Born in San Jose, CA, Jacob Shea graduated from University of California with a degree in Music Composition. He has worked alongside several of Hollywood's top composers, including Elliot Goldenthal, Steve Jablonsky, Henry Jackman and Hans Zimmer. Jacob was selected as one of six fellows to attend the prestigious Sundance Composers Lab. His work as the Lead Composer at Bleeding Fingers Music has won him two BMI awards for Mountain Men and two BMI awards for Alaskan Bush People. Credits include music programmer for Public Enemies, arranger for Madagascar 2 and Despicable Me, and composer of additional music for Lone Survivor, Pirates of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Transformers: The Dark of the Moon and Battleship. For six seasons, Jacob's co-composed the critically acclaimed Through the Wormhole, narrated by Morgan Freeman. He has recently completed the score for the upcoming Planet Earth II, alongside Hans Zimmer and Jasha Klebe for the Bleeding Fingers Custom Music Shop.
Read moreShow less
Biography from IMDb.
- Composer
- 13 on MovieCove · 17 credits in all
What are Jacob Shea's films like?
Across their 11 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Survival and Ideas.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 4
Light 0 · Serious 0 · Dark 4
A split, not a type: Grounded 2 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 1
Gentle 0 · Charged 1 · Intense 3
Steady 1 · Shifting 2 · Whiplash 1
Straight-faced 3 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 0
Slow burn 1 · Even-paced 2 · Relentless 1
Casual 2 · Engaged 2 · Full focus 0
A split, not a type: Easy watch 2 · Affecting 1 · Heavy 1
Resolved 4 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0
Moods and endings
- Bittersweet5
- Tragic2
- Ambiguous2
- Cyclical2
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Jacob Shea's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 9 of their 13 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.
- discovery+
Subscription and free streaming for Jacob Shea's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
17 credits, 13 with a MovieCove page.
Hagen(2024)
Midcredits score: 49th percentile of all films
Planet Earth: Hostile Paradise or Perfect Hell? (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2024)
Asia(2024)
Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all shows
Planet Earth III(2023)
Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all shows
Planet Earth: A Celebration (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2020)
Children of the Corn(2020)
Midcredits score: 1st percentile of all films
Grant(2020)
Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all shows
Seven Worlds One Planet(2019)
Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all shows
The Planets(2019)
Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all shows
Pagan Peak(2018)
Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all shows
Oceans: Our Blue Planet (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2018)
Blue Planet II(2017)
Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all shows
Planet Earth II(2016)
Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all shows
Gridlocked(2015)
Midcredits score: 37th percentile of all films
Sparks(2013)
Midcredits score: 28th percentile of all films
Through the Wormhole(2010)
Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all shows
Mei (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)
Career shape
A full career of 14 titles from 2006 to 2024.
Biggest box office
Hagen (2024)
Highest rated
Seven Worlds One Planet (2019)
Most popular right now
Planet Earth III (2023)
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
Awards
4 major nominations and no wins, 2017–2025.
- Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Music Composition for a Documentary Series or Special (Original Dramatic Score)
- Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Music Composition for a Documentary Series or Special (Original Dramatic Score)
- Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Original Dramatic Score)
- BAFTA Award, nominated · Best Original Music
Major bodies only: the Oscars, Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards are named; Cannes, Venice, the Berlinale, Sundance, the directors', writers' and producers' guilds, the Grammys, Critics Choice and the Independent Spirit Awards count as other major bodies. Festival and regional prizes are not counted. Source: IMDb.
How do Jacob Shea's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 33rd percentile, the median of all 4; across a limited sample of 4 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 31st percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up9
- 25th to 49th3
- Below 25th1
Shape of the crowd
4 of their 13 titles are Universally Loved.
- Universally Loved4
- Universally Panned1
- Cult Classic1
- Crowd Pleaser3
- Mixed4
Reviewers score the sound and music 49/100 in their films, across 4 reviewed titles; fans 68, detractors 27. The element that speaks to their work as a composer.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is Jacob Shea's work okay for kids?
Across a limited sample of up to 3 MovieCove titles with content scores.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted.
Who does Jacob Shea work with?
People who share at least 2 of Jacob Shea's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Hans Zimmer shares the most, 4.
Directors
- Chadden HunterShared titles: Seven Worlds One Planet (2019), Planet Earth II (2016)See all 2 shared titles with Chadden Hunter
- Emma NapperShared titles: Seven Worlds One Planet (2019), Planet Earth II (2016)See all 2 shared titles with Emma Napper
- Fredi DevasShared titles: Seven Worlds One Planet (2019), Planet Earth II (2016)See all 2 shared titles with Fredi Devas
Actors
- Mark MacEwenShared titles: Planet Earth III (2023), Seven Worlds One Planet (2019), Planet Earth II (2016)See all 3 shared titles with Mark MacEwen
- David AttenboroughShared titles: Asia (2024), Planet Earth II (2016)See all 2 shared titles with David Attenborough
- Peter DrostShared titles: Seven Worlds One Planet (2019), Blue Planet II (2017)See all 2 shared titles with Peter Drost
Composers and cinematographers
- Hans ZimmerShared titles: Planet Earth III (2023), Seven Worlds One Planet (2019), Blue Planet II (2017), Planet Earth II (2016)See all 4 shared titles with Hans Zimmer
- Howard BourneShared titles: Asia (2024), Planet Earth III (2023), Seven Worlds One Planet (2019)See all 3 shared titles with Howard Bourne
- John ShierShared titles: Planet Earth III (2023), Seven Worlds One Planet (2019), Planet Earth II (2016)See all 3 shared titles with John Shier
- Sophie DarlingtonShared titles: Planet Earth III (2023), Seven Worlds One Planet (2019), Planet Earth II (2016)See all 3 shared titles with Sophie Darlington
Producers
- Jonny KeelingShared titles: Asia (2024), Planet Earth III (2023)See all 2 shared titles with Jonny Keeling
- Michael GuntonShared titles: Planet Earth III (2023), Planet Earth II (2016)See all 2 shared titles with Michael Gunton
- Sarah WhalleyShared titles: Planet Earth III (2023), Seven Worlds One Planet (2019)See all 2 shared titles with Sarah Whalley
- Will RidgeonShared titles: Planet Earth III (2023), Blue Planet II (2017)See all 2 shared titles with Will Ridgeon
Mixed roles
- Abigail LeesShared titles: Planet Earth III (2023), Seven Worlds One Planet (2019)See all 2 shared titles with Abigail Lees
- Daniel HunterShared titles: Planet Earth III (2023), Seven Worlds One Planet (2019)See all 2 shared titles with Daniel Hunter
- Kiri CashellShared titles: Planet Earth III (2023), Seven Worlds One Planet (2019)See all 2 shared titles with Kiri Cashell
- Nick EastonShared titles: Planet Earth III (2023), Seven Worlds One Planet (2019)See all 2 shared titles with Nick Easton
