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Wallace and Gromit’s Film Music Unit Capsule Lesson: Leitmotif Leitmotif: A melody (usually fairly short) that accompanies a character when they appear on screen. The composer Richard Wagner pioneered the use of leitmotif (pronounced light-moh-teef) in his operas in the late 19 th century, and the technique is still used today. The American composer, John Williams is well-known for his use of leitmotif in his soundtracks, including the main melodies from: Star Wars – The Empire Strikes Back (Darth Vader’s Theme) Indiana Jones (The Raiders March) Harry Potter (Hedwig’s Theme) Jaws (Jaws Theme) – the director, Steven Spielberg, famously used the Jaws leitmotif even when the shark was not on screen to create a feeling of menace and dread. Successful leitmotifs should suggest the personality of the character on screen. Take Wallace and Gromit, for example - there is a famous theme song for the two of them together, but what might a theme for each of them sound like? Choose either Wallace or Gromit, and write a two bar melody to represent the character. Pitch Your choices of pitch will play a big part in conveying the character so think carefully before choosing extremely high or extremely low pitches. A major key will suggest a positive character, and a minor key will generally give a more complicated feel! Rhythm A lively, bouncing rhythm will suggest an energetic character, while a more plodding or steady rhythm may suggest the opposite Tempo What does a fast tempo suggest about a character? And a very slow tempo? Timbre Sometimes the sound of the instrument makes all the difference. How does your leitmotif sound on a variety of instruments?
