a free Internet program called iPiccy. PhotoShop is such an amazing program, I learn something new about it all the time. My edited skills have skyrocketed, which is great for my own photography. Instead of constantly having to reshoot or ask my photographers to reshoot it, most things I can fix now.

(Except for hair. Does anyone know how to fix hair? I have a job for you!)

One of the 'test' covers laying the foundation for the finished look

My biggest advantage is my close friend, Eleni Criss. She works in advertising in RL and had some really great insight into how a professional publication should look. When I was creating that first Bandit Boat article, I would send her every version of every page and she would go over it with a fine tooth comb.

At the end of the day, though, it was my creation. Some of her advice I took, but sometimes I stood my ground. One example was the font. I got hooked on Times New Roman pretty early. With the exception of the signature on the second page, it's the only font used in Attention magazine. Fortunately, it comes in regular, italics, bold and bold italics, so we can vary it up a bit. I like it. It's crisp, clean and very easy to read.

The best advice Eleni gave me was using white background behind the text. We use two colors for text, black and white, depending on whether we're typing on something dark or light. I think it gives everything that same crisp, clean, professional look we were looking for.



Amia Jordan is one of the sexy models brought in by Partee for her article. Also featured, Erinyes Celestalis and Aerala.

Let's face it ... my staff is killer. I have some super artists working for me. You don't take a picture by Partee Mytili or Rachel Avro or the rest of them and scrunch it down so you can't see it or distort it beyond recognition. That's another premise of Attention: The pictures are the star.

My advice to someone new would be to think about your concept. What are you creating? Are there magazines like them in the real world? Buy some and look them over. You could create a magazine about grunge music and use a pretty, flowing font, but it wouldn't look right or excite your reader. Make a dummy page and show it to people. Get their feedback. Try it a few dozen ways and then go with your gut.

Finally, don't go into the magazine world expecting to make money in SL. If you break even at first, great. Worry about the work, the product. Create something beautiful that you can be proud of ... if you make money, that's just gravy. "


A personal choice as highlight of the issue, as mentioned by Athena: a look at the 'Make me pose' magic by Sasquatch

- After just one issue it is probably too early to ask, but i am curious if after the feedback you received you already have new ideas about the magazine. Also, please remind our readers what they can/should do to appear in Attention, as models, writers, or perhaps to promote their initiatives?

" The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. My biggest goal is that every member of my staff would feel appreciated and want to stick around for the second issue. I can't afford to pay them. Jon and Rachel aren't just my right and left hands. They are my right and left lungs. The three of us talked a lot about what was important and what wasn't important. I made them co-owners of Attention, which is very much a shared vision. That a magazine has thee owners may sound like a hot mess, but it really works for us.

Secondly, I want a staff that feels inspired. Instead of finding reasons they can't do something, I find reasons to say "yes." I can't think of anything that someone pitched to me that we didn't run with .... our philosophy become, "If you can do it in SL and it's not a violation of the TOS, I want to cover it."

If you're a model looking to appear in Attention, we created a model's group. You can find it here:

secondlife:///app/group/0fb42c13-e07a-00d1-dddf-4e02dcc63d1d/about



Another draft for a cover. As you can see, it can take different tests before you get to find 'the' look for the magazine.

If you're a writer/photographer and you're interested in either doing a one-time feature or joining the staff of Attention, please drop me a notecard with your ideas. We have one of two specific areas in which we want to cover. Who knows, we might be thinking in the same direction. I want people to pursue the things they are interested in, however. Jamie Wolf came to me from Flickr. We had shared a few mutual admiration messages there and when I told him I was starting a magazine, he was interested and came aboard just like that. He's invaluable and his photography has been growing daily.

That leads me to the most important idea behind Attention: A staff that is creatively inspired will produce wonderful things. I encourage them to do their own things and follow their creative muse where ever it leads them. It can be a shock to the system, but I think they all love it. Partee Mytili just finished an exhibition. Brea Briana just finished a movie and is opening her own club. They all have active Flickrs ... yet they give me 110% when it comes to their efforts for Attention. I really can't speak highly enough of the whole team.

Finally, we do have a presence on SL Marketplace. https://marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/183312

We have a goal to have an Internet version of the magazine as well. Stay tuned! "

Stay tuned indeed! The next issue of Attention will hit the virtual stands in barely a week, and it will be packed with content, and launched with a Pornstar Party at Club Yana 
As usual, feel free to contact me anytime in-world your work for a blog feature!