Ben
Last year, we spent some time catching up with Anna Bell Peaks to talk about the realities of being a multi-platform adult star, the challenges of broadcasting yourself wherever you can, and the endless energy required to take advantage of every opportunity that comes your way. Working hard is hard work.
One year on, we’ve checked in again to see if producers are pounding down Anna Bell Peaks’ doors to shoot VR porn scenes and what the realities are when you’re in front of the camera.
For anyone hoping that that VR could potentially revive the fortunes of a porn industry ravaged by an oversupply problem, it’s probably not the ‘silver bullet’ you’re looking for, but it could still potentially play an important part in the overall adult landscape, by having an effect on things like adult livecams.
Right now, however, it’s being hampered by technical limitations and an audience that’s still trying to figure out what’s possible, how everything works and what’s actually worthwhile.
“Eventually VR will have an impact on live cams. Right now the broadcasting speeds don’t support it very well and websites don’t have the capacity to deal with it,” Anna Bell Peaks told me. Indeed, our own roundup of the best VR livecam sites has just four entries right now.
Free STG members can get a 48% discount on the first month (making it $14.95). The link is waiting in your account dashboard.
Interestingly, ABP likens it to other shifts in technology towards augmenting the basic viewing experience – think IMAX and 3D TV, but without the inevitable failure. Where 3D TV was never worth the experience, VR really can be, which is the key differentiating factor whether that content is porn, a game or something more educational.
It’s a neat format that some will like and others won’t, similar to 3D feature movies or IMAX.
It doesn’t eliminate the other types of videos, but for some viewers, it might get them in the theater to watch.
Admittedly, that theater might well be a virtual one, but the point remains the same.
Perhaps, given the ‘love it or hate it’ nature of VR experiences, it follows that demand from producers to shoot VR porn scenes isn’t any higher than for regular scenes right now. An industry known for innovation still can’t afford to gamble too much on the future. ABP says that the rates are comparable too, rather than being set higher.
Nonetheless, it does offer performers something extra – all important exposure. Peaks has only shot one scene so far, but as a canny business operator, sees the opportunities.
I’ve done just one VR scene so far and loved the idea of doing it. Oh my god, to be seen in 3D… more like I’m right in front of you, on you, touching you. Yes,[shooting more] sounds amazing!
[It provides] additional exposure through a new type of video shooting… I hope demand continues to grow in VR and that I get to shoot more in the future!
How well you do at delivering the scene as a performer depends on how convincing you are; VR is an experience based on immersion, so poor performance (really!) can ruin that much more so than a regular shoot. Ideally, you’d need to be comfortable dealing directly with the camera, making it ideal for ABP, considering her extensive webcam work on site such as Chaturbate [NSFW].
I don’t really see a big difference in VR compared to other things I do. I love to talk dirty, and am doing a ton of webcamming.
I’m used to looking straight into the camera and playing towards it.
Another area where technology and sex are overlapping more than ever is in teledildonics – and again, it’s another area that is having a creeping impact on adult webcam performers, with many favoring devices from We-Vibe and Lovense.
“I definitely have favorite devices to use on web cam, like I have a Hitachi and a Sybian.” Peaks’ favorites, however, may not be yours, obviously.
“It’s all in what you like,” she added.
Free STG members can get a 48% discount on the first month (making it $14.95). The link is waiting in your account dashboard.
Read next: Best VR porn sites 2017
