It's the composer's challenge to focus the dramatic needs of a film project, which in the case of “Final Fantasy” presented a strange hybrid between the fantastical and the hyper-human. There seemed to be only one logical answer for me, which was to amplify the humanness in any place that was dramatically possible. I wanted to treat the characters' emotional interactions, for example, as one would treat them in a normal drama, with a lyrical sweeping melody. The melody is first heard played on the most "domestic" of instruments, the piano. In hearing the piano in such a futuristic sci-fi setting, one is reminded of the familiar trappings of home, and thus we can create a more approachable setting for earth-bound romantic sentiments.
On the other hand, there's a great deal of action, including fantastical alien space battles, in the film, for which the virtuoso London Symphony orchestra is perfect. I use orchestration techniques associated with the late 20th-century Polish avant-garde, as well as my own experiments from “Alien 3”, and 19th-century Straussian brass and string instrumentation. This combination makes for a very unusual and unsettling feeling, but at the same time, an audience becomes immersed in watching the movie, and the illusion is complete.