Consumption. mm..mm...good

Learning about how other people consume telenovelas is interesting. It was interesting to hear Ruxi speak of her personal experiences with telenovelas. She's a very dutiful telenovela viewer who goes to great extent to get access to her beloved telenovelas. The way people consumed telenovelas was so interesting to me that I actually interviewed three of my Hispanic friends and asked them about their perosnal experiences/perspectives about telenovelas. These 3 Hispanic female college students who have varying telenovela viewing habits and who have came to the States at different stages in their life. I believe there is some sort of correlation between the amount of time they spent in the States to their telenovela viewing habits. One girl who was born and raised here never watches telenovelas. The other girl who grew up in South America watches telenovelas dutifully when she was there and still watches them to this day. Another girl who has spent half of her life in South America and the other half of her life in the States watches them on occassion. This is what I am writing about for my final paper. It's interesting stuff!

The World Wide Web

Our class interview with Ruxandra Ciobanu concluded on a note of illegality... the globally accepted kind that governments are having a hard time nailing: free distribution of copyrighted materials online.
I am currently in the Grady Communication Law class and our professor and author of the course text book, admits that current U.S. copyright laws are insufficient for regulating open forum websites such as YouTube. The early law did not foresee a medium such as YouTube being so public and common for anyone to post nearly any video/audio, available for viewing and downloading.
Dr. A mentioned a time when telenovela studios deleted files of many, many full episodes previously available online, and now there are viewing restrictions according to country. Certain novelas are available in certain locations around the world.
And yet, the public will find a way to watch what they want to watch. Dr. A admits that it is sometimes with a thin hope that the industry won't find out. On the other hand, Ciobanu said she waited YEARS for Ciudad Bendita to become available for her, in Eastern Europe, to watch online.
What is the standard? The Internet is global, so should the standards for illegal downloading be global as well?
Nearly all the popular U.S. TV series are now available to watch on sites like Hulu and even YouTube, despite the fact that our government is perhaps the most strict in regulating copyright practices, performances and technology. Could it be that a global trend towards immediate post-broadcast online availability has begun?

Global Distribution

Why is it that telenovelas are so unevenly distributed?

Is it due to who has the better content? Do some countries really just make better telenovelas, so good that the whole world wants them? Many countries would rather you believe that. Why wouldn't Country X want you to believe that its telenovelas are the most superior? It makes for great easy marketing. But it's more than that.

Politics can play into it--sometimes countries just don't like each other, and because of whatever controversy or issue they simply don't want to share their toys.
It can come down to cost--maybe some networks can't afford to export their product too much, so they get stuck behind borders.

But in all honesty, I believe it ultimately comes down to presuppositions. People have stereotypes in their head that certain groups in certain countries make telenovelas "better." So they stick to those ones, and hardly give others a chance. And when they do, they still don't change their opinion too much.

The networks are the worst about this--it's the same reason that rosa is pushed harder than de ruptura. Somewhere along the line, everyone got it in their heads that rosa sells better. So no matter how good de ruptura can be, rosa always gets the push and leaves de ruptura behind in the dust. Likewise, countries like Mexico get stereotyped as the "best-selling" telenovelas. Thus, everyone takes them in. Other countries that don't have as much of a push or a precident get left behind.

It's impossible to change the minds of the people up at the top. Thus, it's up to the individual viewer to search out telenovelas of various origins to learn what is truly best to their taste.

Telenovelas: Better than Rosetta Stone?

The thought of someone religiously following a telenovela in non-Spanish speaking countries didn’t really connect with me until today. My brother’s girlfriend is from Ukraine and today we were talking about which classes we’re taking in school. I mentioned the telenovela class and she exclaimed “Ohhh man! My grandma in Ukraine loooooooves those! And she learned Spanish from them! It’s crazy!” It made me laugh, and really appreciate how Spanish has become a global language in part because of novelas. She said her grandma and mom both watch a block of novelas from 8 to 10 p.m., Monday through Friday, always. They don’t even watch dubbed/subtitled versions anymore – they bought Spanish dictionaries to help whenever they don’t understand something.

