An adult performer’s skill set
Adult performers come with a surprisingly large bag of skills, outside of the obvious fact that they are comfortable being naked.
Relaxed being naked
Working with performers who are comfortable not only being naked, but doing so in front of an audience, means that so long as these performers are not paired with mainstream actors, directors can enjoy the advantages of an open set (see Advantages of an open set).
Comfortable with the levels
Hardcore performers regularly have full sex on camera. They are adapt at performing sexual acts with a variety of other performers - often strangers until the day of filming. It is not possible for mainstream productions to exceed a performer's starting levels (penetrative sex), regardless of how explicit the implied sex being captured is. This gives directors the flexibility to explore increasing levels on set as they work, without the fear that boundaries may be crossed.
Adult performers (like all performers) appreciate the support of intimacy coordinators to help clearly relay the vision directors have and to check that all requests are made in a respectful manner, but due to the nature of their job, outside of basic respect patterns needing to be followed, the list of needs for adult performers are vastly smaller than their mainstream counterparts.
Vast direct experience
Hire a mainstream extra and it is likely they have experience of being on a film/tv set, so are familiar with the flow of the day; working with hair and make up; knowing when and how to take breaks, when improvisation might be welcome. Adult performers in addition to having on-set experience are experts when it comes to having sex on camera. They know the angles that look naturalistic but open up for the cameras and lighting. They know the correct ways to contour their bodies to show the most appealing physical aspects and they know all the tricks when it comes to faking it.
Similar to how mainstream actors have experience across numerous genres, a successful adult performer will be skilled across multiple different styles of performance including:
Glamour
Hardcore
Softcore
Exaggerated
Naturalism
Comedy
Real pleasure
Faked pleasure
Amplified pleasure
Naive/ virginal
Girl-next-door
Seductive
Submissive
Dominating
BDSM
In addition many performers also have experience working with specific fetishes, (feet, spanking, bondage to name a few). While in a mainstream production, spanking implements are foam, but which performer is better placed to demonstrate the results of being struck? The actress who is guessing? Or the actresses who has made a career out of being genuinely struck? The professional bondage performer not only knows what it feels like to be struck but how to place their body to showcase the impact while taking the force. It is the small details that make something believable.
An overlooked element of adult performers' work is the softcore material they produce. Behind paywalls, anything goes but to entice customers, softcore versions of the action is produced, action that has to comply with Ofcom (in the UK) and social media restrictions while still delivering on eroticism. In many respects it is harder to make convincing softcore sexual action than to put slot A into slot B. There are many mainstream productions (particularly from the 1990s) showing male actors humping into the belly buttons of their female co-stars in ill-thought-out sex scenes. Adult performers know better: their livelihoods depend on their ability to create sexual content that feels exciting and intense, while showing no sexual organs.
A deeper understanding of the whole
The production of adult content began shifting at the end of the noughties: previously the majority of content was created in large studios, now the vast majority is created by performers themselves. This gives those performers a much greater understanding of the whole. They no longer turn up, find the light, deliver the sexual action and go. Current performers often oversee the lighting, camera angles, script, setting and art direction. What looks effortless can be incredibly complex when the small details are picked over. Adult performers not only appreciate the small things, but because they deal with them on a weekly basis, they are well placed to answer questions the director may not know they need asking. For example, during a visit to a mainstream set, founder Masie, had an in depth conversation with the makeup team on what they were using to act as seaman on screen. The solutions she was able to give due to her pornographic work were things they had never thought to use.
Taking the lead
Place two mainstream extras who are willing to do implied sex on camera on a bed and they will need extensive direction. Place two porn performers on a bed and all they require is the levels and their individual motivations.
True of any skill, if a person is asked to do something they do regularly, the task becomes easy.
Pairing adult performers with mainstream actors places those actors in safe hands and removes a layer of worry. Previously XXXtras has run a casting for a scene that involved a mainstream actor intimately touching two female performers. We were asked not only to provide adult stars who met the aesthetic needs of that production but individuals who would be sympathetic and gentle as the mainstream star had confided in the team that they were feeling nervous. Being in the presence of someone who can make you feel at ease with their nudity and who can gently guide hands to where they need to be helps settle tension and creates an environment where everyone can relax and do their job.
