MAKING A SUCCESSFUL LOW BUDGET FILM - #2 - CONCEPT

A hugely important part of creating a successful film is to avoid cliche. It sounds like a no brainer - but you'd be surprised how many people think they've come up with a great new idea when really they're rehashing the same old same old that's been done a hundred times before. 

When you condense your concept into a single sentence how does it sound? Does it sound fresh and new? Does it sound like nothing anyone has seen before? Or does it sound like just another film that's not terribly inspiring?

Your quest to create something new doesn't mean you should create the wackiest, weirdest storyline you can imagine. Different for the sake of being different is just as bad as cliche. You want your story to be relatable, you want your story to be intriguing and understandable. 

If you write a story about a lady who is terrified of bricks you're going to have a hard time finding an audience who can relate to that. Write a story about a lady overcoming an oppressive family that doesn't want her to go out on her own and live her own life and you've got a much larger audience. 

Successful films are a delicate combination of the new and the familiar. It's a fine balance. Too much NEW and your story will be too strange and oddball to find an audience. Too FAMILIAR and it will feel stale and unoriginal. 

Objectivity is an important thing. Create your idea - then test it out on people. Choose a wide range of people and here's a great trick - don't tell them that YOU created the idea. Either tell them that you read about this film online and want to know what they think of the idea. Or say you over heard someone talking about this movie idea.

When you tell people you know about an idea and they know that you created it they're not going to give you an honest opinion. 

How ever honest you think your friends are - they're just not that honest. Even that friend who prides themselves on being the blunt and honest friend will not give you an honest opinion on your story concept. 

If you want an honest opinion spend a year writing your script then send it to a screenplay competition, see how far you get. Send it off to a dozen producers - waste their time and see how many responses you get back. 

Friends and family are a great place to start with pitching a concept - everyone sees films and everyone has an opinion.  

You might be thinking - but I don't care what they think, they don't know anything about films - you couldn't be more wrong if you tried. They don't have to know about the technical side of film to have an opinion on them. Each and every one of your friends and family are part of the VOTING MOVIE PUBLIC. 

What do I mean by that - just like voting at an election - everyone gets a vote in the world of movies. Every time ANYONE buys a movie ticket they're voting for a style and genre of film. The more people who vote for certain types of films the more likely that type of film will have more of it made. 

So when you're sitting there staring at what films are getting made and you can't understand WHY they don't make 'good' films - you need to reconsider your position. It simply means there's more people out there that would rather watch films that are different in style and taste to the films that you want to watch. 

Here's the second huge tip of the day when it comes to concepts -  don't write for yourself. 

Write for the largest possible audience there is. 

Maybe you hate stories that are grounded in music. But when you check your ego at the door and look into it - stories that are grounded in music have a HUGE audience base. In general, people love musicals and they love stories grounded in music. 

Perhaps your don't like horror films - can't stand them. Thats' a shame - because there are millions of people out there who LOVE them. 

When setting out to make a successful film - think outside your comfort zone. Look into genres and styles of stories that are hugely successful, don't just write what you want to see - write what the movie going public wants to see. 

MAKING A SUCCESSFUL LOW BUDGET FILM - #1 - CONCEPT

The success of a feature film stems from the concept. What is your story idea? 

You'd be surprised how many people make a film without investing time and energy into the concept. 

I know countless directors and producers who made a feature film just  to have done it. In some instances they came across a script that wasn't bad, somehow they managed to get funding to make it, and invariably the films aren't successful. Some did better than others, but as a whole the majority failed as films. 

Every one of these films was flawed from the begining. None of them had very well developed ideas.

If you're about to embark upon making a feature film I would urge you to spend at least a year searching for and refining your concept. If your concept is weak your film will be less likely to find and audience. 

What is a good idea? Isn't that subjective?

Certainly, there is a subjective aspect to all films. But one way to quantify 'success' is bottom line. How much money did your film make? Some people might argue that if a film does well at a film festival that quantifies success. It does, to a certain extent, but not in a way that really matters. 

Unless the festival your film is successful at opens a door to a sale, or funding for your next film, I would argue that festival accolades don't really amount to anything more than a stroke of the creators' egos. 

Ego stroking doesn't pay bills. 

There are those film makers who don't aim to make money from the films they create. That's great for them if they have family money to fall back on. But film making is a costly business, even cheap indy dramas can run into the multi-million dollar bracket. Those people who don't aim to make money from their films soon run out of benevolent family members willing to fund their "passion".

What is a successful concept? 

Let's start by looking at stories that very, very rarely make money. 

Drama as a whole is the least successful genre. Sure, there are countless successful dramas - but drama relies on big names to fill seats. Unless you're close friends with an A or B list actor, the odds are severely stacked against the chances of your "indy drama" finding an audience outside of the festival circuit.

Coming of age stories are rarely successful.

Love triangle stories are rarely successful. 

Romance stories are rarely successful. 

Take a look at your story that you're seriously considering trying to make into a film. 

Is it plain drama? 

How do I know if it's plain drama?

Do the reverse test. 

Is it made up on songs? - Yes - it's a musical.

Is it written to terrify the audience? - Yes - it's a horror.

Is it fast paced with a clever twisting plot and high stakes? Yes - you have a thriller.

Does the story involve futuristic science set in the future? Yes - you have a sci-fi. 

Is the story ridiculously funny and very clever? Yes - you have a comedy.

Is your story set in the past - more than ten years ago? Yes - you have a period film. 

Is your film set in the wild west? Yes, you have a western.

Does your story involve super heroes? Yes - you have a super hero film. 

This is not a definitive list of types of films, but it is a comprehensive list of the major types of films. If your script doesn't fit into one of these genre's odds are you have a drama. 

Now, just because you have a drama on your hands, doesn't mean you have to throw it out and start again. Writing a drama is a fantastic way to discover who your characters are. It's a great way to write the back bone of a story. But as a stand alone drama your film isn't going to be successful. For your story to find a paying audience you need to take your drama and re-write it in one of the above genres. 

Think about your drama as a Horror. As Sci-Fi. As a Comedy, as a Thriller, or a Musical. 

As this is a post about making a successful LOW BUDGET feature film I would rule out writing a story that is costly to make. So stick to one of these five. I've included Musical as a genre, but only attempt to make this genre if you have access to talented singers and musicians WHO CAN ACT. 

If not, stick to Horror, Sci-Fi, Comedy and Thriller. These are the four genres that sell. 

Don't feel that you have to limit your story to just one of these genres. Re-write your drama as a Horror, then try it as a Thriller, as Sci-Fi and then as a Comedy. Take the time to find a genre that really works for your concept. 

Now you have your concept written in a marketable genre. Next you need to make sure that your story is not cliche. 

How do I do that? 

Google the hell out of it. 

Start with your title. Google the title of your film. When was the last time that title was used for a film?

If there's been more than 3 films made in the last 10 years with that title - consider making it more unique. 

Look at all the other films that are similar in genre and style to your film. Look at what their storylines are, look at the tropes they use. If you're writing a Spy Thriller - does your story use all the same  tropes as every other spy film? If it does, rewrite your film until it doesn't use all the tropes. 

The next big test for your concept is to write it out in one succinct sentence that summarises your entire story. This is called a Log-Line. 

Writing a successful Log-Line is a great test of your concept. If you can't write a good logline, odds are you don't have a good concept. 

In the next instalment I'll write about how to write a great log-line. 

Until then, keep working on your concept until it's unique, trope free and fits one of the five main genres - Musical, Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller or Comedy.