CREATE A WINNING TITLE

By Helena Martínez.

This is probably not the first time that you hear how important is to create a great title for your project. It’s a general rule that is repeated to every writer until you just assume it. You will also know that titles can change and evolve during the hard process of getting your script to life. This is the case of some tv-series like Stranger Things, titled as Montauk in its early stages, or the famous romantic comedy Pretty Woman whose original title was 3,000.

You always have to look for the main conflict and try to transfer it to the title

You might have wondered “if the title can change why should I care, right?” and how often have you said, “it’s a provisional title” while having a conversation about your project? Well, it’s not a great start. To put your project out there you must have a solid title because your project’s success will depend on it. It’s not only significant to get the audience to watch your project but also to catch the producers’ and executives’ attention and bring your script to life.

On Filmarket Hub, we’re sure that a winning title is one of the elements that helps to highlight your project. For that reason, here you will find the resources to create a powerful and catchy title by following three simple tips.

Less is More

The shorter a title is, the better. It’s nothing new but, as a rule of thumb, it works and a lot. A title that is too wordy is tricky because it tends to be generic and difficult to remember.

If you’re not convinced, let’s talk about the successful Denis Villeneuve sci-fi movie Arrival. The film is based on one of the short stories written by Ted Chiang titled Story of Your Life. They decided to change the original title and go for one that with less explained more. After all, endless movies can be titled Story of Your Life. Are not all of them?

Set the genre and the tone

Here is where is essential to know which genre your film or tv series belongs to and the tone you want to keep. A winning title is the one that without reading its logline or synopsis you can perceive its genre and sense its tone. Both elements need to be consistent.

Alien directed by Ridley Scott is a very odd case. On the first draft of the script written by Dan O’Bannon and Ronald Shusett, the original title was Star Beast.

Maybe the original title could be appropriate for a sci-fi movie, however, the tone didn’t fit with the film’s intention. Star Beast could be an excellent sci-fi and comedy movie, Paul style by Greg Mottola, but it’s not Alien.

O’Bannon wasn’t convinced about the title and he changed it to Alien after noticing the number of times that the word was written in the script. The result was a stronger title that truly implied that it was a sci-fi film and also a title that was much more frightening than Star Beast.

Look for the main conflict

You’re probably tired of hearing that when it comes to writing a script. Well, bad news, it also applies to the title. You always have to look for the main conflict and try to transfer it to the title. This way, anybody should be able to identify the core of your story by reading the title. An awesome example of this is When They See Us written by the extraordinary Ava DuVernay.

To create a winning title takes time, effort and patience

The original title was The Central Park Five, a reference to the name the media used to refer to the four African American teenagers and a Latino boy who were wrongly convicted of rape. However, DuVernay wisely decided to change it for When They See Us even after Netflix had promoted the miniseries using the original title.

She twisted the title. How? Identifying the characters’ main conflict. In a society where black people were invisible, they started to be seen as criminals without having committed a crime. That was their main conflict. Besides, DuVernay uses this title to highlight the two main themes of her project (racism and injustice) and also to criticize a generalized social issue. All of it thanks to the title.

Why did DuVernay achieve a winner title? Because she didn’t settle for a standard title!

In conclusion, the title is your project’s best statement of intent. It’s not a precise science and, yes, it varies but the stronger it is from the beginning the more possibilities you will have to leave a good impression on producers, executives and the audience. Therefore, we strongly recommend you to follow these guidelines to get more visibility on Filmarket’s Hub online marketplace.

To create a winning title takes time, effort and patience. If you’re not convinced about your title, just take a deep breathe and keep thinking. Once you find the perfect title you’ll realize that it was worthy. And remember to never give up!