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Coming up with a Story Idea

PhantomScreenwriter

PhantomScreenwriter

Despite the title of this thread I'm not concerned with how to come up with a story or the techniques to use in crafting a story. Rather, is there an official title for someone who comes up with a story idea, and is this a position within the industry one can make a career out of specifically?

If you have great story ideas and I'm not just talking about coming up with a synopsis but a completely mapped out story from start to finish, and you are able to do so, would this just be considered a treatment?

What would be the path in order to get to a point where there's even the possibility of a story idea you have come up with being submitted, adapted into a screenplay, and then possibly a movie as a result?
 
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PhantomScreenwriter said:
Despite the title of this thread I'm not concerned with how to come up with a story or the techniques to use in crafting a story. Rather, is there an official title for someone who comes up with a story idea, and is this a position within the industry one can make a career out of specifically?
Click to expand...
Are you asking about a person who doesn't write? Just comes up
with a completely mapped out story from start to finish, hands
that to a writer and gets paid?

Not really.

Producers often come up with a story and hire a writer. Some
established directors do that. But most people who completely
map out a story from start to finish are writers. They write a
novel and sell the movie rights, the write a short story and sell
the movie rights. Even when you see the "Story By" credit it's
usually a completed screenplay that was rewritten and not someone
who wrote a synopsis and sold it.
 
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Thanks for your response Directorik.

Originally Posted By Directorik
Are you asking about a person who doesn't write? Just comes up
with a completely mapped out story from start to finish, hands
that to a writer and gets paid?

Not really.
Click to expand...

That was the essence of the question yes. It was something that I have always wondered about.

Producers often come up with a story and hire a writer. Some
established directors do that. But most people who completely
map out a story from start to finish are writers. They write a
novel and sell the movie rights, the write a short story and sell
the movie rights. Even when you see the "Story By" credit it's
usually a completed screenplay that was rewritten and not someone
who wrote a synopsis and sold it.
Click to expand...

It makes a lot of sense for the process to work in the ways you've described. I had in mind this notion that what George Lucas does in coming up with a story for Indiana Jones films is how it works but I wasn't aware or sure of the specifics related to that process.

Do you think it's something which is more difficult than actually writing the screenplay itself?
 
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PhantomScreenwriter said:
Do you think it's something which is more difficult than actually writing the screenplay itself?
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No. I think it's much more difficult to write a marketable screenplay
than it is to come up with a story.

Using your Lucas example: He came up with a story for the first sequel
to his big hit "Star Wars" and hired Leigh Bracket. He came up with the
stories for Episodes I, II and III and hired himself to write. He came up
with the story for "Raiders" and hired Kasdan. He came up with the story
for "Crystal Skull" (after turning down an excellent script by Darabont)
and hired David Koepp. To be fair Koepp isn't a bad writer but in my
opinion his original screenplay are spotty at best.

It's easy coming up with a story. It's harder to completely map it out from
start to finish. It's harder to write an excellent screenplay.
 
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I fully agree with directorik. Story ideas are seriously a dime a dozen, even the good ones. It's the ability to take a good story idea and flesh it out to a fully written out screenplay that takes talent.

You may find the below link amusing, I was on a screenwriting forum where there a thread was made to list all the ads of people with "great story ideas" but neither the skill or willingness to take it further:

http://studios.amazon.com/discussions/Tx25246NR3P78Z5
 
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Originally Posted by Directorik
No. I think it's much more difficult to write a marketable screenplay
than it is to come up with a story.

Using your Lucas example: He came up with a story for the first sequel
to his big hit "Star Wars" and hired Leigh Bracket. He came up with the
stories for Episodes I, II and III and hired himself to write. He came up
with the story for "Raiders" and hired Kasdan. He came up with the story
for "Crystal Skull" (after turning down an excellent script by Darabont)
and hired David Koepp. To be fair Koepp isn't a bad writer but in my
opinion his original screenplay are spotty at best.

It's easy coming up with a story. It's harder to completely map it out from
start to finish. It's harder to write an excellent screenplay.
Click to expand...

It seems then that the act of coming up with a story is something anyone can do therefore, unless you are a name/director/producer already established in the industry, your chances of just being the one who comes up with the story ideas are greater compared to just being a fledgling and wanting to come up with stories for others to adapt into screenplays.