I’m so impressed at the dedication! And again blown away by whatever addictive quality they put into storylines that manages to cross cultural bounds. It's funny because so many people I know would never see telenovelas as an opportunity to learn Spanish. Everyone flips straight past them without a second thought. They're passing up free Spanish lessons apparently!

Which came first?

As Americans 100 percent of our popular tv-shows are made in the U.S. We don't even like to have accents in our shows (think Hugh Laurie in House). We like what we watch because it caters to us. Similarly, each Latin American country caters to certain characteristics and national desires in regards to telenovelas.

So for me the different telenovela powerhouses are really interesting. It is a sign of the global world that Mexican telenovelas have become so definitive in the genera. Almost every country gets a large percentage of their telenovelas from Mexico. Could you imagine getting one third of our t.v. shows from Australia? At the most, I think we might get 1% of our shows from Britain and the majority of those are weird and on PBS.

Apparently, Latin Americans are broadening their world view far more then Americans.

Even if the majority of shows being imported are Mexican, Ecuador had a fascinating pie chart. Ecuador has no preconceived notions of what a telenovela should be, because they don't make any shows of their own. Thus, they get the best telenovelas from all over South America. They are inundated with globalization. I wonder what the Ecuadorian world view is like, I'd guess pretty broad. They must understand quite a bit more about other cultures, I'd even bet that telenovelas have improved tolerance.

I wonder if telenovelas going international are a cause of a global world or a symptom. It's a bit like the chicken and the egg. Does understanding lead to globalization or globalization lead to understanding?

La Musica

In learning about telenovela musical accompaniment, it stands out as completely unique and potentially more creative to me than most American soap operas (though we have, as a class, clearly established how different these two industries really are). The Grey's Anatomy (though not a soap opera, the following is similar to that of telenovelas) soundtrack is a compilation of popular artist's songs. Every season the soundtrack could be a substitute for the "NOW ...87" CD.
Telenovelas, on the other hand, have artists create unique songs specifically for a telenovela. I think this reflects the overlapping circles in latinamerican culture of actors, musicians and models, for example. Roque Valero, like many telenovela actors before him, became a musical performer, two times famous for his talent.
Each telenovela has a characteristic song that sets the tone for the telenovela's theme or a specific lead character in it. Good directors put much timem and energy into choosing an artist for this song, and Pedron even went so far as to write his own poetic lyrics for one such song.
While some American shows do have a catchy tune for the intro, it hardly every repeats in the middle of each episode, and never will an artist take the song on musical tour.
Granted, the "suspense" and "romance" musical segments produced for each episode of a telenovela seem somewhat immature, the shows put more energy into creating unique complete songs for their shows than American series do.

New respect for production

I always imagined that making a movie or TV show would be demanding and stressful at times, but I never really grasped the extent to which that is true. When I think of a TV show production, I tend to just think about the script, the direction and the acting. But since I began my own film production, me eyes have been opened a bit wider.

A few friends and I have been putting together a short film for Latin American Cinema class. We've had basically all semester to get the script together and start filming. It's a lot more work than I ever fathomed. Finalizing the script was hard enough, then comes the real production. Nailing down locations, coordinating schedules, building props, and trying to keep everyone believing in the project. Then once everything is organized, it's hard to find enough daylight when everyone can shoot.

Our film is supposed to be five minutes. I simply can't imagine shooting 30-40 scenes a day. They would have to fun like fluid machines, but I know that's not the case. A trillion things can go wrong, and some do, but they manage to grind it out anyway. Bravo, telenovela world.

Invaluable Insight

I think the production part of the class has been the most interesting topic for me. The globalization and consumption of telenovelas certainly made me reconsider my initial judgment of them, but the production aspect has changed my point of view even more. It shows all of the hard work and planning that goes into creating each chapter, and I am able to appreciate the creative aspects more fully now that I understand the tremendous pressure the writers, actors, and producers endure to meet industry demands. It's amazing how everything comes together in this environment.
I love Dr. A’s videos from observing production – it almost feels like we’re there with the crew.

