Dispatch from “The Quest”: Concepts (Part 2)
Last week, our focus in “The Quest” was concept. The Questers had some great reflections on the subject in their script journals which I will share with you over the next three days. Today: Brandon Cohen and Jordan Earls.
Brandon Cohen
As you probably know by now, last week’s lesson in the Quest was “Concept = Hook.” First, it is important to note that concept does not equal the movie Hook in which Robin Williams plays a creepy adult Peter Pan. If that were the case, every concept would be about Robin Williams playing a creepy adult Peter Pan, and I think we can all agree that one of those movies is enough.
I couldn’t help but think about how applicable this idea was to my prior job. If you read my bio then you’ll know I spent some time working in program development for truTV, a cable network specializing in “high-octane” reality programming. Most of the people featured in our shows definitely seemed to be high on octane, and meth. But, I digress.
While I ultimately decided my heart was in the scripted world, I loved my job, and if nothing else, I found it to be an amazing Hollywood education. I went from wide-eyed naïve assistant, to hardened and jaded veteran like Dirk Diggler in Boogie Nights (with slightly less car BJ’s). After being there for a while, I picked up on some trends about the type of shows that were getting the green light, and the urgency with which they were getting it. There were usually two types of shows that seemed to get pushed through very quickly — shows with very clear, simple and/or unique concepts/characters, and shows that were similar to a program that recently did very well in the ratings (either on our network or on a competing network).
I know that those two seem a bit contradictory — one is about originality, and the other is about imitation — but when you think about how Hollywood works it makes a lot of sense. In the context of reality programming, when you’re introducing the public to a new profession, subculture, competition, lifestyle, etc., it better be something that they can easily grasp, or they’re just going to immediately tune out. I can’t tell you how many times we’d be watching a sizzle reel for a show, and within one minute our entire team was staring off into space, checking blackberries or discretely stuffing complimentary pastries into our jacket. We watched every sizzle reel hoping to love it and find the next Pawn Stars, but there were so many that didn’t have an immediate hook, took a long time to build, or were just overly complicated, and that’s just a death sentence when you’re trying to pitch something. If something took longer than two sentences to explain, I usually stopped listening, and I’m a goddamn genius, just imagine how it would be for a normal person!
Similarly, people in Hollywood love when something has an established track record. Here’s a conversation I made up that could’ve easily happened at a network–
Exec #1: I’m not sure our audience will be comfortable with a show featuring an all Down-syndrome cast…
Exec #2: The show Down and Out on Travel Channel just won the night in the 18–34 demo!
Exec #1: CALL UP GARY IMMEDIATELY, WE NEED TO GO STRAIGHT TO SERIES WITH DOWN THE HATCH!!!
We can list the differences between film and reality television all day, but I think this lesson applies to both mediums. In order for a concept to move to the next stage it either needs to be the flavor of the week, or it needs to be very clear, simple and have a great hook. People waste too much time trying to write what they think Hollywood is looking for at that moment. Especially with film, by the time you churn out that spec about gnomes, America has already moved onto trolls. What hasn’t changed over the past century is Hollywood’s love for high concept ideas.
So, now that I’m on the sell side rather than the buy side, I try to apply what I learned working at truTV to what I do now. If I were sitting in a room, bored to tears, doodling pictures of aliens battling wolfmen, what’s a concept I would hear that would make me snap out of my daze and immediately light up? Here’s a good way to test a concept that I use — once I have an idea I’m pretty happy with, I meet up with my friend who has the worst case of ADHD I’ve ever seen. Hollywood development execs are basically your friend with really bad ADHD on a lot of caffeine with no sleep. I try to pitch him on my concept. If I see his eyes start to wander to the nearby fly then I know this isn’t the one, but if I can keep him hooked, then I think it stands a chance.
Jordan Earls
Since the beginning of The Quest, a key focus has been concept. Anyone who submitted, I’m sure, ransacked their brains for hours each day trying to find the allusive logline that would demand Scott’s (and any Hollywood insider’s) attention like 50 Shades of Grey demands the attention of sexually deprived moms.
