Open Response 2: Production and its Application
I thought that the points that were made in class today about production were fascinating. I've always assumed, if not known, that television production is difficult and time-consuming. However, seeing real footage and hearing actual testimony about the chaos that is telenovela production was eye-opening. The amount of people involved really surprised me. I knew that there was a producer and a director and a writer, but it never occurred to me that there is a writing team with people who specialize in certain scenes. In hindsight, it makes perfect sense, but I just never thought about all of these details before. And, as I learned today, details matter. From the nail polish of the characters to small shadows to where a shirt is placed, everything is so carefully planned that I am amazed anything gets done at all. The productivity and efficiency of every person producing any show or movie is obviously paramount. The process of creating an episode is so long and arduous, and involves so many people, it makes me wonder how people keep everything straight. Especially the job of the script! I tried to put myself in the position of a script, and I would never be able to do it. Scripts have to be so organized and detail-oriented. Whenever people pointed out mistakes in movies or shows, I would think, "Wow, these producers really need to do a better job with consistency and details." After today, I am thoroughly shocked that there aren't a million mistakes in each episode. Scripts have my complete and utter respect now.
One more thing that really stuck with me today was when Dr. A commented about how actors and actresses have to be very comfortable with their bodies. This reminded me of when I first began my telenovela, La Reina del Sur. I've become very accustomed to Hollywood's (and, frankly, media all around the world's) idea of a beautiful woman. Typically, this woman is model thin. However, Kate del Castillo, the actress for the protagonist, is very strong. It's obvious she goes to the gym regularly and lifts weights. She has muscular arms and thighs, and during the sex scenes and beach scenes, you can see that her stomach is super toned; she almost has a 6-pack. Even my roommate, who is now watching with me, noticed this at the very beginning of the show. It struck me as odd just because most actresses don't have her body type. It made me very happy to see different body types represented, and as I watched more episodes, I realized it made perfect sense- just like she is physically, Teresa Mendoza is emotionally and mentally very tough. I thought that maybe this had been a cool coincidence, but now, knowing how planned every detail about a telenovela is (especially successful ones, and ESPECIALLY when it comes to the protagonist), it would not surprise me at all if this were on purpose.
I also found the production process of telenovelas super interesting! I admire anyone who can plan every single detail of an episode out efficiently and still be organized enough to make daily episodes. I can't imagine how exhausted the whole team must be after a long day in the studio; these people have very strong work ethics and goals! It's crazy to think about how many telenovelas there are how and how much work goes into producing just one episode, imagine how much work has gone into just one show once it is completed!
ReplyDeleteI was also incredibly fascinated by the amount of work goes into the production of one episode. There was a scene in my telenovela where the protagonist was wearing a necklace, and one of the beads was messed up. There was a scene change, and then when they reverted back to the original scene, her necklace had been fixed. At first, I was shocked and thought, how could they not have seen this in the previous scene? But, after watching all those clips and hearing Dr. A's story, I totally understood. I have no where near the ability to be a script. I think I'd be so consumed with worry about whether or not there were mistakes within a scene I was responsible for that I wouldn't be able to focus on anything! Initially I was wondering why they worry about little details like that, but then I acknowledged that they ARE noticeable. When watching a tv show or a movie, I almost pride myself in spotting small mistakes. The specialized writing team also surprised me. I had assumed that one writer had been responsible for a majority of the dialogue and plot, but it makes a lot of sense. It's almost better that more writers are contributing rather than the one. That way, each scene and every minute of dialogue is the best that it could be, because there are writers focusing solely on the elements that go into a romantic scene or a suspenseful one. My telenovela only has 160 episodes. I was upset at first, because I know that other telenovelas typically have more than that. However, I am just grateful they made it that far! Who knew how difficult it was to create a 50 minute episode? I love your analysis of your main character! Seeing as a majority of women are not model thin, and I myself am not model thin, it makes a protagonist so much more relatable when she is different than the average female lead. It's interesting that you were able to compare her physical attributes to her emotional attributes. I would not be surprised if the producers cast a physically stronger looking woman on purpose, almost as a way to enforce those characteristics, and empower who she is as a character!
ReplyDeleteWhile an enormous amount of effort and a plethora of people are behind the production of a telenovela, learning about these aspects in class did not surprise me as much. I was always aware of the great extents the production industry had to go to in order to capture the perfect scene because I had learned about it when I took a film class in high school. Of course, I feel as if telenovelas go through an even greater effort when attempting to make sure that a scene is perfect. Furthermore, I am also watching La Reina del Sur and since the beginning, Teresa’s rather muscular and toned body caught my eye as well. I was always very confused by it because I knew that the producers of a telenovela ensure that everything is done for a reason. Similar to you, her body was surprising to me because I was also used to the model-thin bodies that a majority of actresses seen in Hollywood and American television have. Before learning about production in class, I thought that maybe the producers overlooked Teresa’s physical appearance because the actress is extremely talented. It never occurred to me that Teresa’s physical strength and muscularity may have been emphasized on purpose. I see what you are saying in that Teresa’s physical appearance reflects her character perfectly. Just like her body, the character is also very strong and rugged. She needs to have a strong exterior and thick skin in order to be able to handle all of the obstacles thrown her way throughout the telenovela. While her body may be rather masculine and more fit/strong than we typically see in a female protagonist, I really do think the producers purposely want her body to look that way because it shows just how strong (physically, emotionally, and mentally) Teresa is.
ReplyDeleteI am Also watching La Reina Del Sur. I thought it was very interesting to see how they portrayed different places such as the United States. For example, all the people who played Americans had Spanish accents and you could tell that the set was not in the U.S. I thought this was interesting because all the TV shows I watch are usually filmed in the U.S., so it was cool to see another country try to recreate it. Production in La Reina del Sur also did a good job filming actioned packed scenes and building up suspense.
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