Page 48 - AVN SEPTEMBER 2024

48 AVN.COM | 9.24 | ON THE SET
“The beauty of the [Adult Time] platform is that you can put something out and you can measure the results, you can produce on-demand based on results, so that’s how all of our projects get started,” Mills explained. “We put them out, we evaluate the results, and then we either continue, or adapt and adjust, or we’ll say that it didn’t work and try something else.”
With Lovings’ concept, Mills said she was interested in the “need for intimacy, especially digital forms of intimacy, that people are seeking out.
“You see a real increase in the last decade of people who are turning toward digital means for finding that connection that is becoming harder to develop in real life. You really saw that explode during the pandemic. There is a real epidemic of loneliness out there, particularly with a lot of people who want to feel love and affection, and they turn to digital entertainment to fulfill it,” she said.
Mills pointed out that “anal” and “stepmom” are two of the most searched terms on the Adult Time platform. She was interested to see the audience’s response with elements of emotion and “wish fulfillment” added to a story that might otherwise fit into a more narrow niche. Strangely enough, her curiosity was piqued by a Reddit thread on the topic of ASMR-based adult content.
Autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) is described as a tingly, relaxing sensation experienced when users listen to white noise or whispering, or when they watch videos featuring slow movement or messages of personal care. The ASMR community uses this content to relax and de-stress—and, yes, there are ASMR adult content scenes, both audio and visual. Mills even directed a series for Adult Time titled ASMR Fantasy.
“You know we try to take daring choices,” Mills continued. “We push ourselves technically, we push ourselves in terms of subject matter, and we’re an all-inclusive platform so we have the freedom and flexibility to be able to tackle pretty much anything within the realm of what is acceptable by our standards. So, we have the freedom to try things that some of our counterparts might not be as flexible to do because they’re more stuck in specific niches or specific audiences.
“It’s kind of my vision originally that created a space to be able to have the freedom to do that, and over the years we’ve just cultivated like-minded producing teams and performers who want to try something new. We’re a good space to do that because we were engineered to be able to do that,” she said.
Lovings, an eager young auteur, was careful to make sure the set had a comfortable, positive vibe. This was especially evident when she sat down with the performers to record a head-to-toe checklist of what activities each performer would be comfortable allowing during the action. When she reminded Ryan and Surreal that their scene would include lots of kissing, fingering, and squirting, it set off a flurry of giggles. Both actresses were straightforward about their boundaries. Mills reminded everyone about safe words and protocols for stopping the scene if needed.
The day’s first vignette went off without a hitch. Starting on a white leather living room sofa, the focus was fully on Vespoli in a pink dress, as she delivered a loving stepmom POV monologue to the camera, leaning into the lenses with a soft, seductive tone.