(Another true adventure, with a few names rearranged for privacy)
I had shot several made-for cable movies in the past, and this was not the first for the late-night audience, in other words a softcore film. I am a reasonably well-educated adult male, with a pretty liberal worldview, so the idea of making a softcore cable flick has never been a problem for me. In fact I liked the idea of bringing a little artistic touch to these projects, and as cinematographer, that was my job.
The first 7 days of shooting involved lots of location setups and moves for the production. We were shooting on a reasonably tight budget, so almost all the exterior locations were lit with available light, a few reflectors to redirect the sunlight and generator powered lights where necessary. Since we were moving pretty fast, I had little time to concentrate on the cast's performances, I was mainly concerned with capturing their images on film and keeping up with the rapid-fire schedule.
The film was a simple dectetive thriller, and the main characters were needless to say, beautiful women and handsome men involved in not only detective work, but also a variety of sexual situations. The plot was really secondary to the skin, but there was enough to satisfy anyone looking for a story to go with their erotica.
As with any film crew, we function like a temporary family. It's the only way to survive the schedule and close quarters. Imagine spending 10 hours a day with a couple of dozen crewmembers and actors, sharing meals, breaks, and sometimes even trailers. People tend to form quick friendships, and for actors and actresses, the cinematographer is someone they want to get to know. After all, it's me who is going to make them look good…well, the makeup department and me.
Early on in the shoot, Bambi Wade and Brad Larson let me know that they were depending on me to keep them looking like the glamorous, albeit minor, stars they were. Bambi was a veteran of these kinds of films, and knew exactly which camera angles made her look good and which revealed her few flaws. She and Brad and me were sharing a Latte after the first day's shoot when she informed me that I should stay away from her left buttock.
That revelation caught both Brad and me by surprise. "Your left buttock?" I asked, knowing she had a great figure with an exceptionally lovely ass.
"If you shoot it too close, you see the scar." She said with a slight grimace. "I got it a long time ago when I had a ski accident. Jabbed with a ski-pole."
Brad put down his coffee and smiled, "Well I could swear I have seen your bottom before and never noticed any scars".
Bambi glanced at him and then turned back to me, " As long as the lighting is very diffused, it doesn't show, but direct sunlight or a strong spot and …it's kinda gross."
"Well, I assure you I will do my best to keep that scar off the screen", I assured her, " and almost all the lighting in the interiors will be diffused, so you won't have anything to worry about."
Brad leaned in closer to me. "Yea, and stay away from my right butt-cheek."
I looked at him questioningly,
"Pimple" He burst into a laugh.
I thought to myself, I would like to give both these beautiful bodies a closer inspection, but not on the set.
The evening continued with a few more jokes, lots of shoptalk and a little casual flirting. I couldn't help thinking about how much fun Brad and Bambi would be in private, but soon they excused themselves. They both had to go work on their lines for the next day's shooting.
As they left, I took a last sip of my latte and decided to turn in. A quick dinner in my room and a good night's rest was what I needed more than anything tonight. So far all the shooting had been scenes that advanced the story, and no sex, but tomorrow all that would change. We were moving to a soundstage where we would be shooting the first of several interiors, most of which involved the characters having sex. It was going to be a long day.
The following morning I was up before dawn as usual. After a quick cup of coffee, I headed to the studio. We had most of the morning to light the sets, and would start shooting with actors shortly after lunch.
Even though I had shot nude scenes before, I always tried to remember that though I might find the situation a little uncomfortable, it would be more so for the actors and actresses who would be performing. Because of that I kept reminding myself to remain professional and concentrate on the images and the camerawork.
The set was Bambi's bedroom and I lit it or a soft morning glow. I had a couple of 10Ks creating the illusion of diffuse sunlight streaming through the shutters of the room, the rest of the scene was lit with soft-lights and very little fill. The effect was beautiful, a sunny morning in a well-decorated bedroom of a Malibu beach house. Later the sound effects of surf and occasional seagulls would complete the illusion. Brad and Bambi were already in make up, so I called for stand-ins to check the final look.
The job of stand-in has to be one of the most thankless ones in the business. You have to be on the set early, wear similar wardrobe to the actors, be similar height and look and spend hours under the lights and never have a frame of film of yourself appear on screen.
Jim and Laura, our stand-ins for just about every couple on the picture followed me onto the set. They dropped their robes and moved to the bed to assume the same general positions Brad and Bambi would take for the first setup.
Dressed only in form fitting underwear, they made a good looking pair, and if they had decent agents could probably get a lot of work, but for now, they were content to fill in for my lighting checks and spend the non-working hours munching at the craft service table.
The opening shot would be a long slow dolly around the foot of the bed. I had the dolly track already in position and Jim and Laura got on the bed. The director wanted a scene with the woman on top, often called a "reverse cowgirl" in hard core shoots. Laura straddled Brad's hips and sat up straight. I took a few meter readings near her face, breasts and lower, checking the exposure for the camera.
After a little tweaking of the fill lights, to avoid casting a camera shadow across the bed, the scene was ready. I had my dolly grip Max, run the move a few times for me so I could check the camera framing as well. One of the keys to the softcore biz was carefully playing hide and seek with the actors genitals. Once Brad and Bambi were on the set, they would not be wearing underwear, and a penis or vagina getting into the shot would ruin the scene, at least for US cable channels. Sometimes we shot European versions that were a bit more revealing, but not today.
Since Brad and Bambi had worked together in many of these kinds of films, they had decided long ago to forgo the modesty garments used in some softcore films. They tended to be a lot of trouble anyway, both from a visual standpoint and from the actor's viewpoint as well. The "patch" that was glued over the actress's vagina was uncomfortable and often fell off leaving a strange white cloth dangling from between her legs. For guys it was worse. The double-knit "pouch" that some actors used, looked ridiculous, and did nothing to prevent them from getting an occasional erection during the close contact the scenes required.
After getting the set dresser to position a couple of foreground props in strategic locations to hide body parts, we were ready to shoot.
The Assistant Director called Brad and Bambi to the set, and after a few last minute touch ups by the makeup department we were ready to go. The director, an older woman named Marge, who I had worked for many times glanced my way and called for the first shot to begin. The Assistant Director called for quiet, even though this scene was not being recorded for sound. "Camera" he said.
My assistant flicked the switch and the film magazine began to turn. "Speed" he called once the camera had reached 24 frames per second.
The director hunched over a video monitor to watch the shot through the video-assist system…"Action", she said and we were off.
As the camera began its slow move around the foot of the bed, Bambi rocked back and forth on Bard's pelvis, simulating a steamy sexual encounter. These two looked great through the viewfinder. Their skin shining with a slight glow of perspiration, their near perfect bodies moving in unison like lovers who had years of intimacy between them.
As the camera reached the end of the dolly track, the director whispered to me, "Take it back the other direction and keep shooting." I agreed that this was a good scene and the action looked very realistic. Max, the dolly grip eased the dolly back around the bed and I continued to capture the scene on film. When I reached the end of the track this time, the director called for a cut in a very soft voice, not wanting to break the feeling of the moment.
