Logline
techniques vary among screenwriters but most will agree with this
warning from the American Association of Screenwriters, "If
you can't say it in three sentences, you don't know what your
script is about."
--
Some writers simply summarize their movie: set-up, conflict,
and resolution. --
Other writers create a one sentence TV Guide style logline
emphasizing
both the external storyline and the internal one. An example
would be this logline for E.T.: A shy, alienated boy bonds with
an extraterrestrial child who's been stranded on earth; the boy
defies the adults to help the alien contact his mothership so
he can go home. --
My suggestion: Don't limit yourself to the set-up or the
plot, emphasize the unique elements of your script that enable
audiences to connect with the situation and identify with the
hero. Think of the logline as a commercial for your movie. I'll
show you what I mean by creating loglines for two popular movies: ~~~>
LOGLINE FOR A CHARACTER-DRIVEN MOVIE: RAIN MAN The
set-up: A young, self-centered hotshot goes home for his father's
funeral and learns he's been cut out of the will. The family wealth
goes to an older sibling - an autistic brother he never knew he
had. Imagine
we were making a commercial for RAIN MAN. What clips would we
use? --
To create IDENTIFICATION with the star we'd show moments emphasizing
the contrast between the brothers and dramatize the star's frustration
with this unexpected obstacle to his ambitions. --
To create CONNECTION with the star's situation we'd show the
ACTION he takes to get what he wants -- the family money.
How does he try to get control of the inheritance? He kidnaps
the autistic brother. Since the brother is afraid to fly, they
drive cross-country. They visit places (Las Vegas, fancy shopping
malls) where the hotshot feels at home but which the autistic
brother finds challenging - comically and touchingly. --
To highlight the POTENTIAL CRISIS the hero faces, we'd
focus on moments that dramatize the unexpected relationship developing
between the brothers as the hotshot realizes how unusual his 'savant'
brother is.
--
To emphasize what's at RISK for the hotshot, we'd hint
at the secret that binds them and threatens the grandiose plans
he has made. LOGLINE
FOR RAIN MAN: A
self-centered hotshot returns home for his father's funeral and
learns the family inheritance goes to an autistic brother he never
knew he had. The hotshot kidnaps this older brother and drives
him cross-country hoping to gain his confidence and get control
of the family money. The journey reveals an unusual dimension
to the brother's autism that sparks their relationship and unlocks
a dramatic childhood secret that changes everything. That
logline would convince me to read the script. ~~~~>
LOGLINE FOR A PLOT-DRIVEN SCRIPT: SOME LIKE IT HOT
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