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  • From flesh-colored underwear to concealed cushions,

  • capturing authentic-looking sex on camera

  • isn't always straightforward.

  • Some films intentionally feature dodgy intercourse

  • to invoke humor.

  • But for the genuinely romantic depiction,

  • actors and directors can face a myriad of challenges.

  • Film sets are often packed, demanding, and tiring.

  • A far cry from the sexy mood you see on screen.

  • We caught up with a leading intimacy coordinator

  • to find out how sex scenes are filmed in movies.

  • Moviegoers generally accept

  • that the first ever on-camera orgasm

  • in a non-pornographic film

  • was in the 1933 Czech film "Ecstasy,"

  • a romantic drama starring Hedy Lamarr.

  • But it's only in the last few years that a specified role

  • to guide and coach actors for love scenes

  • has become mainstream.

  • One such coordinator is Ita O'Brien,

  • who worked on Netflix's "Sex Education,"

  • as well as HBO's "Watchmen."

  • Ita O'Brien: So, an intimacy coordinator puts in place

  • a structure that allows for agreement and consent of touch

  • with intimate scenes,

  • and then a process

  • that choreographs the intimate scenes clearly.

  • Narrator: Rehearsals start with a series of exercises

  • around consent of touch.

  • Actor 1: May I hug you chest to chest?

  • Actor 2: Yes, you may.

  • Actor 1: I put my arm around your chest.

  • Actor 2: I take ahold of your hand.

  • Actor 1: I take your hand with my hand.

  • Narrator: Ita will then

  • block the scene with the actors closely,

  • discussing the motivations

  • for each moment of sexual contact.

  • She also encourages productions

  • to create a positive on-set environment.

  • And actors do need protecting,

  • as love scenes often leave them vulnerable.

  • Maria Schneider accused director Bernardo Bertolucci

  • of emotionally assaulting her

  • by insisting on a now infamous rape scene

  • in 1972's "Last Tango in Paris."

  • And Salma Hayek

  • accused controversial producer Harvey Weinstein

  • of insisting on a nude scene in "Frida."

  • The first season of Netflix's "Sex Education,"

  • shot in 2018,

  • was the network's first production

  • to employ an intimacy coordinator.

  • The show features a variety of intimate content,

  • from masturbation to sexually charged confrontations.

  • Ncuti Gatwa: We had to watch videos

  • depicting different animals' mating rituals.

  • Aimee Lou Wood: Slugs. Connor Swindells: Slugs.

  • Ncuti: Lions, cats, dogs.

  • Aimee and Conner: Bonobos.

  • Narrator: To protect the young cast

  • from being naked on set,

  • Ita devised a series of cushions made from lamb's wool.

  • Ita: This stuff is the equivalent of the

  • stunt coordinator's crash mats.

  • You can just give another barrier

  • sort of by placing that in between.

  • So that means that they can be lying on that,

  • sort of in positions, and have it hidden.

  • But I actually used this as well

  • for a moment of simulated cunnilingus.

  • So, the actress was able to sit on that,

  • and it really gives quite a strong,

  • you know, and, again, it gives a sense of

  • a dress on over the top.

  • Narrator: Actors can wear varying layers

  • of flesh-colored underwear held together with tape.

  • Nipple pasties can be worn to cover breasts.

  • And, yes, they do even arrive in a headphone pouch.

  • Ita: The least that they would wear is this genitalia patch,

  • flesh-colored pant stroke shorts,

  • or flesh-colored shorts, like that.

  • So, this obviously then is a G-string for,

  • or a dance belt for a man.

  • So again, you've got a good cup in here.

  • Very often, of course, you do the wide shot first.

  • But in this, it's actually better if you do the closer up

  • so they can be more covered.

  • And then, if they can really find the flow and the rhythm

  • and the breath, and if they're completely comfortable,

  • and then they're like, oh, yeah, OK, fine, we'll take

  • the layer off, and then we'll take another layer off.

  • Narrator: But for these fully frontal moments,

  • female actors can also wear a merkin,

  • which is an artificial cover for pubic hair.

  • In an interview with Allure magazine,

  • Kate Winslet said that the producers made her one

  • for her Oscar-winning turn in 2008's "The Reader."

  • Choreography and clothing are important,

  • ensuring the actors look like

  • they're touching the right part of someone's body.

  • But directors can also give the illusion of intercourse

  • through camera movement or camera position,

  • cheating the shot.

  • Practical effects can also assist scenes by adding drama.

  • If two people can't keep their hands off each other,

  • why not add in a little thunder and lightning

  • or get them soaked in the rain?

  • Glycerin spray, oil, or water

  • can be added to the actors' skin

  • to give them that sweaty look.

  • And then there's some more extreme augmentation.

  • Visual effects have been used

  • to splice together the actor's face

  • and their double's nude body.

  • In Lars von Trier's "Nymphomaniac,"

  • actors' faces were superimposed

  • on porn performers' bodies using CGI.

  • And elements like props and music can be important.

  • Ever watched a film

  • and thought it was just tacky or unconvincing?

  • In the history of cinema,

  • there have been some unnecessary additions of props

  • like candle wax or ice cream

  • or people proceeding to accurately fire guns

  • whilst having sex.

  • A sex scene can also be ruined by out-of-place music,

  • like the inclusion of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" playing

  • while Silk Spectre and Nite Owl make love

  • in 2009's "Watchmen."

  • Then there's the lovemaking that gets a weirdly paced edit,

  • like the lustless, mechanical movements

  • between Trinity and Neo in "The Matrix Reloaded."

  • And enthusiastic foreplay

  • that is better than the main event.

  • We're looking at you, Bella and Edward.

  • That's not to say that plain old bad acting

  • doesn't sometimes influence the outcome.

  • Actors here at Ita O'Brien's workshop

  • may go away with a changed perspective

  • on how to approach intimate encounters

  • by putting a series of safeguards in place,

  • being professional, and having fun.

From flesh-colored underwear to concealed cushions,

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