There’s a particular kind of relief that comes with realising you’re no longer needed and your baby’s in good hands. The Dreams of Spanking production team has seen some big changes lately – with the indispensable Eilidh Melville breaking our hearts by moving onto bigger and better projects – and my first time working behind the camera rather than in front of it. I’ve been a part of this industry for a number of years making content on my own as Chris Underwill, and it’s such a blessing to find a team that cares for both its cast and crew so thoroughly and radically at its core.
“This was the first shoot since we had some changes in our production team, so it was a bit of a litmus test – and the vibe on set was an absolute joy,” said Blake.
Since the start of the year, this was Blake’s third shoot where they weren’t needed to direct or do camera, leaving it to experienced hands Nimue Allen and Lo. Instead, they enjoyed showing up as a self-described “lowly set assistant and fluffer” – setting up lights, making drinks for performers, and popping in to check on details – before happily disappearing to get on with other work.
“I checked in with Nimue about a few details, and they had everything in hand,” Blake recalled. “I love being on set, having lunch with everyone, and chatting between scenes, but I also love not being needed!”
A team that just… worked
For director Nimue Allen, running the shoot without Blake at the helm was well within their capacity. “Given that it was our first shoot as a team, it all went so smoothly – I felt so incredibly supported, and things were just getting done without me having to stress out about them!”
Much of that confidence comes down to trust in the crew and performers. Faerie Willow, Mistress Lorraine, and Denali Dink are all firm Dreams of Spanking favourites. Nimue said, “It was my 3rd shoot directing Denali this year, and I’ll never get tired of having them on set. They bring an unflappable, calm, but fun professionalism every time we work with them.”
That trust extends to knowing that performers will tell us anything we need to know. “I really appreciate having performers on set who I know that I can trust to say stop if they need to, to call cut if they need to, to say ‘well that’s a bit too much,’ it makes my job so much easier,” Nimue explained. Knowing performers will speak up if something’s wrong means the director can relax rather than second-guessing it, letting Willow and Denali “really ramp up their reactions” without anyone worrying whether the struggle on screen was real.
Artisanal pornograpy
Camera person Lo – who made their on-camera debut this shoot in a sweet little cameo – pointed to Dreams of Spanking’s whole approach as the reason independent creatives like us can hold their own against a flood of AI-generated content. “I always enjoy being on a Dreams shoot,” Lo said. “More than ever I appreciate the ‘artisanal pornographer’ approach… And everyone is very open to suggestions for dialogue or staging etc.”
Faerie Willow echoes that same sense of a set where everyone’s contribution matters. “I feel like an actual creative when I’m on set with you guys, which is always really nice,” she said of working with Dreams of Spanking. “It’s just busy enough to feel like it really matters, but not so busy that it feels like it doesn’t matter how I feel.”
For Willow, it’s the balance between structure and freedom that stands out: “I love that my weirdness is not only tolerated, but encouraged with Dreams, and it just feels very collaborative in a fun way, not collaborative in a ‘come up with all of my ideas’ way.”
The scene everyone loved
Amid the day’s custom commissions, one scene stood out for the whole cast: a fourth-wall-breaking Dreams of Spanking original in which Blake and Willow’s characters are exposed for faking spankings – and sentenced to a very real one – live on camera, to prove the difference. The premise was inspired by this scene, a very serious documentary by Blake and Willow about how to fake hard spankings.
Nimue, directing from behind the camera, could barely keep composed. “I don’t think I’ve ever had so many full-on belly laughs, or risked laughing behind the camera as much as when we were filming this one.”
The verdict
With a new crew, a full slate of customs, a live ritual the night before, and a scene the whole team still can’t stop laughing about, the 21st of July shoot was a quiet milestone for Dreams of Spanking, proof that we don’t need Blake to have their hand in every pie in order to create the beautiful spanking films you know and love – and a welcome opportunity for cast and crew to have a whole lot of fun together.
Willow summed it up: “I love Dreams of Spanking. It’s my favourite studio to work with, and I don’t say that about other studios.”
