The protagonist (don’t use their names, just description – for example ‘An alcoholic surgeon….’).Ultimately you need to get across the following information: Let’s quickly look at the most important components of a log line. Below I’ll break down this simple and extremely effective method, but before jumping into it, it’s important to recognize the key components that make a logline strong and the goal as far as your final structure is concerned. I’ve personally tried a huge number of techniques and approaches myself and ultimately found the one that by far seems to work the best for me every time. But what’s in a good logline? What’s the proper formula? Well there are dozens (if not hundreds) of valid formulas and options when it comes to structuring your logline, but there are certainly techniques that work better than others. So we know the logline is just as important as a creative tool as it is as a vehicle to spark the interest of others. It helps you to maintain focus on what the core of the story is really about and ultimately your final screenplay should be a detailed extrapolation of it. If you’re ever stuck writing a scene, you can always look to that logline and it will push you in the right direction. If you have a perfectly constructed logline that genuinely taps into the essence of what your film is all about, then it’s meaning should resonate on every page of your script. Screenwriting guru Blake Snyder has often referred to the log line as the DNA of your film, and I believe that statement to be very true. While the logline can serve you well both in written form and verbal form by getting the attention of producers, readers, agents, and anyone else you may want to interest – you also need to take into account the benefit a strong logline has on yourself as a writer. The goal is to sell the idea of the script, rather than the story itself, and the most effective way to do this is with a strong logline. That’s okay though because you don’t need to give away the entire story – in fact you shouldn’t. And unfortunately when dealing with anyone that can really do something for your film, all you might have is a sentence or two worth of time to get your idea across. After all, it simply isn’t possible to convey every last detail of a 110 page script in a sentence or two.

If you’ve ever tried to explain your entire feature film to someone in one sentence, you’ve surely found that it can be quite challenging. It’s important to note that while it’s critical to have a good logline so that you can concisely explain your film on paper, it works just as well verbally. This is the log line for Steven Spielberg’s ‘Jaws’:Ī land lubber sheriff tries to kill a giant shark to protect his family and seaside resort town. While loglines today are no longer printed on the screenplays themselves, they effectively serve the exact same purpose – to efficiently represent the story and get the potential reader interested. Loglines were used in the early days of Hollywood so producers could read a short explanation of a script (most often printed on the spine of the screenplay), allowing them to skip over disinteresting screenplays without even pulling them out from the shelf.

It’s the one or two sentence summary of your film that not only conveys your premise, but also gives the reader emotional insight into the story as a whole. The logline is truly an art form of its own.

Good logline examples