Spotting Sessions Part 2 – What Are You Looking For?

Interview with the Composers: Daisy Coole and Tom Nettleship (Best TV Score nominee, ‘FOR HER SINS’ Music and Sound Awards ’23)

What the Composer Looks For:

“In a nutshell, the goal of a spotting session is to determine where the music comes in and out and what role it is playing. Perhaps surprisingly, most of the questions and answers during a spotting session will be about story and not about music! Understanding why the score starts and ends is crucial. What is the cue reacting to within the story? What is its purpose?

We can reduce the score’s role into three elements: emotion, intensity, and perspective. As composers, we are always asking these questions: Is the score playing from a character’s perspective e.g., are we in their head with the music representing a character’s psyche, or are we observing the scene from the audience’s perspective? What emotion should we support: the character’s scripted dialogue or a deeper subtext? What is the intensity of the music? Intensity can be depicted by the music’s tempo or pace, its loudness, and occasionally, its dissonance.”

Challenges and Solutions:

“Spotting sessions are the primary opportunity to get everyone on the same page when it comes to finding the “tone” of a project.

Temp music is both a solution and a challenge. Its purpose is to provide guidance on tone, pace, emotion, even palette, and is usually a great starting point for discussion, usually demonstrating the editor’s intention rather than the director’s. With every temp track, we ask “why this, why now?” If a director can explain what doesn’t work in the temp, that’s even more useful! On the flip-side, challenges arise most commonly from temp love. If the temp is an epic, cinematic track with live orchestra but the music budget is tiny, that’s going to be a problem. There is also the risk of a psychological attachment to a piece of music, especially if the team has listened to the temp over and over when watching an edit. It’s very hard to then detach the story from the temp and reattach it to something new.

Finding a common language is vital. Temp music is incredibly useful for this because it helps us understand what a director/producer means by “intense” or “bright,” however we try to avoid talking “music” as much as possible. Knowing very little music jargon is actually a superpower! When giving notes back on the score, it’s much more helpful to speak about emotion and story. Most importantly, when it comes to finding a mutual language, there are no stupid questions.

A top tip would be making sure the dialogue, FX, and temp music stems are separated so we can turn off the temp and play with ideas during the spotting session. This is also vital when sending the edit over to composers so we can turn the temp and syncs on and off while we write!”

Collaboration with Other Teams:

“Including the composer and sound designer in early spotting conversations is always going to save time in the dub! We have to think about what is going to take priority aurally, for example, if we know the sound design will be in a particular frequency, e.g., a low rumble, we can make sure the music gets out of the way. Connecting the post HODs might sometimes be neglected, but it’s an incredibly useful opportunity to unite the post-audio departments and make sure everyone is working towards a shared vision.”

Interview with VFX Supervisor, Tim Zacceho (‘A Gentleman in Moscow’, ‘True Detective’, ‘The Crown’) shares his insights on VFX Spotting Sessions.

The Role of the VFX Supervisor:

“The VFX spotting session typically occurs at the end of a lengthy period of extensive discussion, negotiation, and planning. From early script read-throughs, across tech-reccies, and during the shoot itself, the VFX supervisor will liaise with the director, showrunner, and series producer to define the nature and extent of the show’s VFX requirements and identify a course of action—one that typically balances ambitious goals with the usual budgetary constraints.

This is not always an easy path to walk, and while every show is different, it usually involves the VFX supervisor suggesting ways to match the expectations of the director such that it makes the very best use of the money they have—using techniques that have a proven track record of success wherever possible, and spending wisely where a more experimental approach is required. Sometimes it is necessary to strongly advise against a certain type of shot or a particular camera setup, for example, where such a setup would dramatically increase the amount of VFX work required—especially where the additional work is unlikely to add significantly to the spectacle of the show.

Once the shoot is over and the edit begins, the VFX supervisor will work closely with the editor, VFX editor, and series producer to help put together the sequences that require the most VFX work in such a way that they play to its strengths, without going over budget. This often entails the VFX editor blocking in some of the shots as rough temps, partly to aid the editing process itself but also to give the director, showrunner, and producer a rough idea of how their VFX budget is going to be spent.

Come the VFX spot itself, everyone is—broadly speaking—pretty much up to speed with what’s needed, but it is nonetheless the first time that a proposed locked-cut will be seen with the specific goal of checking that everyone is familiar with the exact VFX requirements of each shot. It is also potentially the last chance the VFX supervisor has to warn against anything that would likely prove prohibitively expensive or otherwise represent a poor and inefficient use of a particular VFX setup or approach. For example, there could be a shot with two available takes which, while equally good from an editorial point of view, have very different repercussions from a VFX standpoint. Perhaps one makes good use of an existing CG set-extension model, while the other requires expensive modifications to be made to that asset. This is probably the last chance to decide to swap these takes for the cheaper option.

It’s also perhaps the last chance the VFX supervisor has to suggest ways to improve upon the existing VFX brief for a particular sequence, brought to light by the way that two shots have been cut together perhaps, or simply the way a given sequence has turned out in the end. On our recent project “A Gentleman in Moscow,” for example, during the spot for Episode 01, it became clear that the sequence where Alexander (Ewan McGregor) is being escorted from the Kremlin to the Metropol Hotel wasn’t quite working because the shots available to the edit didn’t allow for as much distance to be traveled across what had become a fewer number of shots. Having saved money on the reduced shot-count, I was able to suggest that we replace the background behind Alexander entirely with a CG recreation of the Bolshoi Theatre, thus moving him further along his journey and allowing for a more successful transition to the following shot.

