LOCAL

The magic of music

'Mary Poppins Returns' sound editor Jennifer Dunnington grew up in Dover

Meagan Wisecarver
Jennifer Dunnington, who was the supervising music editor on "Mary Poppins Returns," grew up in Dover and graduated from Dover High School in 1988. [Courtesy photo]

Millions of movie-goers have recently been swept away into a world of music and magic while watching “Mary Poppins Returns.” A major part of their successful escape is due to the efforts of 1988 Dover High School graduate Jennifer Dunnington, who is the supervising music editor for the film.

Growing up in Dover, Dunnington split her time between playing piano and French horn in the school's music department and dancing with the Seacoast Ballet Company. Dunnington’s love of dance provided the foundation for her technique.

“The connection between music and the moving image is obviously very strong for dance, but also for film. Music supports, connects and steers the emotion and movement of a scene, and is a powerful part of the story-telling. My experience in dance gave me a deeper connection to the musical movement in film,” she explains.

While studying film and dance at Keene State College, Dunnington inadvertently launched her music editing career, creating soundtracks for the dances that she choreographed.

“I loved using film scores and would often have someone help me edit them to fit the timing of the piece I was working on. This was back when we were using reel-to-reel tape, so we would cut the quarter-inch tape and splice it together again to change the length or structure of the music. That’s music editing. So, I guess I was doing it sooner than I realized,” she states.

Her first foray into the film industry was as an intern for acclaimed documentarian Ken Burns’ Florentine Films.

“It was the most incredible first job experience ever. The friendly crew were all so supportive. … It was an unusual break-in to a business that can be a little brutal sometimes. I don’t know many people who got to learn the film basics from so many wonderful mentors and play ice hockey with them at lunch time,” she says.

After a decades-long career in the industry, Dunnington is now a go-to music expert, frequently working with Hollywood elites like Martin Scorsese and “Mary Poppins Returns" director, Rob Marshall. She won an Emmy in 2011 for her work on the HBO television series "Boardwalk Empire." She's also won Motion Pictures Sound Editor awards for her work on the movie, "Hugo," on a documentary about George Harrison "Living In The Material World" and on "No Direction Home: Bob Dylan." She has been nominated for another MPSE award for her work on "Mary Poppins Returns."

Reimagining such an iconic film was both a challenge and an honor for Dunnington. “I watched the original ‘Mary Poppins’ a lot growing up, and even more often with my kids. That movie is very dear to me, as I know it is to a lot of people. I felt very honored to be a part of the crew that was creating a new chapter of Cherry Tree Lane for a whole new generation of people,” she says.

Working with score composer, Marc Shaiman, who is nominated for the Oscar for Best Original Score for the film and for Best Original Song for "The Place Where Lost Things Go," Dunnington expertly navigated audiences through this fantastical, cinematic world with both lyric-based songs and emotion-evoking underscore.

Her first task was to create temporary background music for the composers and film editors to use as a baseline.

Dunnington explains: “I would take music from other films that had a similar mood to the scene we were working on and change those scores to fit the shape and emotion of our scene. To achieve this, I might slow the music down, or speed it up, or change the pitch, or edit different sections together to help mold it into the musical movement we needed for our film. This temporary music, or 'temp score' as we call it, is helpful as the film is being edited to determine some of the pacing and general musical moods for the scenes. The composer can also use this as a guideline for what is working or not working for the director as he or she begins to write the score. We also use a temp score to show the film to test audiences, so that they can experience the film with a full orchestral soundtrack while the real score is still being composed.”

Out of the film’s many songs, the scenes in the Royal Doulton Music Hall were some of Dunnington’s favorites to edit. “After the animation for the song was close to completion, we recorded loop group actors for the singing and dancing animals. All of the new sheep, dogs, bears, flamingos and other animals had to be lined up to each other and to the music. The singers were hilarious as they embodied each animal in their performances, and it was a lot of fun to help create the rollicking music hall with all of those voices,” she explains.

On set, the actors sang live over a studio track of themselves, which was recorded months prior. During the editing process, Dunnington utilized this footage, along with the studio recordings, to make sure the visual and the auditory matched on screen.

“We might adjust a word by moving the ‘t’ a little bit at the beginning of the word or make the ‘o’ a little longer. These micro-changes to the words help them look more in sync on screen and not go out of rhythm with the music,” she says of her process.

Seamlessly syncing the filmed actors, the lyrics and the music is where Dunnington’s multi-award-winning technical talent and attention to detail are best showcased.

“I listen to the music on a film I’m working on hundreds of times, but most of the time I’m listening on such a different level than you would when playing a song for pure enjoyment. I’m listening to specific instruments or sonic ranges, for tuning issues, musician or room noises, edit points, tempo inconsistencies, cross fades, reverbs, mix levels, and of course how the music is connecting with the scene overall. Such specific things each time, that I don’t notice how many times I play it over and over,” she states.

Despite the necessary replays, Dunnington recalls “Mary Poppins Returns” as one of her most enjoyable jobs. “For this film, I never got tired of any of the songs. I think that’s one of the other things that was so pleasurable about it. I really, genuinely loved the music. It was a joy to work on them every day,” she says.

Dunnington is thankful to have such a rewarding career, and willingly acknowledges it is a combination of skill and circumstance.

“I’ve enjoyed so many projects that I’ve worked on, it’s hard to pick a favorite - though ‘Mary Poppins Returns’ is definitely one of the best experiences I’ve had to date. I’ve really been lucky in my career. A lot of getting ahead in this business is hard work and talent, sure, but a lot of it is also luck. You’re in the right place at the right time. You meet the right person and make the right connections and land an opportunity with a new crew,” she states.

Regardless of any upcoming awards, the camaraderie on set and the post-production experience during “Mary Poppins Returns” is one Dunnington will fondly remember. Here’s hoping the film gets a shout-out during this year’s Oscars.

"Mary Poppins Returns" is also nominated for the Oscars recognizing Costume Design and Production Design. The Academy Awards ceremony will be broadcast next Sunday, Feb. 24 on ABC.