How to shoot sex scenes in movies? Stories of actors, directors, cameramen

Intimate scenes in movies are not uncommon, but sometimes they are filmed so realistically that it seems as if everything is really happening. So what is this? Skilled acting or cunning tricks? Or maybe there are situations in movies where sex actually happens? So what do film industry representatives say about this? Let’s find out how sex scenes are shot in movies and TV series.

How to shoot sex scenes in movies?

Since every movie starts with a script, there are no surprises for the actors during shooting. The screenwriter writes down all the details verbatim, down to the number of breaths, but this does not mean that there is no room for improvisation in cinema. After all, players are real people. Their task is to look organic in the frame, so minor changes are adjusted during rehearsals.

Yes, before the viewer sees the final version of the spicy scene, which can last only a few seconds, the actors have to “sweat” a lot to look natural and overcome the stiffness in their movements. Additionally, the director can capture a sufficient number of takes by adjusting camera angles and “choreography” during the process.

At the same time, the actor determines the limits within which he can work comfortably. Some may go completely naked, while others may resort to the help of doubles and computer graphics. For this reason, directors are very sensitive about the nudity of actors during casting. Otherwise, you will have to change the scene so that the stiffness of the movements is not noticeable on the screen.

To create a comfortable atmosphere, the director often communicates with the actors, trying to put them in the right mood: to help them avoid feelings of embarrassment and embarrassment. Alcohol helps some people relax, music helps others relax. To get a good picture, you should give advice, for example, watch this or that movie, so you can understand what emotion or pose is required.

To make sure everything goes smoothly, intimate scenes are shot from several cameras simultaneously. During shooting, camera operators often use zoom lenses because they can zoom in and out during the editing phase, thus not forcing the actors to play the same thing multiple times.

Does real sex happen on set?

Perhaps the most exciting and frequently asked question when watching a suggestive scene is whether the actors are actually having sex. If not, were there exceptions to the rules? How are sex scenes shot in movies to deceive the audience?

As mentioned above, all erotic moments in the cinema are strictly controlled, otherwise it would be pornography. But as you know, there are no rules without exceptions. For example, an interesting incident occurred during the filming of the historical film “Caligula” based on the biography of the bloody Roman emperor, where the main stars were played by such stars as Malcolm McDowell, Helen Mirren, Peter O’Toole and John Gielgud. . The truth is that the film’s director, Tinto Brass, had no intention of making a porn movie: The sex was simulated. But the film’s sponsor, Bob Guccione, publisher of Penthouse porn magazine, needed a sensation. When Brass declined his offer, Guccione filmed six minutes of actual sex himself and edited it into the finished film. Since the rest of the project participants did not know about it, they were shocked by what they saw at the premiere.

Another precedent is associated with Gaspar Noe’s film “Irreversible”. True, we are not talking about the famous rape scene of the heroine Monica Bellucci, an imitation, in an underground passage, but about the real sexual relationship of the actress with her husband Vincent Cassel. The movie also includes natural masturbation and oral sex scenes.

Another exception to the rule was Nagisa Oshima’s iconic Empire of the Senses, inspired by the true story of a Japanese prostitute in the 1930s. The penetration and oral sex scenes were real, but the castration scene was fictional.

Do players touch their genitals?

Another logical question about how sex scenes in movies are shot is: “Are the actors really naked and are they touching their genitals?”

Sometimes the script requires maximum nudity, but even in this case there are many ways to deceive the audience. One of these is camouflage underwear that completely harmonizes with the artist’s skin. Another is special stickers for private parts. Women often get silicone breast pads with imitation nipples (pasties), while men get a codpiece-like sock (cocksosk) that covers all the interesting parts.

What props do actors use in sex scenes?

In addition to underwear and accessories, stage masters put a thin pillow in scenes where the actors’ bodies are pressed as close as possible to each other. At this moment, the director’s assistant is watching him closely to make sure he doesn’t wander into the frame. Also, it is not always necessary to undress completely to film sex; Sometimes it is enough to show the actor’s face in close-up. For example, during the filming of the romantic comedy Love and Cigarettes, director John Turturro asked Kate Winslet to sit on a large rubber gym ball.

A common misconception about how sex scenes are filmed also concerns the naturalness of the genitals. Unfortunately, in most cases this is not the case: chroma keys and fake prosthetics are used during filming, which are then completed by computer graphics experts. For example, Lars von Trier used this method in the movie “Nymphomaniac” with Charlotte Gainsbourg.

