RECORDING May 2022 - 65

MA Y 2022
TAXI's Virtual Road Rally 2021
How TV Editors Pick and Place Music
With TV Editor, Laurel Ostrander
Interviewed by Michael Laskow
Hey, Laurel. I'm gonna introduce you in a second,
but first I want to thank our sponsors. Because,
without them the Road Rally, and the 24 that came
before, would not exist. Their recognition and support
of this incredible community that you are all
part of is much more than a business relationship.
Please show your support for their products and
services every chance you get, you guys. Every
minute of this event is possible because of Disc Makers,
Bandzoogle, MasterWriter, Ilio, AirGigs,
Sessionwire, Paul Reed Smith Guitars, Final Mix
Software, Fallout Music Group, Pandora Amp, Music
Pro Insurance, Cal State Northridge, Arturia, and
Shure. Let's hear it for them. [applause]
And now, ladies and gentlemen, it is time to hear
from one of our most popular presenters in the history
of the 25 years of the Road Rally. Please give it
up for Laurel Ostrander. [applause]
Laurel is an A-list TV editor who has wowed the
audience during the previous Road Rally ballroom
presentations she has done. She's incredibly smart,
and one of the best teachers who has ever graced
our stage. Laurel's going to tell you why she chooses
one piece of music over another, what type of
instrumental cues and songs work best, and how
she uses music to make scenes in the shows that she
edits much more impactful. Her recent credits
include Rhythm and Flow, Wipeout, RuPaul's Drag
Race All Stars, and Married at First Sight. She has created
content for networks including Netflix,
Disney+, Paramount+, Fox, CBS, MTV, and many
more. From family-oriented docu-follows to horrorthemed
game shows. Laurel uses music as a tool to
create compelling and entertaining stories.
Welcome back, Laurel. It's great to see you.
Thank you, Michael. Great to see you, too!
I'd like to start out by setting the scene. Can you
give us an idea of what a typical week for an editor
on a reality show looks like, from the workloads,
schedule, and deadline pressure perspective?
Michael Laskow and Laurel Ostrander at TAXI's Virtual Road Rally.
Sure. Well, every show is a little bit different, but
in a typical week I will be presented with an act at
the beginning of the week. I will get a string-out
from a story producer, which is usually a radio
edit, basically; it's the rough draft of what you act
is going to be. And then I usually get two or three
days to do a picture edit on that and get a sense
of how I want to put it together. And then, if I'm
really lucky, I will have two days at the end of the
week to drop in music and sound effects and
really do a polish. Usually there are a couple
rounds of notes [from the producers] in that
week, and then it goes off to internal executives
and the network executives-rounds and rounds
around. Then you put it all together and eventually
there's a TV show.
It's unbelievable that all that stuff gets done in that
short amount of time. So the pressure is intense,
and you have to work really, really fast, right?
Yes.
Can you give us an overview of how many editors
would typically work on a show? Are you working on
like next week's episode, and somebody else might
be working on the week after that? Is there a team
of editors?
It's always different, depending on the show. I've
worked on shows where there are as few as four
editors who handle an entire season of 12 to 13
episodes. I've seen shows where there are as
many as 20 to 30 to 40 editors! My husband has
worked on Love Island, and they've got an
episode that they're putting out every day, so
that was a massive team of people all working in
concert to get something done. Sometimes, I
have an episode that's completely mine; sometimes
I'm working with a whole different team of
editors, so we have to have a shared vision and
style to make sure that the episode looks
seamless.
And how do you come up with what that sharedvision
style is? Do you guys have like
pre-post-production meetings where you all sit
around and say, " OK, so this year we are going for a
little different vibe, " " We want more outdoor
shots, " or " We want more negative emotions, so we
have conflict. " How do you decide that stuff?
The visions of the season will come from the top
down through your executive producer. And
sometimes you will have a lead editor on a proContinued
on page 66
RECORDING May 2022 65
RECORDING May 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of RECORDING May 2022
