The location for the conducting final round competition was chosen in large part for its stunning city views, so Azazel Jacobs was relieved when there was no rain on the shoot day. He had a difficult shot to pull off - Hailey's spirit walking away while she continues to conduct, all without any special effects or editing tricks. To accomplish this, a double learned the piece of music and closely studied Hailey's conducting style. As Jacobs explains, "She stood right by the camera, outside of the frame, so that when Lola walked away, she quickly was able to jump into her place and continue conducting as Hailey. This meant that by the time we swung around, both Haileys would be in frame. Honestly this was one of those things we weren't sure going to work until it actually did!"
In preparation for the archery scene, Azazel Jacobs accompanied Masi Oka to a lesson at one of the top Kyudo schools. Jacobs was fascinated by the incredible discipline, strength and beauty required for this ancient archery tradition. Even though not much screen time would be involved, Oka wanted to make sure the forms were executed properly. After a tireless day's work with the teacher, Oka capped off his lesson by hitting a target from 400 feet away.
Azazel Jacobs characterizes the bar as "one of the coolest places I've ever been/seen." Shinsuke Enomoto, who plays the bartender, is the place's actual bartender, and he also built the entire bar, filling it with handmade details and surprises everywhere. The place is even smaller than it looks, requiring most of the crew to stay outside while Jacobs and select crew members shot the scene from a small balcony.
In preparation for shooting Round Two in the competition, Azazel Jacobs received invaluable insight from conductor Farkhad Khudyev, whose competition experience early in his career was similar to Hailey's. He shared what it felt like to exceed his own, and others', expectations, and spoke with Jacobs about "the incredible pressure that comes especially with Round Two: the feeling of winning just from getting that far, the intimidation of having judges sitting on the stage facing you, keeping track of time but making sure not to rush things, and especially the mixed emotions of connecting with your fellow contestants, but also competing against them."
The judges' deliberation scene was the first one Azazel Jacobs shot for the episode. The mix between American based crew and Japanese based crew was still being worked out, and though the language difference was clear, some of the cultural differences were not. "I believe everyone was being super sensitive to not offend on either side. But when it came to Taisaku Akino delivering the line 'Yuki should be cut!' for the first time, exactly how you see it in this scene, the whole set erupted in laughter." The humor of Akino's delivery transcended context or even language, and the resulting laughter put everyone at ease and made them feel connected. "From then on, the refrain 'Yuki should be cut!' was repeated by everyone at some point during the shooting."