Learn common orchestral textures for scoring different types of terror in film. The course covers 6 broad types of terror with over two dozen textures. The types of terror include those where the threat is up close to the characters (frightening terror, action terror, and feared-presence terror) as well as those where the threat is nearby or approaching (looming-threat terror, slow-approach terror, and build-up terror). The techniques apply not just to the horror genre, but to any genre that includes a scene with terror.

Each texture is built around a central component that defines the expression of terror. Other components are then added to it to hone the expression more specifically to the scene. Because the textures are strongly related to the film’s narrative at that moment, we always use the narrative in the analyses and instructor compositions.

The course comes with a set of composition exercises that are in MIDI format for DAWs, MusicXML for notation software, and PDF for pencil and paper. You can also get feedback directly from the instructor by posting your answers in the site forums. And review content quickly and easily with the Quick References section.