If your project is high concept, then that ONE sentence description should not only make us easily understand the story and make it clear what the demographic is and why it’s unique and original, but also make us picture the trailer, the poster, and the actor who would want to be cast.

If it’s a comedy, then your one line (and quite frankly even your title) should make it OBVIOUS that there are a ton of original, funny things that could happen. If you’re writing a thriller – it needs to be clear that the potential for great suspense and thrills is there. Horror, same thing.

Can your project do that? Don’t answer just yet.

…you will understand and picture exactly what that movie is.

High concept properties are more about the premise and idea than the characters and their personal struggles. More about visuals and hooks than deep narratives and emotions. But almost any movie can be described in one or two sentences – that’s not enough. The hook – what makes your concept original and different – also has to be really clear. And high concept properties should be appropriate for mass audiences (at LEAST 2 out of the 4 quadrants – male, female, young, old).

Technically, the film Kids can be described in one sentence – a group of inner city youths do drugs and have sex until they realize their actions can have horrific consequences. But what’s NEW about that? What’s high concept about it? What’s the mass appeal? Nada.

Ninety percent (90%) of writers fail because their concept just isn’t strong enough, original enough, or commercial enough. They are doomed from the start.

If your project is so intricate, so complex, so cerebral that no one will get it (and get it quickly) – then it’s not high concept. This doesn’t mean it’s not commercial – Inception was NOT high concept. But MOST studio films are. Why? Because they have to be able to be marketed well, and low concept material is much harder to market. There are very few studios who actually market low concept well. Fox Searchlight is probably the best in the business (Slumdog Millionaire, Black Swan, Little Miss Sunshine, etc). But most studios just don’t get it.

And neither do audiences. Audiences, by and large, are stupid and have no attention span. High concept material is pitch-driven. But if your pitch starts with “so the troubled protagonist had this horrible childhood and goes on this journey to find himself…blah blah blah” – it’s NOT high concept!

High concept pitches do not start with character and back story – they start with premise and action. If it takes 10 minutes to explain your story…that’s 9 minutes and 45 seconds too long. But if you can describe your story by simply saying “big shiny thing here now BOOM” – people will get it.

Ninety percent (90%) of writers fail because their concept just isn’t strong enough.

Comedies (especially R-rated and romantic comedies), action films, some horror, disaster movies, etc – these are the projects that are most often high concept. It’s harder to make dramas, teen movies, fantasy, and more intricate thrillers into high concept projects.

The very first purposefully high concept movies are often considered to be Jaws and Star Wars. Though the ultimate example of high concept is actually movies like Snakes on a Plane – you get everything you need to know in 4 words. Other great examples of high concept projects include Jurassic Park, Liar Liar, Groundhog Day, Armageddon, Wedding Crasher, Transformers, Air Force One, Speed, 40 Year-Old Virgin, Titanic, Home Alone, War of the Worlds, etc.

Great examples of low concept fare – Pulp Fiction, Sideways, Little Miss Sunshine, Fargo, Citizen Kane, Syriana, Garden State, almost anything by Robert Altman or Woody Allen, etc. You can see the difference in just the titles.

This doesn’t mean that your high concept project can’t tackle more in-depth issues or have an interesting story with lots of characters and plotlines. It just means that the hook to your script has to be so clear and original and understandable in one line that audiences will get what they are in for.

Studios largely work within the world of high concept. So if you want to be a studio writer, spend more time coming up with the best concept and premise with the most potential and commercial appeal instead of worrying if your character’s personal journey has a new plot point introduced on page 38. I hope that clears up what high concept material encompasses. Good luck and keep writing!

– Danny Manus

Danny Manus is one of the most in-demand script consultants as CEO of No BullScript Consulting and author of “No B.S. for Screenwriters: Advice from the Executive Perspective.”

Danny is also a producer, a columnist for ScriptMag, a judge four years running for the PAGE Awards, and teaches seminars and workshops across the country. You can follow him on Twitter @DannyManus.

Jamie Campbell

Jamie Campbell is an author, screenwriter, and television addict.

Jamie is proud to be an Editor for The Story Department.

