Thanks for tuning back in for more Intimacy Coordinator (IC) breakdowns. I was so blown away by the support, care, and interest from Loons Yesterday. Y’all are such special people, and this really is the best fandom in the universe. I’ve been in shows and worked on shows with fandoms before, but the Heated Rivalry fandom is truly the best. This breakdown does include a lot of foundational film stuff. Bear with me, if you will, because we’ll be able to move a lot faster and dive deeper into the fun parts of intimacy coordination with my next breakdown; Shane’s Hotel Room where Ilya and Shane get to be truly alone together. I personally can’t wait to breakdown that scene. Now, let’s get steamy (sort of)…

Fan Conversations

The first rumblings I heard about this scene from fans were regarding consent within the scene/story itself, which is awesome because we should be having more conversations around consent; in film, in tv, in life, in general. The question of consent here within the story is an important one to pose. My first watch I too thought Ilya was just randomly masturbating in the shower in front of Shane. To be transparent I wasn’t sure what to make of the show thus far and was likely fiddling around on my phone, not paying full attention. I’ve watched a lot of queer content over the years from fiction to documentary to porn. Being an academic and Teacher in Gender Studies (as well as an IC) means pornography is an area of study, as is queer studies. So, I know quite a lot about both. However, the energy of this scene did hook me in. So, let’s break things down.  

Content and Context – Queer History and Culture

I talked about queer coding in my first breakdown, and this is paramount to understanding the consent within Ilya and Shane’s first shower scene. Along with queer coding a knowledge of queer history and queer culture is also important in reading or decoding this scene.

Ilya does not just randomly masturbate in front of Shane. He’s been watching Shane closely and putting himself in proximity to Shane since Shane first approached him in the first scene of the series. He’s got a fairly good idea that Shane is queer as discussed in my last breakdown. They’ve been watching each other. A sort of casual distanced cruising. Cruising is another thing you can research yourself, but just briefly it is a way that gay and queer men have historically found other gay and queer men to have sexual encounters with. It still happens today but it less common since there are apps like Grindr and Scruff to find hookups and intimate encounters.

Wedged between this first shower scene and the photoshoot scene (discussed in my last breakdown), is a scene where Yuna is managing Shane. In the background on the ice Ilya is skating around (likely trying to show off a little for Shane). Shane is distracted from the conversation with Yuna because he wants to be watching Ilya. He keeps glancing down to watch Ilya. Then we cut to Shane alone in the showers with Ilya walking in, again in the background. They’re finally alone, and naked.

This shower set acts more like a bathhouse. For those of you too young to remember or who might not know, bathhouses were queer spaces that queer men would go to cruise for sex with other men; and also, to hangout, have a sauna, a schevtz, watch whatever porn may be playing on the multiple TVs. It was a safer cruising spot than at a park or by the piers. This is essentially what Ilya is doing in this shower scene where the locker room showers act as a bathhouse; he’s cruising Shane. When seen through a queer lens with this context and experience, this is a normal action to take in front of a man you’re interested in. In a bathhouse it is a normal non-verbal communication to start stroking yourself and if the object of your affection isn’t interested or says no—you stop or move on to cruise for someone who is into it. This is part of queer history and queer culture, and it is so beautifully illustrated in this scene. I know that Jacob Tierney was instrumental in conversations, context, education, and advice during Heated Rivalry’s intimacy coordination, in which he shared his experience with Storrie and Williams. This reads so beautifully, particularly in these initial scenes when Shane and Ilya are still sussing each other out. Tierney’s experience adds so many layers, so much context, so much history, and so much queer culture, not just to the intimate scenes, but to the entire show. It is a love letter to queerness, to our shared history, to our culture.

Storytelling

But let’s step back a bit. We’re in the showers/bathhouse. We see Ilya walk into the background looking at Shane. We see Shane look at Ilya first, then turn away as Ilya looks at Shane. We see Shane do the “look then look again,” the queer coding we saw in the first scene in episode 1. We then see Shane looking at Ilya’s body as he washes himself. The two men then both look at each other’s bodies as Shane turns slightly towards Ilya and Ilya turns to give Shane a better view. Ilya raises his eyebrows after looking at Shane’s cock, but Shane gets shy and tells Ilya to “fuck off” then turns his body away. When Shane turns back, Ilya is masturbating looking at Shane. Shane seems a little surprised and nervous but watches Ilya. We see Shane’s breathing increase—his excitement is overtaking his fear. He almost appears to be entering a trance watching Ilya stroke himself. Ilya starts to walk toward Shane which snaps Shane out of his trance. “Not here” he says before turning away again. Ilya stops masturbating and Shane leaves the showers.

In the next scene in the locker room, we see Shane has clearly been waiting for Ilya, as he’s paused waiting to start put on his shoe, so as to not look like he’s been waiting for Ilya. The conversation here says to me that Shane can’t believe someone like Ilya might be into him. We can tell from the nuance of the body language and via dialogue that Shane is inexperienced, but we won’t know how much until later episodes. We can also tell that Ilya is more experienced, but we don’t know how much either until the story unfolds more. Plus, there is this paranoia that is clearly swirling in Shane’s head, that Ilya could turn and be cruel or announce that it’s all a big joke to embarrass Shane, at any moment. We still don’t know this isn’t his intention on our first watch, but it’s not. Ilya is very much into Shane, but we only know this upon reflection of having rewatched and rewatched the show. Ilya cuts through Shane’s anxiety mumblings and asks for his room number, which gives us our lead in/anticipation for their next rendezvous. The next scene.

