An Interview With Girl/Girl Director Alan X
Alan X has helped to define and shape girl/girl pornography through a series of award-nominated efforts for numerous major labels. In this new interview, he chats about his entry into the business, the story behind some of his bestsellers, the challenges of lesbian porn, and more.
Tell us a little bit about your background. How did you get into the industry?
I started out as an in house graphic artist for a company called Jill Kelly Productions back in 2003. I made VHS and DVD covers. From there I started doing photography on set for various video companies. Then i started shooting magazine layouts. After that I started directing movies. Art movies at first but then with more and more story and dialogue. I guess I just kind of worked my way up the totem pole.
For people new to your work, which movie do you see as a particularly good intro to your directorial style?
One of my favorite scenes was “Survival Sex” for GirlGirl.com with Alex de la Flor and Alina Lopez. It was this really good story about this troubled teen (Alex) whose older step sister (Alina) is trying to get her off the streets only to have the situation reversed on her. Alex ultimately intimidates a reluctant Alina into sex. I shot it in collaboration with Disciples of Desire on location in downtown LA. It has a cool, unique look to it amongst my films.
What filmmaking challenges are specific to girl/girl pornography?
I guess the biggest difference between B/G and G/G is that in a G/G scene the reactions of both performers hold equal interest, where as in a BG scene the viewer is more interested in seeing the female’s reactions. So there are more simultaneous points of interest in a G/G scene than in a B/G so you have to use a different philosophy of coverage. That’s why I tend to shoot multi camera for G/G so there is always a camera on both performers faces and the editor can curate the best moments for the viewer to enjoy.
What’s one of your pet peeves about girl/girl pornography?
Obviously girls who don’t actually like working with other girls.
What has been your most technically demanding production?
Probably the feature i did for GirlGil.com Paranormal. It was a horror movie with an all start cast and really cool characters and special effects. We won the AVN award for best all girl movie this past year. The scene with Adriana Chechik and Kristen Scott was my favorite! Such amazing acting by Adrianna Chechik playing a girl possessed by a demon. If you haven’t seen it you have to check it out.
In your directorial filmography, which movies do you think have had the most interesting or unusual storylines?
A movie I shot for Girlsway called: “Breastfeeding the Babysitter” where Aali Kali lactated into Abella Danger’s eager mouth. It was unusual, but also kind of cool.
Squirt On Me
is among your all-time bestselling videos on Adult Empire. Tell us a little bit about shooting that movie!
That scene between Kenzie reeves, Adrianna Chechik and Chloe Temple was amazing. The intro was cute and the girls drenched the set with squirt. You could really see that these girls knew what they where doing in a squirt scene. All while bathing in the morning light coming through a window. It was magical.
Which subgenres (squirting, family roleplay, MILF, etc.) in girl/girl porn do you most enjoy shooting?
I like it all. Stepmom stories has probably been the most popular for me over time, but squirting has also been a really popular one. I don’t care, as long as there is some kind of story involved. I love telling erotic lesbian stories of all kinds.
Talk about working with performers. How much feedback do you usually give?
Depends on the performer and depends on the scene. For a scene that has to be very specific (like it sets up something that happens later on) then I tend to give more direction. If I’m dealing with an experienced performer and the performance doesn’t have to be super specific then I give less direction.
What do you value most in a porn performer?
Great facial reactions. Also I value experience. Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither is a performer. It takes us all years to hone our craft. That being said, I have met some girls who hit the ground running. Alina Lopez is name that comes to mind.
Tell us a little bit about the She Seduced Me label.
After making Girlsway for Gamma and GirlGirl for Jules Jordan, I wanted to have a brand/project that was mine that I could just do my own way, without having to get anyone else’s permission or approval. It started as a side project, but COVID changed that giving me months and months uninterrupted to work on it. I guess the whole lockdown was a blessing in disguise. Now having shot over 100 scenes for She Seduced Me, I’m super proud of what it has evolved into. The content is great and all my favorite performers are on the site. If you like my other work, you will LOVE She Seduced Me.
When directing a scene, do you always have specific beats and visuals in mind to capture? Or do you prefer to allow the sex to play out organically, to the extent possible?
Again it depends on the scene but as a general philosophy I try to let the sex scene develop as organically as possible. We go through the positions in photos and after that I let them take the resigns and if they do what we did in photos great, if not that’s also cool. You do you ladies. I’m much more specific when it comes to the intros through. I have specific beats I want to hit with the story and specific body blocking so the performers are always open to the camera yet against the backdrop I selected from my angle. Stuff like that.
What are some of your favorite mainstream books, movies, music, and/or TV shows?
I love fantasy and sci fi. Game of Thrones, Marvel universe, DC universe, Star Wars etc.
What would your dream porn project be, if money were no object?
Very few people in porn have a have a huge production budget. Even the guys who work for the big companies. So it’s a more level playing field than you might think. So lately I have found myself in a position to do exactly that: make the site that I want to make. So I did. It’s called She Seduced Me and I love it. It’s got all my favorite performers and we are doing member written scenarios and best of all we have a years worth of updates in the can so we aren’t going anywhere.
What are some of your upcoming plans/projects?
I am focused right now on building She Seduced Me into the best story-driven lesbian content around. I hope everyone checks out the site!