Her latest series Project Integrate is out now.

jamiecampbell.com.au

It is now more difficult than ever to get a screenplay optioned or sold, if it doesn’t appeal to the main movie-going demographics. Being a great writer is not enough; your story must stand out immediately, and for this to be possible, you need to have a strong, fresh concept.

Check out which movies work and which don’t, often you’ll find that those with poor concepts fall by the wayside.

High Concept vs. Low Concept

Many have tried to define what high concept really means. I believe the following all apply:

• can be expressed in a simple sentence
• immediately appeals to the imagination
• can easily be remembered
• has never been done before
• doesn’t need a star cast to attract an audience
• not necessarily on a blockbuster budget

Examples of high concept movies were:

• Die Hard
• Armageddon
• Air Force One

But also low budget films such as:

• Phone Booth
• Buried
• Liar Liar

From this list, you might think that I count a movie like Locke among high concept, too. I don’t. Only filmmakers get excited about seeing Tom Hardy in a car for an hour and a half. It would have been different if he had to save the world before reaching his destination, though. So, stakes…

High concept scripts don’t always need to be written to the very highest standards. Studios understand that money can be made, and they will be more than happy to buy the script and worry about some further development later. In this case, they are really interested in the idea, and less in the writer or script.

You will find that many original blockbuster films (not remakes or sequels) fall in this category.

Tony Gilroy (the Bourne movies, Michael Clayton, Armageddon) responds to people’s pitches. You’ll learn how he distinguishes good concepts from ‘execution dependent’ scripts. Later we will explain further what this means.

https://player.vimeo.com/video/91689107

EXERCISE:

Choose 5 highly successful films, then 5 poorly performing ones. Now see if you can identify whether they are high or low concept.

Execution Dependent Screenplays

If your story is low concept, don’t despair. Low concept screenplays written by newcomers do sell – on occasion. What makes those scripts attractive to buyers (producers/studios)?

First and foremost, they must be page turners. If you have a story full of suspense, and that moves so fast; or if you boast a writing style that is so seductive that the reader can’t put the script down, you are on a winner…

Low concept ideas are often called ‘execution dependent’. It means that they can still work, provided the writer is highly skilled. And if you demonstrate superior writing skills, the studio or producer may well be interested in hiring you to write something else for them.

Finding Good Concepts

Everybody is capable of coming up with great ideas. The problem is that too many people settle for their first idea, and think it will write itself. Or worse, they believe that people will pay them money for the idea, even before the script is written.

I am contacted regularly by people who are convinced they have the next blockbuster idea, and hope I will find them someone who will write it for them. This is not how it works. Ideas are ten a penny. Unskilled writers overestimate the power of their ideas. Once they try developing them, it shows they weren’t really valid movie ideas in the first place.

The best way to finding a sellable concept, is to brainstorm many, and regularly. Don’t sit around waiting for that great movie idea to hit you. Thousands, tens of thousands of screenwriters have made it a daily habit to brainstorm concepts, to write down loose ideas they have in the course of the day, and review them regularly. If you don’t do this, the odds are stacked against you.

To trigger your brain into finding original concepts, you may try the same techniques people use to battle writers block. To become a successful writer, you will need to find out what works for you.

Now, how do you test a concept?

By writing the Logline.

-Karel Segers

Karel FG Segers

Karel Segers wrote his first produced screenplay at age 17. Today he is a story analyst with experience in acquisition, development and production. He has trained students worldwide, and worked with half a dozen Academy Award nominees. Karel speaks more European languages than he has fingers on his left hand, which he is still trying to find a use for in his hometown of Sydney, Australia. The languages, not the fingers.

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:: Planning Action Sequences
:: Action Blocks and ‘Alien’ (And a Few More)
:: Where Do I Start?
:: High Concept—Yes—It Actually Means Something!
:: Blue Valentine – Script Review

Script Perfection

:: Habits of Highly Successful Screenwriters: Be Collaborative:
:: Can You Suck Just A Little Bit More, Please?
:: The Birth of Your First Draft
:: Why Alt Screenwriting?
:: Bring Your Script to Vocal-life! Readthrough
:: Screenwriting Tip #1141
:: Adapting Your Script into a Novel
:: Download Scripts for the Award Season

