IamA Gay Porn Director AMA!

About 4 years ago, walking down a street in the LA area, a guy in a really nice car pulled up next to me, asked me how old I was, and then asked if I "want do porno movie". I politely declined without asking for more info.

That's not how casting is ever done, right? Would I have been murdered if I'd gone with him?

LOL! That's super sketchy. No, we would never go about casting that way and you probably would've gotten murdered. You did the right thing :P

If I saw someone that I thought should model, I'd ask how old he was, hand him a card, and tell him to apply online :)

I'd ask how old he was, hand him a card, and tell him to apply online :)

Still kinda sketch.

Lol well this situation is usually happening at some kind of gay event or club. Like I wouldn't approach some dude standing outside of a high school or anything :p

well... are you gay?

Yes I'm gay and married to my co-worker Casey, we've been filming together since the beginning :) The rest of the office is either bi or gay except for Emily, she's straight.

What does Emily smell like?

Like daisies and aggression.

Are most actors "gay for pay" as the rumours suggest? Follow up, how much do they get paid?

We work with straight models occasionally but all of our regular models are gay. There are some studios that use mostly straight guys. It really comes down to how hot someone is and how well they perform. We don't discriminate against straight guys ;)

The model's pay varies greatly depending on experience and performance. I can't say exact numbers but our top models drive Beamers and Benzs. Guys in gay porn generally get paid a lot more than guys in straight porn which is why there are a lot of gay4payers.

Being a model is also about being an entrepreneur, there are a lot of other ways to earn money as a model.

Is there any plan to do a porn of twho men docking while spread eagle with one spinning around in a circle and the other hanging from the ceiling while the docking sequence music from Interstellar plays? I'm not gay but it seemed like a great idea to me.

LOL! No but that reminds me of something. I've always wanted to film a sex scene in that plane they used to film the zero gravity scenes in Apollo 13.

Zero gravity cumshots ftw!!!

I applied 5 times to get into Helix Academy, but never heard back. Did you get my applications?

Luckily, I got into my safety school.

LMAO!! It's very exclusive. It's the only private school I can think of that requires dickpics as part of the application ;)

Nah, Penn State does too

Reminds me of a line in one of our older scenes where a player is threatening to out the coach, the coach says "You trying to fuckin' Penn State me Kyle?"

That is absolute gold. Was that ad-libbed or is there a writing staff for that kinda thing?

I think I told him to say that.

What's been the best thing about getting into the business you're in?

Also it's the only job where you want to click onto porn when the boss walks by your desk

The fans make it pretty amazing, it's a rare job where you get the kind of attention for your work that we do. The people I work with are all really cool, if you have to work around wieners and butt holes all day you have to be pretty chill. You can tell any off-color joke you want and no one gets offended. And at a party when people ask what you do for a living you have the best answer.

Im sorry you have to deal with ignorant dick bags like ^

If you look at his post history it's him just posting in Judaism and bashing on Sihks as "violent terrorists"

Keep doing you, making huge stacks of cash, and enjoying your every day work life.

Lol oh that's ok. He's really mad though. Damn :p

Hi Alex!! I'm a Helix Fanatic!! And a Kyle Ross Lover ❤. So, did you always know you wanted to become a Adult Film Maker? Or was it something you stumbled upon (is that the right word..lol)?

Kyle says hi!

I was interested in movies and filmmaking ever since I was a baby, and I was exposed to porn at a pretty young age since we had cinemax in my house growing up. So I always knew I wanted to work in filmmaking in some way, and after film school an opportunity presented itself and I wasn't opposed :)

It works out pretty well because at Helix, we get to flex our creative muscle sometimes. As opposed to some other studios that are more cookie cutter, beige-couch-in-front-of-a-beige-wall type studios.

Is there a fetish for turning straight guys gay?

Absolutely! There's entire sites devoted to that.

Is the sperm real? I rad somewhere that its not real.

