Learn Spanish (Latin America): El director pidió que grabáramos la escena. - The director asked that we film the scene.

The main verb, pidió (asked), is in the past tense. When you report a command or request that happened in the past, the second verb must "agree" with that past timeline. Because of this, we must shift from the present subjunctive to the past (imperfect) subjunctive.

Why does grabáramos have an accent mark on the second "a"?

In the imperfect subjunctive, the nosotros form always requires a written accent mark on the vowel immediately before the -ramos ending. This ensures the word keeps its spoken stress on the correct syllable (gra-bá-ra-mos).

Why is "asked" translated using pidió (from pedir) instead of a form of preguntar?

In Spanish, pedir is used when you are making a request or telling someone to do something (asking for something or an action). Preguntar is only used when you are asking a question to get information. Since the director is requesting an action, pidió is the right choice.

Why isn't there an indirect object pronoun like nos before pidió?