The Studio

What the business is

The Studio is a UK adult film producer that recruits its own performers. Its homepage calls it "the UK's largest recruiter of amateur porn stars to star in our own amateur porn movies", a description that is the company's own. The site says performers are paid for every film they work in, it is aimed at amateurs rather than established performers, and the site states "There are no fees or upfront charges."

The offices are in Central London, where the company says it also has 2 adult film studios, plus another studio in Surrey. The films are made for what the site calls the private viewing market in the UK and abroad, and the company says they are shown through cable TV in hundreds of hotels it has contracts with. It recruits men and women from across the UK, and the page says the age range is 21 to 70.

How earning works here

The Studio is an employer-and-producer model, not a platform where you set up a page and sell to fans. You apply, you are booked for a day of filming, and you appear in a film the company owns and distributes. The site lists what it offers in a short list. You get paid to star in every movie you work in. You get royalty payments every time your film is shown in a hotel. You choose the type of films you want to make. You keep a copy of your film on DVD for yourself. It says you do not have to be good looking, slim or athletic.

Distribution is the part that sets it apart from creator platforms. The site says none of its films are shown on the Internet, only in hotels, and it presents this as a way to work in adult films "without worrying about being spotted". Whether that matters to you is personal, but it does mean there is no public profile, no audience to build and no subscription income. Earnings come from the company's own payments, not from fans.

The company says it is currently filming 6 days a week, calls that schedule heavy and says it is constantly seeking new applicants. It also says that applicants come from all over the UK to do a day's filming in London or Surrey, and that where you live does not matter as long as you are reliable and able to perform. For all filming except gay movies it uses an all-female camera crew, which the site describes as experts at filming and at making performers feel comfortable on set.

4 sites, one company

The homepage says the company runs 4 separate websites for recruitment, all owned by it, each dealing with different types of adult movies. The homepage names 2 of them with their own descriptions.

• Amateurs Fun Studio, which the site calls its first ever website. It recruits general porn jobs for men and women over 21 into Straight, Lesbian and Gay filming. The address given is www.amateursfun-studio.com.
• UP4ITUK, added because the first site drew requests for other types of movies. It is for men and women over 23 into Straight, Lesbian, Gay, Orgies, fetishes and personal movies. The address given is www.up4ituk.com.

The homepage also lists film types by name across the rest of its network: Interracial, BDSM, MILF, Domination, Themed, Medical, Lesbian, Fantasy, Gay, Fetish, Couples and CFNM movies among them. The site says applicants choose the type of films they want to make, and each recruiting site handles its own kinds of movie.

For male performers, the pages are direct about it. The company recruits men and women, and the Straight, Lesbian and Gay filming on the first site is open to men over 21. The all-female crew rule has one stated exception, gay movies.

For fetish work, the site tells applicants who want 2 or more different types of jobs, with the example of Matures and Fetish, to go to each website and apply separately. It explains that different ladies in the office look after applications for different websites, and that you are welcome to apply to as many of the sites as you like. A quick application button on the homepage leads to one of the standard application forms.

The Voyeur Service

Anyone unsure can ask to come and watch a film being made live. The site calls this a "Voyeur Service", says all the sites offer it, and says it is a way to see that the company is genuine. It adds that there is a small charge for it, so the company is not "inundated with requests". The site gives no amount for that charge. It is optional and separate from applying to perform.

Money and rules

The site states its terms as a short list of promises, without amounts.

• Pay per film. The site says you get paid to star in every movie you work in.
• Royalties. The site says you get royalty payments every time your film is shown in a hotel.
• Fees. The site says there are no fees or upfront charges. It warns about "rogue recruiters that ask for signing on fees or upfront payments and never get you a job", and presents itself as the opposite. The Voyeur Service carries a small charge.
• Age. The homepage says applicants can be any age from 21 to 70. Amateurs Fun Studio is described as for people over 21, and UP4ITUK as for people over 23.
• Your copy. You keep a copy of your film on DVD. The site says you can pass it to other recruiters so they can see how you perform.
• Distribution. Films are shown in hotels and not on the Internet, according to the site.

The site does not publish a film rate, a royalty rate or how and when either is paid. The only e-mail address on the page is for reporting problems with the website, and the page says applications sent to it will not be received; applications go through the forms on the linked recruiting sites.

Who it suits and who it does not

The Studio suits someone in the UK who wants paid work as an on-camera performer, has no existing audience and no wish to build one. The site says it recruits amateurs and that previous experience is not required, and it adds that you may have made films before and that it does not mind. A person who has been turned down elsewhere for not fitting a particular look is the reader this page is written for, since it says you need not be good looking, slim or athletic.

It also suits people who would rather not have their work appear online. The company's claim that films are shown only in hotels, not on the Internet, is the main draw for that reader. Men and women are both recruited.

It suits less well anyone who wants control over their own distribution, a fan base, tips or subscriptions. None of that exists here: the company owns and shows the films, and you are one of its performers. It also does not suit anyone who needs a figure to compare before they travel, because the film payment and the royalty are promised without numbers.

Finally, this is a job tied to a place. Filming happens in Central London and Surrey, and the site describes applicants traveling to do a day's filming. If you cannot reach those studios, the model does not work for you.