Consent

Consent is given and functions within the context of cruising and bathhouse culture in this scene but is also portrayed by the non-verbal performances (body language, movement, facial expressions, breathing) by both Williams and Storrie. Consent is asked for through a knowledge of queer culture and queer history. This doesn’t mean that Ilya and Shane need to be scholars in these areas but there are behaviours that stem from desire that we recognise as queer people because we have had to have so much communication via non-verbal means. Much like queer men weren’t safe to be out in earlier decades, Ilya and Shane are not safe to be out within hockey culture. We’re in the bathhouse with Ilya cruising Shane. Shane is into it, he is nervous, but he does consent, and when that consent shifts by Shane saying, “not here,” Ilya stops. Consent is very much part of this scene in a nontraditional way. It may be more clearly readable to queer folks from older generations, but much like the queer coding in the first episode, once you see the queer coding in this scene, you can’t unsee it. It is a beautiful lesson in queer history and queer culture for younger generations of queer people to experience whether it is broken down/explained or not, which makes this short scene both important and impactful.

Technical Aspects

These are the areas that people most want to know about. I just hope getting technical isn’t too boring. There is a lot to factor in and as this is the first intimate scene I’m breaking down it involves a bit more explaining than I’ll probably need to do in future breakdowns. We get a bit of a whirlwind filmmaking lesson here. I try not to over explain but we are applying filmmaking foundations to better understand how our favourite sexy scenes appear on our screens, and all the work and spinning plates involved.

Camera Setups

This first shower scene has several camera setups (or camera angles). These are very important when it comes to intimacy coordination because what we can see on the screen determines what the actors are or aren’t wearing in the way of modest garments. What modest garments an actor is wearing may change between camera setups, and some camera setups can take a long time. During camera setup changes there’s a lot going on with moving lights, camera, set pieces, set dressing, props, and more. If dolly tracks or cranes are involved this can take considerable time (like hours for very intricate scene with a lot of equipment) and actors will usually go back to their trailers in between these changes. Sometimes camera setups happen more quickly, it really depends on what is needed for the scene. All the shots in this shower scene are on sticks (meaning the camera is on a tripod). Most of the shots are static shots (still shots), there is a little panning (left/right movement of the camera) towards the end of the scene. An important thing to know about camera setups is that you will setup for the widest shot of the scene then change setups and move closer in with each set up. Most dramatic tv shows are one camera shows which means that there is one camera filming each shot/each setup. This is opposed to say a sitcom which is usually a three-camera setup with three cameras filming from different positions at the same time or reality tv which has multiple handheld cameras (usually positioned on the shoulder) filming at the same time. For this shower scene we have a cowboy shot as the widest shot (a shot that is from under the hips to above the head). This is an older term, and some people might refer to this as a wide shot, although I would argue it’s not that wide, but it is still the widest shot in this scene. The first set up will usually involve a shot where all the actors are visible, this is referred to as the master shot. Then we have coverage shots of each actor. In this scene we have several shot/reverse shots ranging from medium shots to closeups which cover either Shane or Ilya (this doesn’t mean we can’t see the other person at all, it’s just the focus is not on them as much). For these shots the setup would start with the medium (waist to above head) of say, Shane, then change setups to move in closer until you reach your closest shot which is the closeup (head and shoulders). The camera setup then changes sides to cover Ilya, starting with the medium shot and changing setups moving closer to arrive at the closeup. This is a basic rundown. There are all kinds of shot choices like over the shoulder (often done shot/reverse shot format) and a dirty shot for example a dirty medium or a dirty closeup (where part of the other actor is visible in the shot, usually out of focus), but we’ll broach them when/if we get to them. It could be argued that the medium to closeups are all dirty shots because part of the other actor is visible (dirtying up the shot). But this is getting a bit too overcomplicated for our conversation.

