Press

Evening Standard: Aimee Lou Wood: Sex Education role made me embrace embarrassment

14/1/2020

The show has been celebrated for its candid — read: graphic — depiction of sex. Netflix employed an intimacy director, Ita O’Brien, on set to ensure the cast always felt safe; consented without pressure; and were able to discuss where they were and weren’t comfortable being touched.

O’Brien’s methods include a workshop, where cast members could practise impressions of animals having sex. This wasn’t just a riotous icebreaker, Wood says. “[Ita’s] going, ‘Oh yeah, I do thrusts as a bonobo monkey’, and you’re like, ‘OK, that’s cool because it’s distancing me from the character’.

“So this is Aimee Gibbs having sex, not Aimee Lou Wood.” She adds that the sensitivity is game-changing. “You don’t want to feel vulnerable, like your skin has been stripped off, and then watch it back and go, ‘Why did I do that? I wasn’t comfortable, and now the whole world can see it’.” For that crumpet scene, “the vain part of me was like, ‘This is so embarrassing’,” says Wood.

“But then I was like, ‘I’d much rather this, wearing days-of-the-week pants, in a big pink T-shirt, in unflattering positions and grunting, so that girls feel seen’.” Rather than? “Rather than watching some person in Victoria’s Secret lingerie with a bit of sweat dripping down her chest. That’s bullshit.”

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BT TV: Sex Education season 2: Secrets from the set - Smoothie sick, alternate endings and mozzarella shopping

14/1/2020

One of the big behind-the-scenes stories that came out of season one was the show’s decision to hire intimacy co-ordinator Ita O’Brien.

"You never have a fight scene without a fight director. Why would you have a sex scene without a sex director?" says Patricia.

"Or a dance scene without a dance choreographer. You don’t just fling people together in a room," adds Emma.

Out of all the scenes that the cast shoot on the series, the sex scenes sound the most mundane with the biggest challenge being reminding themselves that they’re supposed to be enjoying themselves while being asked to "start on a number two orgasm and work to a number four".

"You have beats. It’s not as glamourous as it might look," explains Emma. "You have to hit certain beats. You come towards him and touch him here, here and here. You kiss for three beats and then move to the wall."

Asa, who Ncuti describes as a "busy boy" this season, said: "It often looks like we’re doing things, but often it’s just your hand going under a table. You often have to remind yourself in a scene that you’re supposed to be doing stuff so you will be feeling a certain way. Nothing is actually going on. There is no awkwardness. You just have to remember that you’re doing more than you think you’re doing."

Explaining the lengths that the crew went to in making the cast feel comfortable, Emma said: "We had a whole morning where we talked with the directors, cast and writers about our own experiences of intimacy. A massive conversation. And then we had a more physical session about physical consent. There were animal rhythms and all that stuff. It was a real ice-breaker.

"And then you walk into the room and you feel empowered to say no, no, no to this, this and this. And I’ve taken it on to other jobs and it wasn’t scary doing that. And thank god it’s happening. It’s really necessary and about time."

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The Telegraph - ‘We should have sex therapists at school’: how season two of Netflix’s Sex Education puts female desire first

7/1/2020

Marking an industry first, Netflix even hired an “intimacy director” (Ita O’Brien, who’s joined by David Thackery for season two) to guide its young stars through the more uncomfortable moments on set, and Nunn hired a “sex educator” for her (largely female) writers’ room.

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CBS News: How the industry that fueled the MeToo movement is working to avoid MeToo moments

7/1/2020

London — Two years after the Harvey Weinstein sexual assault scandal fueled the MeToo movement, the media industry has been forced to rethink how it produces sexual content on stage and on screen. The biggest U.S. actors union adopted new guidelines for nudity and simulated sex scenes last summer, and a British directors association followed suit late last year.

Emilia Clarke recently spoke out about pressure she felt when filming nude scenes for HBO's Game of Thrones. HBO has since made it mandatory for crews to hire "intimacy coordinators" to consult on any scenes involving intimacy.

TV, film and theater have always recruited specialists to consult on fight sequences, stunts and even historical context. Now intimacy coordinators are increasingly being called upon to help make sure actors portraying sex scenes feel physically and psychologically safe at they work.

"Just like a stunt coordinator, you're bringing techniques to keep the actor safe… you're mitigating the risk" says Ita O'Brien, one of the U.K's leading intimacy coordinators and founder of Intimacy On Set. Her intimacy guidelines have been adopted by British actors union Equity U.K.
O'Brien has worked with shows including Netflix's Sex Education and BBC/HBO's Gentleman Jack. She sees herself as "a mediator of consent, to ensure that every touch and every reaction is comfortable and consensual for all parties involved."
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Suddeutsche Zeitung - You need agreement, choreography and protection - sex scenes in film

4/1/2020

Ita O'Brien advises actors and directors on sex scenes. A conversation about the similarities between love scenes and stunts, the need to catch up in the industry and professionals who refuse help.

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BBC World at One Interview with Ita O'Brien

20/12/2019

tHE gUARDIAN - Rules for screen sex scenes issued to British directors

21/11/2019

British film and TV directors have been issued with guidelines on simulated sex scenes and nudity, with industry figures saying they will help the UK catch up with the US and eradicate “grey areas” that leave actors vulnerable to exploitation.

Directors UK, the professional association for screen directors in Britain, issued the 96 guidelines, which are meant to create “clear and shared professional expectations” with the aim that they will become standard working practice within the industry.

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Evening Standard - Emma Mackey admits fearing she was too ‘prudish’ for Sex Education role

1/11/2019

In her role, Mackey's character has sex on screen numerous time and the actress, 23, said she was initially “taken aback” by the explicitness of the script.

Speaking on Belstaff’s The Road Less Travelled podcast, hosted by Reggie Yates, Mackey said: “The first time I even read the script, I was like ‘I don't know if I can do this’. Regardless, I never thought I was going to get the part in the first place.

“I was like ‘you might as well just try’ but reading the script, I was so taken aback by it. I was like ‘I can't, I don't know if I can’. I was quite prudish about it all anyway.

“Luckily like we were just really well looked after from start to finish, even before we started filming, we were given all of these tools by Ita O’Brien, who's the intimacy coordinator.”

She added: “The tools we were given were specifically to prevent any sort of like, trauma post-sex scene. We were given all these tools like psychical consent and we choreographed it quite significantly.”

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Movies Insider - How Sex Scenes Are Shot In Movies And TV Shows

24/10/2019

For the genuinely romantic depictions of sex on screen, actors and directors can face a myriad of challenges. Film sets are often packed, demanding, and tiring. It's only in the last few years that a specified role to guide and coach actors for love scenes has become mainstream. Intimacy coordinator Ita O'Brien worked on Netflix's "Sex Education," as well as HBO's "Watchmen." We attended one of Ita's workshops in South London to find out how sex scenes are co-ordinated in movies.

BFI: Co-ordinating intimacy: making sex scenes safe

14/10/2019

Approaching the second anniversary of the Harvey Weinstein revelations, the London Film Festival hosted a panel discussion about the rise of the intimacy coordinator on film and TV sets. In the wake of the MeToo movement, is the industry finally waking up to consent and the comfort of cast and crews?

Introduced by Anna Bogutskaya (who reminded the audience that intimacy “isn’t just the sexy bits”), the panel featured Pink Wall writer-director Tom Cullen, actor and Instinct director Halina Reijn, and intimacy coordinators Yarit Dor (Adult Material) and Ita O’Brien (Sex Education).

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