I Need Help Writing a Sex Scene

I'm writing a screenplay in hopes of shooting a film short by this fall.
The sex scenes I've written to this point consist of three words: "they make love".

Okay, any of you aroused yet? Maybe not. My thing is, I don't think I've ever seen a sex scene that I felt was erotic. And I've definitely never read one. Of course there are lotsa scenes I thought were erotic but none of them were sex scenes.

Just curious what experiences and thoughts people have about sex scenes.

Just work it out when you get to the set.

But if you really want something on the page, go to one of the dozens of sites where you look at scripts for free, pick a couple of scripts you know have love scenes and see how those writers handled it.

Well, I have a friend who runs a website called Nerve.com. He is willing to put up a short on his site which gets alot of hits. He is being gererous and I want to take advantage. I've never done anything like this before and I am up for the challenge. However, I want ot to be done right and as tasteful as possible. I think this will be a great opportunity for me and the video section is the most popular on the site.

Inihibitions, chemistry etc.

But I do have one friend who has had some training as an actor who said to me he has no problem with nudity. i think its going to depend how well writen it is and if the story calls for it. Will also depned on the characters. However, this is a film short which will be only 15-20 minutes long so how deep can we go into the charchter and the story in that amount of time?

I think the IFC channel might have some - as well as Sundance. The Academy perhaps puts out a DVD or something with nominated shorts? It would probably be a good idea to watch a few. Of course, you may have already done so. I got to see a lot of short films when I was at NYU. I remember I used to be in the editing room, back in those days it was flat bed Steinbeck machines. I whenever I'd pass someone's table and glance at their monitors, when I'd see nudity I'd always think, God, how pretentious to have a nude scene in a ten minute short. But then, that was a long time ago, and I was probably a bit repressed about things then. I might feel differently now.

My NYU film didn't have nudity, it was about a girl who wanted to be a boxer and ends up fighting her boyfriend in the ring over it. I was involved in another short film later on, that one was about a half hour long, an off the wall comedy shot on hi def video.

My son's made a couple of shorts on video - you can check them out here - I guess you could say the alien is nude (ze man).

www.roguebotstudios.com

My advice is to do about 50% of the buildup then cut to breakfast the next morning.

Less is more, and more artistic.

Unless there's some "reason" for the entire sex scene - - - does watching the whole thing contribute to the story line somehow - - - or is the vid just an excuse for porn - no matter how "soft"


Some of the hottest "sex scenes" I've ever seen - never really showed any "sex".

When it comes to sex scenes and setting the mood - less is more.

Describe a past erotic experience that you had.

Also, "they" should be more along the lines of "that one dude and the twin 18 year old sisters"

Yeah, I'm a pig.

make that nudity gratuitous and plentiful!

wang free. And the DVD should have bonus scenes.

mining explosion.

Then cut back to the main characters pulling their boots on...

help write or - er - act - in the movie.

Using readily available stock footage.

:)

I'm so confused now :silly:

along with half the DU Lounge population, probably. :crazy:

Not me, though. :(

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

Must have the Bee scene. :)

Anything more offends Gawd, you dirty-minded Hollywood elite liebrul!

Oh, and the two people involved had better be married. I don't wanna pay to see no sinnin'.

Otherwise, it'll never be shown at a Drive-in.

Their filthy money is green too.

:rofl:

:puke:

"You're hung like a horse!"

:hide:

Are they your normal run-of-the-mill 20-something straight couple? Is one a midget and one a shell-shocked Vietnam vet? Is one 70 and one 18, à la <i>Harold and Maude?</i> Is one a titled gentleman the other a low-born girl with a heart of gold?

The charcters are like this.Girlfriend wants to get married and start a family now.Alot of their friends and family their age are marreid and have begun a family. She had a rough childhood and is anxcious to become a mother and start giving her child the things she did not have. She is swwet and means well but very naieve.

The boyfriend is selfish. He wants to get his career going and be established and set financially before he gets married and starts a family.He gets annoyed with her constant preasure on settling down. He is not a bad guy but is very immature for his age.