I'm glad you asked this, it's one of my biggest pet peeves in this business. At Helix we never ever use fake cum but I know of a lot of studios that do. It's usually Cetaphil gentle skin cleanser. That's the one that looks the most like cum. You can always tell when it's fake too because it doesn't have quite the right viscosity.

This reminds me of a story but it's kind of graphic. At the studio I worked at previously, before Helix, we had one model who could never cum. He was a great performer with a huge wiener but he could never cum no matter how long he jerked it. Anyway, we were preparing to do a fake cumshot with a bottle of Cetaphil and all. And we're about to do it, and the guy just grabs the bottle of cetaphil out of my hands and puts the end of the pump into his urethra, and proceeds to pump 4 big pumps of Cetaphil into his wiener. And I just stood there like wtf. Then we said action and he squeezed the Cetaphil out of his wiener like he was squeezing toothpaste out of a tube. So we got the shot and that became the way he came from then on. I don't consider myself to have a weak stomach but that grossed me out. :p

Like...he put the end of the pump into his urethra?

yes... exactly. I was just shocked because I would never have thought to do that. And I would certainly never dream of asking anyone to do that. And of course it looked really painful

How fucking big was this guy's hog that he could fucking do that?

Could he come off camera or was it like never never?

Was he emptying the chamber beforehand so he wouldn't come too fast?

Must know what is up with this cat

Yeah he could cum off-camera. Just got stage fright I guess.

Can you talk about the logistics of filming? Like talking about when to film closeups and swiveling shots. I'd imagine a lot of work goes into getting the right angles.

We shoot with two cameras, one of us is wide and the other is closeup and we have a production assistant (Andy Taylor, also a model) who holds the boom microphone. So there's three of us there during filming. We usually discuss the positions with the models beforehand so we know what to expect. When the cameras roll and the models start having sex we try to say as little as possible to keep the sex natural. Sometimes I'll ask them to move their arm or leg if it's blocking something. We usually also cue them when to change positions so we can have a shot set up for that. The sex usually lasts about 45 minutes then all of the best shots are edited down to a 20-25 minute scene.

What does it smell like on the set?

Flowers and cookies!

Jk, it's condoms and man musk

In straight porn I read about the actor's child abuse, substance abuse, and other assorted issues past and present. Is it any different for gay actors?

I think it's a funny misconception that every porn model is this deeply troubled and broken individual. Most of the models we meet and work with don't have any issues and are relatively well adjusted. It could be said that just the fact they're in porn makes them a certain type of person, but they're mostly normal people with normal life goals.

Awesome that you're doing this, the answers so far have been really interesting!

Is piracy as big of a problem as the press releases say? Does it impact your bottom line significantly (no pun intended...)?

The unified streaming model has been pretty successful for music and TV, do you see a "Netflix of porn" as being something that we're likely to see in the future?

Piracy became a big deal right around the same time as the recession and free porn tube sites so the triple whammy affected a lot of content producers. Before that studios could literally put up any quality and type of porn and make money. The studios who continue to think "any porn will sell" are slowly disappearing while studios who have upped their game are still successful. It boils down to putting out the highest quality creative content with the best looking models. We're lucky to have an extremely progressive and talented staff and our studio is more successful now than it ever was. If it's good enough quality and the service is convenient enough (watch-anywhere: streaming, tv, mobile, etc) people will be more apt to pay for it and not pirate it. Hollywood and the music industry are realizing this already which is Spotify, Netflix, HBOnow, etc. are so popular.

It definitely looks like porn will head that direction. We have a streaming model at $9.95/month that makes us a lot more affordable for the masses. We're available on every platform including Roku. In addition to that we offer releases from other studios as a bonus to our members.

Have you ever gotten in an awkward situation when someone asked what you do for a living?

It's usually more awkward for them lol :P

Usually it's when theres a big group of us eating out after a shoot, the server will ask us what we do for a living. Then we all look at each other and ask "banana?" That's our code word. If we decide yes banana we say porn. If it's no banana, then no.

