High Idea Screenwriting Defined: How to Write High Idea Motion ...

High Idea can be a term that is been confused, misunderstood and misused by writers for decades. The widespread belief is that it's any film that could be pitched in a single sentence. A man who battles his wife for custody of their children is a single sentence, but it's a million miles from being High Idea. obat maag alami

Other individuals define it by describing it as "one film crossed with a different film." In Robert Altman's The Player, the writers pitch their project to a producer as Out of Africa meets Fairly Lady. That is definitely not what a High Idea film is. What they utilised can be a framing strategy which is given prior to pitching your project to prepare the listener for what is coming. You cross two properly recognized films that touch upon the material you're about to pitch so the producer has some thought exactly where you happen to be going with your pitch. That is definitely an instance of a widespread pitching strategy and not what defines High Idea.

Story concepts, treatments and screenplays can all have High Idea premises. But only High Idea projects might be sold from a pitch because they are pitch driven. Non-High Idea projects can't be sold from a pitch because they are execution driven. They have to become read to become appreciated and their appeal isn't obvious by merely running a logline previous somebody. This really is the reason why films like "Pulp Fiction," "Star Wars" and "Sideways" could under no circumstances be sold from a pitch. obat maag alami ma31

In defining High Idea, we speak in regards to the premise of one's story, not what takes place in Acts 1, 2 and 3. The premise or logline is the core of High Idea. My complete definition of High Idea is comprised of five needs, every single of which can be mandatory. The five needs are in descending order of importance. As a result, numbers a single and two are the most vital as well as the most tricky to attain. But meeting only various of the needs will not be enough. All five needs need to be met for achievement in achieving the "slam dunk" project every person is seeking out.
Requirement #1:
YOUR PREMISE Needs to be ORIGINAL AND Exceptional
A logline is frequently a single to five sentences, using the typical being three. As a result, you need to pitch your material inside a compressed, economical manner which captures the essence of one's story and showcases its originality. The majority of my pitches are a single or two sentences extended. Every single writer should certainly practice pitching his or her perform by boiling down their story into only a single sentence regardless if their story is High Idea or not. obat maag alami ma32

In searching for originality, we are not talking about reinventing the wheel. We are able to take standard topic matter that is been completed just before and add a hook or twist to it which then qualifies the material as original. Using the kidnapping plot, there happen to be dozens of films which covered that topic area just before. Inside the film Ransom, Mel Gibson plays a wealthy businessman whose son is kidnapped. That story in itself delivers nothing at all new. The hook of the film which tends to make it original is that instead of paying the ransom, Gibson uses the ransom income to spend to get a contract hit on the kidnappers. That twist tends to make the film original and hence High Idea.

Staying using the identical kidnapping genre, the comedy Ruthless People follows exactly the same pattern. Danny Devito plays a wealthy man whose wife, played by Bette Midler, gets kidnapped. Difficult convention, Devito refuses to spend the ransom considering that he hates his wife and sees this because the chance he's been waiting for to finally get rid of her. Now the bungling kidnappers are stuck with an impossible woman that they have no thought what to perform with. Once more, it's that exclusive hook that tends to make this a High Idea film.
Requirement #2:
YOUR STORY HAS To have MASS AUDIENCE APPEAL
That signifies it's achievable to meet Requirement #1 by making an original story that is under no circumstances been completed just before. But that story might possibly be so odd or strange that the appeal exists only within the mind of the writer who made it. Nobody else.

An instance will be if a girl woke up a single morning, turned into a butterfly, and flew towards the land of Shangri-La. That's under no circumstances been completed just before but who cares? Mass appeal means that nine out of ten people today who you pitch your story to would say that they'd spend ten dollars to determine your film to begin with run based solely on your pitch. You need to determine either you happen to be writing for the personal enjoyment or you happen to be writing to sell. If it's to sell, then you need to take the marketplace into account.
Requirement #3:
YOUR PITCH HAS To be STORY Certain
That means that within your pitch, you need to have particular details which make your story several and adds color and depth. Let's take the bank robbing plot. If you ever came up using a story about three people today who want to rob a bank by digging a tunnel underneath it, the response will be, "So what?" A twist on that genre is the film Going In Style. It's about three senior citizens who try to rob a bank. The wheelman has had his license revoked, the lookout is visually impaired, as well as the brains of the operation is 75-year-old George Burns. These particular details enhance the story and preserve it from being stale and generic.
Requirement #4:
THE Prospective IS Apparent
If you're pitching a comedy, then the possible for humor should be obvious within your pitch. People should certainly smile or laugh whenever you tell it. If you're pitching an action film, the listener should be able to envision the action scenes in his head as your pitching. I sold a project to Miramax known as My Kind of Town using the Wayans Brothers attached to star. It is actually about two guys who want to make a brand new get started in life. They pack up their auto and take off with no particular destination in mind. Entering City Hall in some tiny Southern town to acquire a map, the roof collapses on them and they sue. They win the lawsuit but the town can't afford to spend them so they are given the town. The possible for humor is obvious when the Wayans Brothers are given a Southern town to perform whatever they please with it.
Requirement #5:
YOUR PITCH Needs to be One particular TO 3 SENTENCES Lengthy
Most pitches should be this length although some set-ups might possibly be additional, but you shouldn't go more than five to six sentences. You aren't telling what takes place in Acts 1, 2 and 3 unless you happen to be asked to perform so later. You happen to be giving the premise of one's story. I've spent days shaping my loglines to include as much facts in as handful of words as possible.

I've had thousands of projects pitched to me in more than twenty years and writers mistakenly think that the longer the pitch, the far better the story. Nobody desires to listen to a pitch that is a half hour extended when I could read the script in less time. I tell writers "Pitch me your story inside a couple of sentences." Most can't because they do not know what the five needs are and lack the practice in condensing and fine-tuning their pitches ahead of time.

When you happen to be pitching, you're telling what your story is about, not what takes place within the story. You do not want to begin your pitch with, "My story is about a 26-year-old woman named Jill, who lives in Chicago. She's unhappy with her life. She goes to her office exactly where she confronts her boss. She quits and goes residence exactly where she fights with her boyfriend." That is definitely not pitching. That is definitely a dull unfolding of the story which you want to keep away from at all costs.

The reaction you want to hear whenever you pitch is "Wow! Why did not I consider of that?" or "That's so very good why hasn't somebody produced that film just before?" When the faces within the space light up soon after you deliver your pitch, you understand you have got them. That's the sought soon after "slam dunk." That's what High Idea is all about.

Source: http://writinga-z.blogspot.com/2012/08/high-idea-screenwriting-defined-how-to.html

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