THE DREADED SEX SCENE
I have been asked on a number of occasions about the sex scene and how that works. I guess when you watch some sex scenes, the act looks so real, that the illusion of make-believe can be broken. It’s quite interesting though being infront of the camera.
In all honesty, I am quite a shy little soul. It took a fair bit of courage for me to get down to my underwear infront of my co-star, Julia, and the Director… And that was only in rehearsals! When shooting the actual sex scene, although it was a closed set, there were still a number if people in the room. But when the camera is rolling and you know that this scene needs to be shot and wrapped by a certain time, the job kicks in and I’m not Mandahla anymore, I’m E. Luckily, we weren’t completely naked though… We had muff patches to cover our… Well… Our muffs. Hahaha. How embarrassing.
The whole thing with a sex scene is that it is very technical. Your chin needs to be on this angle during that take because the frame is a close up or for the light to catch it in a certain way… Or I need to move my arm more because although I may feel as though I am moving enough, the camera may not read it as that. Or moan louder… Breathe heavier… It was difficult being in the room with the DOP, the focus puller, the director, continuity, make-up, the boom operator and having to be so intimate with someone. Eye contact was crucial for me. I had to keep looking at Julia and seeing her as Trish otherwise inbetween takes, I would become overwhelmed by the amount of people… Sometimes during the shot, the director would say to tilt my head this way or Julia do that and suddenly my acting world would crumble and I would realise that all these people were watching my naked self… Eeeeek.
Julia was great, she kept me focused. In that scene with Julia, she became Trish and I was E. They have this love that is so beautiful, electric, powerful… And when you are denied that person for an amount of time, they crave each other, it’s intense. It was crucial for us to get this connection between E and Trish because without it, the story is meaningless and the audience won’t believe it. Sometimes, Its easy to understand how one can’t separate reality from their characters reality… They are both so closely intertwined.
Heck… I’m going to be naked on the big screen. Shiiiiit
That sex scene in All About E. Wow.
Insightful write-up from Mandahla Rose <3 who plays E in ‘All About E’
