This is what it's like to work behind the scenes on a porn film

Warning: This article is about porn. There's obviously going to be a lot of NSFW content.

The porn industry is growing, and with it more jobs are being created.

Take PornHub for example, since it launched ten years ago its audience has grown by a factor of 75 and there are 3500 times more videos on the site.

Because of this, there's lots of behind-the-scenes jobs in the industry.

Buzzfeed sat down with the off-camera staff at ManyVids to find out what its really like to work in porn.

1. It's actually quite professional

A user experience worker told Buzzfeed:

I was worried that working in the adult industry would be a lot more seedy. l thought the owners would be clubby bro-types and the staff to be just out of school. Yet the professionalism is very high, with top talent and excellent management. The owners at ManyVids are extremely respectful and nice people. I just did not expect that at all.

Although it can turn explicit pretty quick.

A QA lead said:

We’ll have a product meeting, which is very serious, and then someone will say something sexual. Like this one time when we were talking about a feature and then one of the development leads said, 'Can you click on the custom titty f**k?

2. It's not that different from other industries

A lot of people did the same job in other industries.

One copywriter said:

The art director used to work in fashion, but moved over because he found that he could have more freedom to express his creativity than previously. The support agent and the CSR (customer service representative) used to work at a bank as support agent and CSR.

One development lead added that it's very transparent:

I actually prefer working in porn. What you see is what you get. There are no complex relationships that involve deceptive business manoeuvres. It’s surprisingly transparent.

And a front-end developer said:

I do code.

It’s business as usual

3. There's some er, "specialist", software

Speaking to Buzzfeed one Videographer said:

I made a butthole-tracking software to make my work more efficient.

Basically video consists of a sequence of images.

To modify or colour-correct part of a moving image, you cannot do it frame by frame because it would take an eternity!

So you need a 'tracking device', which is something that will automatically isolate part of the image for you, like a butthole.

That means that even if the butthole is moving onscreen, it will be tracked. Once isolated, you can then start to colour-correct it.

Usually, I make it lighter and a bit pinker.

You can track almost everything, from a mouth and eyes to a nipple or a mole.

It exists because it needs the most editing:

It's one of the parts that needs most colour correction, along with vaginas and faces.

4. You need to know porn stars very, very, well

A support agent said:

I once had to complete a DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) takedown request, but there were no faces involved in the video.

So instead, I had to ID the guy based on his penis (skin colour, shape, etc).

I've never taken such a serious look at a penis other than mine

5. Writing promo articles, is, understandably, awkward

According to a copywriter:

There was this one time I had to write a promo article for a Wonder Woman parody video, and it just sounded like erotic fan-fiction.

6. Lots of people keep it from their families

One of ManyVids senior business analysts said:

The most challenging part for me after I got the job at ManyVids was coming up with a clever answer for my friends and family when they asked me where I work.

I used to have a long sales pitch but it only led to more and more questions.

At some point, I just had to lie.

So now I just say, 'You know YouTube? Well, we're better than them.

7. It's totally normal to watch porn at work

A user experience worker said:

I love seeing the faces on visitors when they walk in and we have porn on our browsers.

Just a regular day, you know.

As well as Buzzfeed talking to the staff of ManyVids, one industry porn worker did an 'Ask me Anything' on Reddit, who served the internet with some intriguing and hilarious answers.

8. What was the funniest thing you ever saw someone do naked?

9. Do you like your job?

10. Does the pizza get eaten?

11. Do you ever get turned on while watching the filming take place?

12. Has it made sex worse for you at all?

Why?

13. What's the best thing most people wouldn't realise about the porn industry, and with that what's the worst?

HT Buzzfeed

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