By Dave Cummings

YNOT EUROPE – In the previous column, I discussed how relatively easy it is for women to break into the adult entertainment business compared to men. While studios always seem to be hunting for fresh female faces and bodies, the same in not true for guys, because male “performance issues” have left many producers and directors burned so often that most are reluctant to take a chance on new male talent.

One way for a stud-hopeful to work his way into the business is by attaching himself to a sought-after “coattail girl” who declines to have sex on camera with anyone but him. Another possible way is via producing his own homemade porn.

Although the bi-monthly adult filmmaking classes I’ve presented in past years were quite comprehensive and included information for couples wanting to film for their own private viewing or for producing “cam shows” on the internet, most students wanted to become producers as a means of making money and/or getting laid. Once a new producer firmly establishes himself or herself as a reputable player in the adult film arena, contact usually can be established with agents and managers of porn talent. (“Talent” is the term for the women and men who appear in front of the camera.) It’s not surprising to find that some male producers hire themselves as the male talent, and then hire female porn stars whom they especially crave. Some new female producers might inject themselves into sex scenes with either males or females. In both scenarios, health testing comes into play, as most industry professionals require others with whom they work to be certified disease-free, regardless whether condoms are used during filming. After all, condoms sometimes break or malfunction.

I’ll return to self-produced content per se in a bit, but first some information about other possible ways to be involved with productions or become recognized as an “insider.”

A crew for porn shoots can be as few as a cameraman and a still photographer (to take shots for DVD box covers, as well as for marketing materials); however, some sets have large crews, such as additional cameramen for multi-angle and/or cable version footage as well as for “behind-the-scenes” filming for inclusion among “DVD extras.” Sets also can includes a director (sometimes in addition to the producer), production assistants, lighting and audio specialists, and ancillary folks for makeup, catering, paperwork, etc. Disappointingly, except for large gangbangs, very few sets have “fluffers” anymore. Fluffers are girls who orally “prepare” porn studs to do the on-camera performing.

While producers and directors seem to prefer working with the same small group of professionals for each film, opportunities occasionally arise among the crew. Additions to crews usually come from other directors’ recommendations or from the recommendations of present crewmembers and talent, but directors and crews sometimes hire new folks. This can work out well, as long as the new-hires don’t make production mistakes or hit on the girls on the set.

As an aside, there’s no such thing as “Crew Appreciation Day” where porn girls give oral pleasure to crewmembers, so don’t expect any action if you get lucky and land a job through your Uncle Louie. If you’re wondering whether crewmembers ever get a shot at performing, I understand some have had the occasional opportunity to perform “stunt” cum shots for porn studs who were having a bad day. Because of industry-mandated health-testing regimens, such impromptu money shots are never to the girl’s face or near her orifices. Yes, crewmembers sometimes get to date porn girls on a personal level.

Scriptwriting opportunities also exist and can lead to on-set visits; however, most scripts are acquired from an inner circle of already established “insider” authors. I understand scripts provided by new writers result in payment of only hundreds, not thousands, of dollars. Since porn films and their budgets aren’t usually in the same league with productions such as Gone With The Wind, directors often write their own scripts. And, since there’s so much non-feature porn presently being produced, dialogue is often improvised on the spot.

Some folks contact producers, directors, agents, talent and production companies with an offer of production funding. Although this sometimes gets outsiders inside, I need to return now to the general matter of productions and opine that the industry presently has a glut of new producers and a lot of excess footage and films looking for distributors. Thus, like real estate markets have peaks and valleys, this might not be a good time for investing in adult films. Nevertheless, being involved with productions is a way to enter the world of porn. My class and its content at HowToMakeAdultVideos.com goes into significant detail about things like distribution, legalities and permits, cameras, lighting, resources, budgets, locations, shooting techniques, production ins and outs, casting, agents and managers, editing, packaging, marketing, happenings and problem-solving on porn sets, revenue sources, and a host of other topics.

Bottom line: Getting into some aspect of production is one way to enter the world of porn…maybe.

Another possibility is the internet. More and more, we’re seeing adult internet companies shooting their own photo and video content instead of licensing someone else’s. The advantage to shooting your own content is that the content is exclusive to you and is unlikely to be found legally anywhere else on the web. Additionally, content shot for the web is ending up on DVD and video-on-demand delivery systems with increasing frequency. The adult internet provides another avenue for entering the porn world. Aspiring porn studs who have contacts with adult internet folks or who know “cam girls” may want to explore entry into the business from that direction.

Unfortunately, the past few years have been difficult ones for the porn industry, in large part due to copyright infringement and internet piracy. Consequently, many brick-and-mortar studios and some websites seem to have cut way back on productions, number of releases, production budgets, bookings for porn stars, and number of employees in admin, shipping and other jobs. These unavoidable cutbacks mean loss of income, which hurts government due to the associated decrease in federal and state taxes paid, along with a nosedive in sales tax revenues. In addition, porn-related jobs are lost since there is a lessened need for people to provide catering, makeup, set crewing, location rentals, marketing materials and post-production needs, sales, etc. I imagine even shipping companies are suffering decreases in fees. A healthy adult film industry is a plus to the economy, but the present situation is dire. Besides the producers of legitimate porn, the economy suffers from the many non-working adult industry folks who cut back on spending, thus affecting the viability of other businesses and jobs.

With all of that in mind, also remember you’re not alone in wanting to be a porn stud or production guy or insider. Millions of others fantasize about a career in porn too, and all of them hope they have what it takes to become the next big-name male porn star.

In any case, I wish you good luck in your journey.

Dave Cummings, “the world’s oldest porn star,” is a performer, producer and director. Visit him online at DaveCummings.com, DaveCummings.tv or DaveCummingsVOD.com.