Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1061972
62 CINEMONTAGE / Q4 2018 every sound from a single breath to 50 lamplighters dancing is equally considered and carefully threaded into the soundtrack." One of the film's more complex scenes takes place at the Royal Doulton, a fantastical music hall inside a porcelain bowl, with live actors and classically animated animals, according to Tondelli. "We recorded impulse responses of various porcelain bowls, and Jim Bruening — one of our music editors — pitched it to the music," she says. "We fed the dialogue through this impulse response to create our 'Ceramic World' sound. To put voice to the animals, I went to London and worked with voice casting director Phoebe Scholfield." The goal was to find actors who could also sing and bring life to the characters "without being cartoony," continues Tondelli. "It was great fun to have a room of these talented people working out their camel or elephant voices. At the climax of one of the songs, various animals — from soprano flamingos to deep basso elephants — are 'background singers' on the stage behind Mary Poppins. Mike Higham, our music supervisor, conducted them to get the perfect pitch. Lyrics are very important to Rob, so Mike Prestwood Smith had to be very careful in weaving the animals in and out of the mix to support but not overwhelm the song. This provided a real Atmos treat as we opened up the music hall to envelop the audience using the surrounds." Foley is also an important element in a Rob Marshall film. "In the song 'Trip a Little Light Fantastic,' there are 50 lamplighters singing and dancing in an abandoned park in London," Tondelli relates. "Since it was all shot to playback, the Foley tied in the action and provided a rhythmic beat to the scenes. We had a slate floor built on the Foley Stage [at c5 Sound in New York] and brought in several dancers, including the choreographers. They also performed the many animal feet for us in the song 'A Cover Is Not the Book,' from elephants to seals." While Tondelli focused on the songs, Zimmerman handled production-dialogue elements. "Because the elements we received from production mixer Simon Hayes were outstanding, there was minimal principal ADR," the supervising sound editor recalls. "Alexa did an amazing job of cleaning up production tracks whenever necessary. Simon also captured any sounds he could while recording production, such as bicycles on cobblestone streets and vehicles used in the film." Marshall and Tondelli also looked for an additional sound designer from New York. "Eugene Gearty, who's also a musician, was a perfect fit as the newest member of our team," Tondelli offers. "He was working out of c5 in New York, although he lives in South Carolina, and soon chatted with Rob Marshall on the phone from London." "We got on very well," Gearty says. "Rob and I talked for a long time about needing an uplifting movie in these crazy times, about artistic intent and the role of sound design in his films. He likes his crew to work close to where he edits his films, but was okay with me working out of my own 5.1-channel sound design room in South Carolina, and coming up to New York for regular meetings. I have a Euphonix MC Control and an eight-channel MC Mix for Pro Tools, with Genelec speakers. After the first and only temp mix in early 2018, when I met the two re-recording mixers, I moved up and stayed in Manhattan during the three months of pre-dubs and finals." Renée Tondelli. Mary Poppins Returns. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures