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Intimacy on Set

BT: Michaela Coel’s I May Destroy You: How I Made It

8/6/2020

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By Alex Fletcher

The series doesn’t hold any punches with its look at the partying, drugs and app-loving sex lives of modern Britain and renowned intimacy coordinator Ita O’Brien (Netflix’s Sex Education) was brought in to help ensure the safety of the cast and crew.

“Ita’s the top of the game in creating an atmosphere where actors can perform,” said Essiedu.

“Some of those scenes are fun, some of them are less fun and warm. But to go there, you have to know what the playing field is. Where everything goes, when and how. What you feel comfortable touching and where you feel comfortable being touched.

“The alternative to that is just approximating and hoping for the best. Which is just wild. You would never do that if you were doing a fight scene, so why would you do that with a sex scene.”

Opia used a body double for her sex scenes in the show and credits everyone involved in the production for making her feel comfortable to voice her discomfort.

“It was a very respectful space and I would never need to take things to one side,” she explained. “I’ve never experienced anything like that before and I really appreciate that.

Coel also helped loosen up any tensions on set by trying out lots of the most awkward scenes with her co-director Sam Miller, so she could have the same experiences at the cast.

“That takes away the line of directors watching actors do things,” she said. “Get stuck in and try things too. That set up a very nice, safe environment.

Talking about the significance of working with Ita, Coel said: “I think you have to be willing now more than ever as filmmakers to change things the moment you sense discomfort with actors.

“You have to keep trying and seeing if someone seems a little bit uncomfortable. I don’t know if you’ll always get it right, but you have to relentlessly make sure. By the time it comes on TV, you want the actors to feel proud rather than cringing at a memory of when they had to do something they weren’t comfortable with. That ruins it for them.”

Alongside Ita, a therapist was on standby for anyone who felt overwhelmed by the events of the series.

“It can trigger memories for anyone. Even people in the crew,” said the writer. “Everyone had access to them.”

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BT: Normal People: From Sally Rooney bestseller to BBC drama - How it was adapted for TV

20/4/2020

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Some of the strongest and most memorable moments from the book are the intimate and complex sex scenes between Marianne and Connell, which are described so wonderfully by Rooney. 

Abrahamson and the lead actors have taken what’s at the heart of those sex scenes and made them feel even more intimate on screen. That is partly thanks to the show’s on-set intimacy director, as the team hired Ita O’Brien - the same intimacy coach who worked on Netflix’s Sex Education.

Both of the lead actors in Normal People are relatively young - Daisy is 21, and Paul is 24 - with little to no experience of filming sex on screen, but it does feature prominently in the book.

Showing how much the filming industry has changed over the years, Daisy and Paul both now feel very strongly that they wouldn’t feel comfortable working without an intimacy director on future projects that involve filming sex scenes.

Edgar-Jones says animatedly: “It was wonderful [having Ita on set]. It was amazing. I can’t imagine doing anything like that without one. She was such a brilliant person to have on set and it meant that those scenes became quite positive, actually really positive, for Paul and I. 

“They’re so, so integral to the book and we wanted it to feel like we did them justice in the series because they say so much about their relationship and I think Ita just allowed us to concentrate more on the acting beats while she focused on the choreography, and also the safety of both of us, and our comfortableness in the scenes.”

First-time TV actor Paul agrees. He says not only does the experience for an actor suffer without the hiring of one, but the work suffers too. 

“I’ve obviously got no experience of those [sex] scenes prior to it, so it’s something that I’m really grateful that I’ve encountered at the start of my career because I couldn’t imagine doing a job without it [an intimacy director] going forward. 

“On a political level, I’d be saying that it should be necessary. I just can’t envisage a way for it to be possible [without one] and also I think the work would suffer both for actors and for audiences if intimacy co-ordinators weren’t involved. I think the work is better as a result of an intimacy co-ordinator, so it’s a big thumbs up from me.”


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

14/1/2020

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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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Intimacy on Set Ltd
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