Modesty Garments

In terms of modesty garments, we have a number of these, and I’ll discuss them as they may be used for scenes instead of listing them. It’s likely both actors are wearing modesty pouches (also known as pouches or socks, I still call them socks as do a lot of people in the industry). These are the most common intimacy garments from actors with penises. You’ll notice my switch of language here. When talking about story and using character names and writing a summary of a scene I may use terms like “cock” or whatever is used in the script (here it would be dick or cock, the characters mostly use dick when speaking to each other), but when I’m talking about technical aspects in regard to the actors I use anatomical terminology because we don’t want to sexualise or objectify the actors regardless of what is happening in the scene/script. Often desexualised language is used when communicating with actors and anatomical language falls under this category. Some ICs may take this further, using terms like “downstairs area” or “lower area”. I prefer anatomical terms because they are clear and there is no confusion. Working with trans actors this can become a little more complex but again, we’ll stick to basics here. The language used really depends on who you’re working with and what they’re comfortable with, which is all discussed at length during pre-production meetings. I might go into detail re this at a later date but for now just note the switch of language. I will also note that some actors are more comfortable with nudity than others, and it could be possible for actors who have no contact with each other in a scene to be naked. This is more common if there is full frontal nudity in the scene. It is also something that is more discouraged these days for the safety of other actors and crew. Since full frontal nudity is not part of this scene, and both actors are standing up, I’d assume they’re both wearing socks for the master shot. Socks or modesty pouches are material pouches that fit the penis, scrotum, and testicles inside, then there is a string or ribbon to tie up the pouch to keep the pouch in place. They’re a great option for scenes where actors are standing relatively still and have no physical contact with each other. It is possible that for the medium to closeup shots that the actors might be wearing nude briefs or dance belts. These are essentially just well fitted underwear that has minimal coverage and is the same skin tone as the actor’s skin. It’s hard to tell if they just kept wearing socks or moved to a modesty garment with more coverage. Both are possible. It depends what was discussed and agreed upon and how much time was between the master shot setup and the first coverage medium shot. Personally, I would offer for my actors a variety of modesty garments to change into for the different shot setups. This would be discussed during per-production but also discussed prior to each scene and it’s important to have options even if you don’t end up using them. Actors are allowed to change their mind and may decide on the day they want a modest garment that has more coverage. Modest garments vary depending on what is discussed and agreed upon, what is seen or not seen in the shot, and how the actor feels on the day of shooting.

Simulating Sex

This is usually what viewers are most intrigued and interested in when it comes to intimacy coordination. Probably the most important thing to get across is that simulated sex is heavily choreographed. It’s like a dance with steps. They are choreographed for many reasons including but not limited to: safety, aesthetics, emotion, storytelling, camera setups and focus pulling, lighting, sound, wardrobe, set design and set dressing. There are certain positions and visual tricks we use to avoid genital to genital contact and friction. We also use other items, along with modesty garments, to reduce sensation and contact during scenes when the actors are closer in contact). Improvisation is not very common anymore and comes with a whole host of problems, so I won’t dig into this process (and it is a process). Choreography is best practice. I won’t get into contract riders and nudity riders other than to note that they exist and are an important part of intimacy coordination. These are required on union sets but not non-union sets. I will say I’ve worked on a lot of indie/non-union projects where there aren’t these types of contracts, but I still stick to the union best practice even on projects that don’t have contract riders.

All simulated sex scenes are discussed at great length and agreed upon or reworked/reshaped to accommodate actors’ boundaries during preproduction based on the script and read throughs. When it comes to boundaries there are “gates” which are negotiable boundaries and “fences” which are non-negotiable boundaries. These can be referred to as “soft” or “hard” boundaries, but “fences” and “gates” provide more clarity. However, scripts can change during the shooting process, actors can change their minds, maybe what we thought would convey a certain meaning or look just doesn’t translate on camera; intimacy coordination is constantly in flux and a dynamic process. What is always present, though, is communication and informed and continued consent. This again, is a very basic description. There is so much more to intimacy coordination that we will get into as we dig into more scenes.

Simulating Masturbation

There are a few approaches to simulating masturbation on screen. I’m going to focus on penis to hand masturbation as that is what is within this scene/part of the story. Miming is the safest and most practical option. No contact. Sock is on. The actor simply mimes masturbating as if they had a penis is in their hand, but their hand is usually not near their actual genitals; it just looks this way on screen. Very simple. Very safe. Very standard. It also possible to use prosthetics to give the actor something to work with/hold onto but this requires more equipment and is usually used in a scene where we see the hand to penis contact. Often the actor is wearing pants or underwear in scenes like these. While the use of prosthetics isn’t completely unusual it does add a risk factor and would require more in-depth discussion and approval as well as training for the use of prosthetic genitalia. Even though intimate scenes are choreographed, we still need everyone being as safe as possible while using any equipment on set. My opinion for this first shower scene is that Storrie is using the miming technique.

Stepping out of Character

To round off this breakdown I want to quickly discuss stepping out of character also called “de-roling”. It’s important for an actor to step out of character after intimate scenes (or emotionally intense scenes). During pre-production meetings an IC will discuss what this looks like for each actor and the actors together. Actors will have an agreed upon ritual to step out of character after an intimate scene. This could include a something physical like a handshake or something verbal like a phrase. I worked on a project where the actors both said “nice day for it” to each other after an intimate scene which made them laugh every time, and this allowed them to step out of their character and back into themselves. It can also include some form of breathing exercise, either done together or separately. The IC will also follow up after the scene with the actors but it’s important to allow the scene partners (actors) to step out of character with their agreed upon ritual first, unless the actor needs to discuss something more urgently.

Well, that was a long breakdown but as I mentioned, this has a lot of foundational stuff which won’t need to be explained in future post, we can just touch back on it.

Thank you so much for reading!

Next breakdown will be super fun! Shane’s Hotel Room...

Sending extra love and care to my queer siblings and Midwest neighbours tonight. I hope you found some softness and comfort here.

See y’all at the Cottage!