Composing for the sci-fi genre

August 14, 2008 When discussing the music of the sci-fi genre, it's virtually impossible to overstate the influence of composing giant Bernard Herrmann, the man who practically invented science fiction scoring and created approaches to the genre that still influence scores today, from his application of the electronic theremin to "The Day the Earth Stood Still" to the outlandish orchestration he brought to fantasy projects like the 50s version of "Journey to the Center of the Earth." [...] the director comes from the Steven Spielberg school as a special effects supervisor which is definitely an offshoot of the Bernard Herrmann era of writing music for film. Indeed, film composers tackling science fiction movies today don't have to start out blind -- they have over six decades of tradition, convention and experimentation behind them.

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