Unique works of telenovela production

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 Learning about production in telenovelas was a very interesting experience. I feel like it is often downplayed by tv viewers, as people define telenovelas/soap operas as having lower quality production than tv shows. If anything, I believe this lesson actually taught me that production is almost more utilized in telenovelas than classic shows.

An example is with the actor situation we discussed, a Hollywood set is much more likely to be manipulated by a lead actresses' wants than the telenovela was. They are more dependent and overall Hollywood actors have way more power in their area.

Telenovelas are also very dependent on daily ratings and must have the ability to rapidly adjust if necessary, versus Hollywood shows that release weekly and usually have slow change, if any to their content regardless of ratings. Telenovela writers very much have to be writers for the people/fans, being aware of what others want, while also respecting their personal work enough to know when to stand by it.

It was also interesting learning about this from a theatre actors' perspective. Having done theatre, I'm familiar with acting, costumes, a stage, and having an audience to your work, however it is quite different of course with televised telenovelas. Though I know they cut the scenes occasionally and have methods of feeding lines, it is still impressive to me that they can be putting out so much content daily and I know it is exhausting as it took me weeks to memorize lines and perfect my characters.

Personally, for my telenovela; I can see times where it definitely might have been a battle between writers and producers, as they do most of the shots on site (such as in European locations or around Colombia), as well as have many shots in crowded fútbol stadiums, so I'm sure seeing those written in had to be concerning expense and possibility-wise.

Also watching the sequence is very interesting, but makes a lot of sense to me for how they can have the first episode have an intro that showcases so many scenes from future episodes. Considering they film all they can film from various parts when at the location, they have more from the future to showcase early.

It is really interesting watching this show showcase relationships. As it is about soccer players; their romantic lives are only a small part of the content put out. However, the actors who play Freddy Rincon and his girlfriend very clearly have little chemistry, as watching them kiss and flirt feels very unnatural. Despite this, they keep her on as his girlfriend for all of the show, since she is not as important to the story as his relationship with soccer. 

Overall, it was very interesting to learn of the various relationships and roles that come into production of a telenovela. It is really not respected or appreciated enough, the quality that is put in. However, it is also very interesting to see when a director's focus may be a lot more on a certain aspect of the show instead of another, highlighting the importance of what a writer believes is most poignant for the story.

Comments

  1. Elizabeth BrougherNovember 29, 2022 at 9:17 PM

    When I was in high school, I was also involved in a lot of theater. Similarly to your experience, we had many people who contributed to our productions, aside from the actors/actresses themselves. This included people who worked in the "house," in lights, makeup artists, voice coaches, producers and directors, and even people who moved props on and off stage. It took the entire team's contribution to put on wonderful shows. A single missing part would have been extremely noticeable and would not have a allowed our musicals to be as successful as they were.

    Just like telenovelas, there were oftentimes disagreements between the director and how the actor or producer believed a specific scene should be executed. I forget how important balance is. The vision of all roles are very important.

    I've really enjoyed seeing some behind the scenes footage from this class, including the research done by Dr. A. It is easy to forget how complex these series really are.

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