Dino Baumberger Interview: over 30 years of DBM Video (GAN - August 2016)

[atchy007]

Hopefully this is going in the right place; I thought I would share an interview by German Adult News (GAN Magazin) with Dino Baumberger to mark 30 years of his founding of the now global DBM Video movies/magazines empire.

The interview was published here in August 2016 and discusses Dino's and DBM's early years from the mid-1980s, and further highlights since such as:

- competitors
- Dino's marriage to Dolly Buster
- the making of iconic films "Secrets of Mozart", "Africa Connection", and "Safari Park"
- thoughts on the future for the adult industry in Germany/worldwide
- reflections on his life and career, and
- various other things

Much of it referring to pre-1995.

[**Below is translated using British school-taught German and trusty Google Translate**]

INTRO

For more than 30 years, Dino Baumberger and his company DBM Video have been a firm fixture in the porn film business and have inspired erotic lovers of all kinds far beyond the German borders. In view of this long time and the countless porn productions, which were developed by Dino, I have already written a multi-page company portrait for our partner magazine Diskretes Deutschland (No. 04/2016) some time ago.

Due to the limited number of pages that a print magazine has unfortunately, some questions and aspects in the long life and creative work of Dino Baumberger had to remain open in the context of the article.
Therefore, a few weeks ago, I took advantage of the opportunity to do so on the sidelines of one of the "New German Productions" at the headquarters of DBM Video in Wesel, in a personal discussion with Dino Baumberger.

DINO BAUMBERGER ABOUT HIS LIFE, DBM VIDEO & 5,800 MOVIES

Why did you emigrate from Austria to Germany as a young man?

I had been teaching in Austria as a radio and television technician. However, the job as a TV technician quickly proved to be both lonely and boring. In addition to the fact that I always wanted to deal with people, I also hoped in Germany to simply have better career opportunities as an insurance agent or car buyer. So, at the age of 24, I moved to Germany to live in Hamburg.

In view of your later professional career, you were just right in the Hansestadt, which is well-known all over the world for its erotic workshops. What was the comparison between Austria's erotic landscape at the time?

At that time, everything was only available in my home country under the shop counter and thus also correspondingly expensive.

From Hamburg it took you over to Düsseldorf, where you opened the first sex shop in the city as well as your first own. Did this at the time make a small scandal or was the opening of the sex shop welcomed?

The sex shop was well received, because something like that had been missing so far and people from Wesel drove to Duisburg for their shopping. This changed quickly and so Duisburg came to Wesel. For the people of Wesel I was accepted as being exotic.

What kind of products did you offer in the assortment of their sex shops and what were the top sellers at the time?

It was sold all across the place: from Super8 movies to magazines, etc. But the first thing I had sold half an hour after the opening was an inflatable doll for 75 DM. The problem was that I had only put it in for decoration, and had never expected to sell it.

Were at this time today's well-known wholesale structures already in the erotic business or was it still a rather tedious undertaking to get goods and novelties?

No, for shopping there were enough wholesalers for erotic items at the time. These included, for example, ZBF in Wiesbaden, SCALA in Amsterdam and Vollbrecht in Hamburg.

Would you ever have thought it possible that the sex toy industry has entered the public and mainstream media landscape as much as it has done in recent years?

Yes. But I think the boom will not last as long as in erotic films, as one can use dildos more often than porn films, which always require new performers. If everyone is provided with dildos, it will quieten down. This can be seen in the form of the lower prices we see of late.

Is this also the reason why you have not offered your own sextoys as a possible and additional source of income so far and in contrast to other production companies?

We are film producers and content providers and not rubber manufacturers or anything else. 'Stick to what you know', the saying is still valid.

You sold your sex-shop before you founded DBM Video Vertriebs GmbH in Wesel in 1985, and the firm still exists today. Did you regret the sale of the sex shop and what was the occasion to switch from the shop area to the area of ​​the production of porn films?

The sale of the sex shop was easy for me because I wanted to make only films. I was mainly attracted by the prospect of making more money and making films would achieve that.

