Earlier this year, just as every corner of adult was grappling with the effects of the pandemic lockdown, mr. Pam abruptly chose an unexpected path. The acclaimed filmmaker – she has two XBIZ Awards for Gay Director of the Year on her mantelpiece – announced she was leaving her longtime home at Falcon/NakedSword to establish her own shingle: Wham Bam Pictures.
Pam established the boutique production company in Las Vegas, where she relocated from San Francisco in late 2018, and offers a wide range of services from consultations to photography, videography, production management and more.
I just want to really encourage everybody to take risks right now. The world is so hard and it’s in such chaos and it’s a beautiful time to reinvent yourself.
She had already begun quietly guiding performers in how to produce their own clips at a more polished level, but the lockdown and subsequent studio focus on performer-generated content means her services are now in high demand.
“I have packages I put together for models to shoot content. I think they’re realizing that holding a cell phone gets a little boring and they’ve got to step it up a notch,” she notes. “But I’ll do everything from quickie iPhone videos to high-end narrative porn. Everything. And I love doing it all. I love shooting with my iPhone and I love getting a huge script and a huge cast and crew, like an indie film, but with guys fucking in it. I’ve branched off into a little bit of trans [work], too. A little bit of everything, you know? My motto is ‘Make money, be creative and have fun.’ If it falls under that umbrella, then let’s do it.”
Pam marvels at how quickly the aesthetic of self-shot content has evolved in less than a year. “It’s crazy! Look at how many studios now have model-produced content,” she exclaimed. “I honestly feel there’s room for everybody. But when I started my studio, I was talking to investors and looking at the numbers and doing my due diligence. The lawyers said, ‘Hmmm… not right now.’”
“So now we all show up and shoot really hot content and we all share the footage,” said Pam. “I love trading content. There’s so many clip stores and almost no overhead.”
Traded content also allows her the room to experiment and pair off performers that weren’t available to her otherwise. “God, I just shot a scene with Devin Franco and Ricky Larkin, who is my roommate. It was insane! The energy was so incredible. I need to put it on my clip sites after we get off the phone. It’s definitely on the OnlyFans for Ricky and Devin.”
Pam reminds me that during an XBIZ interview in 2017, we spoke about a memoir chronicling her career that morphed into an acclaimed solo show. “I’m still working on that book,” she revealed. “I am constantly writing; I read other people’s autobiographies and try to write every day. There are so many stories! And now we’re on a whole new chapter.”
XBIZ: How have you been negotiating the lockdown these past months?
Pam: I’m lucky I’m here with Ricky outside Vegas. I moved to this small area where it’s not that populated. I can walk the dog without a mask because I literally see nobody. There’s nobody around; it’s the middle of the desert. To be in a big city right now sounds really freaky. You know that I was in San Francisco forever; I actually sublet my place to Mr. Kristofer [Weston]. Do you know him?
XBIZ: I do, indeed.
Pam: Our plan was to just swap back-and-forth between San Francisco and Vegas and apartment-share and that came to a screeching halt [this year]. He has pimped out my old place!
XBIZ: I do follow him very closely on social media.
Pam: [laughs] So you’ve seen his posts.
XBIZ: Oh, yes.
Pam: That’s my old place. The wig rack has been replaced by a bondage rack. It’s a rental! But he’s totally renovated it. It looks awesome.
XBIZ: We’ve been interviewing people in the industry about how they’ve pivoted during COVID and right as all this happened, you made a big shift to start a new company — I keep wanting to call it “Wham ‘Pam’ Pictures.”
Pam: “Wham bam, thank you, Pam!” [laughs] I’m actually reclaiming it for myself after all the times I got shit [growing up]. Now we’re taking it back.
XBIZ: That’s great.
Pam: I’ve had that name floating around forever.
XBIZ: Set up how this all came about.
Pam: I was actually shooting in Austria [for Falcon Studios] when Trump issued the travel ban. I was production managing. I get a call at 3 a.m. in the morning and had to literally wake everybody up and tell them to pack their shit. I had the big [production] van, so I drove everybody out of Austria to the Munich airport and we landed here in Vegas.
XBIZ: That’s incredible. And the lockdown was already underway when you landed.
Pam: At first, I was thankful to have a full-time job. Then as everything started unfolding, I thought, “Now is the time. Now’s the time to break off and go freelance. Take that leap.” The world is already in chaos; why not make it more chaotic? So, yeah, I filed my LLC and had a great talk with [company president] Tim [Valenti] and parted ways with Falcon/NakedSword. I’m still going to be freelancing with them, but it’s so exciting to go out on my own right now with this production company.
XBIZ: That’s a bold move.
Pam: Of course, the first month I was just swanning around, “Oooh, I can do everything! I can redefine porn!”
XBIZ: Then reality set in.