Usually they give a "oh....right on" response. Or sometimes they don't believe us. One time a guy was like "hahaha... no seriously, Navy??"

How much lube is usually kept on set?

This much http://i.imgur.com/bKdMkGB.jpg

I've tried a few kinds and my experience has varied. Could you give a recommendation?

Also for condoms, they've always been a challenge :p

I definitely could, that's one of those odd things I've become experienced in. The best we've come across lately is Liquid Silk. It's a good silicone water hybrid. Ideally you want the smoothness of water-based lube and the lasting power of silicone lube. Silicone lube also stains sheets and furniture, we haven't had that problem with the hybrids. Liquid Silk isn't available in the US as far as I know but you can get it on Amazon. Our current favorite on set is JO Hybrid, we sell it on our site. Gun Oil and ID are also pretty good.

The condoms we use are Trojan Bare Skin, thin but strong. And they fit really snug so they make your wiener look pretty. You don't want ugly condom wrinkles all around your shaft ;)

What’s in the shelf below, in the bottom-right corner of that photo? It looks like wiffle balls?

These. They're like tiny fleshjacks.

You been filming since you were 21?? That's very young. How did you make this choice to be a gay film director at such a young age?

After film school I had worked on several different types of film sets: music videos, documentaries, live event videography, etc. Porn was the first one that offered a full time position but is also the most fun. Easily

I know some kids have trouble telling their parents that they're gay, and some kids have trouble telling their parents that they want to pursue a career in porn. Have you ever experienced difficulty telling your family members that you're going to work in the gay-porn industry?

Well, my parents don't actually know that I make porn. They think I shoot real-estate videos. They're both pretty religious but socially liberal. They know I'm gay and don't care. I got married at their house even. But I don't know. I wanna just tell them now but my sister says I shouldn't. So I guess we'll just see

How promiscuous and sexually active are porn models in their private lives?

Also, most porn studios lie about the size of the male model's dick... how do you think your models compare to the general public average?

Models are all different, some are very promiscuous and some only have sex when it's on camera. I'd say they're all very sexual people but how they express it varies.

Unfortunately internet dick size is well established as being 1-2" longer than real life so it's too late to fix peoples perception of size. So basically everyone has to lie whether they want to or not. If we're going by the stuff that says average is 5.5-6", then the average model's dick is bigger, usually 6.5-8".

Favourite sandwich?

Thoughts on some of the small studios doing "realism in porn" as they call it?

If you don't win, who do you want to and why?

Turkey club!

I assume you're talking about POV (point of view) scenes. Those are scenes filmed without a camera crew present, filmed by the models on a phone or handycam. There's definitely value to those. We have our models film POV scenes as well because it's good to have some variety on the site among the more elaborately produced scenes.

While the camerawork and lighting might not necessarily be top notch, it gives the models an opportunity to lose themselves in the moment and the camera might capture something more real than what could be achieved with a crew standing around.

What building were the exterior shots of Helix Academy filmed at? I thought it might be my old school USD but I'm not sure and it's been bugging me for a while now...

I don't want to say exactly where it was filmed, but it wasn't a school of any kind.

Huge fan here, what is the policy regarding bareback? I know some of the couples do it for their scenes but is it ultimately up to the actors or only specific models?

Ultimately it's up to the models. We never ask anyone to do anything they don't want to.

When people apply, assuming you like them, how long until they hear from somebody? How does the scheduling work?

We get thousands of applications so it sometimes takes a while to get through them. It'll be anywhere from a week to a month until we directly contact an applicant. Once we contact them we'll try to fly them out as soon as possible. The fastest turn around from application to filming has been a week, the longest maybe 2-3 months. Also some times the first application will be overlooked and we'll catch it the second time someone applies, usually with a different picture that catches our eye.