Pitching & Selling

:: John Truby on Why Most People Fail at Screenwriting
:: Marketing Your Script
:: Scott Brown Talks about Story Structure and Making a Living on the Web
:: The Importance of Building a Strong Network of Contacts
:: October 2012 Pitch Sales Roundup

Best of the Rest

:: The Creative Process
:: Is Every Writer in Pain?
:: IMDB Top 250 in 2 1/2 Minutes
:: Just Effing Ask Julie Gray
:: ‘Argo’ Screenwriter Explains the CIA Secrets and Surprises Behind the Film
:: Yoda With ‘Skin’ Skin Colour
:: The Blood List 2012
:: Disney To Acquire Lucasfilm Ltd
:: William Faulkner’s 5 Best Quotes About Hollywood and Art
_______________________________

With thanks to Jamie Campbell and Brooke Trezise.

Enjoy!

Karel

Jamie Campbell

Jamie Campbell is an author, screenwriter, and television addict.

Jamie is proud to be an Editor for The Story Department.

Her latest series Project Integrate is out now.

jamiecampbell.com.au

:: Exposition Techniques: Part 1
:: Exposition Techniques: Part 2
:: High Concept Comedy
:: Screenplay Review: ‘Rehab’ by Sam Laybourne
:: The Astonishing Power of ‘The Master’
:: Thinking Big – How to Sell Your Small Town Story

Script Perfection

:: The Yellow-Brick Road to Hollywood
:: Screenwriting Website of the Week: Scriptchat
:: The Moment of Revelation
:: Discount to Screenwriters World Conference
:: Voiceovers and ‘The Shawshank Redemption’
:: Telling and Selling the TV Pilot Script
:: Screenwriting Tip #1112

Pitching & Selling

:: What is a ‘Writing Sample’?
:: The Stephen King Guide to Marketing
:: The Scoggins Report: 2012 Spec Market Scorecard
:: What Happens After You Get The Manager?

Best of the Rest

:: 10 Most Inventive Shots in Cinema History
:: Jack White Talks About Finding Inspiration
:: Four New Posters for Disney’s Wreck-It Ralph
:: Stephen Chbosky: Rebel with a Cause: Fate
:: New Hobbit Images Are Here!
:: Television Really Does Make You Less Lonely
:: Writers are Sexy
:: Rum, Guns and Cigars Part 1
:: Innocence of Muslims: A Dark Demonstration of The Power of Film
:: Entertainment One To Produce TV Movie & Mini Based On Stanley Kubrick Scripts
:: Are The Best TV Shows Made From Books These Days?
_______________________________

With thanks to Jamie Campbell and Brooke Trezise.

Enjoy!

Karel

Jamie Campbell

Jamie Campbell is an author, screenwriter, and television addict.

Jamie is proud to be an Editor for The Story Department.

Her latest series Project Integrate is out now.

jamiecampbell.com.au

And don’t forget you can subscribe to our posts so you don’t miss any of this, ever.

• Where to download free scripts – and why you should.
• Roger Corman: The role model we desperately need again.
• 2012 – The script will (hopefully) self-destruct after reading.
• The Blacklist now has its own web site (Thanks Meg!)
• Times rather eclectic Top 100 of the decade. Which have you seen?
• Patience, perseverance and perspective: never give up.
• Push your character towards someplace new, set them on fire.
• Little less Mystery (Man on Film): an interview.
• A look at the screenplay that saw dead people.
• Myers: Tips toward finding a positive writing partner.
• What is high concept? Quick pitch, audience appeal, original premise.
• Throwing green at the writing gurus: worth it? The truth about McKee.
• The Hero’s Journey in twelve and seventeen stages: overview.
• The Hero’s Journey in The Matrix

COMING SOON to the Story Department:

• The Mid Sequence in THE UNTOUCHABLES
• Inciting Incident vs. Call to Adventure

With thanks to Sol.

Enjoy!

Karel

Here’s my weekly selection from the blogosphere. Feel free to recommend anything or give your feedback in the Questions and Comments below.

And don’t forget you can subscribe to our posts so you don’t miss any of this, ever.

