How to Become a porn director | Page 6

Director: Making Amateur Adult Films
32 Minors are more trouble than you want to
handle and will come back and haunt you years later.
Ask the producers of Traci Lord’s the younger
year’s films. When in doubt, throw them out. You
are in a risky situation just talking to them. Keep
copies of all forms of identification forever. The
Feds can get involved in this offense, so avoid it.
Minors = jail.
Have actors sign a model release form. Make
sure they realize that it is adult films that you are
filming, that their images can and will be used in
different formats (web, magazine, cd) and that
royalties are not paid on reuse.
A sample release form is included in the
index. For added insurance you could also require
that they have it notarized. Again keep copies of this
forever. Sloppy paperwork can come back and haunt
you.
Do not film bestiality, urination or defecation,
sex and bondage, actors dressed up to appear as
minors, rape scenes, fisting or penetration with
foreign objects other than run of the mill sex toys.
Anyone of these will bring unwanted attention to
yourself and will cause more problems than you can
handle.
Filming in front of or in recognizable
business establishments may violate copyright laws.

How to Become a Porn Director: Making Amateur Adult Films
33 Even if you know the manager of the local
McDonald’s chance are you will have a lawsuit if
the golden arches make it into your hump scenes.
This also goes for copyrighted music.
You must keep records on all actors’ age,
identity and other alias forever. Any materials
showing sexual performances must have a label
stating certain information such as the name of the
keeper of records and the street address at which the
records are kept.
You would think that the constitution protects
pornography under the heading of free speech. To
get around this little nicety the Supreme Court had
deemed “obscenity” as not constitutionally protected
speech.
So what is obscene? According to the
Supreme Court a work is considered obscene if “the
average person, applying contemporary community
standards, the dominant theme of the material taken
as a hole appeals to prurient interest.” Community
standards in Los Angeles may be a little different
than in Salt Lake City, Utah.
The wording of the Supreme Court is
deliberately ambiguous on purpose. The major
trailblazers of porn have reached the limit of the
highest court in the land’s latitude.

How to Become a Porn Director: Making Amateur Adult Films
34 Follow the example of established
pornography and you may be safe. Try and make
your own path on your own dime (millions of them)
and time (time in jail that is).
Have we mentioned looking for a good
lawyer familiar with this line of work? Look before
you need it. Chances are that 90% of the local
defense attorneys will not consider or know enough
to defend you. Life’s a bitch ruled by lawyers.

How to Become a Porn Director: Making Amateur Adult Films
35

How to Become a Porn Director: Making Amateur Adult Films
36
Act Four:
Avoiding the Viral Death Sentence
Make sure all of your actors have proof of
their STD free condition. This should be up-to-date
and cover all of the major virus’s (HIV/Aids,
syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, herpes, genital
warts, hepatitis etc.) It might even send the right
message to show your actors practicing safe sex.
Women actors need to be on birth control and show
proof of it.
What are some of the types of birth control?
The vaginal sponge, the pill, diaphragm and vaginal
condom are a few. Don’t count on “pulling out” as
an effective form of contraceptive. The sponge, pill
and diaphragm do nothing to prevent venereal
diseases. The condom is used to prevent disease but
a recent STD test is still needed.
There are several industry accepted STD tests
that help prevent accidentally spreading virus. A
PCR (polymerase chain reaction) HIV test uses
DNA to test for HIV in the blood stream. It usually
takes approximately 3 months before HIV anti-
bodies can be detected. The PCR test is claimed to
be able to detect HIV fragments in the blood about a
week after infection. There is some dispute about the

How to Become a Porn Director: Making Amateur Adult Films
37 reliability of both the test and the labs analyzing the
tests. All STD test should be dated no longer than 30
days and actors should bring along the original copy.
No test results, no filming, no pay. That’s how it
works.
Although you are not planning on becoming a
doctor, you should know the terminology that is
associated with the most deadly STD’s.
AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency
Syndrome) – Diseases that attack and weaken the
immune system, sometimes to the point of death.
There is no known cure for AIDS but there are some
prescription drugs that will help the side effects.
Antibody - Your immune system produces
these to fight off infections. HIV interferes with
antibodies ability to protect the body.
Asymptomatic - A carrier of HIV who
shows no symptoms but still infectious.
High Risk - Activities that increase the
chance of catching a disease. These include
unprotected sex and intravenous drug use.
HIV - (Human Immunodeficiency Virus):
Virus that causes AIDS and is transmitted though
contact with blood, semen and sexual fluid.

How to Become a Porn Director: Making Amateur Adult Films
38 Vulnerable areas include the eyes, mouth, vagina
and rectum.
HIV