I am Missa X of MissaX.com and AllHerLuv.com. We're not very well-known, but 11 different scenes were nominated for awards this past year. We specialize in story-based scenes: comedies, dramas, taboo, slice of life and everything in-between. This requires that I write about two hours worth of dialogue per month. Across both sites, we produce about eight scenes per month.
I was eight credits away from completing my undergrad when an eBay customer asked to "buy my panties" in a listing where I was selling blue jeans. I had quit exotic dancing, this time for good — I was bound to make a career for myself, but was hardly interested in working for someone else. I sold my panties, shipped them from my conservative state of Wisconsin all the way to the U.K. I began selling panties full-time, and was selling other people's panties as well. My business was booming!
We have other actor/director projects in the works, fully produced, written and directed by the actors. All have worked with me on set for multiple days and are those I feel have the drive, creativity and understanding necessary to produce a film, not just a ‘porn scene.’
We had an offer for our first custom video, a taboo roleplay scene, so my husband and I went to Best Buy and bought a $200 camcorder. We used his industrial work lights to light up our "set" and sent the customer the video — we also sold it on clip stores. We didn't know what we were doing, had limited experience with cameras, had never (and still haven't) been on an L.A. porn set or a movie set for that matter. We tested out numerous genres, numerous niches and within a year, we had made it to the top 50 studio list on Clips4Sale. And yet, we were not fully satisfied.
We cut our teeth making custom videos, took on projects that required us to become better filmmakers, then within another year, our studio was No. 1 on Clips4Sale. I moved behind the camera and began hiring amateur models from Craigslist and soon after began hiring professional adult actors. We had to work hard to show the actors who are used to a professional film crew that our taboo stories were worthy of their best effort. We met wonderful actors that we believed in and, to our amazement, they believed in us! We've made some scenes that customers tell us were ground-breaking, unlike anything they've seen, and yet, we were still not fully satisfied.
We wanted to bring our stories to other audiences, so in late 2017, we started AllHerLuv.com, just like our MissaX taboo playhouse, except all-girl. We put all of our love into the site, and we've found our members to be loyal. And yet, we are still not fully satisfied.
Recently, I decided to take the next step. I began by asking veteran directors who had decades of experience to work with us, but I had hoped that they would want to learn more about our unique style and be willing to make something that would resonate with our customers. I was constantly disappointed by hearing that our filming practices were not "industry standard," so decided to work with someone fresh! We chose Kristen Scott as our first outside director, and I was so thrilled that she was happy to accept. As a former actor, I see a lot of myself in the actors that come to us. They're incredibly creative, they think outside the box and Kristen has proven that she can write a scene that is compelling, erotic and highly reviewed. "The Other Sister" stars Leigh Raven and Isiah Maxwell and the actors did a phenomenal job for Kristen.
We have other actor/director projects in the works, fully produced, written and directed by the actors. All have worked with me on set for multiple days and are those I feel have the drive, creativity and understanding necessary to produce a film, not just a "porn scene." I like underdogs; I feel we are underdogs, the little engine that could.
Since 2012, we've learned everything we know about cinematography from studying online, gradually buying professional film equipment, with much trial and error. I was proud of every little accomplishment — being able to afford my first home, buying rental homes and selling them to build our dream home. In fact, many of our dreams were coming true, but no one else was proud of us. In the conservative Midwest, we are outcasts, seen as degenerates despite our successes. My husband and I quickly learned that we had to be proud of ourselves, by ourselves. If you had told me, that in 2019, I would be producing adult films and that I would win XBIZ Web Director of the Year, I never would have believed you. We're not well-known, but we are proof that you can make films that you can be proud of without the backing of or cooperation with the corporate conglomerates.
You can be an outsider. You can be "just a clip store." Not everyone you hire will respect what you do. There will be setbacks. There will be other companies that copy you. There will be people who roll their eyes at your passion and recommend that you "not take your job so seriously, it's 'just porn.'" This job can be discouraging. There's a social cost to being in this industry, and feeling excluded and looked down on can hurt. If you can press on, enjoy your successes as they come and surround yourself with the few that believe in you, then you can find your place in this industry. If there is not a place for you in the industry, you can make your own.
I hope that I can be some inspiration for anyone who wants to make their living as a producer. It does require working seven days per week and living month to month with big dreams. We may not ever be fully accepted by our peers and we'll certainly never be "industry standard," but we are innovative, hungry and here to stay. We will work until we are fully satisfied, and I fear that may not ever happen, but we're having a great time in the journey.
2019 XBIZ Web Director of the Year Missa X is an innovative filmmaker who expanded her business from custom videos to become a cinematic maestra in the biz. Her site MissaX.com is a taboo playhouse bringing erotic stories to life with acting-rich tales, while AllHerLuv.com crafts gorgeously realized all-girl content.