How do players deal with excitement?

Love scenes raise a natural question: How do the actors manage to hide their erections? Unfortunately, getting aroused while a lot of people are looking at you on set is not an easy task. Often the conditions are not ideal: heat, drafts, noise, hustle and bustle. In addition, the shooting itself can last several hours without a break, causing a feeling of hunger and drowsiness. Meanwhile, a professional actor must be able to isolate himself from reality and convey the necessary experiences. Add to this the constant corrections and comments from the director who directs the action behind the scenes.

Do actors like to act in sex scenes?

From the outside it may seem that intimate scenes do not require much skill and effort. As you can guess, this is another myth. Try to isolate yourself and enjoy the film crew looking at you! True, especially when it comes to explicit scenes, there is a minimum number of people on the set, and sometimes only the director and cameraman.

How many takes are needed to shoot intimate scenes?

Often, sex scenes are shot in parts, and the actors themselves do not always appear naked in front of the camera. Moreover, they can usually take off with their clothes. For example, the realism of explicit scenes in the TV series Game of Thrones is largely the work of stuntmen and computer graphics experts.

Do actors improvise while filming sex scenes?

In reality, actors and their agents write these details into their contracts, so exceptions are extremely rare. Moreover, in the USA, for example, the director has the right to discuss intimate scenes with the actors only in the presence of a coordinator who organizes nudity and sex shooting. This new profession emerged as a result of the #MeToo movement and union initiatives. According to the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), an intimacy coordinator is a professional who helps directors and actors navigate scenes that involve undressing and simulated sex.

His job at the pre-production stage is, firstly, to determine the degree of openness of the film by talking to the creators, and secondly, to find out whether the actors accept such scenes. Directly during the shooting process, the sex scene coordinator is responsible for ensuring that costumes, barrier pads and other nuances match the actor’s rider, that is, the list of requirements and conditions. Therefore, in addition to the director and actors, he also works with assistant directors, make-up artists and stage props.

“Our job is to help the actor and director communicate when shooting sex scenes. We clarify controversial points, whether they are satisfied with the result, whether they like which parts of the body are shown in front of the camera, etc. we clarify,” Ita O’Brien, intimacy coordinator of the series “Sex Education,” explained to GQ magazine.

An interesting thing: this specialty is not taught at universities in the USA and Europe because this profession has not existed for so long. That’s why you can learn to become a friendly stage coordinator in specialized agencies and workshops, online courses and training. There is no such profession in Russia yet, so intimate scenes are controlled by the director and cameraman.

Examples of interesting erotic scenes in famous movies and TV series

Silent film actress Theda Bara played Orgasm for the first time on the big screen in the 1917 film Cleopatra, but unfortunately the only copy of the film was burned in a fire at the Fox film studio in 1937. Later, her low-cut clothes and nudity made her a sex symbol of the period and created a stir in society.

Her success was soon repeated by Hedy Lamarr in the 1933 film “Ecstasy”, in which she swam naked in the lake for 10 minutes. But what outraged the Puritan public the most was the female orgasm scene.

Intimate scenes have often become the golden ticket to the world of big cinema, and some scenes have even become iconic, such as the interrogation scene of the protagonist in Sharon Stone’s Basic Instinct (1992). True, there are cases when a scandal caused by sex scenes, on the contrary, ruins a career. This was the case, for example, with Elizabeth Berkley, who could not repeat the success of Sharon Stone: after the release of Showgirls, in which she stunned the public with the sex scene in the pool, she was not offered good roles.

A similar story happened with Maria Schneider, who mostly received offers to act in similar films after the release of Last Tango in Paris. Additionally, the famous sex scene involving Marlon Brando’s character greatly damaged his mental health.

“I felt humiliated. Honestly, in a sense, she was actually raped by Marlon and Bertolucci. Brando didn’t console me or apologize after it was all over. “Luckily there was only one take,” he recalled.

The fact is that the director of the film, Bernardo Bertolucci, who loved to improvise, did not warn him about this scene.

“We had an agreement with Marlon Brando. I wanted to see the reaction of an ordinary girl, not the performance of an actress. Brando and I found this scene by chance. We had breakfast in my rented apartment, I put baguettes and butter on the table. We looked at each other. We did not say a word. But everyone is the same Then we realized Maria shouldn’t know about it,” the director recalled in an interview.

That’s right, it’s much safer to shoot sex scenes today. Actors also do not hesitate to dictate their own terms and resort to underwriting services if necessary.