'Up Close' With Adult Time's First VR Director Avery Black

This feature appears in the May issue of AVN magazine. Click here for the digital issue. LOS ANGELES—Avery Black brings a simple, straightforward philosophy into her VR shooting days. “One of my main goals is to make the VR experience as authentic and natural as possible,” Black says. That premise continues to serve Black well as she begins to come into her own as the first VR director for Adult Time. The heavyweight platform tapped her to pilot Up Close VR—the companion to Adult Time’s ongoing Up Close series, ushering in a new phase of her career. Avery continues to draw upon her years of experience as a performer and cam girl  in the venture that has become a welcome challenge and learning experience.  The native of Oakland, Calif., admits it isn’t easy to keep that natural flow going given the logistics of VR—but so far, so good. “They can be very sterile and long days because there is a lot of setup for each position, but with the freedom Adult Time has given me to direct I’ve been able to develop my own way of shooting,” Black tells AVN. “Lately, I’ve been trying to shoot as much of a gonzo experience as you can when it comes to shooting VR. So it’s less setup for every single position and more of letting the female talent give the viewer an authentic experience of what it’s like for them to be having sex with the actual performer.” Black at press time was getting ready to shoot Adult Time brand ambassadors Leana Lovings and Isiah Maxwell for Up Close VR, which follows the same unscripted narrative as the original series. The Spiegler Girl has amassed more than 270 credits since her mainstream porn debut in 2019. Now as a director Black tells AVN she would never ask someone to do something on her set that she wouldn’t do herself. “I like to give them the opportunity to show off their talent,” Avery says. “I’m never going to force you to do anything you don’t want to do or that I wouldn’t do or it would show in the actual scene that this isn’t who they are and how they perform. “My main goal as a VR director is to showcase the talent of the performer and their actual personality.” She pointed to guidance from AVN Hall of Fame producer/director Tristan Seagal, who is one of the most prolific VR shooters in the world, as something that has been instrumental to her growth. “It’s cool because obviously I’ve had a lot of great mentorship from Tristan and a lot of experience from other directors and seeing the way they direct and I’ve taken little bits from what they like from their sets and implemented them on my set with my flavor of directing,” she explains. “It’s been really interesting being able to curate my own style of directing. I feel like I’m finally growing as a director.” Avery tells AVN that at times “it’s been very nerve wracking” but that goes with the territory. “There’s been a lot of eyes on me, especially directing for such a huge company like Adult Time. And there aren’t too many VR directors who were previously performers,” Black continues. “Also there aren’t any female VR directors that were performers as well, so I think because of that I have a lot to offer from the talent perspective.” Black says the VR community has expanded along with the advancements in technology, such as the new Apple Vision Pro headset. “There is so much potential in VR,” she says. “I’ve always enjoyed shooting VR myself as a performer. And not to toot my own horn, but I’ve gotten pretty decent reviews from fans and directors.” She likens the female performer’s perspective in a VR scene to “being at the optometrist and gynecologist at the same time.” “You don’t exactly see the face of who you’re having sex with. You just have two giant lenses in front of you,” she explains. Her partner Oliver Davis is one of porn’s top VR performers and a go-to guy for Seagal. “I see him only on the weekends; we’re only married during the weekends,” Avery jokes. “He’s a full-time VR performer during the week. “I’ve been a PA on sets where he’s been a VR performer. So from the very beginning I feel like I have a good perspective of the male performer’s point of view as well. I’m getting a lot of feedback every single day from the male perspective. I think the combination of our information is really ideal.” Avery started directing in October, but first began calling shots on her own in late February. At press time had shot almost 20 scenes for Up Close VR. She has lost count of the number of VR scenes she’s performed in since 2019. “I understand that a lot of performers don’t like shooting VR. There is a lot of technical setup and stop and go,” she says. “It’s a lot for whoever is in front of the camera. “So when I keep my days shorter I think it really helps the talent. I know most girls at the end of the day are really proud of the scene because they know the chemistry has translated and the setup is very minimal. So the days go by a lot faster and you see the actual enjoyment of the talent because they don’t have to keep stopping and going.” Black says some female performers charge more for VR scenes or simply say no to the bookings. “My goal as a director is to make it actually an enjoyable experience,” she adds. “I’m really happy when girls come off my set and they say it was such a good VR day.” Photography by CJ Media