When we discussed telenovela production in class, my eyes were opened to the large number of people that work on a telenovela and all of the different jobs that are necessary to successfully produce a single episode. With so many people and so many different positions, there is bound to be conflict. When everyone has a specific job and a unique responsibility on the set, arguments undoubtedly arise over whose needs should be satisfied first.
For example, should the main director do everything he can to produce the vision the writer has for the show? Or should the director take liberties with the script and come up with his own idea of how the scene should go?
Should the actors have freedom to do what they want with a scene? Or should they follow the directions of the head writer and director exactly?
Should the producers edit the scripts to make the scenes realistic, budget-conscious and less time-consuming? Or should they do everything possible to make the writer's vision come alive on screen?
These conflicts and many more could make it difficult to produce a telenovela and could even halt production completely if one or more party feels like their needs are not satisfied. I imagine that these tensions could make production of a telenovela extremely difficult, especially if people's egos get involved. It seems very clear to me that you cannot work in production of a telenovela and be sensitive or have your feelings easily hurt. The executives are going to have to make decisions that may insult someone involved in the process, but that reality is just in the nature of the business. If every writer got upset each time a production assistant told him they could not execute a detail of his script, the telenovela business would never progress. Similarly, if a director called "Cut!" each time an actor messed up a tiny detail of his instructions, telenovela scenes would take years to film. Everyone involved must put away their egos and remember that the decisions the executives make regarding production are for the best of the telenovela. I'm sure this is easier said than done, which is why I honestly believe Dr. A when she says, "Everything looks glamorous and perfect on the
screen but behind it you realize it takes a miracle!"
This is a class blog run by Dr. Carolina Acosta-Alzuru and her students in the course "Telenovelas, Culture and Society" at the University of Georgia during Fall 2013
It really is amazing that a telenovela can even take place when one takes into account the time constraints, the budgets, and the large number of people that are needed in order for everything to run smoothly. I always wondered who had the final say in the production. Everyone has different views in a plot and how they want it to be showcased so it really is a miracle that it comes together in the end. When we talked to El Chascas he made it a reality that writers and directors don't always see eye to eye which makes the study of telenovela production so much more interesting.
ReplyDelete