The Production of "La Piloto."

As with my classmates, understanding what goes behind the scenes in making a telenovela is incredibly interesting for me. I didn't know before that there were so many things that went into making a telenovela and television in general. There are so many aspects that must flow together seamlessly in order to make sure a telenovela episode is made correctly. Executives, producers, and actors must all coordinate and work together to ensure that the telenovela is made in the most efficient way. Visualizing and understanding what goes on behind the scenes of telenovelas created another level of interest in the telenovela creation process. From an industry perspective, understanding all that went into filming something gave me a greater appreciation for television and movies in general. 

A number of aspects of production stood out to me. One of the things that most fascinated me was the tensions between all the members of the crew who are creating the plot and shaping the sets of the telenovelas. There are two tensions present here; one between the writers and the producers and another between the writers and the audience. I find it incredibly interesting how the viewers can shape and dictate the plot of a telenovela. The things that viewers say about telenovelas have the power to alter the story as the writers are drafting it. After understanding the process of writing and shooting telenovelas, it made me watch "La Piloto" in a different light. 

There are many different aspects of interest in the production of "La Piloto." Firstly, I would like to touch on the theme song called "Buena Vida." which is sung by Manuel Ramos- Quintana. Upon first watching the telenovela, I thought it was an interesting coincidence that the lyrics of the song corresponded to the plot and the main character Yolanda. However, I found out that the song was actually written for the telenovela itself to reflect these themes and ideas. The main chorus of the song is about the quest of finding the "good life," which is a direct nod to Yolanda's journey of trying to better her situation and have the "good life" of a pilot. The song goes on to mention an airplane above the clouds that operates with the pilot's mercy and how the pilot owns the skies. I believe that this can be a direct nod to both Yolanda and the Lucio brothers who essentially own the skies with their own airplanes. I think that writing a catchy song for the telenovela made it that much memorable for the audience.

What I found interesting was the variety of different locations that were used in filming "La Piloto." Because they are moving drugs, Yolanda and her friends are constantly on the run and never in the same place. This was probably extremely difficult to shoot for the scenes that are in more urban spaces such as the city and the main airport. However, many of the locations they use are abandoned warehouses or hotels owned by the Lucio brothers. By using these types of locations, they may be able to reduce the obstacles such as crowd control and the clearing out of large areas. 

I also found it interesting the lengths that producers went to make sure that there was continuity to the individual scenes they are filming if they are unable to finish shooting the complete scene on the same day. As I started to watch more of "La Piloto," I really couldn't notice any inconsistencies with the telenovela. The outfits and makeup appeared to be the same throughout the entire scene. I even started to look closely at the numerous shootout scenes that are present in almost every episode. It's obvious that the producers worked hard to ensure that the injuries looked the same throughout the entire scene. 

By studying the production of telenovelas, it became clear to me that there are many moving parts to creating episodes that all must work cohesively in order to produce a high quality telenovela in the most efficient way possible. Without the work of everyone involved, telenovelas such as "La Piloto" would not be the successes they are today.