by Rich Moreland, October 2015
Here is the conclusion of a recent day on a B Skow shoot for Girlfriends Films. My overall impression is the same as I have on other shoots I’ve visited. With a strong sense of camaraderie, people in adult film work very hard to produce a quality product.
* * *
Getting everything together for the next scene
After the first sex scene is completed, everyone is breaking and moving equipment around for the next episode which will lead to Marie’s trying out this whole whorehouse business.
Out of the corner of my eye I pick up a flash passing on my left and Iris Rose scoots in front of me (a remarkable feat considering in bustier and heels!) to follow it.
Chad White, her shooting partner, has arrived and they will get acquainted, or perhaps reacquainted.
B Skow returns to his computer to finish the day’s final scene.
B Skow
He reviews for me the schedule in getting this film made. There are four sex scenes. Two were shot yesterday with Iris also on set. The film is a two-day project though the boxcover and editing are still on the horizon.
I ask about editors and Skow mentions he uses four. Each has a different style or specialty and he selects the editor (or editors) based on what the film requires.
The Sex was very Nice
While waiting for the crew to set up, my assistant and I sit down with Marcus Bay. We’re outside on the veranda of an adjoining building.
The athletic Russian started in porn in 2006; he just recently came to America.
“I lose my virginity at eighteen,” Marcus says. Two months later he was into porn at the urging of a photographer friend. Not an easy step, by the way, because Marcus’ grandmother was raising him and the thought of shooting adult film was not in his life plan.
But he showed up on the set, saw the girls, and the rest was easy.
“I was horny,” the twenty-seven year old declares and immediately took to the business. A little help from legendary performer/director Rocco Siffredi and a move to the states happened.
Marcus talks attitude, mentioning that some performers are just in the business for the money, not the passion. Respect is also important to him. He is always accommodating to the girls as was evident in his scene today.
His secret to success is energy, Marcus says, which he gets from the people around him. That’s important because “everyday you shoot for [a] different company.” Each has its own style and expectations which requires extra zip for some scenes.
Good conversation with a rising male star on this side of the Atlantic
Today’s shoot was oriented toward “romantic sex” and the girl, Karter, was shy, Marcus comments. At the beginning “I was very quiet, a gentleman, and she relax,” he explains with a smile. Then Marcus repeats Rocco’s tutelage. It’s “all about your personality and the passion, how you talk.” The real “man” is inside and Marcus wants this to come out to his co-stars.
By that he means he is not like many guys in porn who are buffed and tattooed with macho attitudes to match.
The handsome Russian wants to put everyone at ease. He describes what happened today.
Karter is new to the business and getting a handle on a comfort zone is not always easy. But everything worked out and she gave a good performance. “The sex was very nice,” Marcus says.
Marcus giving Karter the gentle touch
Photo courtesy of Girlfriends Films
Finally, he adds what we noticed. There were a lot of people around the set which made the shoot challenging for Karter. But she overcame the hesitancy of the moment.
“It was a very good scene, nice girl . . . she will grow up so much in this business,” the European star believes.
Marcus’s assessment is on target. The scene did progress well. Lots of kissing with Skow softly reminding the couple “pretend I’m not here.” A question of how to stage the pop shot arose and was quickly resolved to everyone satisfaction.
With an effective concluding touch, Skow has Marcus re-dress Karter, returning the final images to their beginning.
Next up is the conclusion for the day, the scene featuring Iris and Chad White. If Karter is quiet, Iris is an erotic thunderstorm!
Iris Rose
Photo courtesy of Girlfriends Films
This is Your Fetish
Chad has smiling eyes and a boyish charm that makes him the perfect partner for the eager Iris. He is on his back in bed and Iris, as Marie, enters with a shocked look (remember she is trying out this brothel thing).
The scene is playful and erotic.
Skow explains what he wants before they get started
Skow reminds them a water fetish is the shoot’s focus and says politely, “no joking, this is your fetish and you need it . . . both of you will be clean” when the water is sprinkled and dripped around.
So the male veteran and the “fresh off the bus” starlet execute a perfect scene. There’s lots of foreplay with a wash cloth and water before the hardcore banging gets under way.
Iris Rose is a sexual dynamo and Chad guides and caresses her performance.
The water fetish sets the atmosphere of the scene
Photo courtesy of Girlfriends Films
To help make the shots bright and the action come alive, the crew moves the lighting around to catch the best angles.
* * *
While waiting for the crew to set up for the sex scene, Chad White relaxed with my assistant and me by the fireplace for a quick interview. Later when the day was complete and checks were written for services rendered, we continued on the patio.
It’s all about Mood
Chad talks about male standards of attractiveness in the business and points out that a large manhood and great abs sell films. Unfortunately, a good-looking guy may not always be a girl’s first choice in filming. Like Marcus earlier, Chad stresses the importance of attitude.
Before the shooting starts, it’s Chad’s habit to get to know the girl.
“I’ll walk straight up to her and say ‘hi,’ and try to give her a hug.”
Chad White
This is a process the helps him “read body language to try to understand her mood.”
“If the girl is into it, if she’s sexual, if she tries to touch me a little bit,” he remarks, “that’s good.”
In other words, he’s looking for positive communication because his job is to get her primed for the sex. “I want to feel the emotional connection,” Chad says.
During his almost four years in the industry, he has come to certain conclusions about the business and the girls in it.
About half of the newbies are here for the money, he observes, though he quickly adds that is not true of Iris.
“Today, she wanted to get fucked.”
From this native Californian, that is praiseworthy of a potentially rising star. “That’s your job,” he adds, “the money should just come along with it.”
From his experience, Chad White estimates that “nine out of ten” girls who make porn a career are here primarily for the sex. That is what moves this business forward.
What the average fan often misses is how important men are to a girl’s success. Her popularity is a product of her attitude, of course, but the talented guys who work with her should never be dismissed out of hand.
Indeed. Watching Chad and Marcus Bay at work reveals how vital they are.
Wrapping Up
By late afternoon, the house is returning to its pre-shoot space. My lovely associate takes a few final pictures and gets our stuff together.
On our way back to LA, she mentions how impressed she is with everyone we met on this excursion into the north canyon country.
“Everybody is so nice,” she exclaims, then mentions without comment from me something I learned years ago. People who don’t know anything about the adult industry have such a biased judgmental view of it.
How true, but on this day at least, those within the orbit of commercialized adult film have enlightened one open-minded young woman.
Another shooting day completed
