Telenovela Production in Señora Acero

There are countless aspects in telenovela production, from the details in make-up and wardrobe to lighting and camera angle. After learning about what it takes to produce just a single episode, I viewed my telenovela, Señora Acero, much differently. Specifically, what stood out were the various locations used throughout the telenovela.

            As mentioned in lecture, scenes are shot out of order in order so that the production might be more efficient. Señora Acero was filmed in several locations around Mexico City. While watching the next few episodes, I noticed how often the show takes place outside, in a town, on a rancho, or even on the road. But before production even began, the producers and directors and writers had to decide where each scene would be filmed. From lecture and the readings, we know a myriad of the details and efforts that go into production, but moving in between several locations further complicates production.

            In addition, throughout Señora Acero, there are many flashbacks and memories that occur in the middle of a scene, so it would be not only infeasible, but almost insane to assume that each scene is shot in order. Sara has several memories of her husband, Vicente, towards the beginning and several other flashbacks to their time together and his murder occur throughout the rest of the telenovela. I would assume, as an actor, that it might be difficult to go from shooting a wedding scene on a rancho to a flashback scene on that same rancho. Furthermore, I can’t imagine the difficulty in the later part of production, when all of the scenes are placed in order.

            Finally, it takes careful planning to determine which scenes are to be filmed while all the actors and production team are in a specific location. For example, the script would have to keep carefully detailed notes of what the actors are wearing in each scene, down to the color of their nails. Although several scenes might be filmed in one particular setting, they do not necessarily all occur in the order in which they are filmed. Throughout Señora Acero, the scenes jump from the streets of Tijuana, Mexico, to the Acero’s old rancho. There is one specific episode in which Sara, her son, and Elio travel to the United States and are filmed crossing the border. It is fascinating but also overwhelming to imagine all the pre-planning and preparation that goes into making such scenes a reality. But in the end, the knowledge of how a show is managed and produced increases respect for everyone in that industry.