By: Sarah Chaisson-Warner
A great logline can serve as your script’s calling card, open doors, and even land you a meeting with an agent, manager, or producer. An engaging logline highlights the strongest, most compelling parts of your script and serves in many ways as an “elevator pitch” for your script, enticing the reader into wanting to know more.
But crafting a good one – essentially boiling your TV pilot or feature down into a mere two sentences – can take a lot of skill and practice. If you’re feeling stuck, read on for five tips that can help take your logline to the next level.
MASTER ITS STRUCTURE
A logline – at its core – is one to two sentences with three primary components:
The protagonist
The inciting incident
The central conflict and what’s in the way
Here is an example of the logline from a well-known film, “Everything, Everywhere, All At Once”:
A middle-aged Chinese immigrant is swept up into an insane adventure in which she alone can save existence by exploring other universes and connecting with the lives she could have led.The logline includes the protagonist (a middle-aged Chinese immigrant). It describes the inciting incident (she’s swept up in an adventure) and the central conflict (she must save existence).
Here’s another from “The Sixth Sense”: After a botched attempt to help a former patient leaves a respected Philadelphia child psychologist shaken, he seeks redemption by treating a young boy who claims to see dead people.
The logline includes the protagonist (a respected Philadelphia child psychologist). It describes the inciting incident (a botched attempt to help a former patient) and the central conflict (successfully treating a young boy who sees dead people.)
K.I.S.
Keep It Simple! A logline is not a synopsis or summary of your film. It’s a taste of what the reader or viewer can expect. The logline should be less than 30 words, and no more than two sentences. The logline often helps managers, agents, and producers better understand if your script might be a good fit for them, saving everyone time and money.
Bo Youngblood, co-founder of Showdown Productions, often relies on the simple logline to help her determine whether to move forward with a query. “We’re constantly reading scripts and looking for projects that we haven’t done before. Sometimes we can tell just from a logline whether it’s something we’ve done before or if it brings a certain originality,” says Bo.
AMP UP THE ADJECTIVES
Just because a logline is short doesn’t mean it should be dull or without description. Using adjectives can help better describe your protagonist, the inciting incident, and the central conflict.
The adjectives in your logline should match the tone and genre of your script. Romance films typically utilize adjectives and feelings related to love and happiness, whereas horror films use tense language in their loglines.
Consider the logline from Sandra Bullock’s rom-com, “The Proposal”: A pushy boss forces her young assistant to marry her in order to keep her visa status in the U.S. and avoid deportation to Canada.
The logline takes great care to demonstrate the power dynamic between the two main characters through the adjectives “pushy” and “young” – both as the center of conflict but also the source of comedy.
Take also the logline for “Little Miss Sunshine”:
When a wannabe child beauty queen learns that a spot has opened up in the “Little Miss Sunshine” pageant, she convinces her dysfunctional family to make the cross-country trek, despite her father’s (and society’s) protestations that she may not have what it takes to win.
The reader already knows a lot about the film, simply based on the additional adjectives used to describe the script – the child isn’t your standard beauty queen (“wanna-be”) and her family is “dysfunctional.” She’s taking a trip across the country to show her dad that she can actually win. All of these adjectives help the reader understand that they are in for a likely heart-warming journey with a cast of funny characters.
CLARIFY THE SETTING
If your logline doesn’t specify a particular time and place, most will assume the script is a contemporary one and the place is not of particular importance to the plot. But if time and place are crucial to understanding the context of your script, include it in your logline. For example, “The English Patient” – At the close of WWII, a young nurse tends to a badly-burned plane crash victim whose past reveals a fateful and tragic love affair.
Knowing the script is set during WWII is an important detail and should not be left out of the logline. But for more contemporary films, unless the plot is inextricably linked with the setting (like “A Real Pain” where the trip to Poland is part of the journey), these details aren’t necessary in the logline.
PRESENT A COMPELLING PROTAGONIST
The protagonist – their challenges, opportunities, flaws, strengths, and individual choices – powers your script. Since viewers often decide whether to watch a film or show based on the protagonist, it’s critical to sell the protagonist immediately in the logline.
If you’re not sure where to start, think about your protagonist’s primary character traits. What is interesting or unique about them? For example – if your protagonist is a college football coach, is he on the rise or down on his luck? Is he quirky or intense? Including small indicators of who your protagonist is can help make them leap off the page and stand out among a stack of a hundred loglines.
And, to finish, a few final quick notes:
Don’t include the names of the characters in your logline. The exception to this is if your script is based on a real person – then you should definitely name them in the logline!
Don’t spoil the ending. The logline should tease the reader into wanting to know more without giving away the entire show or movie.
Do ensure the logline is actually reflected in the script’s first 10 pages. If your logline focuses on an underdog winning a science fair, but the first ten pages introduces neither the underdog nor the science fair elements, it might be time to rework them.
Curious if your logline and script are ready for the next step? Check out our Coverage Services to receive comprehensive feedback from our professional reader team and help get your script industry-ready!