I also thought it was interesting that the professor we mentioned in class denounced telenovelas. I get the same anti-novela vibe from my aunt and cousins, and my high school Spanish teacher also. Before this class I assumed their opinions were right – that every telenovela was a low quality, high drama form of entertainment for passive viewers. I am so glad to see that change in myself. Although some industry-driven novelas do still fit that category in my mind, I can recognize the exceptions and look forward to seeing the progression in quality as the genre expands.

I’ve started making a list of telenovelas I want to watch. I’m graduating in December and will just be working next spring – I know exactly what I’ll be doing in my free time! I feel like I mention this in every post, but I absolutely love this class. It isn’t exactly what I expected, in a good way, and it’s an opportunity that most people don’t even realize exists!

Models turned Actors

I find it interesting that actors are able to start up singing careers, and vice versa, so easily in the telenovela world. Dr. A has told us about several models who have been brought into telenovelas simply because they needed another pretty face to attract viewers. Although it is usually clear that they are models and not actors by their lack of acting abilities, they are still accepted as telenovela stars.

I know that in the telenovela I studied, Amigas Y Rivales, there were a couple of actors who were former members of singing groups. One character in particular, Johnny, was played by an actor who was brought on simply for his looks. Even though the audience knew that Johnny was not a true actor, they still followed his love story intensely. I'm not saying that Johnny was the most popular character by any means, but he did have an important role in the telenovela and the audience accepted him as that character. In the United States I think that people would have had a harder time taking him seriously. We typically associate characters with actors, not the other way around.

There have also been several cases in which the telenovela star has been converted into a singing sensation because of their role in telenovales. I feel that we are very pessimistic in the United States by always assuming that someone can't do something before they prove that they can. We are so amazed when someone does have the ability to act, sing and dance that we even gave these people a special name, triple threat.

Overall, I would say that it is much easier to cross over into a different field in the world of telenovelas than in the United States. When a telenovela airs, it's not just a select few people watching, it's the whole country most of the time. It's easier for singers to carry over their fan base from acting to help them jump start their new career. As for models turned actors, I think we all know that beauty is one of the most important aspects of a telenovela. I think that when production decides to select a model to be a member of the cast they are living according to this philosophy: You can never have too many beautiful people in a telenovela.

Telenovelas on E! Network's "The Soup"

I love E! Network's "The Soup" with Joel McHale. Two weeks ago he made fun of a clip about the dramatic music and facial shots in a telenovela. In the clip what appeared to be the antagonist was clipping coupons from a newspaper with the incidental music blaring. Then the shot went to see the what I believed to be the protagonist for her response to the clipping. It was SO funny, but I think the experience in this class made it even funnier.

Check out this clip he did of another telenovela covered by "The Soup" in the past:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lxka9kfsvU

The premise of the show is to cover all the bases of television (reality, morning show anchors, game shows, etc.)...telenovelas included. Although in this context it's funny, even E! realizes the importance and reach of telenovelas and can appreciate their quirks.

Out of control

I love how going over production in this class has perfectly aligned with my Tele3210 film project! Seeing behind the scenes footage of the telenovela shootings has actually helped me while filming for my own short, since I'm just a beginner. My group has just started filming recently, and oh my goodness, it is EXHAUSTING. You would never think that so much work actually goes into making a film/show/whatever until you actually experience it, and I can only imagine how stressed the entire production team gets! I've only had a small taste of what production is supposed to be--our class is only making a 3 minute short, and my stress levels are already off the scales.

