BEHIND THE CAMERAS OF LA VIDA ENTERA-PART 3

In today's post we go back to behind the cameras in a telenovela. This time I focus on the taping of a "sequence shot" or plan-séquence.  

A sequence shot includes a long take and camera movements that are sophisticated because they allow for significant middle ground and background activity to be seen. These are shot and taped as one long shot, which means that any acting or technical error requires that the sequence be reshot from the beginning.

In LA VIDA ENTERA, the telenovela I'm currently studying, the use of a  steadicam and sequence shots is a fundamental ingredient of the visual vocabulary and aesthetics of this telenovela. It is used in particular in the newsroom of magazine "Exquisita", the storylines' main context.

Here you can see a sequence shot that aired on episdoe 85. (Context: it's deadline day at Exquisita. Everyone works feverishly and under stress when lunch arrives in the form of a pizza delivery):
 



Below is a video I took of the first attempt at the sequence shot. Notice at all times the steadicam operator and his movements. Notice also how everyone else moves on the set:

PASSION AND TELENOVELAS

Last Monday I had the pleasure of being interviewed by the radio show Más Que Palabras in the public radio (Radio Euskadi) of the Basque region of Spain.

The show has a section called "The Theme Hour" in which they explore one word from different angles. The word last Monday was "PASSION." Among the guests were a professor that explained the origins and meanings of the word and its relation to "suffering." Another professor analyzed the color of passion. There were readings of legends and reflections on fruits and flowers that represent passion.

My conversation with the show's conductors, Javier Vizcaino and Maider Martín, was in relation to the link between "passion" and telenovelas.  I was very pleased with the tone and content of their questions and enjoyed thoroughly our conversation.