Did you already gain experience in the field of film before the foundation of DBM Video?

I had no experience. But from the first movie I shot everything myself, photographed and cut it myself after a short time.

In all these years, have you never even been tempted to make or produce a "normal" feature film that has nothing to do with pornography and eroticism?

No, it is too long and there is fighting around every inch of film.

Your films have from the beginning included focus on extreme sex practices, such as fisting and anal sex, which gave it in shape at the time as well as not. Was the market rise difficult or did the films simply strike a nerve and with it the desire of the audience for such porn productions?

It was simply a market gap and that was the reason why I started with those kinds of films. This was borne out by the fact that I was quickly copied by everyone else.

It would not have been possible to choose the date for the company's foundation better. Finally, if I remember correctly, no later than the end of the 80s / beginning of the 90s there was at least one VCR in every household, right?

First of all there was a Super8 filmprojector everywhere, and when I started, you just decided to video. First still in Betamax and VHS until then VHS in the consumer area has prevailed.

True, the Super8 era I had already completely forgotten about. In the middle of the 80s, the big era of German and European sex films and porn "feature films" came to an end. What big or still known production companies were then leading and how did they regard you as a new competitor?

Yes, there were still CD film, Extasefilm, Ribu, Beate Uhse and I am almost simultaneously with VTO started. However, I was not taken seriously at first. It took about two years for that to happen.

In addition to the production companies, there is equally the question of the erotic stars from this period. Who did you remember from the time as an erotic actress?

In any case, Anita Feller, as I discovered her and she was exclusively under contract with me. As another example, Teresa Orlowski.

Are there big differences between the erotic actresses before and now?

From my personal point of view, I can quite clearly say: No.

Do you think that in Europe, and especially in Germany, is there still someone you see as being an erotic star? And what makes an erotic star for you?

Due to the price decline, the stars have disappeared from the scene. Stars, in the way they were before, do not exist anymore. The stars of the past have turned their companies worldwide and with big expense and effort.

While we are on the subject of stars and well-known names: What comes to mind with these names, Karin Schubert, Coco Brown, Babette Blue, Saxony Paule and Sibell Kekilli?

Except for Karin, with whom I have made three films, all others were exclusive to me.

You had your own office in France for many years. Why did you set this up?

Simply because the range of performers in France is much higher than in the rest of Europe. In addition, for me as well as for the performers from the south of Europe, travel journeys were cut in half, as we met in France.

Concluding the topic of porn actresses, we must discuss Dolly Buster. What can or would you like to tell us about one of the most successful collaborations between a producer and one of Germany's most famous German actresses?

Actually, nothing that is not already known. I discovered Dolly in a film that another producer created on my behalf. In doing so, I discovered and directly contracted her exclusively as an actress. After that I shot with her, we fell in love and later married. All of this is now over 20 years ago and we still live together in a house.

Let us return to your own work. You have directed, produced, photographed, filmed and cut with the incomprehensible number of 1,800 films. What activity in a film is your favorite or has been the most challenging from a creative point of view?

There is no specific area or work step that I would like to highlight. I was always interested in every area of work and what was right now was the most important to me at the moment.

Are there any topics and sex practices, those legal of course, which you have never shot and never published?

Yes, basically anything to do with pregnant women. I do not see the point in it. The topic of mother and family has no role in porn. That's my opinion.

You have brought all the cinematic and technical knowledge as an autodidact itself. Was this more difficult than today, where almost everyone can afford a half-way digital camera?

Yes, much more difficult! Above all, one had to be able to work with light and that can not be done today.

This is unfortunately true and much too often to be seen especially in porn productions of all kinds. Their "inability" that is. When did you last direct a film or a camera?

The last time would be over 1 ½ years ago, when I did the film "The Boss" with Martina Montana, which later appeared as a 4-part serial.

Which of your own films are particularly important to you and which were the most successful?

"Just One Day", because we turned it round within a whole week and spent a lot of money. The most successful, I cannot say spontaneously. No idea, but I think the best movies are always the ones that pay the most money. But now I do not know which of them were.

