High Concept?

[Qazworld]

I see this phrase thrown around everywhere, but I still cant figure out if my script qualifies as "high concept" or not. I see ppl saying that if you cant put your story down in one sentence (or 25 words), it's not high concept.

I took a look at Fight Club's descriptions on imbd.com, which one of these sound "high concept"?

A) A ticking-time-bomb insomniac (Norton) and a slippery soap salesman (Pitt) channel primal male aggression into a shocking new form of therapy. Their concept catches on, with underground "fight clubs" forming in every town, until an eccentric (Bonham Carter) gets in the way and ignites an out-of-control spiral toward oblivion.


B) When a nameless thirty-ish yuppie grows bored of his comfortable life, he becomes involved in an anarchic subculture called "Fight Club", lead by charismatic Tyler Durden. But is this a hard-edged vacation from normalcy, or participation in the de-evolution of a civilized society?


C) A lonely, isolated thirty-something young professional seeks an escape from his mundane existence with the help of a devious soap salesman. They find their release from the prison of reality through underground fight clubs, where men can be what the world now denies them. Their boxing matches and harmless pranks soon lead to an out-of-control spiral towards oblivion.


D) A nameless, desk working man becomes consumed in his emptiness until he meets a Tyler Durden, a cunning soap salesman. The two set off to form fight clubs and eventually turn onto a path towards anarchy and the total destruction of civilization.

[dpaterso]

Too complex. What's the one, most interesting thing about the film that might make you want to look twice? Maybe the counterpoint between the lead character's "normal" world and the world he enters, e.g. and just for fun's sake.

A dull office drone is sucked into the bloody underground world of illegal street fighting.

Optionally, "...and becomes its psychotic leader."

Maybe. Something you can turn to someone and say in one breath, and they'll get an image. Shrug, I could be wrong.

-Derek
My web page - Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Horror - published fiction and WIPs.
Take the critiques you get with a grain of salt. Invariably, some of the critics will be kooks, bitter curmudgeons, or complete fools. ~odocoileus

[Deus Ex Machine]

High concept is simply a story that is driven by a concept that is easy to communicate with a high potential for unique and interesting drama that is immediate and obvious.

How many words it takes to communicate the concept is not nearly as important as the concept obviously possessing a high potential for unique and compelling drama.

My .02

[Qazworld]

Originally Posted by Deus Ex Machine

High concept is simply a story that is driven by a concept that is easy to communicate with the high potential for unique and interesting drama being obvious.How many words it takes to communicate the concept is not nearly as important as the concept obviously possessing a high amount of potential for unique and compelling drama.My .02

I completely agree Deus Ex.

But dpateso told me on the boards that I need to make sure my logline is said in 20-25 words, otherwise it wont be considered high concept.

I'm having a real tough time doing that, even though I do think my story is a unique (potential) blockbuster movie.

[dpaterso]

I never told you anything. Such a harsh word. I may have suggested it... if only to help keep focused on the central story as opposed to every little distracting detail.

Everyone thinks their story is a unique (potential) blockbuster movie. You're not alone in this.

-Derek
My web page - Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Horror - published fiction and WIPs.
Take the critiques you get with a grain of salt. Invariably, some of the critics will be kooks, bitter curmudgeons, or complete fools. ~odocoileus

[Qazworld]

Originally Posted by dpaterso

I never told you anything. Such a harsh word. I may have suggested it... if only to help keep focused on the central story as opposed to every little distracting detail.

Everyone thinks their story is a unique (potential) blockbuster movie. You're not alone in this.

-Derek
My web page - Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Horror - published fiction and WIPs.
Take the critiques you get with a grain of salt. Invariably, some of the critics will be kooks, bitter curmudgeons, or complete fools. ~odocoileus

Oh I didnt mean it in a bad way at all dpaterso. I meant that you just had a different opinion about this then Deus Ex.

Im sorry that came out harshly.

[Deus Ex Machine]

I think an essential part of being high concept is that the concept needs to be easy to communicate. IOW it is a simple story. You shouldn't need more than 25-30 words to communicate a simple story.

Man falls in love with a mermaid. It's simple. Easy to explain. The concept clearly has a lot of potential for unique and interesting drama.

Boy wakes up in the body of an adult.

Feuding daughter and mother switch bodies.

Dog and man switch bodies.

Mouse tries to take over the world.

Man turns into a wolf.


They aren't "loglines" but they do clearly express a high concept which illustrates how easy it should be to sum up your high concept with a few words.

One of the inherent traits of a high concept is that it is easy to communicate, easy to understand and conveys an obvious potential for unique and interesting drama.

Don't worry if your concept is high or not.

What matters is: That you have a concept that has obvious potential for unique and compelling drama - and that your story fully exploit that potential.

Everything else is doodling in the margins.

My .02

[madmaxmedia]

I think you're mixing some terms up.

Whether you can boil your story down to 20 or 25 words is not what makes it high concept. You can pretty much describe any movie in 20 or 25 words (for the most part.)

The 20 or 25 word limit is for creating a logline. A logline has a very specific purpose- capture the essence, the dramatic storyline of your movie quickly and concisely. A producer, etc. has to be able to basically 'see' the movie from your logline. And if you have a great concept, you can create that short logline that screams potential, so that the reader wants to see if the script is good and fulfills the promise of your premise.

To me, the high concept of Fight Club is underground street fighting as a means of emotional catharsis and rebelling against consumer society. That's why it's a 'club' after all, instead of a Van Damme movie. The logline will have some more description, such as who the protag is, becomes friends with mysterious and charismatic salesman, etc.

[madmaxmedia]

SPLASH is a great example. 'Man falls in love with a mermaid' is the high concept, and it only took 7 words. But that's not the logline, which would be longer.

A high concept is the basis for a story and a logline. For SPLASH, you could take that concept and play it out in various ways, different characters and obstacles, etc.

Maybe you can post your logline here for our memory, and we can give you opinions on whether it is a 'high concept' idea or not.

[Qazworld]

thanks for clearing that all up, you guys. I appreciate the responses.