Okay, for those of you that have an inventory of premises like I do, how do you choose which premises are worthy of the time and effort of turning it into a script?
In my case, I come up with the logline before I write the script. I'll also write as much of the synopsis as I've come up with and then what I'd like to do thematically with the script (essentially, just trying to say what the script is about without talking about what happens). If I really get carried away, I might write as much of a rough outline (just a sentence or two per scene) to see if I can get the feeling for a throughline. You know, just to make sure that my idea is more than just a great first act.
I also take the time to consider whether the script is commercial. I still have a small inventory of completed solo scripts, so I think it's important that I try to choose projects now that are commercial (although while still only planning to write a script that would hypothetically make a movie that I'd love and respect).
I sometimes try to envison a movie trailer, maybe also the movie poster, to see if it's an idea that I could convey in a way that's interesting to a wide-reaching audience. What would the average film-going audience think of this movie trailer if they saw it play before any random mainstream movie playing at the mall?
Of course, that's just part of my criteria, and of course sometimes I get carried away by a script by the overwhelming compulsion to write it just because it is "important" to me.
Anyway, this isn't about the right or wrong way to do it, I'm just curious about other people's processes when it comes to picking what script to write.
In my case, I come up with the logline before I write the script. I'll also write as much of the synopsis as I've come up with and then what I'd like to do thematically with the script (essentially, just trying to say what the script is about without talking about what happens). If I really get carried away, I might write as much of a rough outline (just a sentence or two per scene) to see if I can get the feeling for a throughline. You know, just to make sure that my idea is more than just a great first act.
I also take the time to consider whether the script is commercial. I still have a small inventory of completed solo scripts, so I think it's important that I try to choose projects now that are commercial (although while still only planning to write a script that would hypothetically make a movie that I'd love and respect).
I sometimes try to envison a movie trailer, maybe also the movie poster, to see if it's an idea that I could convey in a way that's interesting to a wide-reaching audience. What would the average film-going audience think of this movie trailer if they saw it play before any random mainstream movie playing at the mall?
Of course, that's just part of my criteria, and of course sometimes I get carried away by a script by the overwhelming compulsion to write it just because it is "important" to me.
Anyway, this isn't about the right or wrong way to do it, I'm just curious about other people's processes when it comes to picking what script to write.
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