.:What Makes Quality Movie/Book/Comic Concepts:.

On a regular basis, I see people shamelessly praising movies and books that they saw or read just because other people talked about it, or because it was heavily promoted. And I’ll think to myself “WOW that movie/book was crap”, and then ask them why they liked it—because I can think of no reason possible TO like it. And typically, the answer that I find is…NEITHER CAN THEY.
Bottom line, everybody—we all live in this heavily advertised world where individuality is promoted, encouraged, expected…or is it? What happens when everyone around you seems to like a movie or book, and you try to explain to them why it was poorly constructed? Of course, you’re going to make them mad…quite possibly for the very reason that they know you’re right, and that they didn’t think through the content they were praising to realize how basic it really was.
There’s plenty of things to consider while watching, reading, conceptualizing, and creating in the mediums of illustration, animation, filming, comics, scripting, and novel writing. Here are some points that will hopefully get you to observe and analyze the media that’s already out there, and to distinguish what type of content you might be best suited to work with, OR even how to become better suited for other types.
1. Whatever medium you’re going to observe or looking to generate has to have some kind of plot or purpose to it. Even seemingly “plotless” slice of life stories should be made with some kind of a reason behind them. Why would you invest part of your busy life into observing this character’s story? What makes it worth it? Draw from what you observe, be conscious of it, and then apply it to your own creation.
a. Even if the animation or filming is a bit crappy, an intelligent storyline with twists and subtle meanings is something anyone can admire. A well thought out plot that CONNECTS (instead of leaving things vague, shallow, or up in the air) will leave a lasting impression that the audience can ponder. Give them mysteries they can generate theories, opinions, and biases about. Give them opportunities for discussion among peer groups in different areas of their lives. Introduce subplots that will get the wheels turning in their head—give them something they could expand on in their own fanfiction, blogs, or other online posts. Give opportunities for a variety of interpretations of the plot’s purpose, direction, and meaning. Give the fanbase a reason for being a fan!
b. Keep the plot moving. Don’t do filler—just don’t. It’s a waste in literally every sense of the word. Maybe your movie is only going to be 70 minutes long. Maybe your book is only 90 pages. So, what? If every single minute/page of that story has purpose, then your audience won’t complain about the length. Why would they?
c. Whether you’re going for a more serious type of drama/action genre or a lighthearted comedy, you’ll want to keep in mind all the different types of humor that people might have, and how it’ll influence the mood of your storyline. Nothing offsets a mood like an awkward “comedy” that falls flat, or an unintentionally funny scene in a supposed serious drama.
d. Basic, obvious, and clean-cut plots might be your thing, but keep in mind that not everybody wants to swim in the shallow end of the kiddy pool. If you’ve got a really simple plot that works, has great characters, and gets the message across fine, then that’s great. I just think its always worth it to think of incorporating symbolism, metaphors, and other themes that have multiple meanings throughout the plotline. If your goal is to produce a movie/book that’s enjoyable for the full time someone’s sitting in the theater or sitting at home reading, then alright, sure. But what about after that?
2. Why THESE characters? Why do they get the spotlight? Why should people pay money and spend time getting invested in them? What makes them interesting? Next time you’re watching or reading something, think about why you like what you like, and different responses you have to different characters in the variety of situations in their lives. Think about the characters that are popular in media currently. Why do people ACTUALLY like them? Just because of a cool battle suit? A hot body? Or is there more? SHOULD there be more? Why is it worth it to have more than just “shiny pretty colors”?
a. You’ll want to give the characters distinctive traits—whatever that may be in accordance with their world and plot—that will make them memorable to the viewer. The characters ARE the life of the world. Maybe you want to take a trip down the “relatable” driveway and try to attract a certain type of audience by making a character with similarities like them. OR maybe you want to appeal to the largest audience possible, and have a variety cast in your ensemble of characters. Whatever you choose, make those characters stand out like people, and not stereotypes of pop culture.
b. Give them a personality, past, present, and potential future. DON’T make their past their biggest theme!! Why live in the past and rehash things that already happened? Hint at things, of course. Highlight certain bits of it at necessary and relevant points, sure. But its more important to show WHO they are, where they’re gonna go from there, how they’re going to get there, and why. The journey is what matters. If their “past” is the whole dang movie, why make it the past and not their present? If you’re going to set the storyline at a certain point in their timeline, make that point the focus. There has to be a reason why you chose that point, even though the past could have heavily influenced how they got to that point.
c. I’m sure you’ll discover that FAR MORE people can relate to your characters if you take the time to develop complexities for them and exemplify parallels to real life in your movie through understandable and comprehensive thought processes and feelings. People may find themselves connecting with characters who don’t look or sound anything like them, on the surface level, at least. So, if all you ever touch on is that surface idea, then you’re probably not going to make much of a connection with your audience…at least, not one that will last.  
d. Seeking to generate a loosely relatable, emotional investment type of connection with people through your characters, their themes, and their lives…is not going to reach a lot of people. Yes, it may reach many, and have them deeply involved, but there are many people who aren’t going to fall into that type of story/fandom and many who actually directly AVOID touchy-feely themes like that, namely, myself. Why? A lot of us are turned off by mushy-gushy, cliché, eye-rolling plot devices, and we gag at plot devices like “by the power of love” and whatnot. You’ve gotta have some intelligent basis to your characters and their tie-in with the plot and world to appeal to those of us looking to be entertained and impressed by new combinations of concepts similar to what we already know, and to think in different ways because of it.
