--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Here is how I work: when I think that a…" description: "\"Here is how I work: when I think that a film needs to have a principal theme, I search for a melody.\" — Michel Legrand" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/021/michel-legrand-42562_cinema_here-is-how-i-work-when-i-think-that-a-f_733547.jpg" --- # Here is how I work: when I think that a film needs to have… ![“Here is how I work: when I think that a film needs to have a principal theme, I search for a melody.” quote by Michel Legrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/021/michel-legrand-42562_cinema_here-is-how-i-work-when-i-think-that-a-f_733547.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/021/michel-legrand-42562_cinema_here-is-how-i-work-when-i-think-that-a-f_733547.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/021/michel-legrand-42562_cinema_here-is-how-i-work-when-i-think-that-a-f_733547.jpg) > “Here is how I work: when I think that a film needs to have a principal theme, I search for a melody.” [Michel Legrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-legrand/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Finding a melody helps define a film’s central theme, guiding narrative cohesion and emotional impact. **In simple terms:** Use a tune to shape the story’s core idea. Key Takeaway Let music lead the thematic development. Themes creativity storytelling music Mood inspirational reflective Type process philosophical When to use this quote - film direction - screenwriting - advertising - theatre production Key Concepts theme identification musical narrative film structure Questions to Reflect On - What melody captures the essence of your project? - How does music influence audience perception of theme? A Different Perspective Relying solely on melody may overlook visual storytelling needs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cinema](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cinema/) [Film](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/film/) [Melody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/melody/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [Principal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/principal/) [Principal Theme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/principal-theme-3265271/) [Search Melody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/search-melody-5741208/) [Theme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theme/) [Think Film](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-film-344975/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [Here is how I work: when I think that a film needs to have a principal theme, I search for a melody. I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-legrand/here-is-how-i-work-when-i-think-that-a-film-needs-to-have-a-principal/) [Michel Legrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-legrand/) > [In art, interest must be centred on the principal theme.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/in-art-interest-must-be-centred-on-the-principal-theme/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [Rhythm is one of the principal translators between dream and reality. Rhythm might be described as, to the world of sound, what light is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-sitwell/rhythm-is-one-of-the-principal-translators-between-dream-and-reality/) [Edith Sitwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-sitwell/) > [From the glow of enthusiasm I let the melody escape. I pursue it. Breathless I catch up with it. It flies again, it disappears,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-van-beethoven/from-the-glow-of-enthusiasm-i-let-the-melody-escape-i-pursue-it/) [Ludwig van Beethoven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-van-beethoven/) > [I have a very strange melodic gift: melodies come to me effortlessly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-legrand/i-have-a-very-strange-melodic-gift-melodies-come-to-me-effortlessly/) [Michel Legrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-legrand/) > [I think every film has a destiny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hrithik-roshan/i-think-every-film-has-a-destiny/) [Hrithik Roshan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hrithik-roshan/) > [Language, I think, has nothing to do with film-making. It is how you make your point and whether you exploit the visual medium maintaining…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mani-ratnam/language-i-think-has-nothing-to-do-with-film-making-it-is-how-you/) [Mani Ratnam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mani-ratnam/) > [I don't think my film style has changed. I'm doing the same kind of jokes I did when I was younger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/i-don-t-think-my-film-style-has-changed-i-m-doing-the-same-kind-of/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [I love the sharpness and political tone of RoboCop and I think that such a film is now urgently needed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-padilha/i-love-the-sharpness-and-political-tone-of-robocop-and-i-think-that/) [Jose Padilha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-padilha/) > [I don't think that a film should be known as 'male-centric' or 'female-centric,' but it should be known for the story. 