• So what’s happening with the Star Trek sequel?
• And Transformers 3? Same guys speak.
• So you CAN work in your sleep!
• Larry Kasdan plays Jedi mind tricks on Hollywood
• To Series or Stand alone?
• Pitch Panel Notes from Bill Martell at Raindance
• Applying fear, the key to writing a thriller
• Manager vs. Agent, Who will get you the gig?
• Script Sell: Unique, Useful, Urgent, & Ultra-specific
• Sokoloff (and Terry Rossio) on High Concept
• Charlie Kaufman’s future for film: more and more Batman
• Have you actually seen the Godfather?
• Great scripts for download: Zombieland and Serious Man
• Just in case you’d missed this South Park Movie memo

COMING SOON to the Story Department:

• Daily report on the Screenwriting Expo
• Structural breakdown of THE UNTOUCHABLES
• Paul Gulino: Screenwriting, the Deadline Approach.

Enjoy!

Karel

Low Budget: Black Water

In 2006, I hooked up with producer Michael Robertson when he was in pre-production on the low budget croc thriller Black Water. I spent more than a decade writing for TV and short films in the UK. Still, I never managed to get a feature going, so I was about to have the best meeting of my life.

Michael told me three things. They were making Black Water for around $1.3m. If it worked – it ended up selling to 71 territories – then the financiers would want to do another low budget film. “And this is where you come in.” If I came up with a genre film that could be shot for $2m or less, then he would make it.

And … We’re Rolling!

Two and a half years later, Michael was true to his word. On May 11th 2009, the cameras rolled on my supernatural low budget thriller Road Train.

Michael’s list of must-haves for a great low budget genre movie was simple: high concept, small cast, limited locations, few or no special effects, and no night shooting. The first four I had no problem with, but the idea of no night shooting had me scratching my head. I knew I wanted to do a supernatural thriller,  Typically, in these kinds of films, the night time is where all the scary stuff happens.

In the true spirit of low budget filmmaking, I made a stylistic plus out of a necessity, and made all the scary stuff happen in the blazing desert sun. Indeed, the entire story takes place within a twelve-hour period, and it makes for a very compressed, storyline.

Selling At Cannes

After I came up with a basic outline for Road Train, Michael made up postcards featuring a mock up poster, a 200-word blurb, and a strap line: ‘Never, Ever Leave Your Vehicle.’ Check out Michael’s website to see what I’m talking about.

Michael took the postcards to Cannes in 2007 and flashed them around … and the money men said yes! Michael then put his hand in his own pocket (bless him) and paid me to write the script.

Researching the script, as usual, came down to three areas: experts, characters, and what I like to call ‘walking the ground’. ‘Walking the ground’ involved a trip to Dubbo NSW, to hang out with truckies, and a six-hour trip in a road train. My experts – people whose brains I could pick about what they do – included a truckie, a serious camper for the camping-in-the-outback stuff, and a doctor for the effects of dehydration on the characters. Character research involved pulling together aspects of different people I knew, in order to create written character backstories.

Financing The Low Budget Indie

I did about three drafts for Michael over eight months, before director Dean Francis came on board. Dean was the catalyst for turning an already good script into a great one, by being very clear about what needed to be left alone, and what still needed more work. Michael approached Screen Australia (SA) with the new version of the script and the private money attached, and SA agreed to put up the other half of the budget.

While the original private money eventually fell victim to the credit crunch, other private money and the South Australia Film Commission came in to make up the shortfall.

So, two years from (literally) an idea on the back of a postcard to the cameras turning – a mere blink of an eye in the world of film financing. Hopefully, at the end of it all we’ll have a small-but-perfectly formed Aussie genre film that, like Black Water, punches well above its weight – one that finds an audience both here and internationally.

I’m looking forward to visiting the production later this month, and will keep you posted on developments.

– Clive Hopkins

Prior to ROAD TRAIN, Clive Hopkins’ main claim to fame was as the writer of Oscar nominated short film, HOLIDAY ROMANCE.

Cleo Mees

Cleo Mees is a Sydney-based writer, filmmaker and dancer. With a background across several disciplines, her interest is in finding out how these different disciplines can intersect and inform each other.

What I had read was a great short novel. Brilliant prose, lively detail and sharp dialogue. But the story didn’t work because we would not care for the protagonist. This is a typical mistake: confusing a good script with a good story. Beware of the ‘good read’. Or as my best friend Chris always says: “Armaggedon was a good read too.” In the case of this Australian hopeful, the story was told from a protagonist without any clear objective. Ironically, a character close to the protagonist would have much better fitted that role without the need to significantly change the premise.