I would like to talk about a few more films. On the one hand "Secrets of Mozart" and on the other "Africa Connection" and "Safari Park". These "Big Budget" porn productions, have been absent from Germany for a long time; they no longer exist and probably will never again. What else can you tell us about these films?

"Africa Connection" was shot on two continents, which was a great challenge from a logistical point of view. Especially what the underwater scenes concerned or even the helicopter scenes. At "Safari Park" we had the same thing done in an African village and with a whole tribe of local people and gave everything we could in every way.

"Secrets of Mozart" was created during a major project in Austria. For that I had rented the well-known hotel "Schlosswirt" once for a complete week. It was unique to have all French, German and Hungarian top stars on the set and to put all of them into classic costumes of the Salzburg opera costume. The performers had fun like children at Christmas and all surpassed themselves. The tip for this film and the Mozart year came by the way from ÖKM boss Thomas Janisch.

These films have also appeared not just in Europe, but also in the USA itself. Why do you think that German porn movies are still not a significant success in the US?

It was/is simply the language! The Yanks only wanted English original sound and we could not do it all.

No less impressive than the number of your own films, is the number of movies released at DBM Video - a total of approximately 5,800. Both figures, are ones that no mainstream director, producer or even studio from Hollywood can match. Are you proud of your work and how important to you personally are the numerous awards that you have received during your career?

The awards are nice when you get them, but they do not do anything. The amount of films made can be easily achieved if one is diligent for more than 20 years.

Intrinsically, you have in contrast to the competition, never licensed movies. Why was it so important to you that all of the films you put on the market were always DBM video productions?

For reasons of overall marketing. So I did not have to ask another author, either before or today or in the future.

What have been the biggest challenges and changes for the erotic industry in recent decades? Surely the change from the VHS to the DVD and from the DVD to the Internet, right?

This is exactly how it was and yes this is a correct assessment.

Regarding the Internet, you have been standing up and online for almost a decade with the offer of www.bluemediaerotik.com. Do you see the Internet as a problem or just as a further and necessary sales channel, after video stores are virtually extinct and many sex shops tend to rely on sex toys as well as sex movies?

This is do with the passage of time and quite normal. We do not drive more coaches, do we?

You are right, but if you hear many other people from the industry, you might think they would like to go back to the Stone Age, for various reasons How do you personally view the future of erotic and porn films? What are opportunities and what risks do you see?

Digitalization has led to a price decline. We must catch that and bring the prices back to a level that assures us survival. The customers are still there. Now only the trade must awaken and no longer fall into the faith, the cheaper it can be done the better.

DBM video is more active again with its own productions under the name "Neue Deutsche Produktionen". So far, this covers niche amateur sex, and what gave you the impulse again to commission new productions?

With rising prices, it is again possible to invest in new films. This pleases the customer and should also be welcomed by the trade, if you do not think you have to give it all away.

To end the interview, I would like to ask you a few personal questions. What drives you to participate in this business and what would you like to achieve professionally as well as personally?

Yes, its easy to survive and to have fun as long as you can.

Are you going to make everything back in the same way or regret certain decisions during your career?

I am satisfied with how and why things were done. Some things one would always have done differently, with the benefit of hindsight. But you have to make mistakes, because otherwise you having nothing to learn from

Have you ever thought about the areas porn & politics and porn & society?

I know for sure that politicians do more harm than pornographers.

Is there any real friendships in the erotic industry that are the cause of business interactions?

Yes of course. In our industry, too, we have realised that we are only strong together.

Have you ever wondered when and where you want to rest, do you want and can fans of DBM video hope that you will carry on for a long time yet?

Well, yes. For a long time no longer though. I'll be 73 soon, but Austria is still the number one place for me when I do decide to retire.

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Hope this has been of interest.

Yours,
Atchy - DBM Video collector

[ond]

Good interview and mythical movies

[sto]

Thanks for this, Dino's magazines and movies set quite a lot of my porno preferences back in early 90's.