

Of chief importance for a leitmotif is that it must be recognizable enough for a listener to latch onto while being flexible enough to undergo variation and development. It is commonly used in modern film scoring as a device to mentally anchor certain parts of a film to the soundtrack.

A leitmotif is a phrase or melodic cell that signifies a character, place, plot element, mood, idea, relationship or other specific part of the story. The music of Battlestar Galactica makes use of the technique called " leitmotif". The music of Battlestar Galactica displays a variety of ethnic influences and generally does not conform to the "orchestral" style of many science fiction scores. The music of the 2004 TV series Battlestar Galactica is a body of work largely credited to the composers Bear McCreary and Richard Gibbs.