The joy of the ‘good read’ is truly a danger and one of many reasons why you don’t rely on friends for script feedback, even if they work in the film industry. I have heard of aspiring screenwriters asking advice from assistant directors, decorators production managers. Although like everybody in our industry, these people SHOULD have a notion, in reality they hardly ever do. (As a matter of fact, a lot of decision-makers don’t have a clue either.I could give you a recent example of a script where even the writer admitted ‘there was no story’. Still he got the money to develop it. Develop what? The novel? I won’t name the example or I would be dead. Fact is that the writer in question ironises about this reality when he says that

“to get your hands on delicious development money you don’t have to have a great script, it only has to be a little ‘better’ than the norm. And if you can do that with no story…good times.”

THE WISE AND THE NOT SO WISE

As somebody who takes the craft very seriously, I’m sometimes frustrated to see how people who should know better send out confusing messages. Now take this quote, which I found on a web site claiming to give story advice and tips to writers:

“As for the content of your screenplay; structure counts, usually. Have a clear Act I, II, and III. Try to hook the reader on the first page! Make the first five (or ten pages at most) be Act I, wherein you introduce all the main characters and show the reader the who, what, where, when and why of your story. Notice that I said SHOW. Telling is not so good. Film is a visual medium and you should actually be writing a FILM, not a script. Act II is the rest of the story, where you build on what you started, and it climaxes at the clear end of Act II. Act III should be five or ten (max) pages, where all loose ends are tied up and all conflicts are resolved.”

I must admit I had never heard of the Ten Minutes First Act. And the second act being “where you build on what you started“. How can you be more vague? You know what is REALLY frightening? The person talking is the director of an internationally renowned film festival. And as for: “structure counts, usually”… The festival director is probably hoping of getting the new KOYAANISQATSI.

Let me counterbalance the nonsense with a solid quote from Chris Vogler, the man behind The Writer’s Journey. This time not about the ‘big structure’ or the Journey Stages but about scenes:

“A scene is a business deal. It may not involve money but it will always involve some change in the contract between characters or in the balance of power. It’s a transaction, in which two or more people enter with one kind of deal between them, and negotiate or battle until a new deal has been cut, at which point the scene should end. It could be the reversal of a power structure. The underdog seizes power by blackmail. Or it could be the forging of a new alliance or enmity. Two people who hated each other make a new deal to work together in a threatening situation. A boy asks a girl out and she accepts or rejects his offer. Two gangsters make an alliance to rub out a rival. A mob forces a sheriff to turn a man over for lynching. The meat of the scene is the negotiation to arrive at the new deal, and when the deal is cut, the scene is over, period. “

THE POWER OF A PARADIGM SHIFT

Years ago a good friend returned from L.A. where he had attended a much hyped screenwriting seminar. The speaker made a point by asking the room who would visualise the scenes while writing. I agreed with my friend’s astonishment when he reported that only half of the writers raised their hands. What were the others thinking? What idiots to believe you can actually write movies without thinking visually???

I have come to fundamentally change my view on this. Did Alan Ball necessarily think visually when he wrote SIX FEET UNDER? Or AMERICAN BEAUTY? The last boasts wonderfully visual scenes but most of the script’s power lies entirely not on its visual level. We do indeed need visible elements to show character subtext, but not necessarily a visual context. Think about CRASH or more recently THE LIVES OF OTHERS. On what level do these movies make an impact?

Whether a movie works or not, is decided on an entirely different, almost abstract and non-visual level. Until a late draft, a screenwriter doesn’t always need to visualise. And you can take this right through to very visual action flicks such as DIE HARD, THE FUGITIVE or even SPIDER-MAN. Visual elements such as setting, time of day, camera angles etc. could have been easily replaced without really changing the story. They might have even worked without the eye candy but they surely wouldn’t have without the character drama underneath.

