What is High Concept? And Does That Mean My Little Character-Driven Script is Conceptually Low?

by Laura Cross @ About a Screenplay

The term ‘high-concept’ may fall in and out of favor, but it remains the standard for what Hollywood looks for in a film premise. ‘High-concept’ basically means the concept is the highest appeal. It is easily understood and creates immediate excitement. If a film executive hears your idea and asks you what it’s about or has no emotional reaction, then your script is not high-concept.

Does that mean your little character-driven script will be ignored by studios or production companies because it’s ‘low-concept’? (Okay, I’m not sure that term actually exists, but you know what I mean.) An idea is irresistible because it is appealing (and, thereby, highly marketable). The key is to make your soft-concept seem high-concept:

Emphasize the uniqueness of the story

A lonely, fatherless, young boy claims to see dead people (The Sixth Sense).

Highlight the distinctiveness of your character(s)

A sassy, confident, independent-minded teenager takes control of a challenging situation when she faces an unwanted pregnancy (Juno). A failing success coach, a renowned, gay, suicidal professor, a pot-smoking grandfather, a self-imposed mute teenager, and a scattered mom take a road-trip to get an 8-year-old, overweight, beauty queen wanna-be to a pageant (Little Miss Sunshine).

Showcase and intriguing dilemma

An apprehended outlaw is given only nine days to kill his older brother or else his younger brother will be executed (The Proposition).

Avoid a predictable plot (reverse what is expectec)

A beautiful American tourist falls in love and moves-in with a charming Spaniard and then stays when his crazy ex-lover returns to the house… and their bed (Vicki Cristina Barcelona).

Create an unknown world

A simulated reality created by sentient machines (The Matrix). The ancient Roman Empire (Gladiator). The rise of an organized crime family (The Godfather).

Put your characters in an unexpected environment

An uneducated, single-mom, blonde-bombshell goes to work in a corporate law firm investigating a complicated case of industrial poisoning (Erin Brockovich).

Contrast your characters

A Chinese Imperial Guard hooks up with a dim-witted cowboy/train robber to rescue a princess (Shanghai Noon).

Include a ticking time-clock scenario

A Civil War veteran must deliver a vicious outlaw alive to the train that will take him to trial (3:10 to Yuma).

Add another layer (or twist) to the idea

An FBI trainee hunts a serial killer with the assistance of a deadly psychopath who becomes her mentor (Silence of the Lambs).