I think the hardest thing about this job is that a lot of times, there are just things that you can't control during production--an actor might get sick, some equipment might break during the set, a prop is forgotten--all while you have a deadline to meet. It's not a job like being a scientist where everything can be calculated for you and you can prepare to the fullest extent. In these filming crews, there is only so much that you can prepare for and the rest you have to leave to God and pray for the best. I honestly have no idea how these people do this as their profession, but I definitely have a new respect for them and I definitely understand how Dr. A said that a lot of the people involved sprout grey hairs early on!

Gossip Girl

The talk about gossip magazines today was very intriguing today. How is it possible for an entire group of noteworthy publications to write the same story about a totally made-up telenovela without a reliable source? I can understand the gossip magazines writing "sources say this actor is writing a telenovela named so and so with the following plot..."

Gossip magazines like that even exist here. Generally, though, there is no guessing as to the plots, necessarily, except for "someone is going to die." Our gossip magazines always leave it up to chance-- "our sources say that a characer will die tonight on Flash Forward," but would never have an entire plot of an entire show or series.

I am not one to read gossip magazines; I don't care who's dating whom, who got liposuction where, who's in rehab. Because of this, I could be totally wrong about my entire post, but this is just what I have been led to believe. I also feel like our magazines tend to not focus necessarily on the show itself, but rather the actors who are on the show. Why the difference in the two cultures?

Telenovela Characters and the Actor

What I have always found interesting for Hollywood actors, Latin American actors, actors all over the world is the fascination the public has in their personal lives. I have to admit I love knowing the down low on actors/actresses for some reason, so I do not have a huge problem with the press and paparazzi. I also think that knowing about an actor or actresses life, allows the public to feel more connected to a character they play. However, I am entertained by the way an audience can have a hard time distinguishing the role the character is playing and the real actor.

For example, in this class we have discussed many times how a fan base falls in love with a certain character in a telenovela. I was so troubled by the one Brazilian actress who was shot by her telenovela "lover" in real life.
I thought it was amazing when we talked about Dainella from La Vida Enterra, recovering from cancer and coming back to the telenovela to finish her role.
It is interesting to see how characters roles can influence their real life and how real life can influence characters.

Censorship

After talking about censorship in telenovelas, I wish the networks in Venezuela wouldn't censor so much of the scripts. In my opinion there is nothing wrong with addressing social/economic issues in telenovela episodes. Why not push the limit and see how far they can go instead of act in fear and change the scripts. Especially when today we saw how tiny the statements were. None of the statements came out and said "I dislike Chavez and his government." All the statements did were talk about how sometimes food can be scarce or that cities can have crime. They would be so much more real if they would stop beating around the bush and not edit the scenes they think will cause controversy.

I looked up the topic of censorship as it relates to Chavez and found an interesting newspaper article. This particuar article, "Chavez denies TV, license, stoking censorship debate" by Simon Romero, talks about the television company RCTV. Apparently, RCTV was a very popular, well known station in Venezuela. However, in early 2007, Chavez shut this network down by choosing not to renew their contract. The article talks about how Chavez thought RCTV was personally attacking his government with their programming and shows, and this is ultimately why he decided to shut them down. I guess he felt that they could influence the people, and did not like how he and his government were being portrayed. He caught a lot of controversy, because many thought he was abusing his power and acting unjustly.
Instances like this could explain why networks are hesitant to include material that may offend the government. I guess it goes to show that maybe pushing the limits isn't always the best idea, especially with someone like Chavez in charge.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/01/world/americas/01iht-venez.html

Brrrrrrrrrrr...

I love the 1st Amendment.

Why? Because it initiates thought.

Free Speech is more than just opinions, its a catalyst for change. What one person may say to 10000 people can be interpreted 10000 ways.

Today we talked about how Telenovelas are often censored. What's even worse is that they are not even necessarily being censored by only the government, they are being censored by the networks. How is this worse - it creates a chilling effect. At least when the government tells you what you can and cannot do, there is a much more rigid set of standards/rules. When the networks are censoring themselves, they have to err on the side of caution, thus keeping things that may not be censored off the air.

Telenovelas are one of the most powerful mediums of mass media. People follow them more religiously than the news, so it is a very good way to send messages.