Despite their troubles they love each other very much. This is where the love scene begins. At the end of the day he feels bad he has snapped at her for preasuring him into a rush marriage/family. He feels guilt but feels it all depnds on him. He feels he needs to hurry up and be a great success so he can give her everything she wants as fast as possible. She see's this and loves him more for his efforts and his goal of making sure she is happy and safe.

that's not a bad start :P~

As he looks deeply into her wanting eyes and gently caresses her cheeks with his rugged yet gentle hands and as he stares down at her beautiful lips than back into her stunning deep blue eyes and says

....
..Say?...Ya wanna do it??? :hide: :silly:

You forgot to say his hands were also "amazingly soft and well manicured".

at any local bookstore...there are like 20 volumes in total...sure, it's fiction, but there should be something in there for you to use

:cry:

the stories I submitted to them were all true, of course! sadly, they were never printed:silly:

It's a bad word. Undeniably. But it's like a cardinal rule.
It's not a sex scene, unless something's "throbbing."

:hide:

My van has an oil leak. Whaddaya think that's gonna cost me?

I'm in short supply of dignity, already.

:hug:

Problem solved!

:bounce:

Things should progress more or less intuitively from there.

Isn't that in Penthouse Letters?

No! No! No!

:rofl:

Yes! Yes! Yes! Oh GOD yes!

(It's my Penthouse Letter, **I** get to write the dialogue! :rofl: )

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I worked on a film when one was done, but it was a comedy. I tend to like sex scenes directed by women. They are more emotional, with music, very well done. Like say the scene from "Monster" with Charlize Theron and Christina Ricci, or the one from "Stander" with Tom Jane and Deborah Kara Unger. Men tend to be more raw. You have no music, just raw pumping and grunting etc. I am not as into that when it comes to art. If I want to see a porno, I'll check out the real thing. Film is art, I think it should be approached as such.

In your case though, after hearing the characters description, plus it being a shorter work, I would just show the beginning of the scene. Like them kissing, and falling to the bed, maybe a few more seconds of kissing, the hands starting to roam each other a little, and then fade out and fade back in to another scene. You don't necessarily need it scored, it may help, just depends on what you want to look for. I think if you use the camera in a voyeustic way it may help too. Have the camera check out the women the way a guy would in the moments before sex, and vice versa. It's called "The Gaze." The camera can capture a lustful moment just like the eye can.

I would say just capture the first moments leading into sex, then fade out and maybe show them lying in bed or something like that. People will understand what happened and you won't run the risk of filming a scene that doesn't work. Sex scenes are tough to do, and rarely done properly, even by the pros, let alone a beginner. Work on conveying the moment, more than the whole act itself, people will get it, and you can them move on and finish your story.

they have to be comfortable with it all too. I don't think the hard part is writing it, you don't have to do much. Just have a general vision. Shooting it and editing that vision will be harder. When you write it, it may not be a lot more than "they make love." Storyboard it and figure out what you want, and what the actors feel comfortable with.

VERY sensitive to the subject matter. I want to get a script done ASAP so i can spend as much time as possible preparing. Once I cast my two leads I want them to talk and get to know oneanother. I don't want them to be starngers. I want them to talk. I want them to know each scene and what will be done, how it will be photographed,how comfortable they are, what i can do to make things easy for them. I do not want anyone there the day we shoot the scene who doesn't need to be. I plan on having robes ready at all times. I have actually read up on this. I want the script to be as clear as possible and give it as much detail as possible. I feel if I warn them or make a big deal before hand they will get the wrong idea. The way i look at is heres what the story is. here's whats needed. No big deal.

the "whole thing"?

You're young, aren't you?

:sigh:

Really. Less is more.

I'm not a prude. Far from it. But if people want to watch other people have sex, they'll get a porno. You have not a lot of time to tell a STORY. You've gotten a lot of good ideas about leading up to and skipping over. It accomplishes the same thing in the STORY - unless it's just all about the sex or something.

If so - please see suggestions from the more - er - adolescent - members of the Lounge up thread.

Do you want THEM for your audience? Or people who want to see a well made short that has something to SAY?

but something is better than nothing

I suppose there would be a certain amount of "Output" involved if everyone acts the scene with any skill.


Just sayin...


Laura

When I come to something that I'm not sure how to convey in screenplay lingo, I usually just get some other scripts and see how they handled it.

For instance, the project I'm working on now features a couple of action scenes -- which I've never written before. I went and got screenplays of Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Matrix to see how specific/detailed/etc. they were.

So...I'd recommend you find yourself a copy of Body Heat or 9 1/2 Weeks (or something more analogous to the sort of scene that you'd like.)

W/ Halle Berry and Billy Bob Thornton

(then download the uncut stuff off the net... there's a reason it looks so real)

Write "they make love with Generic Brad". That would do it for me.