If you had to change the type of porn you're directing, what would you choose?

I've always thought it would be cool to make a movie about a love triangle between a gay dude, and bi dude, and a straight girl. With gay sex scenes and straight sex scenes. Basically Y Tu Mama Tambien with penetration shots. Something that might appeal to a different audience :P

For a gay person who watching porn, is more exciting watch: a gay couple (males), a hetero couple (female + male), or lesbians?

As an hetero male the top are the lesbians.

For me personally (I'm gay) I prefer to watch two dudes boning. I can watch straight porn as well. Well, maybe an amateur straight couple on xtube or something like that.

Interesting side note: A lot of straight girls are really into watching two dudes going at it. About 30% of our members are female

Which genre of gay porn has risen the most in popularity since you began working in the industry?

If you're talking about format then probably live cam shows. Camming seems to be getting more and more popular with the models. As far as studio based porn, I might be biased, but I'd say the college age 18-23 "twink" genre has grown the most.

Can we please get a scene between Blake Mitchell and Evan Parker? I would love you guys so fucking much.

Honestly the scenes work best when there is a top and a bottom, but I wouldn't rule out a Blake and Evan scene in the future.

Has there ever been a moment when you think to yourself:" what the hell is actually going on"? Or are you always fully into what the actors have to do?

I have the "Guys, what the hell are we doing?" moment quite often.

Especially when its a straight guy getting fucked in the ass. Nothing is funnier to me than that. The sounds a straight guy makes when he's getting fucking up the ass are hilarious. Those are the only times i've ever lost it behind the camera. We had one guy who was Italian but he grew up in boarding schools so he had this weird boarding school accent. Kind of british sounding but not really. Like Maude in the big lebowski. Anyway he was straight and had never taken it up the butt. And he would be getting plowed and say things like "Oh goodness! That fuckin shit burns! Worst pain I ever felt!" I wish you could hear me do it with the accent. And at one point he crawled away on all fours to the bathroom. Me, Casey and Max (The guy's scene partner) could not stop laughing. I literally could not look through the viewfinder or I would laugh.

It's times like that that you really think about the absurdity of filmmaking, then on top of that the absurdity of filming two dudes poking each other up the butt

I'm a big helix fan and I've always joked around about wanting to do porn. So far reddit and tumblr are the only places I post amateur stuff. Hypothetically, if I wanted to do porn, what would I have to have experience/background wise?

No experience necessary. Experience having sex is preferred but we've had models come to us as virgins before. Funny thing is that no one ever believes us when we film a virgin, they think we're just saying it as a marketing ploy :p

Hey. What happened to kyler moss?

He's not one of our models. I've never met him :/

are you interested in receiving spec scripts?

Yes! I'll pm you the email :)

How DO porn scripts look like? I can only imagen them something like this: Scene one: Slightly lid room. Two models on a bed. One on top of the other jamming his penis down the arse. Scene two...

Looks just like a regular movie script, except that it always ends with them having sex.

Do you guys hire models from All over the world or just the U.S.?

We primarily hire guys from the U.S. If we were to film someone from out of the country, they would have to have all the proper paperwork and work visas.

Hi! I'm a newly 18 twink and a big fan of Helix (especially SpankThis). I'm male-bodied but identify as genderqueer – should I still apply?

EDIT: Um, that asshole down there isn't me. Not sure why I'm getting downvoted, but okay.

Anyone is welcome to apply :) www.helixmodels.com

Do you all do a lot of photoshopping of your images? It's seems like the only other studio that does quality pics is Gay Teen Studios, but they do seem to employ the air brush pretty consistently. Are you guys better at it so it's hard to tell? Or just so good at shooting you don't need to shoop?

It depends, the gallery pictures for a scene have a little editing done to remove acne and adjust the color and lighting. But we try to go as natural as possible. For the editorial style photo sets sometimes there will be extra color and light editing but it's a stylistic choice, not trying to cover anything up. For the most part the models just look that good. The models continue to get better and better looking as the stigma of working in porn fades and more people realize it's a legitimate source of income.

