Cannes: The place where movie magic has happened for decades. It’s where Brigitte Bardot became a star. It’s where business and art mingle to fuel culture and the entertainment industry. And it was there, a few years ago, where I, Tina Kay, became an adult movie director!
I can still remember when I was invited to join Harmony Films, the leading adult production company in the U.K. and one of the biggest in Europe, as their brand ambassador to Cannes. I was in my social element, meeting all the distributors and other clients that Harmony regularly does business with — the wheelers and dealers of the biz.
When you have matching energy and like-minded people working together, work is pure pleasure.
Then, somebody asked me, “Are you also … a director?”
And that’s how me and Harmony decided to make this partnership — just an idea in the champagne-and-deals atmosphere of Cannes at the time — a reality. Turns out, I was already there with my experience — I just needed approval to make it official!
To be fair, it wasn't a decision made in that sudden moment, or on a whim, or by others, or by the champagne. I had been, by default, directing my own scenes for other companies for a long time already. Most productions just let me do my own thing, play with my own style — and I had a “den mother” reputation helping all the newbies in the industry on set while shooting threesomes, “seduction of the innocent” scenes, etc. I mean, what can I say, I’m tall, extroverted and like to be in charge!
I have a genuine passion for performing and creating. I’m not there on set to be told what to do, switch on auto-pilot, perform, receive the check and go home. I'm there to create a product, work with a team together, do marketing, promote, learn, play around with lights and even do my own styling. I'm 100 percent body and soul on every set.
And it's really easy for me to convey this to other performers while I'm directing, especially models who don't have this genuine interest in the craft of filmmaking as much as myself. Many actors are just happy being told what to do, and that's perfect for me!
So, I honed my directorial chops naturally during my own scenes.
Also, it made business sense for me and for Harmony. Since I was a brand name (a selling factor), the combination of me performing and directing could double the effect.
After we returned from Cannes, we filmed my directorial debut in Barcelona, “Tina's Porn House Vacation,” and it was a great success. My first film was released for broadcasters across TV channels in the U.K., on DVD internationally and online for partners and affiliates.
The bosses were very happy and soon after that, I was directing one movie every month.
One big difference with my movie, which people noticed, was that I was part of a growing trend of more and more female performers coming on board as directors, which is fantastic!
We (performers) have so much more to offer to sell the product. From a technical perspective, having females with industry experience behind the camera brings something more interesting than just a regular camera guy (often moonlighting from mainstream advertising or another similar gig) pressing the button and saying, “Let’s roll it.”
We make it more playful, more artistic, more passionate and more real!
I am self-taught as a director. I’m always watching how people are working and most of the time, I have a very close working relationship with crews. I offer my input in every movie without them even asking. But that’s only part of the answer. There is no “The Secret of Success” to any kind of filmmaking, be it porn or mainstream. You have to infuse it with your personality to create your own success and develop your unique style.
My technical skills keep growing with every project, though. I love learning and, luckily, I have a big team around me, so I can always trust them to press the right buttons on the camera.
I'm more of a visual concept director, and you could say (ahem) that on set, I’m the expert on the sexual aspects of the shoot. My best ideas are born spontaneously. I know what I want to create and I do what it takes to make it happen on the technical side.
And what I want is classic, sophisticated aesthetics mixed with wild, hardcore freedom! My motto is "classy/nasty" or, as my talent calls it, “TK stylish hardcore.” I basically combine two extremes — visually and sexually. And it's working.
I always tell the newbies, “Never ever try to copy anyone! Their style and their success aren't going to be yours!” That's the biggest failure of flash-in-the-pan people who don't last even a few months in the industry. You must be happy within your mind and your body, and work your way up, being your genuinely unique self.
And some of my Harmony projects are purely my babies! I create everything from A to Z, as long as I get approval and my ideas fit into the Harmony Films selling framework. I love freedom!
Other projects are very much in the Harmony “house style.” For instance, they have an award-winning series called "Young Harlots" that’s been going on for more than 10 years now, so I just direct it in the same style they already established. Why mess with a winning formula, right?
With Harmony Films, it's very much a mix-and-match of personal and studio projects — but always with a hint of TK spice in it!
I also thrive when collaborating with the right partner — or muse. When I was creating our recent Jasmine Jae showcase, I started off all by myself, choosing the location and talent, styling it, as well as designing different looks for each of the five scenes. Jasmine's own natural sex skills guided my approach, as I wanted to spotlight everything she does best with every scene. It's her first British-produced showcase (a huge deal) and it was really thrilling for me to do her justice! Luckily, because we were working together so closely with Jasmine, we made it our baby.
I love passionate people, who genuinely want to be on the set, create and be free. Jasmine was perfect — versatile, adaptable, confident, creative and raw: just the way I like my women … and men! I also had an all-international superstar cast to make five mind-blowing epic scenes, so we did! When you have matching energy and likeminded people working together, work is pure pleasure. Say what you will about my sets, but I don't shoot boring stuff!
The job satisfaction I got after the whole showcase was finished and I was able to have a glimpse of the editing screens was surreal! Like an orgasm itself, it was an amazingly proud feeling.
And wait until people get to see “Extreme,” my most hardcore baby yet, which I created for Harmony for 2020! “Extreme” takes my “classy/nasty” approach to a whole new level. The intro alone is Amber Jayne’s first anal scene, where she is warmed up (by me) with hot candle wax, followed by the lighted candle shoved into her ass as she waits for Jay Snakes’ arrival, who then blows it out and shoves his cock in!
The amount of “Extreme” screaming that was going on (caused by fisting, double-fisting, upside-down handstand fucking, etc.) caused the neighbors to pay a visit to make sure nobody needed an ambulance.
Now, normally I don't like to deal with civilians when I’m working, but this time, the studio owner was excited to share with them what was going on at his studio, and he invited them inside to watch the show.
They stepped onto my set just as the wonderful Kiki Minaj was in a double vaginal position, with a fist in her award-winning ass.
The neighbors were absolutely speechless. Harmony’s studio owner swooped in and handed them a few copies of other DVDs to watch and told them to look forward to the brand-new TK production they were witnessing. They thanked him, still shocked, and went on their way, followed by a symphony of Kiki’s screams.
I could not make this up! That was my first positive experience being caught by civilians and getting away with it. So we all continued our mayhem with even bigger energy than what we had started with!
Another recent set visit (this one was planned, though) made it all come full circle for me. I was shooting in France and our broadcasting partners came to visit my set. They also enjoyed the live entertainment and saluted me —Tina Kay, director —with a champagne toast. And, more importantly, we made a big sale with our partners!
I also must say, that receiving my proudest award of my career as a performer, 2020 XBIZ Foreign Female Performer of Year, is my biggest motivation to go further and maybe receive recognition as a director next. There is always much to look forward to from the TK brand!
