Screenwriting : High concept. Be produced! by Stevan Šerban

I think we all know that, it's just we don't know how to write it.

depends on who you want to do the producing. studios mainly look for high concept. producers anxious to get in bed with studios want high concept. but independent producers have their own uniqueness about them. of course everyone wants to make money, but there are some that want to make money with passion projects and deeply felt personal stories. Best Oscar battle ever -- AVATAR vs THE HURT LOCKER -- one made a ton of money and one received the highest award, but made very little money. what made it even better was the better half won -- literally. yeah, they were divorced at the time, but hey... she who laughs last, laughs best. ;)

Jean-Pierre, have you tried?

Lisa what is your choice?

i don't write high concept for the masses. it's like McDonalds hamburgers and fries and shakes with no dairy inside... just chemicals.

High concept does not necessarilay mean big budget, chemicals and burgers. High concept indicates tne uniqueness of the story.

i didn't say big budget. i suggested mass appeal... like how McDonald's serves billions. the industry calls it 4 quadrant. [got this from The Writers' Store] High Concept projects can be sold from a pitch because they are pitch driven. Non-High Concept projects can't be sold from a pitch because they are execution driven. They have to be read to be appreciated and their appeal isn't obvious by merely running a logline past someone. This is the reason why films like "Pulp Fiction," "Star Wars" and "Sideways" could never be sold from a pitch.

Lisa's post is great. Star Wars would be hard to pitch - it was Lucas's unique vision and imagination that made that movie special - you'd have to read his whole treatment for it, then for sure you'd be excited but 25 words couldn't do it for you.

Oops. Sorry if you saw my previous comment it was from my phone... I'm terrible at typing on this thing! I'll wait until I'm writing from the safety of my computer at home. Lol!

Bravo Owen! Star Wars is not a high concept movie, becouse Lucas is a director, writer and producer, he do not need to pitch his story to anyone!?

Hi Lisa! Why should high concept was an obstacle to tell your story?

my stories are often too complicated to pitch in a sentence. this means they are "execution dependent". hope that makes sense.

"High concept" means the story premise is easily understood and has a "hook" of some sort. For example; an asteroid is on a crash course with Earth unless a small team of mining specialists land on it and destroy the rock before it destroys us! That premise is easily understood and one can picture what that film would look like --therefore it is "high concept." It's really not about big budgets, although many films with a high concept tend to require large sums of money to make.

Lisa, if you can not to pitch your story in a sentence, I think you have a problem. What does it means your stories are "too complicated"? "Execution dependent", can you think of five directors who could do it, or who would like to do it? You still not answered why should high concept was an obstacle to tell your story?

Hi Beth! I think your answer is struck in the center!

Dictionary.com describes high-concept as 'a simple and often striking idea or premise, as of a story or film, that lends itself to easy promotion and marketing.' The more complex the story/idea then the less high concept it becomes. As noted, Hollywood producers love high concept because they find them easier to sell to studios and get funding. Indie movies tend to have less simplistic stories... this doesn't mean that they cannot be sucessful but it is much more likely that they'll be written by whoever is directing, and sometimes producing... because they could prove hard to fund/sell otherwise. e.g. Grand Budapest Hotel - Written, Directed and Produced by Wes Anderson Mullholland Drive - Written and Directed by David Lynch Boyhood - Written, Directed and Produced by Richard Linklater There are of course no hard and fast rules and the very idea of high concept is a little nebulous and open to interpretation.

Hi Stevan! And, sorry, but I kindly disagree. My answer is not stuck in the center, but rather only in part. :) The term "high concept" does mean a story premise that is easily understood -- a simple idea. However, Anthony did a much better job of further defining the term. More thorough in his explanation. :)

To answer your initial question, Stevan; do you have a high concept hook in your logline? I'd say, I don't. :) I prefer "smaller" stories or films -- and I'm not referring to lower or small budgets, but rather about the world of my stories. I prefer to keep the world in which my story takes place to be small and intimate; about a single family, or a person, or a community, or group, and their small world, their situations and experiences. I prefer more complex and emotional stories. I'm not interested in writing "big" films with "big" premises like saving planet Earth from an alien invasion or some "big" post-apolcalypic storyline. Of course, one could write a high concept within a smaller story/film. :) As Anthony said, there are no hard fast rules. Everything is open to interpretation. The most important thing is to write a damn good script. :)

Anthony's definition is spot on. When I think of "high concept," I think of titles like "The 40-year-old virgin" - - in other words, rather often this could be the type of motion picture I would do my best to avoid. Not everybody wants to write a script like "Jaws." Not everyone wants to sit through "Jaws" either.

we screenwriters should never use book adaptations as examples for anything other than movies that are adaptations. their success has different criteria.

Love it. I always focus on High Concept. It's what we sell. The script just has to live up to the hype of the concept.