These writers are incredibly intelligent people who have a message to send, and it's a shame that some of their writing is censored.

Production is so COOL!

Learning about telenovela production over the last couple of weeks has been amazing! It's really hit me what an incredible opportunity this class has presented. Dr. A is so knowledgeable, and thanks to all her research and connections, we have seen telenovelas from all sides -production, consumption, representation, and we've even met an actress!

One of the things that I enjoy when learning about telenovelas, is the contrast to American television. Of course, I haven't been given an inside look at television in the U.S., but from everything I know about "American" culture, I have a hunch. When considering production for instance, there are major differences. We've heard about the chaos often involved in the making of a telenovela - the shooting of a scene that must be aired the same night and the camera that was forgotten a plane ride away from location. Can you imagine this happening here? The immediacy prevalent in so many aspects of American culture must pervade television production as well. I can't imagine that an American program, shot under that kind of deadline without pristine equipment could ever result in an episode later watched and LOVED by millions of people.

This is something I really envy about Latino culture. The sense of urgency that I feel every day here is toned down in Latin America, and life is just a little more laid back.

P.S. Roque Valero is so cute

I have always had one single complaint with most of my favorite telenovelas: the music.

For me this is where American dramas beat out my beloved novelas. For example, Grey's Anatomy has new music every week, sometimes it's an artist I've heard of and other times it's a tune that has me running to Google to try to figure out who it is by. Telenovelas on the other hand like to keep to the same stash of music for the entire novela. So by episode 93 I feel like screaming every time I hear the soft piano intro of the main character's love theme.

Most of the time my complaint isn't the music itself (unless we're talking about Pasion de Gavilanes and then yes, oh yes my complaint is about that music). As we saw in class many novelas comision their own specific music that will fit well with their theme. It's just how predictable it becomes after awhile.

Has this been the case for anyone else?

Production Stress

learning about all of the tensions that surround telenovela production has given me a whole new respect for the final product. I wonder how well our hollywood A-list actors would do under all the pressures of a telenovela shoot, it seems that the telenovela actors and crew are prepared for, or at least able to handle, anything! I think that the constraints between creativity of the artists and time/money is especially interesting. I also am amazed that the crew and cast are able to make it through so many months of stress and hours of working. I noticed in my telenovela Rubi that about halfway through Rubi started to look a little worn out. Barbara Mori is beautiful, but half way through watching, I noticed that her skin had some breakouts and her eyes had slight bags around them. I wondered if this was from the stress and long hours of telenovela production. I think it would be really interesting to get to visit a telenovela set, but also maybe a little stressful even just to watch.

Presentations, Production, and Pleasing the fans!

So many things have been going on in our class recently that I could talk about. Dr. A is right: our class could really be a telenovela! I first must say that this is the first class in which I have been completely engrossed in everyones' presentations. I felt like I really learned something interesting from every presentation. I talked to a couple other people in the class about it, too. Everyone agreed that these presentations were different from any others we have seen in other classes!

I also have to comment about my fascination with the production process. I do not know how the people in the production crew deal with the high stress and time restraints of the telenovela world. I am stressed just listening to Dr. A telling the story about the scene that was turned in just hours before it aired. The great thing is that the cast and crew have a lot of faith in each other. They really don't have another option. I've learned that making a telenovela is a heck of a lot harder than it looks. And to get to the glitz and glamor, you must go through those high-stress times first.

As we've learned about production, I see the sets, cameras, etc and it seems to me like quite a grand production. It seems as though it takes a lot of money to make these Venezuelan telenovelas. However Dr. A mentions over and over again that their budgets are extremely low. This makes me think how much money the American soap operas must have! I'm sure nothing is off-limits for them or cuts too much into the budget. I think the bottom line though, is that the Venezuelans love their telenovelas. I think they'd watch their telenovelas whether the budget was a million dollars or a thousand dollars. After all, all of this production is for the fans.