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I have always got films which have a strong cast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayushmann-khurrana/i-think-every-film-is-like-a-team-game-especially-for-me-i-have/) [Ayushmann Khurrana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayushmann-khurrana/) > [I think you get out of film school what you put into it. If you don't care about making movies, film school will do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-king/i-think-you-get-out-of-film-school-what-you-put-into-it-if-you-don-t/) [Richard King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-king/) > [I think I've always wanted to direct, but I didn't go to film school. I was lucky enough to work in movies, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greta-gerwig/i-think-i-ve-always-wanted-to-direct-but-i-didn-t-go-to-film-school-i/) [Greta Gerwig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greta-gerwig/) ## More by Michel Legrand > [I have a very strange melodic gift: melodies come to me effortlessly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-legrand/i-have-a-very-strange-melodic-gift-melodies-come-to-me-effortlessly/) [Michel Legrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-legrand/) > [The more I live, the more I learn The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-legrand/the-more-i-live-the-more-i-learn-the-more-i-learn-the-more-i-realize/) [Michel Legrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-legrand/) > [Here is how I work: when I think that a film needs to have a principal theme, I search for a melody. I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-legrand/here-is-how-i-work-when-i-think-that-a-film-needs-to-have-a-principal/) [Michel Legrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-legrand/) > [My father had left behind an old piano. My sister was already going to school, my mother was out working, and I stayed at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-legrand/my-father-had-left-behind-an-old-piano-my-sister-was-already-going-to/) [Michel Legrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-legrand/) > [Like a circle in a spiral Like a wheel within a wheel Never ending or beginning On an ever-spinning reel As the images unwind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-legrand/like-a-circle-in-a-spiral-like-a-wheel-within-a-wheel-never-ending-or/) [Michel Legrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-legrand/) > [To play piano is a significant part of my life, my existence. It fulfills a very physical & spiritual need for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-legrand/to-play-piano-is-a-significant-part-of-my-life-my-existence-it/) [Michel Legrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-legrand/) > [I insist on a Steinway for my recordings, my concerts and my home. It is the only piano I want to hear my music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-legrand/i-insist-on-a-steinway-for-my-recordings-my-concerts-and-my-home-it/) [Michel Legrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-legrand/) > [So I write melodies - thirty, forty, fifty - then I cast them off until I have just two or three. If only one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-legrand/so-i-write-melodies-thirty-forty-fifty-then-i-cast-them-off-until-i/) [Michel Legrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-legrand/) > [I would listen to something on the radio and try to tap out the melody, then the harmonies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-legrand/i-would-listen-to-something-on-the-radio-and-try-to-tap-out-the/) [Michel Legrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-legrand/) [Explore all 10 Michel Legrand quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-legrand/) ## More Cinema quotes > [I made, like, five movies while I was in college. I think they just weren't memorable movies. 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I'd love to get the thrill of speaking actors making my work even funnier.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-howard/i-m-trying-to-write-a-film-with-my-friend-i-d-love-to-get-the-thrill/) [Russell Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-howard/) > [I wasn't attracted to American cinema, but I fell in love with Los Angeles the minute I arrived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-varda/i-wasn-t-attracted-to-american-cinema-but-i-fell-in-love-with-los/) [Agnes Varda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-varda/) > [There was a time in the 1980s when I worked in 22 films a year.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/radha-ravi/there-was-a-time-in-the-1980s-when-i-worked-in-22-films-a-year/) [Radha Ravi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/radha-ravi/) > [To an ever greater extent out experience is governed by pictures, pictures in newspapers and magazines, on television and in the cinema. 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I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepika-padukone/i-am-not-interested-in-churning-out-a-certain-number-of-films-every/) [Deepika Padukone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepika-padukone/) [Browse all 23,940 Cinema quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cinema/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Here is how I work: when I think that a film needs to have a principal theme, I search for a melody.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michel Legrand" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-legrand/here-is-how-i-work-when-i-think-that-a-film-needs-to-have-a-principal-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cinema" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-legrand/here-is-how-i-work-when-i-think-that-a-film-needs-to-have-a-principal-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/021/michel-legrand-42562_cinema_here-is-how-i-work-when-i-think-that-a-f_733547.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/021/michel-legrand-42562_cinema_here-is-how-i-work-when-i-think-that-a-f_733547.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/021/michel-legrand-42562_cinema_here-is-how-i-work-when-i-think-that-a-f_733547.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Here is how I work: when I think that a film needs to have a principal theme, I search for a melody.” — Michel Legrand", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Michel Legrand", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-legrand/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Here is how I work: when...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-legrand/here-is-how-i-work-when-i-think-that-a-film-needs-to-have-a-principal-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-legrand/here-is-how-i-work-when-i-think-that-a-film-needs-to-have-a-principal-2/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```