“Isn’t this the same as #1?” Though there may be some overlap, they’re worth looking at separately because this is a sneaky pitfall all its own, which can easily happen to anyone.
BEST LOGLINE EXAMPLES MOVIE
That’s what tells us what kind of movie we’re buying.Īnd for you, the writer developing the story, it helps you to gauge whether you know what kind of movie you’re writing. Remember to include a description of what’s happening in Act 2. It’s about them trying to keep it together long enough to execute that plan, before they’re caught by the lawmen on their tail – to get the stolen money to their bank before the foreclosure deadline, come hell or high water.Īlthough it is necessary in a logline to include the Set-Up for context, don’t stop there. Hell or High Water isn’t just about the brothers’ plan to rob those banks. It’s about what happens once he’s there – figuring out what’s really going on, and trying to get away intact. Get Out isn’t about Chris getting to Rose’s family’s house. We should have an idea what we’ll be watching on screen for the bulk of our time in the theater. It doesn’t have to give away the ending, but it also shouldn’t stop after the Set-Up. But a logline’s function is to give us a true sense of the movie. Often writers think a logline is more enticing if it’s mysterious – and that can be the case. If you’re describing a sandwich, you don’t stop after what kind of bread it’s on, right? So if you’re describing a movie, give us an idea of what we’re going to bite into. What does “goes after it against great odds” give us? Act 2.Īct 2 is where we show off the Fun and Games of this particular story, a.k.a. The “goes after it against great odds” portion is vital to a good logline, and the most often overlooked. Here are three of the most common stumbles I see with loglines, and my advice on how you can avoid them:Ībove I pointed out the essential elements of a logline as: “Someone ( the protagonist) wants something ( the story goal) and goes after it against great odds and/or obstacles ( the antagonist and the conflict).” (And now I’ll stop reminding you how hard it is and let you in on a few logline-writing tips.) Someone ( the protagonist) wants something ( the story goal) and goes after it against great odds and/or obstacles ( the antagonist and the conflict).īut even though the components of a logline are straightforward, writing a good one is surprisingly difficult. The essentials of a logline are simply the fundamental elements of your story: Playing around with loglines is a quick and easy way to begin to make choices about your story, to test different versions, and to see if there’s a movie there. That’s why, in the online Save the Cat!® Beat Sheet Workshops (shameless plug), we hit the ground running in Week 1 by working on loglines for the ideas that students are thinking about writing.
Working out your story idea in one sentence is also a valuable part of the development process. It answers the “what is it” question, clearly and enticingly.īut loglines aren’t only for pitching your finished screenplay. Everyone, all across town, in a position to buy or in the effort to sell, is trying to wrap their brains around the same question your friends were asking on Saturday night: “What is it?”Ī good logline tells enough to convey a solid sense of the movie, but is succinct enough that the listener doesn’t get bored or confused. A good “What is it?” is the coin of the realm.
Because one great sentence can pitch your project, hook a reader, and open the right door.Īs Blake Snyder writes in Save the Cat!®: If you’ve tried to write them, you know: sometimes it feels nearly impossible to distill an entire movie into one pithy sentence. They strike fear in the hearts of writers.
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