every screenplay begins with an idea, known in the business as "the concept." It is well-known that the script that "sells" best is one that can be pitched in two sentences or less, i.e., summed up in simple, visceral terms that appeal to people with short attention spans. How Writing Concept First Will Help Your Script & PitchBy Marilyn Horowitz Gertrude Stein was an American novelist, poet, playwright, and art collector. Born in the Allegheny West neighborhood of Pittsburgh and raised in Oakland, California, Stein moved to Paris in 1903, and made France her home for the remainder of her life. Her books include Q.E.D. (1903), about a lesbian romantic affair involving several of Stein's friends Fernhurst, a fictional story about a love triangle, Three Lives (1905–06) The Making of Americans (1902–1911). In Tender Buttons (1914), Stein commented on lesbian sexuality. Step 2. Complete the “What Happened Was…” exercise step 3. Identify the concept Marilyn Horowitz is an award-winning New York University professor, author, producer, and Manhattan-based writing consultant, who works with successful novelists, produced screenwriters, and award-winning filmmakers.

1. PARAMESWARI.P
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
DR.G.R.D. College of science
Coimbatore
SCRIPT WRITING
CONCEPT

2. SCRIPT WRITING
CONCEPT
PA R A M E S W A R I . P
A S S I S T A N T P R O F E S S O R
D R . G . R . D . C O L L E G E O F S C I E N C E
C O I M B AT O R E

3. SCRIPT CONCEPT
 every screenplay begins with an idea, known in the business as "the
concept." It is well-known that the script that "sells" best is one that can be
pitched in two sentences or less, i.e., summed up in simple, visceral terms
that appeal to people with short attention spans.

4. SCRIPT CONCEPT
 This form of mental short-hand may be rooted in the marketplace, but it is also
based on the fact that movies, to have mass appeal, must be aimed at the senses
rather than the intellect (though the best movies satisfy both).
 A scriptwriter's challenge is to tell a story in images.
 The most polished and perfect script is only a blueprint, a departure point, the
acorn from which an oak may (or may not) grow.
 Its only value is in its potential.
 A screenplay is a work in progress;
 if it reads like a finished product, it is likely to stay that way.
 It is often remarked in Hollywood that any script that reads like a novel will never
make a great movie.

5. HOW WRITING CONCEPT FIRST WILL HELP YOUR SCRIPT & PITCH
BY MARILYN HOROWITZ
 Writing Concept First is a class about finding the larger, humanistic
notions behind a story.
 For example, the film, The Godfather, explores the concept of family:
What happens when a man’s loyalty to his family involves becoming
a criminal?
 I believe that if you walked into a pitch meeting and opened with that
line, any producer who makes crime stories is going to want to know
what that script is about.

6.  Here’s another example of concept in a different genre, the romantic
comedy.
 If your screenplay was When Harry Met Sally, the concept could be
expressed as “Can men and women be friends?”
 If you led your pitch with that sentence, what producer wouldn’t want
to hear more?

7.  This advice to be more indirect is counter to what
you usually hear, which is usually: Just say your
pitch straightaway.
 Instead this is a new and different approach –
creating a universal playing field before you pitch
so that you and your potential producers, agents,
etc. are together on a larger common ground.

8. HERE’S THE EXERCISE
 There are three steps to developing material concept first. I always work with a timer set
to 15 minutes and write by hand.
 In each of the exercises below, allow yourself to go outside and beyond your story.
 Step 1. Trace the source of your original inspiration for the idea. How did you come up
with the idea?
 For example, if your story was Midnight In Paris, you might write, “As a child I wished I
had been born in another time, where life wasn’t so tough.
 I was really angry when my friends made fun of me.
 One day, when I was finally in Paris, I thought, what if I really could go back into the past
and live that life? I was torn between entering a traditional marriage or opting out to
finish my novel: What would have happened to me if I had known the great writers of the
20s and 30s, or been mentored by someone like Gertrude Stein?”

9. GERTRUDE STEIN
 Gertrude Stein was an American novelist, poet, playwright, and art collector.
 Born in the Allegheny West neighborhood of Pittsburgh and raised in
Oakland,
California, Stein moved to Paris in 1903, and made France her home for the
remainder of her life.

10. GERTRUDE STEIN
 Her books include Q.E.D. (1903), about a lesbian romantic affair
involving several of Stein's friends
 Fernhurst, a fictional story about a love triangle, Three Lives (1905–06)
 The Making of Americans (1902–1911).
 In Tender Buttons (1914), Stein commented on lesbian sexuality.

11. STEP 2. COMPLETE THE “WHAT HAPPENED WAS…” EXERCISE
 Take a character from your screenplay.
 Now imagine that you are they, it’s 20 years later, the story in the film is over, and
all of the events are resolved.
 As your character tell the story, starting with “What happened was…”
 For example, if your script were Midnight In Paris, the hero, Gil, might write: “What
happened was that I was in Paris about to get married, and I wanted to revisit the
world of Paris in the 20s that I had wanted to live in as a child, and I had to choose
between my future marriage and a magical chance to do so.”
 I ended up not getting married, I discovered that I had talent as a novelist and met
a lovely woman who may or not become my wife.

12. STEP 3. IDENTIFY THE CONCEPT
 The concept is the larger, human idea behind your screenplay story.
 This is what inspires us to write stories but we rarely focus on articulating it.
 For example, the concept behind the film, Midnight In Paris could be: Can
going back to the past make you happy? Which may remind you of another,
well-loved movie Back To The Future.
 Completing each exercise for your script will lead you to understand the
concept behind your script and deepen your story.
 Ironically, by articulating this seemingly elusive element you should find an
original, yet commercial “hook” that will help you successfully pitch the
screenplay.

13.  Marilyn Horowitz is an award-winning New York
University professor, author, producer, and Manhattan-
based writing consultant, who works with successful
novelists, produced screenwriters, and award-winning
filmmakers.
 She has a passion for helping novices get started.
Since 1998 she has taught thousands of aspiring
screenwriters to complete a feature length screenplay
using her method.
 She is also a judge for the Fulbright Scholarship
Program for film and media students.
 In 2004 she received the coveted New York University
Award for Teaching Excellence.
ABOUT MARILYN HOROWITZ

14. THANK YOU
Thank you