what is an intimacy coordinator?

the thing that all intimacy coordinators get asked most:

what is an intimacy coordinator?

It’s a fair question.

IC’s have been around for nearly 20 years, with Tonia Sina's thesis on "Intimate Encounters; Staging Intimacy and Sensuality", 2006 seen as a foundational piece for intimacy coordination. in 2015 the practice was expanded to include film and television.

by 2016 IC’s were starting to be seen on sets. but it’s only after 2017 that studios and unions began including provisions and requirements for ic’s on productions.

so what exactly do we do?

Ic’s have a number of different focuses on any given production. Mostly, we are there to collaborate with performers, directors, and producers, as well as any other relevant departments. the goal is to support the director’s vision, the producer’s needs, other departments, and importantly, the performers, in creating the best scenes possible. while ensuring that the performers boundaries and needs are met at every step of the production process.

How do we do that?

ic’s can support productions and performer in a number of ways. we can work with performers as movement coaches or to choreograph each beat of those spicy scenes if that is how everyone wants to work. If the performers and director feel that working in a more spontaneous way is more conducive to the vision and the story, then we can be there to support the performers and act as a second pair of eyes for the director’s vision.

our roles are very collaborative. we work with each department involved in a production to help create the perfect final product whether it’s a specific set peice or prop, working with wardrobe to find the right modesty gear, or collaborating with stunts for those particularly risky shots. intimacy coordinators often act as liason between departments. no detail is too small, and there are lots of people involved in creating each scene.

Intimacy coordinators are not…

The fun police…

yes, our goal is to ensure the safest possible situations for everyone to do their best work. While we’re collaborating with crew, we’re also tuned into the performers. each IC has their own process, but ensuring that performers are able to voice their boundaries and needs, providing opportunities to build scenes that not only looking spicy as hell but feel as safe as possible, and taking the time to ensure communication is always a 2-way street make up much of our main focus.

This can be complicated and intimacy coordinators often have many things happening at once. But it’s also integral to shaping creative spaces that are most conducive to the process of telling spicy stories.

but we are not there to act as a wet blanket. intimacy coordinating is about creating in the best possible way. not about ruining the fun.

consent is messy

Intimate scenes occupy a very nuanced position within the spectrum of consent and boundaries. It’s almost impossible to create a fully “safe space”— unless one has the power of mind control. we can commit to maintaining a “safer” space by acknowledging that this process can be uncomfortable. it’s not easy to be so exposed with someone who may be a stranger, while potentially dozens of other people are around (this is why we always advocate for closed sets!).

communication becomes vital in these spaces and that can often be difficult. So intimacy coordinators are often looked to as a go-between performers, directors or producers. the inherent power dynamics that exist between each member of the production can interfere with communication and IC’s offer an opportunity to level that imbalance.

when everyone knows that they are able to express their needs or barriers, then they are free to focus on the work.

intimacy coordinators help everyone engage in their best work

whatever story is being told, ic’s are a vital piece of the creative process by supporting collaborating with performers and productions.