3. There’s a lot of visual people out there who find it easiest to connect with what they can see whether than reading a whole book about it. Even if the text has much more information about a story world you already know and love, something in the magic of film is often more appealing to certain people. It depends on the person. Not all are skilled in describing their complex visuals through the text of a written storyline or script. Be observant of realistic details in visuals, what’s appealing, what’s cringy, and how to incorporate these details best into your own concepts. You might discover that the story you’re dying to tell is better suited for a different platform altogether. You’re watching/reading something—why? “I just like it”…what does that mean to you? What attracts you to this particular piece? What’s so impressive about it? So what if its “on”? So what if your friends watched/read it? Why use your time in it?
a. If you’re looking to create an animation or novel illustrations, or comics, then you’re going to want to solidify some kind of style book. Generate the visual do’s and don’ts of the style and make it imitable for the potential fanbase. Don’t have linework and coloring so cheap and basic that it looks like it was made by a middle schooler with too much free time on their hands. Have some repeating visual motifs throughout the style and their world as you draw it. For instance, maybe all of the tables have rounded edges. Maybe all the windows have lace curtains. Maybe all the hairstyles have a particular sheen to it. Maybe all the eyes have a certain number of glints. Little things like that aid in making your style distinctive, recognizable, and memorable.
b. With regards to film, a lot of high-budget movies seem to throw in as much over exaggerated effects as they can, with complex CGI and whatnot. That’s great, BUT, understand that all those tricks of the eye are simply just that—tricks. The everyday person doesn’t—and probably NEVER will—have the budget to imitate that kind of colossal investment in their own projects. Watching, say, a creative and well-filmed explosion may be impressive, but there isn’t much of a takeaway that someone can apply to their own work.
c. Your visual concepts may be top notch, but if they aren’t backed by quality plots and characters, what’s the point? Are you even making a “movie” at all? Think about it. A movie—a motion picture—tells a story too. What kind of story do you want to tell, and why? Perhaps the extreme visual concepts ARE better suited for graphic novels instead of film—just something to consider. I can’t be the only one sick of seeing exaggerated effects in movies and animation while I’m waiting for character development and a plot that’s never going to happen. So, if you’re set on going into film, MAKE THE MAGIC HAPPEN.
d. Don’t waste half the movie unfolding all these creative explosions, superpowers, battleship CGI, transformations, and whatnot. Do those things, but make sure the content itself remains the focus of the film. Show people WHY you’re directing so much attention to this battleship that took some middle-aged man three months to map out. Is it really necessary to spend seven whole minutes showing how the main character’s car transforms into a jet? Or is it in the best interest of the movie to show what the thing can do and why it’s necessary to the movie instead?
What makes it all worth it? That’s pretty simple actually—it’s all about the impression they gain from experiencing it. If you aren’t looking at your project as something others can gain from too, then why make it at all? Understand that what they take away from the content is more important than the hype that comes before it. Yeah, before something new is released, fans might be going crazy wild excited for it. But that isn’t backed by much truth at all; it can easily go south once they experience the story for themselves. They might be disappointed in the movie, one way or another, or might find it mediocre and not want to see it again, or only good enough to talk about with other people who SEEM TO like it more.
How often do you get hype just because the people around you get hype? It’s contagious, no? But think to yourself—is your enthusiasm for that book/movie genuine? Would you enthuse about it if you were the only one? Could you get other people into it? Is it GOOD ENOUGH to be worth getting other people into?
You’ve gotta think of all the sides when conceptualizing your project. Visualize it, in your mind, from the audience’s seat, and from the bookworm’s couch. How can you keep them interested in the book/movie long after they’ve left the theater or read the last page? How can you generate a fandom/following for the concept?
Shallow themes—even if they worked okay in the film/book—will only give fanfiction writers so much material. One-dimensional characters? There’s nothing to build on…nowhere for them to go. Poorly animated artwork? Fanart content will be low. Cheap filming? People will never be able to catch a glimpse of how great the idea was to you because to them it might just look like crap. Make sure you have sound ideas that can translate well to the viewers.
Generating any kind of prolonged quality concept takes time and some kind of consistent investment on your part. It’s EASY to write an appealing short story—my eight-year-old self would have agreed. You may have to funnel hours upon hours over weeks or months to come up with material that someone else is going to enjoy for maybe only a couple of hours in their entire life. You’ll want to have something that’ll be worth all the hype and keep it alive. You’ll want to generate something they’ll want to watch/read over and over. A “good” movie/book is one that results in the audience involvement spending almost as much time enjoying your content as the time you put into it—put life into the story and they’ll keep it going through merchandise, discussions, fanart, fanfiction, and ultimately, their passion.