Originally Posted by DIY
I fully agree with directorik. Story ideas are seriously a dime a dozen, even the good ones. It's the ability to take a good story idea and flesh it out to a fully written out screenplay that takes talent.

You may find the below link amusing, I was on a screenwriting forum where there a thread was made to list all the ads of people with "great story ideas" but neither the skill or willingness to take it further:

http://studios.amazon.com/discussions/Tx25246NR3P78Z5
Click to expand...

Yeah, and just because you can come up with one doesn't mean it's going to make for a good screenplay until it's worked on to get it to a point where it is ready to become a screenplay, and even then you need to write a really good one.

That was an interesting link! I tend to look at those kinds of advertisements as being a huge gamble to actually respond to if you are interested because you never really know who you're dealing with just based on the advertisement alone.
 
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Do you mean someone whose job is to give ideas? It sounds ridiculous, seriously. Everybody has a bunch of great ideas in his mind. But as it has been said here, you must make something out of this idea.

I can tell you of an example. My friend is a huge D&D fan. He wants to get into the Computer Game Development industry. He has nothing to offer, no programming, no modelling, no art, no design, no storyboard. So he comes up to a Game Producer and says, - "I can offer nothing, but I'm a huge D&D fan, so I have a lot of ideas and I can guide you and other employess of what to do"... :D :D :D

I didn't see it with my own eyes, but I laugh when I just imagine what was the producer's face at that time:)))
 
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On a related note:

I like to write, but I know it's not my strongest point. Eventually I want to reach the stage where I can work a script to the best level I can, then collaborate with a proper writer to make it the best I can. Do I get a story credit, or is it just a directing credit for this?
 
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Plenty of viable ideas here: http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=49444

Fabricating ideas out of the clear blue sky is easy as... fabricating ideas out of the clear blue sky.

The difficulty is wrapping your/our little brains around that spec screenplays have about a 1/500,000 opportunity of being made into a film that anyone is ever going to see versus writer/director screenplays which have a 3/4 chance of being made into a film anyone's ever going to see.

Plain straight up math.
All legit.
No made up numbers.

A writer director has a very good idea of what location/cast & crew/equipment/time/financial resources her she has available.
Whereas a spec screenwriter has zero idea of the resources available to whomever the mystery buyer of their screenplay.
And someone that just fabricates "ideas" for spec screenplays that haven't even been ironed out for character and plot details (that's where the devil lives) has provided even less of anything marketable.

No one sensible is going to write a check for an idea.
Hardly anyone even writes checks for finished screenplays.
There's a steady supply of about 100,000 new spec screenplays every year added to the existing pool of close to a million spec screenplays waiting to be bought.

Filmmaking is TOUGH business.
Easy to spend money.
Tough to make money.
 
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Inarius said:
Do you mean someone whose job is to give ideas? It sounds ridiculous, seriously. Everybody has a bunch of great ideas in his mind. But as it has been said here, you must make something out of this idea.

I can tell you of an example. My friend is a huge D&D fan. He wants to get into the Computer Game Development industry. He has nothing to offer, no programming, no modelling, no art, no design, no storyboard. So he comes up to a Game Producer and says, - "I can offer nothing, but I'm a huge D&D fan, so I have a lot of ideas and I can guide you and other employess of what to do"... :D :D :D

I didn't see it with my own eyes, but I laugh when I just imagine what was the producer's face at that time:)))
Click to expand...

Yes and as a software developer I laugh at that sort of thing too.
It's typically a ridiculous amount of work to bring a product to market, and no one wants a boss to direct them that brings nothing to the table.

Having said that -- there are some apps even that are fantastic ideas.
Like that I am Rich app before it got banned from the apple store

THAT is a great idea. Incredibly simple. Instantly made thousands.
Would have make a ton more if apple didn't ban it

and if someone came up to me with that idea, hell i might have taken them up on it. because it' good enough and simple enough.

So everyone has great ideas, maybe, maybe not.
Maybe everyone just THINKS they have great ideas.

But do people got nuts when you tell them the idea? Do they say oh wow! and THAT's never been done before! then it's great.

But if it's just you hyping yourself well then .. probably no so great as you think
I personally believe great ideas that get a reaction like that from a pitch are not a dime a dozen
 
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