Pam: [laughs] But that’s what we’re all doing in this pandemic anyway. It’s just so funny how everything has gone full-circle. The models are doing their own content, which just makes sense because they’re always filming themselves fucking each other on their iPhones anyway. A lot of the studios felt threatened by that. But I’ve always shot the way the models are shooting. It’s about making the sex more real and authentic. Now, all of a sudden, the models are in charge and the studios are contracting with models to shoot for them! I thought, “This is perfect. This is the perfect time.” So I’ve been helping a lot of models shoot content and taking a lot of freelance gigs with other companies — I’m working with Kink.com now.
XBIZ: That’s an ideal match.
Pam: It’s awesome. I just love them. The first scene I did was a solo and it just came out — actually, on my birthday! — called “Ricky Larkin: Alone.” We went out to this awesome location and he’s tying up his nuts and beating them. It looks beautiful, it’s authentic. He’d never done anything like that before, so it was fun to collaborate with him on it. It’s hot! It looks so good. That’s actually the first thing out of Wham Bam. It was great that it was him and it was one of my favorite scenes I’ve shot and it came out on my birthday. Thank you, Universe!
XBIZ: It’s interesting you had the urge to break out on your own at the start of the pandemic when everyone else just seemed to hunker down.
Pam: “Fuck it! Let’s just quit now!” Everyone was like, “You’re quitting a full-time job? Now?”
XBIZ: And you were busy at Falcon/NakedSword. I’m not questioning the decision, but you had a full plate.
Pam: We parted ways amicably, which is great. I’m a total rulebreaker and I like to push boundaries, which drives my clients nuts, but at the same time, they love it. Ricky and I could have just stayed here at the apartment and put clothespins on his nuts. But, no! Let’s drive an hour out to the middle of nowhere and risk the police coming by! The last time we were at that location, there were people shooting guns. [The unexpected] just makes it better and more fun. The minute you start settling, what’s the point? You got to break some rules and that’s where you get the good content because everybody’s jazzed. I’m all for it.
XBIZ: We could riff on just that subject for awhile…
Pam: [laughs]
XBIZ: Did you direct or shoot any Zoom content?
Pam: I did. Having two guys jerking off over Zoom – the first one I shot was awesome. It was Skyy Knox and Ricky; it was so hot. But it just isn’t the same, you know? I want to be on set and feel the energy, like a Broadway performer. Give me the audience!
XBIZ: What kinds of adjustments to your lifestyle did you have to make?
Pam: I moved to Vegas two years ago and the first year I was here, I had a high-rise apartment, it was great. But this year, I decided to downsize to save some money, have a minimalist year and get out of debt. All of that happened.
XBIZ: Before the lockdown, you mean?
Pam: Yeah. I thought, “Holy shit! I am just primed right now to do this.” And I decided to take the leap on July 9, 2020. I got my last [Falcon] check and thought, “What am I doing?!” So I went to Starbucks [laughs].
XBIZ: What was that? Did you say you went to Starbucks?
Pam: Yeah! “What do I do with myself on my first day as a freelancer?” Go to Starbucks. I also decided to make my health a priority. I lost 100 pounds.
XBIZ: I’m proud of you for that. It’s inspiring to see how you’ve achieved it.
Pam: Thank you!
XBIZ: I guess the lockdown meant you had the time to devote to it.
Pam: It’s so easy to put it off. The workout thing started from having to go to Circle K to get water because we’re in the desert and I can’t drink my water. So I started out walking with my dog and these 10-pound water bottles. Ricky is also training me; he gave me advice and helped me change my eating habits. I can’t believe in the time of COVID, I got in shape and [finally] lost the weight.
XBIZ: When we were setting up this interview, you mentioned something about camping and kayaking. Is that a COVID development, too?
Pam: Over the summer, I was getting stir-crazy and I went out to Lake Mead where they have kayak rentals. But they wouldn’t let me rent one with my dog. And I thought, “I’m going to just get my own.” So I went on Amazon and bought my own kayak and that just took off, too. That’s been my Zen [practice] to just go out to the lake and kayak and get in shape. And with that, I found all these other locations to shoot outside. I’ve been kayaking, camping, swimming. I can take friends out there and location-scout. The first year, it was all clubs and all the Vegas things you would normally think of. That’s all closed down now. [But] there’s a whole other world out here. Having that work-life balance now — I think I was afraid to do that before, [as if] I wasn’t working hard enough. But I think you need that in order to produce good, quality porn. Be healthy and mentally sane. Or as sane as I can be.
XBIZ: You’ve mentioned Ricky Larkin, who is quarantining with you. Do you have anybody else working with you? You and Leo Forte were joined at the hip for a long time at Falcon/NakedSword.