Wrapping Up

So it is hard to believe that this semester is coming to an end, along with this amazing class. I think we can all agree that Dr. A is an amazing teacher that has so much to offer. There is so much to learn about telenovelas and we are all fascinated by this world that so many of us, including myself, hardly knew one thing about before entering this class. Basically, I love this class and look forward to going to it (which is more than I can say for some of my other classes). It is enjoyable and I love learning about this aspect of culture and society for Latin Americans and for everyone else all over the globe who enjoys telenovelas so much.

I am looking forward to writing my final paper about what I have learned from this class and am interested to see how it will look all typed up and spit out, so to speak. From representation and identity to consumption and production, there is so much I have learned these past few months. From Sin Tetas No Hay Paraiso to Ciudad Bendita, telenovelas have so much to offer, especially for students studying Latin American culture and communications.

I would HIGHLY recommend this class to everyone. One of the best parts for me, other than my enjoyment of the class and my learning, is that this class counts for me as a Grady elective, a multicultural class, and a class towards my Spanish minor. Could it get any better?

So, a couple of weeks ago, a student in my Latin American geography class mentioned a lecture given by Dr. A in one of Dr. Sergio Quesada's classes. Of course this lecture was about telenovelas and how they reflected what was/is happening in Latin American. After this comment, my geography professor proceeded to tell us why he didn't think that anyone should watch telenovelas. Since I've been taking this class, this comment bothered me.

The fact that he didn't like telenovelas is not what struck a nerve because everyone is entitle to his or her likes and dislikes. What bothered me was that he seemed to deny that telenovelas have any cultural importance at all. I think this professor demonstrated to me a kind of close-minded view of the way that culture should be expressed. Now that I think about it, this professor has kind of baffled me. He always talks about the different areas of Latin American culture, but at the same time, ALL aspects of Latin American culture do not seem to be valid to him.

I think what is most intriguing about his stance on telenovelas is that he himself is a Latin American. This has made me realize that it is not necessary to embrace EVERY aspect of your culture. There may be some things that you do not support and that you are not proud of. While on one hand, I think it is important to acknowledge the importance of things that make up your culture; on the other hand, it is good for us to have our own unique points of view.

100 candles

So, this past weekend I did a photoshoot for the Infusion magazine for the cover photo. It’s Infusion magazine’s 20th anniversary, and for the cover shot, so we bought a birthday cake and candles and placed the 20 candles on it and had someone hold the cake. As we were taking the photos, the candles quickly diminished. As the photographer, I became really worried if I was able to capture the photo I needed before the candles became wax. We only had exactly 20 candles, and the fact that candles shortened quickly when lit slipped our mind. The photoshoot incident was a little frustrating, but I can’t imagine how frustrating it would be without extra candles for shooting a scene with 100 candles. With a photoshoot, I could just quickly snap photos and edit it if needed. Shooting a scene is different. Scenes take more time which means there’s more room for actors to err and other things to go wrong, and this means candles may already start to become wax if more time is needed to re-shoot scenes. You’ve got to have the candles lighted from the beginning to the end of the scene, and so the time pressure can get stressful without extra props. Additionally, there is rapid production pace and episodes need to be aired that night or the following day. With these factors, there is potential for the production process to get crazy chaotic and stressful. The production team must all be sharp people since they need to think quickly and creatively It’s amazing to me how telenovelas always deliver the episode. No matter the circumstance, the show must go on.

A little confused.

Estoy confundida. How is it that my favorite U.S. shows run only a season long and air only a handful of episodes while telenovelas, but the Venuezuelan one we have recently discussed in class, "La Vida Entera,: runs for an entire year--sin interrupciones?? I understand that unlike primetime shows in the U.S.,  telenovelas have a much lower budget, thus limiting the amount of time-consuming special effects and location changes (and hence explaining the cold-weather clothing worn on set to preserve lenses). Likewise, I understand that the demand for telenovelas is more rampant in other parts of the world than primetime favs in the U.S., but I still don't see how the equation adds up. Perhaps, it's my ignorance, or maybe it's my amazement by the work ethic of the telenovela crew. Don't get me wrong though. I'm not saying that our t.v. crews in here aren't hard-working. I'm just pointing out the inconsistencies in the telenovela v. american t.v. show production equation. 

