A Best Practice Guide to Sex and Storytelling

"This is a thoughtful guide for film and television creators hoping to make sexual content that serves the cast, crew, and audience. Its innovative format offers practical resources for navigating each step of the production process. Bucher will convince you that ethical work practices make for better storytelling." Heather Berg, Lecturer, Gender Studies, University of Southern California "A timely record from a writer embedded in the film industry, which will serve both as a cautionary tale and ethical guide for future projects." Lalitha Gopalan, Associate Professor, Department of Radio-Television-Film, The University of Texas at Austin "This book is an excellent and much needed guide for clear communication and professional practices in the execution of sexual content for film and television. Designed with an intent to honor everyone involved in the production process, this a must read for any filmmaker or actor preparing to shoot scenes of a sexual nature." Christine Krebsbach, Filmmaker, Actor and Co-Director of the LA Film Studies Center "Bucher has done a great service for the industry and the art form, addressing an egregious gap in cinematic education and practice. With insights from on-set professionals, scholars, and his own cogent approach, this guide is essential for every screen artist and student." Michael C. Smith, Associate Professor of Media Production, Pepperdine University

John Bucher is an award-winning writer and narrative consultant based out of Los Angeles, California. He teaches filmmaking at the LA Film Studies Center and has guided students, independent filmmakers, and professionals through the treacherous waters of bringing their stories to the screen, while continuing his own career as a content creator. He is also the author of several books including Storytelling for Virtual Reality, Master of the Cinematic Universe: The Secret Code For Writing in the New World of Media, Storytelling By the Numbers, and The Inside Out Story. He can be found on-line at his site, tellingabetterstory.com

PREFACE: A New Era INTRODUCTION: An Overview of How to Use This Guide CHAPTER ONE: A Brief History of Sexuality and Nudity in Film and Television PART I: NAVIGATING NUDITY AND SEXUAL SITUATIONS CHAPTER TWO: Sexual Situations CHAPTER THREE: Nudity PART II: A GUIDE FOR PRODUCTION DEPARTMENTS & POSITIONS CHAPTER FOUR: Directing Sexuality and Nudity CHAPTER FIVE: Producing Content with Sexuality and Nudity CHAPTER SIX: Sexuality and Nudity for the Cinematographer and the Camera Department CHAPTER SEVEN: Sexuality and Nudity Issues in Post Production PART III: A GUIDE FOR PERFORMERS AND PERFORMANCES CHAPTER EIGHT: Acting in Sexual and Nude Scenes CHAPTER NINE: Feminist and LGBTQI+ Perspectives