Recently I was recommended THE SEVEN HABITS OF HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE. Early in the book Stephen Covey speaks about the Paradigm Shift. (Beware: this Paradigm has nothing to do with Syd Field.) It’s about looking at something from a specific angle and (not) seeing what others see. I found this concept very similar to reading text vs. reading subtext. I had been reading screenplays on the surface for years before it most literally ‘clicked’ in my head; it felt as if a ‘sixth sense’ had switched on, as if I was suddenly reading with an infrared eye.

Switching on the understanding of this subtextual level is a skill writers, just like producers or directors, need to develop before they can become successful. It is just as essential as switching on your desk light at night to read.

THE LOGLINE

“A logline is a one-sentence summary of your script. It’s the short blurb in TV guides that tells you what a movie is about and helps you decide if you’re interested in seeing it. It’s the grabber that excites your interest.” (-Scriptologis.Com)

.

The logline shouldn’t be confused with the tagline (marketing one-liner for the poster) or even slugline (“EXT. KAREL’S OFFICE – DAY”).

Once I believed you can only write your story’s logline when you have finished your script and even the one page synopsis. Until then, it may not even be clear what the story is about.

Here are a few good reasons why you should start thinking of the logline earlier. First of all: a good logline is a good indication that you have a story. If after a few drafts you still can’t find a logline that captures what your movie is about, you really need to think hard about the story again. Secondly: it will become an essential selling tool for your script. A strong logline will give you the confidence that you have a story: you’ll be able to pitch it with passion! In both senses the logline does pretty much what I promote about the synopsis in my consultancy services: it helps you improve AND sell the story. All that with the economy of one simple sentence.

I am currently working as a consultant on an amazing high concept story with some major story issues. It is always nerve-wrecking having to break the news that to unleash its potential, a story needs to be significantly reworked. But when I found out the writer had already written a logline expressing exactly what I believed the story should deliver, I sighed: we were on the same wavelength.

The moment you find a logline expressing your intentions, you have found an invaluable tool to stay on track. It could be the road map saving you from disaster. If the logline is selling and you stay true to it during the writing of the draft, chances are you will have a selling story.

THE $5 SCRIPT SOFTWARE: ASHAMPOO’S TEXTMAKER:

I recently had a computer scare when it looked my four year old laptop was about to die. That would have been a disaster in a few ways, not the least because I recently bought a – legitimate – OEM version of Office Standard. I lose my laptop, I lose that.

No wonder I was interested when recently I received an offer to an elegant software program called ‘Textmaker’, which does everything I use MS Word for. Only for $4.99 only. And legitimate. If you are looking for a good quality text processor, which is BTW faster than MS Word and whose license won’t expire if your computer dies, have a look here:

https://www.ashampoo.com

I believe the offers on these newsletters remain open for at least 1 purchase per customer.

BEATS VS. TURNING POINTS

While working on a step outline with one of my clients, it bothered me a number of scenes ended in the exact same way: the protagonist would respond to a situation by rejection or reluctance to respond.

None of these scenes really ended in a plot point, there was no hook nor change to the story’s direction. So I didn’t find the scenes’ ending strong enough and almost suggested to cut them altogether. Still, the point the writer was trying to make about the protagonist was a valid one: it gave us important information we would need later in the story.

The solution we came up with: keep the protagonist’s reaction as a scene beat but work towards a stronger scene ending by creating a new plot point for each in order to turn the scene, create anticipation and propel it into the next one. Not an easy task but ultimately better than cutting.

THE QUIZ

As part of a Google Adwords campaign I’ve created a quiz about the craft and – to a lesser extent – history of screenwriting. If one or two questions are a matter of opinion rather than fact, you will find the answers in The Story Dept. Twenty challenges, definitely not for beginners (and neither is this blog, apparently) but essential knowledge for whomever is serious about the craft. Anyway, if you consider yourself an expert, or at least intermediate level writer, you shouldn’t be intimidated. Click through until the very end of the quiz and you’ll land back on the OZZYWOOD web site after seeing all the right answers. Have fun!

https://ozzywood.com/quiz

Karel FG Segers

Karel Segers wrote his first produced screenplay at age 17. Today he is a story analyst with experience in acquisition, development and production. He has trained students worldwide, and worked with half a dozen Academy Award nominees. Karel speaks more European languages than he has fingers on his left hand, which he is still trying to find a use for in his hometown of Sydney, Australia. The languages, not the fingers.

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