Creating a structure

I have decided to base the structure of my script around 13 topics. Although I originally wanted this to be a very short film of around 10 minutes, having interviewed Ella, Ivy and Dirk I don’t feel that this is long enough to cover anywhere near all the important information they have given me. I feel a strong sense of responsibility to accurately represent their view of the industry, and want to do so in an in depth way, rather than just skimming over what I believe are incredibly interesting views on not only the escorting and punting, but they way that sex and relationships work in a non-traditional sense. This is the final structure for my film:

1: How did it start? What made you get involved with industry and how did it happen?

I think this is a really good place to start the film: start at the beginning so to speak. It is one of the only parts of the film that I intend to include personal stories from my interviewees, and think It will be a good way to introduce them. It was also one of the things that I was most interested in when starting the film. I also think it is good place to open the film as it immediately dispels the common myth that “no woman would do this job out of choice”. I would like to show this from the offset of the film as I think it will change the way the rest of the discussions are viewed by the audience.

2: Financial side: how much do you make and is it really that much?

Before speaking to my interviewees about this, it wasn’t something that I intended to include as I didn’t want to make a film about how much money the girls make. However, upon asking both sides about it, I think it’s important that the audience understands that most girls don’t actually make as much as most people would suspect. One of the first things Ella spoke to me about was the fact that her lifestyle really hadn’t changed all that much since starting escorting. I think a lot of people think that the only reason girls would get involved in the industry is the money, however this isn’t true in the case of Ella and Ivy, and this is backed up by Dirk and by things I have read on Saafe.

3: Standard booking?

I was very unsure whether or not to include this in the final film. In some ways I feel that it is boardering on being voyeuristic, but at the same time the way that the girls speak about it is fascinating and I believe it gives a really clear insight into the way they view their job. They are so matter of fact, and I think that the idea that each booking follows a very similar, choreographed sequence of events backs up later points about how the sex is different at work vs in their personal life.

4: UKPunting

It would be impossible not to include UKPunting in the film. Not only have I got a lot of text from the site, but the impact that is has on the girls business, on the way punters and escorts view each other, on regulating the industry (in favour of the punters) is undeniable. The girls were so determined to speak about it that it had to be included. They feel incredibly voiceless when it comes to the forum, as whenever a girl posts on there to defend herself or to argue with points being made, she is almost always banned and deleted.

5: Agencies – are they working for or against the girls?

This was an interesting point of discussion for me, as I had not realised that there was much difference between working for an agency and independently. Interestingly, Dirk was the one with the strongest views on this. The girls did not really see a big problem with agencies, whereas Dirk compared them to pimps in a very negative way. It is a big area of discussion in the industry, and also brings up questions about the legal side of escorting, which is a very important topic in the film. This raises a few issues that introduce the discussion of legalisation.

6: Define some terms

This was something I realised I needed to include early on when I started my initial research. The industry has its own language for talking about sex, and in particular I needed the audience to understand the definition of girlfriend experience in order to set up discussions about where the job gets complicated.

7: Does it ever get complicated?

This was a very important topic for me. One of the main things I wanted the film to examine was intimacy and how it works within a professional environment. I think for a lot of people watching the film, sex will be something that is hard to view in a professional way, and ignoring the emotional risks involved with the job would be crazy. Dirk in particular had some really interesting points to make about this, and you can very clearly see the difference between how a client might view the sessions and how the escorts do.

8: Relationships with / being an escort

This was a big point of interest on our reddit AMA, and I thought it was important to include it in the film as it brings the interviewees into the context of something most of us understand – romantic relationships. I think it is a section that the audience will particularly relate to, and is less about the industry itself and more about the impacts of working in the industry in our society. It is also interesting to hear Dirk’s take, as he is currently in a relationship with an escort. I think this is something that a lot of people won’t believe can work, however Dirk challenges this, which I think is very important as I want to show that assumptions about people involved are often very untrue.

9: How is the sex different?

I think this section is important in understanding how people work in the industry. The girls view sex so differently at work to outside work, and I think this helps to explain how they do the job. Understanding the differences is a big part of accepting the differences, as I think one reason many people have a problem with the industry is they see sex as a very special act. Seeing how differently it is viewed in the sex industry helps explain why people use escorts, as well as challenging societies view of monogamous relationships being the only way to explore sex.

10. What are the good parts, the attractive parts of the industry?

Dirk made some really interesting points about perceived glamour, and I wanted this to be included in the film. Looking at the positive aspects of the industry is a good way to challenge some of the misconceptions that argue against legalisation.

11. What are the bad parts of the industry?

I wanted to present a balanced view of the industry, so this section was important to make sure that both sides: good and bad, are represented.

12: Does the law have it right?

This is very much the crux of the whole film, as well as my main motivation for making it. The legalisation of prostitution is an issue that attracts very opposing views, and is there is a lot of debate over whether or not our laws have it right. The fact that the escorting industry operates through a tiny loophole in our law is one of the main reasons the people involved are pushed to the fringes of society, and so challenging this was incredibly important, not only to me but to my interviewees.

13: Final comments

This is a very small section, just to summarise my interviewee’s thoughts on the industry.

I have decided that in between each verbatim section, I am going to include posts found on UKPunting and Saafe, as well as emails that Ella and Ivy have shown me from punters. This is to present a more general look at the topics, and to give the film more voices. This is important as three people is a very small number compared to the millions involved in the industry.

My following blog posts are the material from the interviews that I have chosen for each section.