TESTIMONIALS
The best intimacy coordinators draw from both education and experience—not just as ICs, but as storytellers.
That’s what I offer.
I was (and still am) a writer and director before I became an intimacy coordinator. My very first job as an IC came about serendipitously when a production asked me to fill an unmet and crucial need in Utah.
There were no intimacy coordinators available and the production was in desperate need of help with an actor that was facing the first sex scene of their long and successful career. I had only two days to prepare for the job and though there are a million things I wish I had done differently knowing what I now know of the work, the experience was incredibly positive, not only for the actors, the director and producers, but also for me.
I found the work of intimacy coordination to be incredibly empowering and fulfilling, and discovered that this was yet another story-centric calling for me.
Since then, I have supported all kinds of films—from major, multi-million productions like HORIZON, to zero-budget student films.
As my credits grow, my experience continues to deepen and strengthen my practice. But I have also sought education and certification through IDC, a SAG-accredited program that certifies professional intimacy directors and coordinators.
I am very proud of the work I’m doing as one of the only Utah intimacy coordinators and look forward to continuing to support productions, not just in Utah, but across the Western United States.
In The Press
Excerpted from an article on Movie Web
For Jeff Fisher, those erotic scenes were, of course, a challenge from a director's standpoint, but in this modern age, there is now additional help on set.
"Celeste was our intimacy coordinator. She was great. I was very grateful to have her there," said Fisher.
"Parker and Sasha could kind of have private conversations about what those scenes were going to be, making sure that they were comfortable, and also really kind of going in with a plan like that. They would never want to wing that, you know? I'd never want to go, 'Oh, let's figure it out on the day,' but making sure that they felt good, protected and heard. And so Celeste was a great creative partner to try and make that a reality."
Q: I'm curious about the Intimacy Coordinator. How involved are they? What exactly are they doing during the shooting, or is it all beforehand?
A: “It's a little before, and then it is actually on the day. It's a great question. On the page, it was very sexy, and it was sexier than anything I had shot before. Celeste [Chaney], our Intimacy Coordinator, had private conversations with Sasha and Parker before to gauge privately what they'd be comfortable with. Before we started shooting, we had a closed rehearsal to talk through what the beats would be.
Celeste was there by my side for all those scenes on a closed set, just to make sure we had talked through everything, and had written down what was going to happen in each scene, and at what level it was going to be. She was a great creative partner.
We were there to make sure that we were doing exactly what we talked about, and that there were no surprises. Right? The last thing I wanted was anybody to be uncomfortable. It's not the most comfortable thing anyway, but I didn't want the actors or the crew to feel wonky.
Celeste was a great teammate to help execute this stuff.”
—Jeff Fisher, director of The Image of You
Excerpted from an Interview with Ain’t It Cool