What is a Leitmotif — 4 Ways to Tell a Story With Film Music

What is a leitmotif in film music — 4 different ways composers like John Williams and Howard Shore use leitmotifs.

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Chapters:
00:00 - Intro
00:49 - Leitmotif Definition and History
01:56 - Technique 1: Character
03:32 - Technique 2: Setting
05:15 - Technique 3: Emotion
07:12 - Technique 4: Evolution
09:32 - Wrap Up

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What is a leitmotif in film music? Well, if you survey the filmography of composer John Williams, you’ll find countless leitmotifs and some of the greatest film music ever. Jaws, Jurassic Park, Superman, E.T., Close Encounters of the Third Kind — movies that have iconic scores thanks to the use of the leitmotif. In this video, we’ll review the work of composers like Williams, Howard Shore, and Michael Giacchino who use the leitmotif in four distinct ways.

The leitmotif has its origins in opera and became most well-known in the work of Richard Wagner. Wagner built leitmotifs into his work to signify characters, locations, emotions and even ideas. In a way, the leitmotif is a shorthand for the audience, a way to directly associate music in storytelling. Naturally, film composers have embraced this same technique to enrich how stories can be told with sound just as much as images.

The first type of film music leitmotif is used to signify characters. In Steven Spielberg’s Jaws, composer John Williams relies heavily on the unforgettable shark leitmotif. In this case, the music stands in for the shark itself since we see very little of the monster until the end. And if you think a film music leitmotif needs to be complicated to work, remember that the Jaws theme is built on just two notes.

The second type of film music leitmotif is used to invoke setting. In The Lord of the Rings, composer Howard Shore imbues nearly all of the major locations of Middle Earth with it’s own musical leitmotif. From the light and lilting motif of The Shire to the foreboding horns of Mordor. In science fiction and fantasy films, these musical leitmotifs help situate the audience in unfamiliar worlds.

The third type of film music leitmotif is used to express an emotion. In Pixar’s Up, we have a rather heartbreaking use of the leitmotif. We run through Carl and Ellie’s life in an early montage with a motif that is first light and playful when they’re in love and then mournful when tragedy strikes.

The final type of film music leitmotif is used to follow the evolution of a character. Play the “Imperial March” and most people will immediately think of Darth Vader. When we first hear in the Star Wars films, this leitmotif suggests the evil power of Lord Vader. But, in The Phantom Menace, when we meet him as an innocent boy named Anakin, John Williams adds the faintest touch of the leitmotif to foreshadow his eventual transformation from the light to the dark side. And at the end of Return of the Jedi, as Vader lays dying, we hear a slow and final iteration of the leitmotif.

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VIDEO EDITOR: BRANDON SCULLION
♬ SONGS USED:

“Jurassic Park Theme” - John Williams
”The Murder” - Bernard Herrmann
”Avengers Theme” - Alan Silvestri
”Indiana Jones Theme - John Williams
”Mr. Moustafa” - Alexandre Desplat
”Ride of The Valkyries” - Richard Wagner
”Jaws Theme” - John Williams
”Hedwig’s Theme” - John Williams
”The Shire” - Howard Shore
”The Road Goes Ever On Pt 2” - Howard Shore
”Theoden King.The Funeral of Theoden” - Howard Shore
”Grond, The Hammer of the Underworld” - Howard Shore
”Many Meetings” - Howard Shore
”My Heart Will Go On” - Horner/Dion
”Married Life” - Michael Giacchino
”The Ellie Badge” - Michael Giacchino
”Duel of the Fates” - John Williams
”The Imperial March” - John Williams
”Anakin’s Theme” - John Williams
”The Battle of Endor III (Medley)” - John Williams
”Mission Impossible Theme” - Lalo Schifrin
”Der Ring des Nibelungen” - Richard Wagner
”Halloween Theme” - John Carpenter
”Terminator 2 Theme” - Brad Fiedel
”Exorcist Theme” Mike Oldfield
”Back to the future Theme” - Alan Silvestri
”Godzilla Theme” Bear McCreary
”Friday the 13th Theme” - Harry Manfredini

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