Practice Makes Perfect

Lights, camera, action! Over and over and over again. They say to never read a book by its cover, and this applies to telenovelas in more than one way. Underlying what the viewer sees on the screen, is hours of blood, sweat, and tears. Okay, well maybe not blood. The work that goes into the production of telenovelas is no easy task, as many people are working together to try and achieve the best possible take of a scene. Not only do the actors have to get into character time and time again, the behind the scene directors, stage managers, and many others are doing everything they can to capture the necessary mood of the on-screen actors and actresses. It is rare that the first take will ever be perfect, because just about any part of a scene, whether it's the people or the props, could go wrong at any moment. The incorrect placement of a hand or the incorrect placement of a pizza delivery can affect a scene, requiring all of the contributors to start over. Not only can on scene errors occur, but also behind the scene errors, such as, the shadow of the boom, the misdirection of a camera, or improper lighting. Many factors contribute to the final product of the telenovela, both positive and negative. When we watch telenovelas, a sense of perfection drifts across the screen, making us believe that nothing could ever go wrong. And that is the ultimate goal of all the behind the scene workers. Perfection is not handed to them, yet it is worked and strived for. And if numerous shots is what it takes to reach this idea of perfection, then so be it, because you know what they say: practice makes perfect.