The release of Don Macdonald's Fido soundtrack as a downloadable album from Lionsgate Records (via iTunes) is a bit more important than a standard soundtrack album because it marks a rather rare occasion when an original score written by a Canadian composer for a Canadian film is commercially released.

It sounds like a ridiculous statement, but there's never been a regular stream of commercially released score albums in Canada, and with the exception of Quebec, a province whose own film industry has remained prolific and more adept in promoting its productions through venues such as home video, prior LP and CD sales, most indigenous soundtracks just don't get released.

Perhaps best known for scoring Hiro, Last Wedding, and the cult films Rollercoaster (1999) and Kissed, we interviewed Don Macdonald before the release of Fido, and the compser talks about his witty soundtrack, and some of the diverse projects he's scored since the 1990s.

Mark R. Hasan : How did you first get into film scoring?

Don Macdonald : I was a composition major at the University of Victoria and took a course in the education department called MIDI Lab. It was in the early days (1985) of Digital Performer sequencing software, so I saw this whole world of film scoring as a new and exciting possibility. I got some footage of a Warren Miller ski movie from a friend who was the cameraman, and dove right in. It was awesome. I'd never had so much fun composing.

MRH : I noticed that you continue to work in TV and film, scoring documentaries and fiction works, and I wonder if you've found moving between genres and formats has sharpened your scoring skills over the years, and improved your abilities to tackle any subject or unusual themes within a particular work?

DM : Absolutely. I really enjoy the challenge of trying to support images in a variety of genres. One of my favorite scores was for the short Shoes Off! in 2000. The score was wall to wall opera and it really gave me a chance to study some different orchestrational techniques, as well as delve into the land of Verdi , Puccini and Mozart.

It was a tonne of work but it managed to win the Cannes Film Festival that year, so it all paid off. I've also written a lot of groove music and jazz, and for the film Best Wishes Mason Chadwick (1995), I had a chance to write a whole score in the style of Juan Esquivel, this bizarre Mexican composer, using a 20 piece salsa band. That was a real highlight.

MRH : Was it partly because of your diverse background that you were approached to score Fido ?

DM : I think having diversity did play a role, since this score really called for everything, including romance, humor, action and horror. Previous to Fido I'd done my turn at each of these. We had to convince Lions Gate that I was the right one for the job. Also, I'd worked with the director, Andrew Currie, in his first feature, Mile Zero (2001). He had a great deal of trust in me and contacted me long before the film went to camera.

MRH : I gather Fido is less of a formal zombie film, and more of a social satire that's been transplanted into a fifties environment. I still haven't seen the film, but I take it the emphasis isn't completely on gore, and more on the many conflicts and subtext that run through the story of domesticated zombies.

DM : Andrew Currie describes Fido as a film for film lovers. It pays homage to many of the classic films while delving into social satire, horror and comedy. The gore is definitely there but it's not self-serving or gratuitous.

One of my favorite scenes which sort of sums up the movie is when the mother, Helen, in her Sunday best, is being attacked by a crazed zombie walking his dog. This girlscout blows away the zombie and blood gets spattered all over the white picket fence. It's gory, but gory and sweet and innocent all at the same time. Twisted and beautiful…. Can you tell I like dark films?