Haha I love how we both gave basically the same answer independently

Yours was so much better, lol.

When did you realize you were a porn director?

When I looked up and saw dicks everywhere. No, seriously, I think I've always known. Some people think it's a choice.

What's the most creative/craziest thing you've done to get the right angle?

There was one time that was pretty funny where Kyle had to straddle me so I could get a POV angle with him looking into the camera. And one time was kind of dangerous, where I had to hold my breath underwater to film a hot tub blowie. And probably the most difficult one was a 1:30 long steadicam shot that tracks all throughout a hallway in Scandal at Helix Academy. That one was tough blocking the camera moves, actors, and extras and it took 20 takes to get the one we used.

When it comes to scenes how do you come up with a different plot every time and avoid using the same plot?

Do wonder how long on average the plots is and who comes up with the idea.

Ps hope not too late to ask this question

Everybody contributes ideas but Ranaan, A.V., and Francis write the scripts. The scripts vary in length depending on what we want at the time. Some can be as short as 1 page with little to no dialogue, or a sort or outline or treatment. Others could be as long as 5 to 10 pages for a single scene. When we write a movie (usually 4 or 5 scenes long) we write it as one long thing that usually ends up around 25-30 pages.

You see a lot of penises. Are there any that have stood out?

Most of them stood out, a lot of them curve left, and some slope down

Are you still answering questions? If yes how much longer will you guys be doing so?

Yup yup. Until people stop asking questions I guess :p

How had the username "PornDirector" not been taken already?

I know! It still amazes me to this day!

What are you thoughts on the whole rose-budding thing? As far as personal injury for pay.

Not personally a fan, but I'm cool with people enjoying whatever kind of kink or fetish they have. I've known models that did that kind of stuff, they don't view it as personal injury any more than someone with a pierced ear would.

Evan Parker is gorgeous, one of my favourites in all porn.

Andy Taylor looks orgasmic with a quiff. I might just have a quiff thing going on right now.

Do your porn actors use their real names? If not, who decides on their names?

Just about everyone I can think of uses a stage name. Sometimes they'll have an idea about what they want their name to be. Sometimes we all have to come up with it as a group. We typically like to use normal sounding, real-name names like Kyle Ross, Max Carter, Andy Taylor, and not so much the pornstar-sounding names like Razor Sharpe. Those sound goofy to us :p

Can you add a search function to the mobile version of your site? Being able to browse models would also be great.

We definitely need a search function on mobile, I'll ask about that :)

Hey Alex, as a gay man who like the occasional porno...how come I can't access this stuff through Netflix? Is the problem simply with Netflix not wanting to host straight or gay porn?

Services like Netflix or Hulu would have to license the content from us and they currently aren't licensing hardcore porn unfortunately. We are available on Roku which is a little box similar to AppleTV. On Roku you can watch Netflix, Hulu, and all the rest as well as Helix stuff. Watching HD porn on the big screen is pretty cool :)

Hi Alex, few things I'm curious about:

Do actors get paid more for topping or bottoming? As a gay man, do you ever get turned on filming them? I don't know how I wouldn't get aroused, especially if there's good chemistry going on. Do the actors ever bang off screen? Many scenes per year does the average actor shoot?

Thanks!

Hey there :)

At our studio, their scene rate has nothing to do with wether they top or bottom.

When we're shooting, I'm too worried about operating the camera to get turned on.

Sure the actors bang offscreen :p We ask them to please not bang the night before a shoot and most of them don't but some of them lie. And I can always tell the ones that lie. Always. Lol

An exclusive model could get up to 24 scenes a year :)

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I've never seen the gay porn he did but I did watch that documentary about him that was parodied in boogie nights, and I must say, anyone with a wiener that big who can maintain a full erection gets an A+ in my book