Experimental artist Matthew Herbert and the BBC Radiophonic Workshop have scored a new version of A Message from Mars, the first ever British sci-fi film.
The film was directed by J Wallett Waller and was released in 1913. It is the first to depict Martians while the plot bears a resemblance to Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.
A Message from Mars was released online on Friday 12 December 2014 on bfi.org.uk/player and bbc.co.uk/arts. It’s the first time in a century that the full length film is available to watch after being restored over six months by experts at the BFI National Archive.
Matthew said: ‘A Message from Mars has such a unique visual language, from acting to camera angles, that it has required a different approach to the soundtrack. So many conventions we associate with sound and music in film didn’t seem to be relevant.
‘Apart from the sound design, all the musical contributions are made from recordings we made of a piano, the instrument of choice for film accompaniment in 1913. We chose a specific piano from 1913 to give it an authenticity of tone and, partly due to its age, we managed to coax a whole range of exciting textures and timbres from it.’
A Message from Mars forms part of the BFI’s huge UK-wide celebration of Sci-Fi film and television, Days of Fear and Wonder.
The film was directed by J Wallett Waller and was released in 1913. It is the first to depict Martians while the plot bears a resemblance to Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.
A Message from Mars was released online on Friday 12 December 2014 on bfi.org.uk/player and bbc.co.uk/arts. It’s the first time in a century that the full length film is available to watch after being restored over six months by experts at the BFI National Archive.
Matthew said: ‘A Message from Mars has such a unique visual language, from acting to camera angles, that it has required a different approach to the soundtrack. So many conventions we associate with sound and music in film didn’t seem to be relevant.
‘Apart from the sound design, all the musical contributions are made from recordings we made of a piano, the instrument of choice for film accompaniment in 1913. We chose a specific piano from 1913 to give it an authenticity of tone and, partly due to its age, we managed to coax a whole range of exciting textures and timbres from it.’
A Message from Mars forms part of the BFI’s huge UK-wide celebration of Sci-Fi film and television, Days of Fear and Wonder.
