by What Is an Intimacy Professional?
An intimacy professional is an umbrella term for someone who uses consent-based methods to craft scenes of intimacy (including but not limited to familial, romantic, traumatic, and professional intimacy) and nudity within the arts and entertainment industries. An intimacy professional may describe any number of artists who work as part of an intimacy department including intimacy coordinators, directors, assistants, choreographers, or consultants.
Types of Intimacy Professionals
Intimacy Coordinator
A qualified and fully trained intimacy professional who works on digital media including film and TV, audio recordings, and video games from pre through post-production.
Intimacy Director
A qualified and fully trained intimacy professional who works on live performances including theater, dance, improv, burlesque, opera, and circus throughout the pre-production and rehearsal process.
Intimacy Choreographer
A qualified and fully trained intimacy professional who choreographs scenes of intimacy for theater and live performances. Sometimes used in place of intimacy director.
Intimacy Assistant
A qualified assistant to an intimacy coordinator or intimacy director. Typically someone who is in training to become an intimacy coordinator or director.
Intimacy Captain
A designated professional who is familiar with the intimacy choreography of a live performance and who is responsible for running the intimacy call before shows.
Kink Consultant
A sex worker and/or sex educator who practices some aspect of kink professionally, such as a rope artist or professional dom.
Intimacy Consultant
A qualified and fully trained intimacy professional who works with filmmakers, theatermakers, and other artists during pre-production to clarify what is needed for a project based on the script and meetings with production staff.
Intimacy Educator
A qualified and fully trained intimacy professional who helps students, artists, teachers, and businesses prepare to work in the arts and entertainment industries using consent-based methods.
Understanding the Intimacy Department
The intimacy department is the team responsible for scenes of intimacy (including but not limited to familial, romantic, traumatic, and professional intimacy) and nudity. Depending on the needs of the production and the individuals available, intimacy departments might fluctuate in structure. The intimacy department will always have at least one intimacy coordinator, director, or choreographer. It is recommended that productions employ at least 1 intimacy professional per 8 – 10 actors working on scenes of intimacy. For television shows, a lead intimacy coordinator might oversee several intimacy coordinators and/or intimacy assistants working on different episodes or scenes throughout a season. For theater productions, an intimacy captain will be chosen to remember all intimacy choreography and run intimacy calls before shows.
Kink consultants may be hired at any time during the pre through post-production process, typically on the recommendation of the lead intimacy professional unless they are being hired for a script consultation in which case they work directly with the writer.
Intimacy consultants are hired during pre-production. Because their role is to prepare productions to work on scenes of intimacy, often by recommending the use of a qualified intimacy professional, they work independently from the rest of the intimacy department.
Are you looking to hire professionals for your Intimacy Department? Try posting in the Facebook group I Need An Intimacy Professional!
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