What Happens On A Gay Porn Set
Part 4
In this series, we’re going to explore what happens on a gay porn set with a special emphasis on what we can learn from it in our own sex lives.
How They Film
A pious, religious man checks into a hotel and says, “I hope the porn channel in my room is disabled.” The front desk clerk replies, “No, it’s regular porn, you sick bastard.”
No matter what kind of porn you ask for at a hotel—or search for in your browser—chances are they share the same production and performance dynamics. Here are a few we discovered in our research.
A Minute Takes An Hour To Shoot
Most gay porn videos go from eye glance to anal penetration in less than ninety seconds, but porn stars never show up to a shoot and start banging instantaneously.
It typically takes between five and eight hours to shoot a typical screwing scene. Even a simple blowjob scene takes an average of about two hours to film. One famous director put it this way: “There’s no formula. It really just varies from director to director. But on average, I would say that it could probably take 4-6 hours to produce 30 minutes of usable tape.”
This poses a big problem for the top. How do you keep erect for that long when the Viagra wears off? It’s no picnic for the bottom either. He’s got to keep his starfish winking for hours and hours at a time.
Your favorite porn scenes may seem spontaneous and intense, but they’re not. Staged to death, they take an eternity to shoot.
Filming Out Of Order
On-screen you might see oral seamlessly transitioning into anal, but it never happens that way. Sequencing happens in the editing bay, not on the set. For example, it isn’t unusual for a foreplay scene to be shot after everyone’s ejaculated.
The tried-and-true formula of porn – a little bit of kissing leading to a lot of sucking leading to hardcore penetration – is made possible through the magic of editing. Rarely is there a natural transition from one activity to another.
Once the banging starts, there are frequent time-outs for position changes, lighting, and sound correction—even the odd pubic hair stuck on the camera lens. Every two-minute clip of different positions – riding, doggie, missionary – can take at least an hour to shoot.
This, of course, poses some continuity issues. If you’re an avid porn viewer, I’m sure you’ve caught “continuity errors” like seeing the top sporting boots he wasn’t wearing ten seconds ago.
Lastly, a top rarely pulls out and delivers the money shot without a fair amount of time in unseen masturbating. Making it appear otherwise is how video editors make their money.
Straight Guys In Gay Porn
One of the most shocking aspects of the gay porn industry is the number of straight performers in it. It’s hard to quantify just how many because the number depends on whom you ask. There is a wide discrepancy in estimates but of the porn industry folks we interviewed, it ranged from as low as 20% to as high as 50%.
Some gay performers don’t think they’re all that hetero. One told us, “No, if those guys are there, they’re not really straight. They’re turned on by the cameras. It’s kind of secretive and dangerous. It’s like they’re getting away with something that they’re not supposed to be doing.”
Still, most industry folks believe there are plenty of hetero performers in gay porn. Which brings us to the question of how straight guys get hard for their gay partners. “They would prepare the same way as any other guy would prepare,” one gay performer told us. “They use a lot of Viagra! But as straight guys, they’re more focused on the money, how much money are they going to make rather than will this feel good. They usually have their girlfriend fluff them or have straight porn available so they can stay erect.”
Wax, Wax, Baby
Some studios require, as a standard of performance, to wax your anus. This is changing somewhat as natural hair is beginning to find some popularity. Here’s how one performer put it, “If I bottom for a scene, I wax. I would never shoot a scene if I waxed that day, but I would bottom if I had waxed within seven days of the day that I waxed. I would have a groomer wax. The personal groomer is from the spa, the same guy who does my manicures. It’s hard to find somebody though at a legal establishment who is willing to do that kind of personal service at a reasonable cost.”
Yes, waxing can be a rip-off.
And The Academy Award Goes To…
Bottoms are the only real actors on a porn shoot, and often their work is worthy of an Oscar. The porn star bottom has to make viewers feel like they’re engulfed in the flames of sexual ecstasy—even though they’ve often taken more pleasurable shits than the banging they’re experiencing on set.
That also applies to the times you see a bottom writhing in rapy pain. He’s acting.
Hung or Photoshopped Hung?
The one thing you don’t want your boyfriend to do when you’re both watching porn is to elbow you, point, and say, “Now, that’s a cock!”
But it turns out that the cock he’s pointing to may not be very big. Not everyone’s hung in porn. It just looks like they are. As we’ve all learned from trading dic pics on hookup apps, creative camera work can make a daffodil look like the trunk of a palm tree. It’s no different with porn.
Interestingly, directors also heavily edit performers that are hung like bison. That’s because some angles can make the big look small. This is when the porn director becomes a physical artist, figuring out how a cocked leg or hyper-pronounced back arch can further enhance the endowment of the well-endowed.