MILES LONG
Tell us a bit about yourself.
Miles Long: I started off as a performer in 1999, started to move behind the camera in 2004, because as I went from company to company to pick up copies of the movies I was in, I began to see the folks who were driving Ferraris were the producers and product owners, and it gave me the drive to buy the expensive camera and sound equipment, and move more into production so I could really understand the back end of the movie making business. In 2005 I started shooting Camera, Directing and doing mainstream work (documentaries and MMA events) as well.
By 2008 I had started doing Photography which I realized I also had a huge passion for, which led to me shooting covers, centerfolds and layouts for many many magazines, both mainstream and adult. In 2012 I started to notice a change in the nature of the business to be less movie based and more internet based. I began to work much more in that market space, for Brazzers, Twistys, Babes, Mofos initally, and subsequently CE Cash, Bangbros & Bang.com where I still work today, along with continuing to shoot and release POV and Girl Girl product for myself. I went back to performing POVs in 2013 initially for a client and then was encouraged to do them for myself, which brought be back full circle to 2020, where I was nominated for Best Oral Movie, Best Gonzo Movie and Best POV Sex Scene with Eliza Ibarra.
How did you get into directing?
Miles Long: My good friend and Mentor, Michael Ninn encouraged me to pursue my passion to direct after spending many years developing under him. Scott Taylor at New Sensations gave me my first opportunities to direct movies and really allowed me to pursue my visions of capturing high end sets, beauty and imagery, with intense sex together in one series, “Addicted” which garnered many nominations, for Best All Sex Release, Best Director Non Feature, Best Editing, Best High End All Sex Release, Best High Definition Release, Best All-Girl Sex Scene – Video, Best Couples Sex Scene – Video, Best Vignette Series as well as a win for Best All-Sex Series
Can you explain what a director does?
Miles Long: Directors inspire everyone to work together to accomplish the goal: to make something amazing. To be a good Director is to not see a project simply as something they do themselves. Directing is a collaborative effort, like the conductor of an orchestra. You can’t make something great if you cannot inspire everyone around you to be their greatest as well.
It really helps to have experience as a performer, so that you can understand what can and can’t be done and relate well to your performers; to understand lighting, so you can understand how to realize the vision you have in your head for your project; to understand and be able to shoot camera and stills so all these things can shine as well. But if you cannot inspire other people to want to accomplish something special, and work together for it, you will not be as successful as you want to be. There is no I in Team. Directing will always be a team effort.
Why directing?
Miles Long: I’ve always had a passion for all aspects of movie making, so to be able to fuse all my experiences, in front, behind, post production, and to shape a creative vision from inside my mind to completion is something that’s incredibly fulfilling for me. It’s also incredibly fulfilling because I am a people person, who likes to interface with people, so to be able to use my communication skills to help other people be their best as well is something very special as well.
How do you think directing has changed over the years?
Miles Long: Directing a movie used to be a much bigger production, with a much larger crew and larger logistical tail, and much bigger budgets, with exotic locations. I remember when I first got into the business a director would sit in a director’s chair behind 2 monitors, next to an Assistant Director, Sound Guy, and communicate to 2 Camera Operators with radios. There were separate Still Photographers, Grip, Best Boy, PAs, Catering and so forth.
I’ve had productions fly me and a dozen crew to Hungary to shoot for 3 weeks for example. These days, a director wears many hats, I am the Director, Photographer, Videographer, Lighting Guy. While this has been budget driven to a large extent, it’s honestly something I evolved into to have greater control over the entire creative process to help me realize the vision I have in my head. To that end, it has become much more calm and less hectic on my sets as well.
As a director how do you stay ahead of trends?
Miles Long: Focus on building your brand, do the best possible work every time you shoot and have a great reputation.
What What mix of modern an older techniques do you use?
Miles Long: While I still shoot on a tripod for dialogue and run a boom for clean audio, when it comes to shooting the sex I still believe in hand held shots to capture the action the best way possible and deliver what the viewer wants to see.
If you weren’t directing what would you be doing?
Miles Long: When I’m not directing I pursue my hobbies: restoring rare cars and bikes and driving them, parachuting, shooting sports, scuba diving. All of my hobbies help me focus my mind completely on what I’m doing directly in front of me, that’s something I find incredibly relaxing.
You’ve been nominated and have won so many awards what motivates you now?