Before I thought, mucho dinero + great writers and actors= high quality show, with a good number of episodes...as in, maybe 12 hour sagas. 

Now, after studying the production process of "La Vida Entera," I see that a well-produced show can take much less moola on far less time,  and still give its audience what they want, plus a run of 150+ episodes of non-stop drama.  

And it's not that telenovela actors simply read cue-cards, and then techs slap together whatever scenes are shot with little regard to the end result. No, no no. 

Telenovela crew's are crazy hard workers. As I observed in our discussion about "La Vida Entera," execs don't allow for mistakes in production. And with a lower budget than American soaps and t.v shows, this makes the shooting process entirely more time consuming. 

For example, when we discussed the sequence shot scene, we see how careful the crew had to be when filming, and then how a simple drop of one item in the shot forced an entire re-do of the entire scene. 

Also, we discussed how intelligent the actors and actresses must be. Most of the time, they are given just a few minutes to go over their scripts before shooting the real deal, and most of the time they ace their lines sin problemas. And if it wasn't hard enough to memorize lines a few minutes before filming, actors are monitored by crew members with scripts in hand to make sure each line is delivered correctly. Talk about pressure. 

Above all, with such a small frame of time to work with, telenovela's don't always shoot an episode in a few days time. Sometimes, it could take nearly an entire to day to film just one scene lasting only a few minutes. And yet, each episode is still whisked away to editing in time for it's debut the next night. 

So, dímelo. Why do I have to wait eight months for my favorite show to air, only to be delighted with about 10 episodes? In the meantime while I'm waiting, maybe I'll switch to Telenovelas. For good. 

Cheap Production

The production aspect of telenovelas is my favorite by far. I think it would be so fascinating to be a fly on the wall like Professor A and just watch a telenovela be made. I especially would like to compare the production of a low budget telenovela with one of a high budget telenovela and those with high budget American tv shows. I know next to nothing about Hollywood's big budget production, but I can imagine that it is much more organized and elaborate (especially if they only film 10 shows max a season).

Watching the show at the beginning of class and the telenovelas written by padron, I understand that there is a wide range of show quality. Padron's plot lines are interesting, his characters are complex and his show does not remind me of the stereotypical telenovela. The show before class screams stereotypical at the top of its lungs, in the most stereotypical way of course.

I think that a lot of this has to do with budget. Obviously a telenovela aired in the middle of the day is not going to have the same resources poured into it as one aired at primetime. But I want to know how the environment changes in the studio of a low budget telenovela. Do they know their product is inferior? Are people motivated differently? How does the studio cut costs? Does the inferiority cause a lack of funding does the the lack of funding cause sub-par programs. I suspect it is a little of both.

Memorization-How hard is it?

I always thought that I wanted to be an actress until I took 10th grade English with Mr. Hamling who made us memorize Shakespeare monologues for test credit. Memorizing those long passages was always so difficult for me and even if I knew it perfectly the hour before, once I tried to deliver it in front of him I would always leave out a word here or there or even miss an entire phrase. I decided that I would try to overcome my Shakespeare memorization nightmares when I signed up for acting 1101 my freshman year at UGA. I enjoyed the class very much, but it was a lot harder than I expected because memorizing lines and delivering them in a certain fashion are two very different things. Ever since we started talking about telenovela production, I have been so interested in the memorization process. I decided to do a little research on the technique of memorization and how different actors use certain methods to learn and deliver lines.