Pam: He’s definitely in the mix. He actually moved in right next door to me. I can literally walk out my door and he’s there. He’s [connected] with [performer] Brian Bonds and then Ricky’s staying with me. I think a lot of [clients] are worried about shooting [during the pandemic] and so they only want to hire people who quarantine together. We just have a wonderful little group here.
XBIZ: Your own little germ bubble, so to speak.
Pam: And Draven Navarro, too. He’s on our team. So it’s anything [clients] want. If they need only me to show up, or it can be Leo and I shooting together – he’s a great cameraman. With some of the bigger projects I have in the works right now, I’m definitely going to bring him on. I’ve been poking around with other photographers and videographers here in Vegas to expand my team even more. I have a couple people that haven’t necessarily done adult before, but they love my work and they’re excited to come aboard. I think it will be great to get a whole new look and adapt their photography and videography styles to porn. Man, I love collaborating. Bringing in people with good energy is my number-one [priority].
XBIZ: You’ve described your style as a filmmaker as “falling into the scene.” It’s one of your trademarks and I can usually tell when it’s your camerawork. It feels like you’re not just observing the action, you’re really in it. Was that something you cultivated? Where did it come from?
Pam: I always say the best sex scenes are like a waltz. The guys are fucking and I’m dancing with them. They come up, and I come up with them; they fall down, and I fall down with them. It’s a waltz, a dance. Those are my favorite scenes. The synergy is there and we’re feeding off each other and I can tell what they’re going to do [next]. It is odd, because when I first started, it was very locked-down. “Pam, we’re going to just do face shots for the next 40 minutes.”
XBIZ: Ten minutes of this, seven minutes of that.
Pam: Actually, it was Rafael Alencar, when we did “Black Scorpion” 10,000 years ago, who said, “I just want you to follow me, don’t cut. Just have the camera moving the entire time.” I started playing with that format and I thought, “Oh, I love this.” When I’d shoot for other directors, they’d tell me, “Don’t move!” And I’d say, “But that’s my signature!” Sometimes I move too much. Sometimes if the energy is lacking in the scene, I move a lot to make up for it. I think, “Girl, calm down. Just call ‘cut,’ fix the problem and move on.” But those are my favorite scenes – moving with them in this waltz.
XBIZ: The reason I’m asking is because so much self-produced content has that style. It’s either very locked-down or it’s very fluid.
Pam: I like to say that I set it all up very professionally, but I shoot more amateur-style. And now, with OnlyFans and everything else, it’s gone full-circle and come back around to that type of filming [style]. It’s definitely appreciated now. And I think I started doing it years before anybody else did.
XBIZ: And now the self-produced content is evolving to look more polished.
Pam: Yeah, more polished and high-end. But if I can shoot an entire scene in one take, I’m doing it. “Does everyone have water? You’re hard? Your ass is clean? Let’s just do it!” If we have to take photos, we’ll take them ahead of time. On the iPhone, I can take photos while I’m filming, which is great. Some of those scenes, my hand will be cramping, but we’re still going! “God, this is great!” And I sit there with this stupid smile on my face while I’m shooting. Again, it’s a dance. You know at the end when you had a good scene. At the end, everyone’s like, “Fuck! That was a good scene today!” And sometimes the light stand will get in the shot, or my shadow will get in the way. But, no, we’re not stopping. We’ve got to capture this energy. We’re not going to stop this beautiful energy; these guys are performing for the camera and I’m not going to disrespect them by stopping for some stupid thing. I even tell them, “This is where I want you to be,” because that’s where it’s lit. “But if you end up over here [out of the light], I’ll deal with it.” I try to light as broadly as possible and let them do their thing.
XBIZ: That sounds like it would relieve a lot of pressure.
Pam: I also do a little prayer a lot before I shoot big studio scenes. We call it the “Porn Prayer.” Just have everybody hold hands and acknowledge each other: “Dear Porn Gods: Thank you for bringing us all here today.” And just acknowledge everybody in the room and know that we’re all there supporting each other, whether you’re the model or the P.A. wiping things up. It brings a nice centered energy to the set before we start shooting. I think that’s helped, too. It’s inspired by Madonna in “Truth or Dare.” It works to center people, especially if it’s a really big scene, which can get intimidating.
XBIZ: It seems like you’re positioned to ride out this pandemic, however long it lasts.
Pam: I love that you asked about how I’m pivoting during this time. I just want to really encourage everybody to take risks right now. The world is so hard and it’s in such chaos and it’s a beautiful time to reinvent yourself. We don’t have the usual social obligations that we’ve had in the past. Concentrate on that. And fill your days with positivity, whether it’s the movies you watch, the stuff you read. It’s an amazing time. I can’t believe how many amazing life changes I’ve been able to succeed at and conquer during this time. And I do want to encourage everybody to take the risk now and be uncomfortable! It’s going to be terrifying but you just push through it and the rewards are amazing.
Photos courtesy Hígor Almeida Photography