The VFX spotting session is a crucial part of the process—it’s the final opportunity for the director, showrunner, editor, and VFX editor, along with the series producer and VFX supervisor, to assess the specific VFX requirements of the locked edit, allowing for some fine-tuning here and there and even to identify opportunities where additional VFX can be used to help with the overall visual storytelling and flow of the final edit. It’s the time to identify ways to maximize the impact of the available budget and to double-check that the most efficient solution for each situation has been considered.”

Interview with the Supervising Sound Editor: Payam Hosseinian (‘The Doll Factory’, ‘Vindication Swim’, ‘The Devils Hour’)

Interview with the Supervising Sound Editor: Payam Hosseinian

Payam Hosseinian, a seasoned Supervising Sound Editor and Designer, has worked on notable projects such as “The Doll Factory,” “Vindication Swim,” and “The Devil’s Hour.” Payam offers insights into the importance of sound in storytelling and the collaborative process during spotting sessions.

What the Sound Supervisor Looks For:

“Story is king! We always look to support/ enhance the storytelling process. There’s a reason every scene has been directed, acted, shot and edited in a certain way. It’s important to find those intensions, and with the rest of the crew, work towards the same goal. 

And this primarily happens through reading the script, and then conversation with the director and the editor during spotting sessions. Having said that, this doesn’t always mean doing the same thing as what score or the colour grading are doing at any given moment. It could, mean the exact opposite, in certain circumstances. 

Obviously, it all depends on the genre and style of the show/film. I’m assuming, we are talking about narrative film and HETV TV. So, as I said we look for plot points, minor and major emotional gear shifts in the narrative. And discuss how we are going to support them sonically. This could be achieved by sound design elements, certain ambiances, a spot effect or foley.”

The importance of sound effects and dialogue in enhancing the narrative:

“Broadly speaking, sound effects, include spot effects, ambiances, sound design elements and foley. They all play a crucial role. They all occupy a certain space on the soundtrack. This could be very genre specific. For example, when you are dealing with an action film/ show with lots of car chases, fights or shoot out scenes, having those perfect sounds to excite and thrill the audience, becomes of prime importance. 

But if you are dealing with an intimate drama, with sparse dialogue, and longer shots with a slower edit, you’d need to focus on the backgrounds and ambiances as well as closely recorded foley. 

With dialogue, clarity and performance are key and need to be preserved. Human ear and brain are tuned to receive and comprehend dialogue above everything else. So, we make sure dialogue is always intelligible (unless otherwise is needed due to different creative intentions) 

Even when we do ADR which is usually needed due to a variety of reasons, we must look after the performances as they are carrying a big part of the actors’ emotions.”

Identifying Issues:

“We look at a range of issues, but as the main aim on set is to capture dialogue, the issues are mainly dialogue related at this stage. 

Usually, tricky scenes require special attention. As an example, a scene that has been shot under the rain or near the sea is going to need ADR.”

Crowd and Foley Recordings:

“Usually, the dialogue and ADR supervisor looks after the crowds. Again, I make sure they are present in the spotting session and can spot and discuss crowds when required. Otherwise, I’ll make notes for them. Later, they mark the crowds and start working with crowd wranglers. After taking to consideration the volume of the needed crowd, and the budget, they organise crowd recordings using loop group actors. 

Depending on the story, crowds could play a big role. Imagine a court drama, or a film or show with lots of demonstration scenes and chanting. Crowd lines need to be researched and written carefully for the period of the show. Then directed and performed in a way to match the intensity of each scene. 

Regarding foley, again we usually make sure one person from the foley team is present at every spotting session. Foley is an amazing art form that brings the characters to life. Intimate scenes won’t be felt by the audience without the magic touches of skilled foley artists. We make sure all those delicate hand movements and skin touches, are beautifully performed and edited, to enhance the character’s presence on screen.”

Collaboration with Other Teams:

“As I said, we try to have most of the sound team in the sound spotting session. Although that’s not always possible. We all know our specialised areas well and I guess we give room to each other during the spotting sessions. As an example, if I notice a dialogue issue, I only intervene if I feel there’s a need. Otherwise, I’ll let the dialogue and ADR supervisor to discuss the matter with the director. 

Or when we think a certain sound design scene is going to be shaped in the mix, we let the re-recording mixer take the lead in the discussions in the spotting session and then we contribute if necessary. 

We also discuss visual effects scenes and what could affect audio. Then through the post supervisor we work with the VFX team and make sure the director’s vision is achieved. 

Even though the music spotting sessions happen separately, we make sure there’s a good amount of conversation between me and the composer. Close collaboration with the composer is very crucial, especially for the sound designer who is doing tonal elements. Because their creations need to closely work together in terms of pitch and key. We also discuss source music in spotting sessions. Especially on HETV, often there is no music supervisor or editor. So, as a supervising sound editor, I need to deal with source music.” Spotting sessions are integral to the cohesive execution of a film or TV project, providing a platform for crucial creative and technical decisions. For composers Daisy Coole and Tom Nettleship, these sessions focus on the narrative role of music, emotional cues, and collaboration with other audio teams. For VFX supervisor Tim Zaccheo, the sessions are about aligning the visual effects with the director’s vision while managing budget constraints and optimizing technical resources. For sound supervisor Payam Hosseinian, the sessions emphasise the importance of supporting the storytelling process through meticulous sound design and collaboration with the director and editor. Each perspective highlights the collaborative nature of spotting sessions, ensuring that every element, from music to visual effects to sound, contributes effectively to the storytelling