Many questions come to mind when thinking about acting out a scene. How do actors and actress memorize all of those lines so quickly and keep them straight? How do you know when your line is and when the person beside you is supposed to speak? Here are a few bits of insight I found:

1)First of all, I found that it is a two step process, some actors choose to work on their acting first and worry about the memorization later, others want to memorize everything first so they can then work on their acting.
2)Instead of reading lines to yourself, it helps to always read them out loud over and over again. Some actors even write each line down three times, until it is stuck in their head.
3)If there is a line that an actor just can’t seem to get right, they may need to review the profile of their character and learn more about his or her personality.
4)To remember cues, actors usually memorize the last phrase of the actor’s line before theirs and that way they know when they have to speak next.

The most important thing to know when you are trying to pursue a career in acting is that when it comes to learning lines- it gets easier the more you do it!

A-game all the time

After talking about the production aspect of telenovelas, I realized that this is one of the aspects that most intrigues me. Filming is a whole different world—no matter what you are filming—and it was so interesting to watch the process. Dr. A’s videos felt like I was actually there, and it was amazing to see how different the actors look as opposed to how they look on screen. The kissing scenes are especially interesting because there is no cue for them to begin kissing. It just happens, even though they are in silent room full of a large crowd.

I realized what a time consuming (even life consuming) job it is for the actors. With minimal to no breaks, they must constantly be on their “A-game.” There is no room for “off” days, which is why I could see the process being very discouraging for the actors. We talked in class how they usually finish a script a day, so the actors study more than one script at a time.

Everything that goes into the telenovela production process is extremely complicated, but my question is how does the process differ from that of an American soap opera or movies? Dr. A called it an “ulcer-ridden industry” and I’m guessing that it is because telenovela production is much more fast-paced than American productions. This is the reason why everyone involved, from the writer to the floor manager to the actor, has to be on their A-game.

The Crazy Life of a Telenovela Set

¡Cinco y acción!

For the life of me, I can't wrap my head around how a telenovela set works.

It's been explained to me relatively thoroughly through Dr. A's lecture. I see all the steps.

But it's the PACE that confounds me. To go through so many steps in one day, to have everyone doing everything at every minute. Actors learning lines almost on the spot, directors and writers running about putting everything into place, tearing it apart and doing it again, firing off scene after scene after scene. Reviewing, double-reviewing. And la pauta...I can't even BEGIN to comprehend la pauta.

It's a world of its own, the telenovela set. It puts other film and TV groups to shame with the sheer pace and intensity of it all.

¿Queda?

No more social life- thank you, telenovelas.

It's official- I really don't have much of a social life anymore... ask me why. BECAUSE OF TELENOVELAS.

I've been watching my second telenovela "Dame Chocolate," and I'm starting to wonder if borrowing it from Caroline was a good or bad choice. I've literally been in my room for too many hours for too many days watching the lives of Rosita (or Violeta?) and Bruce unfold. And the drama has officially sucked me in.

This telenovela is very different than my original (and first love) "Corazon Salvaje." There are elements of mysticism (which was not present in "CS), but the rosa pattern is obvious. Cinderella story at its finest. It's so interesting to compare and contrast all the elements of the telenovelas I've watched, which I find myself doing all the time. They (the telenovelas) both are insistent on representing patriarchy, they both have a couple who has to face all obstacles to save their love, they both have evil stepmothers... Then I start comparing what differs between the two telenovelas. These actors are American-born or bilingual and fluent in English and Spanish, but these actors are not. These actors have crossed over to American TV/films, these actors have not... ON & ON & ON.

It even got so bad that I started researching the consumption of this second telenovela. I think I'm going to need therapy soon.

Last Wednesday, after all my classes ended, I literally came home to watch the telenovela, and didn't stop until much later in the evening. No phone calls were taken during this time. I brought my laptop to GA/FL this weekend in hopes for a free moment to watch (which I did on the car ride home). I watched it all last night... and am about to go watch it again now.

"Hi, my name is Nicole, and I am a telenovela junkie." There, I said it.

Anyway, really goes to show what a big part of a person's life these telenovelas can become. Can you imagine if you've been exposed to this your whole life?? CRAZY.

Okay, off to watch more... see y'all later today!