Miles Long: The awards are simply a by product of my drive to excel and do my very best at everything I do in my life. While it’s incredibly flattering to have people notice my work, it’s not the reason I work of do things in the style that I do. So my motivation has never changed, I’m driven to do the best I can do in everything that I do because that’s who I am, not because I was ever looking for recognition for it. I think that’s important because it shows how incredibly happy I am with my life, that I found what I am passionate about and get to do it every day of my life. So really I’ve never worked a day in the last 21 years.
Can you talk us through the awards that you’ve won are there any that stand out?
Miles Long: 77 nominations, 10 Awards, 3 Halls of Fame: AVN, XRCO & Urban X Awards This last year was especially memorable, as I was recognized by my peers with 7 consecutive 2019 Best Director Nominations, from AVN, XRCO, XBIZ, Urban X Awards, Night Moves, Phoenix Forum, a Best POV Sex Scene nomination (I still actively perform) and also Won the 2019 IAFD Best Web Director – Web and NightMoves “Triple Play” awards.
What advice would you give to aspiring actors?
Miles Long: Work ethic and a personal drive to be your best trumps everything else, if you have these you will be successful no matter what business you endeavor to be successful in.
Where can fans see your work?
Miles Long: https://www.bang.com/ “Trickery” and “Surprise” https://bangbros.com/ https://povmania.com/home.html https://www.girlgirlmania.com/ https://www.instagram.com/mileslong4real/ https://twitter.com/mileslong4real
Which directors inspire you and why?
Miles Long: No Question, Michael Ninn, who was a pioneer in bringing high production value and mainstream work ethic to adult film, he was my mentor and one of my oldest friends & my good friend Chris Streams who is an incredible Gonzo director and talented photographer. He was the person who first showed me how to use a still camera.
What do you think is the future for the adult entertainment industry?
Miles Long: Work for me has evolved over the years as the market space has evolved. I liken the adult business, much like mainstream business to surfing: when you go surfing you see many people sitting on their surf boards waiting for a wave to catch, and a couple people paddling for the wave they want to be surfing on. To be successful you want to be the few people planning ahead for that wave you want and surfing, not the surfers sitting on their surfboards. As I have watched the business evolve from VHS, to DVD, to Internet based models, I made sure to evolve with it and move into the next market space before the last one had bottomed out. This is something every company must do to survive and flourish in their respective market spaces.
My Favorite Pornstar: Name a movie adult or mainstream that has inspired you & why it inspired you?
Miles Long: Shock, Latex both Michael Ninn movies and Catherine, which I was fortunate enough to work on for Michael Ninn as well.
As one of the most successful adult industry directors, how do you give back to the adult industry?
Miles Long: It’s always been important to me to give back so I’ve tried to be a good mentor especially to performers who are starting out, by giving them good tips, good advice and helping wherever I could, this is especially true of new male talent, as they are often thrown into the deep end of the pool so to speak without someone to help them navigate the business, let alone someone to help show them the ropes, help them develop their craft professionally and teach them good business practices.
What do you look for in an adult performer?
Miles Long: For a new performer: someone who is a good listener, who is eager to learn, open to constructive tips, (and for a new male: can get hard, stay hard and pop on cue.)
For an established performer: someone who is a good listener, who is a team player with a great attitude that wants to collaborate as a team to make something unique and special
Many would think that being surrounded by attractive women that directing would be a dream, what’s the reality?
Miles Long: Truly, I pinch myself every morning when I wake up just to make sure i’m not still dreaming. Life is what you make of it, if you do what you love everyday, you never work a day in your life.
You, know you’ve made it when you have a Wikipedia page dedicated to you. What moment in your life was the turning point?
Miles Long: I think for me I simply have work ethic and the drive to do my very best every day at whatever I’m doing. It’s super flattering that I have been able to reap the benefits of that work ethic because my peers have acknowledged me and I have been fortunate to garner many accolades, and recognition from social media platforms and the internet, but I think that 2019 was the year that stood out for me because I was fortunate enough to garner so much recognition in just one year. 7 nominations for Best Director, a Best Gonzo Production nomination, a Best Oral Production nomination, a Best POV Sex Scene nomination and 2 wins: IAFD Best Web Director and NightMoves “Triple Play” award. It made me realize that people really noticed that I deeply cared about what I did every day for work. That was especially gratifying.
Do you have anything that you’d like to add?
Miles Long: As Walter Bagehot so eloquently put: “The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do.”
Whenever someone says you cannot do something, it doesn’t mean You can’t, in means They can’t.
Who, within the adult industry would you like to nominate to answer these question?
Miles Long: Aubrey Black, Shelby Paris, Chris Streams
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