William Levy Karen Barroeta Samadhi Zendejas Vuelve a mi
Karen Barroeta, Executive VP of Development and Production at NBCUniversal Telemundo Global Studios at NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, has overseen the shooting of Vuelve a Mí. She highlighted they sent the production team to Mexico to ensure they were immersed in the culture and create a neighborhood. “It was crucial to be very authentic, and we did it. We have been fostering and creating a team for the last two decades that finally has matured. It is the first time we achieved something so Mexican here in Miami.”
Vuelve a Mí debuts on Monday, October 9 at 9pm.
Barroeta has supervised several successful productions such as La Suerte de Loli, Malverde, Padres a la Fuerza, El Conde, Pasión de Gavilanes, El Señor de los Cielos 8, and Vuelve a Mí. Now, she is in the pre-production phase of El Señor de los Cielos 9, which will kick off production in Mexico in mid-September.
“We are developing 15 productions; one, Mujer de Oro, would kick off in Miami at the beginning of 2024, and another with a partner to start in Colombia. We are very active in development and production, which is fun,” she said.
Vuelve a Mí is a story that takes place in Mexico. “However, we made an interesting combination: part of the first episodes on location in Mexico, and the other at our headquarters at Telemundo Center and tricking some locations in Miami to give it a Mexican look and feel.”
Vuelve a Mí is original content born in the pandemic. “At that moment, we said: ‘If we cannot produce, we will devote ourselves to development’. Then, the idea to produce a story for adults but with a child as a main character was on the table. Children always touch adults’ hearts and connect them with being parents, which is common and works in all markets. It was nice to assemble the team from the search for the idea. It took two years to create this story. We had never told a story where a child is kidnapped.”
INNOVATIONS
Barroeta said that they worked with architects and engineers to create sets from floor to ceiling.
“It is important to have the lenses we handle on the ceiling because it gives us dimension and depth. There is no need for close shots all the time; a good establishment shot is enough, and you can play with that. That is why we make studios that look like houses where we can record from the living room to the dining room, go to the hallway, to the kitchen, and play with all that in one place, so these planes both open and close and make it feel real. We use many practicals: in the set, all the light bulbs of the lamps, both table, wall, and ceiling, turn on and off, giving us a lot of reality. Once we deliver the set, there is a period of three to four weeks to place all the furniture and props to be able to dress it,” she explained.
She said it takes four to five months to have the sets ready. “You work in stages. We have built three large studios -7,000 meters each- where there is a studio with the offices of Grupo Zepeda.”
For the neighborhood, they have everything, including burned and half-dead plants. ”It is thinking about how a 60 to 70-year-old parish looks like, where people come and go.”
Another innovation to highlight is an In-Camera Visual Effects (ICVFX) technology, Used in Vuelve a Mí to recreate Spain.
PRODUCTION CREW
Barroeta highlighted the executive producer, Elizabeth Suárez, who trained at Telemundo and previously was a producer with Alfredo Schwarz and Venevisión.
To join the production team, they brought the directors Danny Gavidia from Mexico and Pepe Aguilar (Buscando a Frida, El Conde) from Colombia. The production design team includes Pedro De Larrechea, the Art director, Lisette Graff, and Daniela Girón in Costumes.
“It is a team that we have assembled here in Miami and been able to take them to the next level each time. We have trained them. We always bring in staff from other parts to give different perspectives. We brought Damián Aguilar, a young Mexican photographer with an important career (Malverde). We are happy to have a solid team making quality content,” she highlighted.
