The way sex is shown on TV is changing. Intimacy scenes in series like "I Destroy You", "Normal People" and "Sex Education" look close to reality and sometimes disturbing.
Etta O'Brien choreographes sex scenes on all three TV shows, working on scenes that are sometimes humorous, moving, bizarre and sometimes humiliating.
What happens behind the scenes and how can sex scenes be filmed on a set made in terms of social distance? Eta O'Brien, the co-ordinator of such scenes, spoke to the BBC's Radio One News Beat to raise awareness.
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"I Destroy You"
The main idea of actress and director Makila Cole's series 'I Destroy You' is consent. This series tries to show what happens when a person is deprived of 'consent' or 'will'.
Some scenes are as difficult to show as scenes of sexual assault and 'stealthing'. When a man takes off a condom during sex even though he is being told to wear it, the process is called 'stealthing'.
Eta O'Brien, the choreographer of such scenes, says that director Makila was very clear about what she wanted.
"When you have a difficult subject, it's very important to make sure it's very clear how to film it."
He said that once this stage is reached, actors can focus on their work on how to express their emotions.
Due to her background in dance and acting, Eta became a movement coach in 2007. The role of a movement coach is to help create a connection between emotions and facial expressions and body movements during acting and dancing.
Due to his experience, he has been able to create the rules and regulations for filming close-up scenes that all his clients use in the TV and film industry.
"There was an energy on the set during the filming that caused us to be trapped and we didn't feel weird during such scenes," McClellan Cole once said.
After filming such scenes, someone else was called in with Eta to help the actors and other staff mentally and emotionally.
Eta says it's not just for actors. This is for the whole staff because when you have a difficult topic, anyone can be affected by it. "You have to take care of everyone."
Sex education
Eta compares the filming of the sex scene to a dance and says that her job is like a dance choreographer or a stunt coordinator in a fight scene.
"It's like you do a tango dance in which two people move together in a balanced rhythm. Or take the example of sex education, the important thing is that they were not in rhythm.
This brings to mind the scene of the second season of sex education when Oates (Asa) tries to impress Ola (Trish) with his clock technique and fails.
"Comedy is born of truth," says Eta. It's as funny as it gets. "
Image copyright NETFLIX
"It was the second season, so by then Asa and Trish had understood their roles well. I was on the set and I was having laughter and I was trying to stop my laughter because the way he was doing the scene was amazing. But it was all possible because everyone agreed to be touched. "
"They were not touching each other's private parts. We saw it all happening safely, which seemed right, and the movements of the hands made it clear. "
Proximity in the era of Code 19
The corona virus has disrupted much of the film and TV production. Eta knows that the way sex scenes are filmed may change in the future.
"I am training coordinators to film such scenes around the world and we are reviewing new guidelines in each country."
There is also the question of how you can film a sex scene while maintaining social distance.
"There's been a lot of thinking about how to use long lenses and camera angles when filming such scenes, but it's still a fantasy," says Eta. We have to adopt new styles for our choreography.
