High Concept

Recently, I was motivated to start work on a new screenplay, one that has been a passion project of mine for some time. It involved taking a cult classic from my childhood and updating the storyline for the present day.

Before I could begin plotting out the story events, I wanted to do some brainstorming to see what modern-day twists I could add to a dated story. My first step was to go back to the writing basics:

• Who
• What
• Where
• When
• Why

We’ve already discussed the what (takeaway,) but this month I want to look at the “why.” Why does this story need to be told?  Why is it relevant now? Why will people want to invest time and money into watching it?

In the screenwriting business, this is called a concept and if the stakes are high enough, it becomes a high concept. I cannot emphasize the importance of screenplays being high concept. Producers, studios, and investors want projects that are high concept.

High Concept?

Let’s face it; Hollywood is a business town as much as New York City is. It doesn’t matter what kind of story you’re telling or what your takeaway is, if it isn’t going to make money, studios won’t produce it—high concept typically means a high return on the investment.

In my opinion, this is why the Christian film industry sells itself short; they want to change or save the world, but they only target Christian audiences. Even though their messages about salvation, hope and love should be a very high concept.

If you’re still not sure how to tell if your screenplay is high concept, I found a few pointers in Script magazine:

1. High level of entertainment value
2. High degree of originality
3. High level of uniqueness (different than original)
4. Highly visual
5. Possesses a clear emotional focus (root emotion)
6. Targets a broad, general audience, or a large niche market
7. Sparks a “what if” question[i]

A way to test if your screenplay is high concept is to ask, what if this or that doesn’t happen? The answer to your what-if should be high risk. This doesn’t necessarily mean complicated. Just that the possibilities are high.

Overly complicated narratives can lose the entertainment factor by overwhelming the audience. A high concept film should be easy to understand: light versus dark, good versus evil, pride versus humility. Keep the stakes high, but keep the story easy enough to follow.

Keep It Simple?

Screenwriting coach and legend Scott Myers suggests “the six-word rule.” “So, if you’ve got a story which has you confused, do this: Try your hand at a logline or short summary. Then zero in on the six words in your description which do the best job communicating the essence of your story.”[ii] I don’t think the descriptions need to be that brief, but no more than two sentences. Below are a few of my favorite high concept movies.

• Home Alone What if a young boy is left home alone while the family is on vacation and burglars tried to break in?
• Jurassic Park What if scientists cloned dinosaurs and put them in a park for people to visit?
• Transformers  What if alien robots invaded earth and hid in plain sight?
• Groundhog Day What if I a weatherman relived Groundhog Day over and over?

High concept movies have box office appeal, but not necessarily blockbuster budgets. Stories don’t need to be showy or flashy to appeal to a broad audience. Sometimes it’s as simple as touching the heart of an audience or a universal curiosity that makes a movie high concept.

Martin Johnson survived a severe car accident with a (T.B.I.) Traumatic brain injury which left him legally blind and partially paralyzed on the left side. He is an award-winning Christian screenwriter who has recently finished his first Christian nonfiction book. Martin has spent the last nine years volunteering as an ambassador and promoter for Promise Keepers ministries. While speaking to local men’s ministries he shares his testimony. He explains The Jesus Paradigm and how following Jesus changes what matters most in our lives. Martin lives in a Georgia and connects with readers at Spiritual Perspectives of Da Single Guy and on Twitter at mtjohnson51.

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[i] https://scriptmag.com/features/story-talk-high-concept-yes-it-actually-means-something

[ii] https://gointothestory.blcklst.com/dumb-little-writing-tricks-that-work-the-six-word-test-f1bc38a8122d