The Role of an Intimacy Coordinator in Sex Scenes on Set with Ita O'Brien

Listen to "The Role of an Intimacy Coordinator in Sex Scenes on Set with Ita O'Brien" on Spreaker.

In this episode, Hannah is joined by Ita O’Brien, an intimacy coordinator, founder of Intimacy on Set and the creator of the Intimacy on Set Guidelines. Her recent work includes Sex Education, Normal People, I May Destroy You, and Gentleman Jack. Ita discusses why she came up with the intimacy on set guidelines and why she felt they were necessary. She and Hannah talk about the risks of intimacy content work, and how Ita helps actors distinguish between their personal and professional bodies. Finally, Hannah and Ita discuss how to become an intimacy coordinator, and answer some listener questions.

Read the episode transcript here!

SHOW NOTES

What we chat about…

What is the role of an intimacy coordinator in rehearsals and on set?
How Ita developed her Intimacy on Set guidelines and the people she collaborated with
The intimacy guidelines Jennifer Ward Leeland developed with actors in New Zealand
Top points on the intimacy guidelines
What filming intimate content was like before the guidelines
Professional vs. personal bodies
Is there a difference in how Ita approaches working with actors for scenes with consensual and non consensual sex?
Techniques Ita suggests for actors to use to “warm-up” and “warm down” before and after intimate scenes to separate themselves from the work
How Ita helps actors figure out how a specific character has sex and what their sexual behaviour is
Developing a shared language to be used around the intimate scenes on set
How different scripts give Ita different bases to work from
Is there a difference between coordinating straight and queer intimacy scenes? (32:00)
How do you navigate wanting to achieve truth and realism with the needs of film aesthetics? (34:20)
How does someone become an intimacy coordinator? (45:32)

USEFUL LINKS

Meredith Dufton, Head of Movement at Mountview: https://www.mountview.org.uk/everything-else/people/staff/meredith-dufton-head-movement/
Vanessa Ewan, Senior Lecturer in Movement for Actors at The Royal Central School of Speech & Drama: https://www.cssd.ac.uk/staff/vanessa-ewan-lcmd-fhea
Ita’s Intimacy on Set Guidelines: https://www.itaobrien.com/intimacy-on-set-guidelines.html
Jennifer Ward-Lealand, President of Equity New Zealand: http://www.jenniferwardlealand.com/
Intimacy Directors International: https://teamidi.org/
The Guardian video with Ita: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXPe4OLeUCE

MORE ABOUT ITA O’BRIEN

Ita O'Brien is an Intimacy Coordinator and Movement Director for film, television, and theatre. For the last six years Ita O'Brien has been developing best practice when working with intimacy, scenes with sexual content, and nudity in film, TV, and theatre - the 'Intimacy on Set' guidelines. Ita pioneered the role of Intimacy Coordinator, which is gaining adoption in leading production houses, including HBO, Netflix, and the BBC. Ita founded Intimacy on Set to provide trained professional Intimacy Coordinators to the industry.