Writers get excited to describe their story and so they go on and on about all the “cool” story elements and forget to tell just the simple story that makes the film compelling enough to first, want to read, and second, want to see. Ultimately this results in a multiple sentence, rambling description of a story instead of a concise summary of the main theme, character and conflict. A writer needs to be able to tell someone in 35 words the basic premise of their story in such a way that the listener (reader) is left with only one response: “I want to know more!” With that, you may be on your way to a sale.ĭouglas King: The number one mistake of writers writing loglines would have to be their attempt to describe, what they consider, to be every important detail of a film. It is the spine of the screenwriting process. A logline should be thought of as the elevator pitch, the two-minute drill, of film making. The ability for a writer to be able to portray their film in the simplest terms is an essential skill to be successful in pitching films. More importantly, if a writer cannot communicate, in one sentence, the basic theme and story for a film, then it is most likely not well conceived by the writer yet and distilled down to its most fundamental elements.
EXAMPLES OF A LOGLINE TV
It should be only one sentence. The reason for the constraint is both practical: they are easy and fast to read by those who must cull through hundreds of script ideas daily, as well as they fit into the description areas for sites like Netflix, TV Guide, RedBox, etc. This allows the producers/agents to browse quickly and efficiently through scores and scores of submissions.ĭouglas King: A logline is only 35 – 45 words.
EXAMPLES OF A LOGLINE PRO
This isn’t because the above sites want to hinder your creativity, but because the pro has requested to read a short pitch before deciding if it’s worth their while to read the entire script. Sites like, ,, , and all require a logline (limited word count) to be submitted to the industry pro. It’s not up for discussion or a conspiracy it’s industry standard. Unless you know Spielberg, Scorsese, or Michael Bay personally, you will have to submit a logline first. Loglines set the groundwork (just like submitting your resume) and nothing happens until there is a logline in place. Think of this as the employer calling you in for a one-on-one interview in person. If you piqued the pro’s interest with the synopsis, they will request the script.
Think of the synopsis as the phone interview. If the industry pro is interested in your logline they will read your synopsis. Your logline is your resume that you e-mail to an employer after seeing an advert. Think of loglines like a pplying for a job.
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