'Intimacy in the Time of COVID-19': Directors UK updates guidelines for filming sex scenes

Directors UK, the professional association of screen directors in the United Kingdom with more than 7,500 members, has published a new guide for shooting intimate scenes amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The guidelines published with the title "Intimacy in the Time of COVID-19," suggest that apart from complying with general health and safety practices in wake of the global pandemic, the directors should follow a set of extra precautionary measures on the sets while shooting intimate scenes. It suggests that that the director, writer, and producer should review the scenes together and decide if the intimate act needs to be shown, or in a series format, if the intimacy can be delayed.

"The build up to an intimate scene can sometimes be more exciting than the scene itself. Emotional intimacy can be as engaging as physical intimacy," the guidance states.

The guidance also recommends that if the team has decided to go ahead with the intimate scenes, it should be shot towards the end of the filming. The guideline also assumes that there will be no physical contact allowed between performers, and if contact is allowed, performers should sanitise their hands, skin, and clothing beforehand. The performer should also undergo health checks prior to the kissing scenes.

It suggests considering filming actors side by side rather than face to face; shot separately and edited together, and using longer lenses to create a sense of close-up intimacy whilst maintaining a safe distance. The performers should also quarantine for two weeks after shooting an intimate scene.

The association also spoke about Motion Picture Production Code, popularly known as the Hays Code, which was practised from 1934 to 1968 and prohibited the depiction of sex on screen. "Consider what tools classic works offer for contemporary storytelling," the guidance suggested noting that classic films like "It Happened One Night" and "Casablanca" were filmed under the Hays Code.

The guidance also provided a host of narrative and technical alternatives to intimate scenes like focusing on characters' reactions. One of the suggestions read: "Characters could be shown fixing their own clothes/re-dressing after the event to indicate what took place (rather than showing it)."