All language subtitles for MasterClass Hans Zimmer Teaches Film Scoring - 17Character Theme Jack Sparrow

Some movies are entirely characterdriven

and you know I mean if if you say

Sherlock Holmes

Yeah, you know, it's it's pretty obvious

it's it's about the character. Um, if if

you say to me pirates, actually Jack

Sparrow's theme I forgotten about Jack

Sparrow, you know, it was much more

about

it's, you know, let's let's invent a

lang, you know, let's figure out a

language of of how we can describe the

movie and,

you know, in a funny way. I mean, it's

it's like Gore gave me all the clues.

It's, you know, uh pirates were the rock

and rollers, you know, of the of the

Middle Ages or whatever, you know. So,

it's just a boogie, you know. That's all

it tastes, you know, that that tune. Um,

so so every secondary tune other than

Jack's came out of the

Well, Jack's tune starts with that as

well. Um, so, so, so I thought, you

know, if I have a family of tunes that

all start with the same three notes, you

know, um,

that is the family, you know, that, you

know, that that's the set design for

this movie in a funny sort of way. Um,

so yes, the the the the overall

sound of the movie came first. What I

try to do is I try to find the tone of

the movie. I try to find the tone for

the movie more than anything else and

you know build the set and then put the

actors into it. So yeah, I mean look I

some of the characters I I don't

remember but the process is usually the

same. It's I really try to figure out

how that character resonates with me and

then it becomes a game. It's becomes a

game of it's it's it's it's

no different than telling your best

friend about somebody you met and the

impression they left on you and you're

trying to describe a person to somebody

else who has never met that person.

I just kept watching what Johnny was

doing and I kept watching what you know

who he was. So I I just sat down and I

mean I didn't sort of quite bash it out

but it didn't take very long. There

wasn't a lot of time. Um, and I just I

just tried to put all the all the I

wasn't consciously thinking about it,

but I, you know, I knew what I wanted to

say and I just I just have tried to put

it into the notes. And then, yeah, at

one point,

you know, I mean, look, I'll play it.

I'll probably get it wrong.

And if I wasn't so lazy, I'd turn around

and play the harmony.

Oh,

remember I said I'm not a performer.

There was proof. I'm not a performer.

Um,

so I actually wrote it down at one point

and and scribbled it down for Gore so he

would understand what the thing was. So

if you should we should we go and do

this by example. So now I feel like a

teacher. So you know I I just wrote the

instruction manual out for for for

Gabinsky going okay this is what I was

thinking and this is what this does. Um

that you know it starts with an romantic

phrase. It goes to a heroic phrase and

since you're heroic

and and and I do think this character

thinks of heroic as a little go. So he

has to go just when everybody goes well

done. He has to go and

just like I would have to do perverts

the praise by going a little naughty. it

goes naughty then it does the strong and

positive then it does a little decadent

thing

and then the sort of the the the

surprise and you know and there's a bar

which is just called mess where I was

changing my mind about things um

and you know again this this idea that

at the end he gets a little bit long-

winded uh you know he gets stuck in

his words and his

and you And you know, maybe a good glass

of rum will solve it.

I think this first phrase

is actually quite romantic, right? And

then it does this um

I mean that's

it's a very heroic leap, you know,

because I think he's a closic romantic,

but

he automatically goes to the um goes to

the heroic. And the next thing is he's

naughty. And so the next three notes are

you know the semmit tone you know

it's like

bit wicked you know um

and this one this chord shouldn't be in

there I mean I haven't you know because

the harmony so far has been this the

very heroic and romantic thing and that

that that that you know So, I'm suddenly

changing language and it it's it's

strong and it's positive, you know? It's

like

first of all, I think part of what this

character is is he imagines himself to

be all of these things. So, so part of

it is like how he sees himself and part

of it is how I think he really is, you

know. So, so this is very positive thing

you know but then straight away it it

goes into um

hang on hang

that there's you know it's still the

positive thing

there is you know that's straight out of

that's straight out of a strip club you

There's a

there's a bit of sexuality that might

not be appropriate in a children's

movie, but who's going to catch me at it

in this tune?

And then the tune does something

boldly unexpected.

You know, it should just shouldn't go to

this chord.

So, you know, it's like every problem he

solves, he he he he figures out um you

know, it breaks the rules, you know,

that's that's really what that tune

does. So, so within

so far good with the romantic goes to

heroic

bit naughty

very positive

etc etc etc you know I mean it actually

goes goes on and on and on and on.

Do you know the way he gets he keeps in

the m, you know, he's trying to solve

problems and he gets stuck for a while

and it's of his thinking process. And

the only way he knows how to solve the

problem is he goes to

the rulebreaking chord.

Oh yeah, you know, hey, I'm I I did it

right.

Naughtily

just because I can, I'm going to repeat

the naughty bit because I got away with

it, you know. And and no, I'm not

interested in making a well-rounded

character because well-rounded

characters have no place in a movie.

They got there's nowhere to go, you

know. You you you want the impossible,

difficult, contr, eccentric, slightly

damaged goods. That's what makes

interesting