Scott Masters - Nova Studios

Nova Studios

In 1976, Masters (still using the name Robert Walters) founded Nova Studios, distributing films through direct mail as well as adult bookstores. The studio's first production was Tubtricks. Masters doubled the length of Nova Studios' loops to more than 400 feet, extending each film's running time to nearly 20 minutes.

The film was a major success. Masters followed up with a series of wildly popular long loops: Kept After School, Beached, Tricking, Hot Lunch, Jocks, That Boy Next Door and Down on the Farm.

Nova Studios established a number of tropes now common to gay adult film: a heavy emphasis on sexual fantasy; gay-for-pay performers; partially clothed performers having sex (including the now-notorious white athletic socks with colorful stripes on top); an emphasis on youth; incest themes; "the natural look" (performers with a lean, natural build); strong sexual chemistry; structured story lines; and structured sexual performances.

Masters began licensing many of his pre-Nova loops and early Nova Studios material on video in 1980. Unbeknownst to Masters, however, his lover had been licensing much of the same material to a wide variety of customers without Master's knowledge. The studio's financial situation deteriorated as this material began to flood the marketplace (much of it in degraded quality).

Masters attempted to keep Nova Studios afloat by finally producing sound films. In 1981, Masters bowed to public demand for sound film and financial pressures and produced It's the Life. Filming went so poorly that Masters eventually shot most of the film without sound. Masters would not finally produce a sound film until 1983. But in the intervening two years, Nova Studios lost critical market share. Masters began dubbing older silent loops in 1981 as well. He added music, some narration, and asynchronous sexual sounds to the films and began re-releasing these to make money.

In 1984, Masters hired Chet Thomas as an editor, and Thomas worked on several of Nova Studios' final films.

But later that year, Masters' partner embezzeled the company's entire bank account and fled with the master print of the latest Nova Studio release, Boys Town. Masters subsequently discovered that the company's taxes had not been paid for several years. Faced with a large tax bill and $60,000 in debt, Masters licensed the remainder of his studio's products to a third party.

Nova Studios ceased to make gay adult films in late 1986.

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