\n\tThis video contains spoilers from Netflix\u2019s Emmy-nominated season of Beef.<\/p>\n
\n\tBeef Season 2 comes with a ratcheted-up sense of drama as two generational couples face-off: Carey Mulligan and Oscar Isaac\u2019s Lindsay and Josh, and Cailee Spaeny and Charles Melton\u2019s Ashley and Austin.<\/p>\n
\n\tTheir lives coincide at a posh golf club, which has just been taken over by a nefarious Korean queen-pin, Chairwoman Park (played by Oscar winner Youn Yuh-jung). But there\u2019s a lot of double cross in the young, poorer set of Ashley and Austin, trying to get what\u2019s owed to them from Josh, who is corrupt manager of the club. Relationships are in peril, with plenty of morals for all on the give-and-take of worn romance.<\/p>\n
\n\tOn today\u2019s Crew Call Live, we chat with Beef Season 2 Emmy nominees in the limited or anthology series category \u2014 cinematographer James Laxton, editor Laura Zempel, and supervising sound editor Christopher Gomez \u2014 on how their crafts enhance the drama at hand. It starts with excellent performances.<\/p>\n
\n\tRELATED: Emmy Nominations Analysis: \u2018The Pitt\u2019 And \u2018Hacks\u2019 Dominance Proves It Helps To Be On A Show Voters Actually Watch<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tThe key for all on the series from creator and showrunner Lee Jung Sin (aka Sonny Lee) was maintaining what Laxton calls \u201cthe Beef language\u201d between Seasons 1 and 2 but also expanding the canvas to a greater number of protagonists.<\/p>\n \n\tExplains Zempel: \u201cI think the biggest difference between Season 1 and Season 2 from an editorial perspective is, in Season 1, we had two main characters. We had Amy and Danny [Ali Wong and Steven Yuen], so we\u2019re just tracking them, their lives. If they\u2019re in a scene, they\u2019re our main character. But this season we had an ensemble cast. We had four, maybe six main characters, and so we\u2019re balancing six different characters, story, live storylines, their personal lives, their motivations, what they\u2019re seeking, their obstacles.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tShe adds: \u201cKeeping that balance was a real challenge from an editorial perspective. We ended up moving a lot of scenes around within episodes to strengthen character arcs, and keeping everybody\u2019s motivations alive at all times was a real difference from Season 1.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tWhen it came to the sound, \u201cSeason 1 was a little bit more rough around the edges,\u201d Gomez says. \u201cEverything wasn\u2019t so polished. But going into Season 2, that was the big discussion that we had with Sonny. Everything needed to feel pristine.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tWe discuss at length how the team worked with Finneas O\u2019Connell\u2019s score; one of his romantic cues, \u201cVicious Thoughts,\u201d became a big inspiration for Lee, particularly when it came to the penultimate swirling, crane shot scene where Lindsay runs to Josh in Korea before he\u2019s hauled off to jail.<\/p>\n \n\tRELATED: \u2018Beef\u2019 Creator Lee Sung Jin & Composer Finneas Reveal \u201cNorth Star\u201d That Helped Fuel Season 2 Finale\u2019s Most Heartbreaking Scene \u2013 The Process<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tZempel says: \u201cSonny ended up writing this season almost to that piece of music. I\u2019ve never gotten a script that had a piece of score from the composer written into the script. It was incredible, and it\u2019s so integral to that scene in the way it was shot.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tIn addition the final episode has a John Wick-like chase scene where Lindsay, Josh, Ashley and Austin face off with Chairwoman Park\u2019s security thugs. It\u2019s one long, winding shot thatr Laxton says \u201ctook weeks and weeks of planning\u201d but in the end didn\u2019t have an unreasonable number of shots (\u201cin the teens or something\u201d says the Oscar-nominated Moonlight DP).<\/p>\n