Right off the bat, TQ showed us exactly why a great concept is vital in “breaking in.” Readers get hundreds of queries and scripts a day. They have so much on their plate, they don’t have time to waste even a second. A low-concept logline wastes several. A high-concept logline is a possible investment. In the few seconds a reader may skim over your query letter or script, there has to be something that demands their attention. Emphasis on demand because “grabbing” or “catching” the hyperactive attention of a Hollywooder simply isn’t enough.
Fellow Quester, Scott Reynolds, wrote a fantastic article on how he generates ideas. I do the same sort of thing. For ten minutes each day, I’ll just brainstorm and write whatever pops into my little noggin.
Example: the other day I was on the bus riding to work. Per a suggestion Scott made in a lecture, I started brainstorming some “what if” situations.
1. What if the bus driver was shot dead?
2. What if the bus veered off the road and landed all its riders in the “crazy wild” of the Pacific Northwest?
3. What if the man sitting behind me was running late to an appointment with his dominatrix?
4. What if the bus driver turned out to be a doomsday harbinger and wanted all of his passengers to join his army?
5. What if a lunatic, holding Rhianna at gun point, boarded and his only demand was that Drake nor anyone else ever use the phrase, “YOLO,” again? Would there be enough time for word to reach the ears of tweens or would one boy’s decision to streak at the high school football game while screaming the rapper’s famous words of wisdom bring Ri-Ri’s only life to an abrupt end?
Granted, these aren’t good ideas. As anyone who works hard on concept generation knows, though, good ideas are like the golden ticket. There’s several out there, but you have to unwrap a shit ton of plain chocolate bars first. At least you get to eat some chocolate.
I think something that was engrained in my mind this week is how important it is to be able to generate ideas. Not just from a concept point, but from a writing aspect as well. Writing is rewriting, then rewriting some more… and some more… and when you finally think you’re finished and give that script to others, you wish you could rewrite some more. Why? Because our first ideas usually suck swamp balls. That is to say, our first ideas are usually really, really bad. Our first (and second and third and so on) ideas are predicated on years and years of film viewing and script reading and cultural knowledge. Our first ideas are usually cliche and exactly what every reader and audience member will expect. Boring.
Practicing concept generation, asking “what if” and forcing yourself to come up with a ton of ideas makes us good at looking at a scene and realizing the first (and second and third and so on) choice wasn’t as fan-diddly-tastic as we originally thought. Getting in the habit of generating concepts allows us to attack our stories and think of new ideas just for the scenes.
Scott provides an excellent example of how this ability is a necessary tool for working writers in an interview with Jeremiah Friedman and Nick Palmer.
“…when we were doing the rewrite for Warner Brothers and they’d asked
to pitch them four new ideas for a scene, we came back to them with ten.”
Yes, making sure the script you’re working on is high concept is important. It’s not likely going to be read or sold if it’s not. But even if you think the concept you’re working on is the golden ticket, don’t stop generating ideas. Generating ideas makes you a better, more flexible writer and it makes your storytelling surprising. As we all know, surprising a reader is really the golden ticket. A hot concept executed averagely is well… just another chocolate bar. I might be craving candy or something.
Even if it’s only doing the ‘what if’ exercise 10 minutes a day, you are using your creative muscles in developing story concepts. And if you need a good test to assess your concept, imagine pitching it to Brandon’s caffeinated ADHD friend. That’s a pretty good reference point for Hollywood movers and shakers.
How about you? Have you learned anything recently in thinking about concepts? If so, please share your insights in comments.
Tomorrow: Another Dispatch from “The Quest” about working with story and story concepts.
About Brandon: NYC native, fan of all things comedy. I cry every time I watch Big Fish, Forrest Gump and Marley & Me. Don’t judge me. Twitter: @brandandco
About Jordan: Portland based writer. Connoisseur of film with an affinity for Nolan, Boyle and Jackson. Twitter: @jordanpaige00
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