Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1061972
64 CINEMONTAGE / Q4 2018 LIVE AND PRE-RECORDED MUSICAL ELEMENTS According to music supervisor Higham, who oversaw all aspects of the film's music, the orchestral tracks and some cast vocals were pre-recorded with an 82-piece symphony orchestra in January 2017 at Air Lyndhurst Studios in North London. "We had five days to record the orchestra and a very small amount of scratch vocals," Higham concedes. "Actors were at these sessions so that we could choose tempos with which they were comfortable. A month later, we had seven days of vocal pre-records at British Grove Studios in West London, where the actors sang to the pre- recorded orchestra tracks." Adds supervising music editor Dunnington, "These tracks were then mixed and used for the playback on set and for the majority of the final film mix." The film's actors were asked to sing out during the shoot rather than mime their songs. "I always feel that it looks much better if actors sing out when they're acting," the music supervisor says. "This became invaluable because we ended up using some of the live vocals from several of our actors. We also recorded additional vocals after the fact, as there were sections of performance that we wanted to change for artistic choices." Higham recalls that the most challenging part of his job on the film, which occurred during preparation of the immersive musical soundtrack, was paying attention to detail and ensuring that everyone gave his or her best performance in the studio while the pre-records were done. "Our director was good at reminding the cast where they were going to be, and to try and think ahead, so that they could put their performance into that world," he explains. "A key thought was also making sure that our orchestra was the correct size and that we recorded it with a sense of the 1960s, as a throwback to the time of the original film; this was achieved by microphone choice and the players I selected for the orchestra," he continues. "On set, I would make sure everybody was absolutely ready to sing on the day, and that they all felt comfortable with the loudspeaker setup and in- ear monitoring, if they were using them. We prepared clicks to cue our actors to make sure the lip sync looked as good as it could be; without that you do not have a film at all." Dunnington's most difficult task, she recalls, was "overseeing the large track count throughout the long editorial process, and stitching together the inserts, revisions and overdubs recorded at the three major orchestral sessions," the last of which took place in May 2018. "Music editorial was extremely involved with the team of orchestrators and copyists to ensure that the material for each block of new recording sessions would consistently match the material from 11 or 17 months prior," she adds. Because the main orchestral tracks from the pre- record were not done to a click (so that the songs felt more natural), "We had to create fluid click tracks based on that material, which the orchestra had to follow in order to seamlessly punch in and out of the cues, Dunnington continues. "With several orchestrators on board, there was also a challenge for sonic continuity that had to be carefully monitored to ensure consistency." In terms of deliverables, from the studio and on-set multi-track recordings the team prepared Jennifer Dunnington. Mary Poppins Returns. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures