#Logline examples movies how to#
#Logline examples movies movie#

How to Write a Screenplay Format - September 28, 2022.Learn more about the School of Screenwriting at the New York Film Academy by clicking here. A weak logline is slouching into the room with your sweatpants on.Ĭome at it with laser-like focus, and your logline will be more that worth the time and effort you put into it in the long run. The importance of a killer logline cannot be understated-if you think of it in terms of a job interview and leaving a good first impression, a strong logline is like walking into the room with a Ted Baker suit and greeting the interviewer with a well-manicured hand.

#Logline examples movies movie#

If you can’t sell your screenplay in one line, you’re not going to sell your movie to either investors or a paying audience. That’s the very essence of your film, right there, and should shine through in every scene of the movie and on every page of the script. If you ever get stuck with the production or find yourself losing your original vision, read it back to yourself. – The logline can actually be helpful to you, too. Their reaction will be very telling, and very valuable. You’ll fail if you try to do justice to the latter in two sentences, but it’s entirely possible to make the script itself enticing in the same space. – Remember that you’re trying to sell the screenplay itself, not the story therein. – The golden rule: When we say don’t go more than two sentences with your logline, we really mean it. Hopefully that has helped differentiate between what constitutes a strong and a weak logline, but here are a few more tips that’ll help you nail it: It’s extremely uncommon to give characters names in the logline and nor is it necessary to explain that she’s in Oz or how she got there example 1 focuses squarely on the key players and their motivations, and is better for it. Wizard of Oz: The lines are a little more blurry here–both hit all the criteria (save for the lack of an antagonist in example 2), but the first doesn’t waste words on superfluous detail. Example 2 is the weaker logline no conflict, just a setting. Jurassic Park: You probably guessed this one. Example 2 is far stronger, follows convention, and has a greater sence of urgency. It opens with the antagonist, and while his goal is laid out and the scenario set, we don’t know much about the protagonist except for the circumstance she’s in. Terminator: In this case example 1 is the weaker of the two. That hits all of the above criteria for an effective logline.

So, for example: “A recently widowed wife finds herself in a bitter legal dispute with her late husband’s psychotic and overbearing mother.” The screenplay itself, of course, will have resolution but that isn’t necessary in the logline (as its absence results in enticement!) – A point of conflict between the two parties But a good logline should include all the same elements and structure that make up a fine screenplay: That much is a given, and all six of the above loglines definitely do that. Loglines: The HowĪ logline should convey what happens in the story. While all of the above examples could use some tightening up, some are definitely more effective than others and we’ll unpack each one as we discuss the conventions of writing a logline. Desperately seeking the one man that can help her return, an evil witch shadows her every move…Įxample 2: Dorothy is whisked away by a tornado to the Land of Oz, where she meets a group of friends each searching for something unique. Consider the following examples, and decide for yourself which one is best in each case:Įxample 1: A cyborg from the future hunts down a woman destined to later become the mother of humankind’s savior.Įxample 2: A woman must fight for her life against an unstoppable cyborg assassin, sent back from the future with one mission: to kill her and prevent a future human uprising.Įxample 1: A group of survivors struggle to escape from a revolutionary wildlife park filled with dinosaurs after a bribed employee sabotages the predators’ security gates.Įxample 2: A rich philanthropist leads a team of scientists to populate a wildlife park with living dinosaur clones.Įxample 1: A young girl finds herself transported to a surreal land far way from home. So we’ve already covered the basic definition in that a logline should describe the story, but a great logline should go a little further for that. Today we’ll be looking at how to get the best out of your logline, and why it should be a high priority. … as well as being something you should ignore at your peril! As you’ve no doubt already noticed, this post extends onwards and that’s because a logline is a surprisingly tricky thing to master… The definition of a logline: one line (or two at the most) which describes what your screenplay is about.