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An Easy Guide To Writing The Perfect Logline & Why It’s As Important As Your Screenplay

The logline is truly an art form of its own. 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. 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. 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.

Here’s a quick example. This is the log line for Steven Spielberg’s ‘Jaws’:

A land lubber sheriff tries to kill a giant shark to protect his family and seaside resort town.

jaws

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. 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. After all, it simply isn’t possible to convey every last detail of a 110 page script in a sentence or two. 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. That’s okay though because you don’t need to give away the entire story – in fact you shouldn’t. 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.

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. 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. 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. If you’re ever stuck writing a scene, you can always look to that logline and it will push you in the right direction. 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.

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. 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. 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. 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.

Let’s quickly look at the most important components of a log line. Ultimately you need to get across the following information:

  • The protagonist (don’t use their names, just description – for example ‘An alcoholic surgeon….’)
  • The goal of the protagonist (this is usually in line with your 2nd act turning point – ‘An alcoholic surgeon must fight for his job…’)
  • The antagonist (and the obstacle of the antagonist – ‘An alcoholic surgeon must fight for his job after a disgruntled patient accuses him of malpractice…’)

We also need to recognize how these components fit into the structure. Like I said before there are numerous formats you can use, and you should always adjust this to suit your particular story. But this structural formula is a great starting point:

When [INCITING INCIDENT OCCURS], a [SPECIFIC PROTAGONIST] must [OBJECTIVE], or else [STAKES].

While it may be tempting to simply take the formula above and plug in the details of your story, I would highly advise against it as it will never yield the best results. You will really want to take this one step further using the technique that I’ve outlined below, which involves working backwards to find the essence of your story. This isn’t a technique I created myself, but it is the one that by far has given me the most consistent results.

The method itself is extremely simple. You ask 4 questions about the story of your film starting from the end and working your way to the beginning. It should also be noted that when using this formula you generally don’t want to give away the third act, but rather tease the third act with points from the first and second. In other words none of your questions should pertain to anything after the 3rd act break.

When I came across this method, the example of ‘Back To The Future’ was used, so I’ll reference it here verbatim. Here are the questions that were asked and their subsequent answers:

  • How can Marty come back from the past? (He has to reunite his parents)
  • Why did he have to reunite his parents? (Because he has changed the past which drove them apart)
  • Why did he change the past? (Because he accidently distracted his mother from noticing and falling in love with his father)
  • Why did he find himself in the past? (To save his skin using the invention of a crazy scientist)

Now that you have your answers you can construct a rudimentary outline of what will eventually become your log line:

“A young man, to save his skin, hides in the past thanks to the invention of a crazy scientist. He meets his future parents and accidently distracts his mother from noticing and falling in love with his father. So he is forced to bring them together or he will cease to exist.”

The key is of course to make it less clunky and more focused, leaving us with something like this:

“A young man is transported to the past where he must reunite his parents before he and his future are no more.”

loglines

The Who, What, When, Why and How will always force us to explain the most important parts of the story, which is why this method works so well. It’s not an exact science and it’s of course still up to you to decide which questions are most important to ask, but I find that as long as you ask questions related to the turning points in your story, you’ll be fine. For instance your first question should be pertinent to the 3rd act break and the final question might relate to your opening image or catalyst moment. Following these general rules will put you in the best possible position to understand the fundamentals of your screenplay.

Finally I will re-iterate point that the purpose of writing your log line isn’t to sell your story, it’s to sell the idea of your story. You just want enough information to get the wheels spinning in the mind of your reader and get them ready for more. And once again, the log line is just as much for you as it is for your reader. If you have a weak, unfocused log line before you even write your script, chances are your script isn’t going to turn out well. It’s the seed of your idea and it needs to be as focused as possible to allow your story to have the best possible starting point.

For more on writing, check out my popular article ‘5 Tips For Writing Better Characters Into Your Screenplay’.

 

About Author

Noam Kroll is an award-winning Los Angeles based filmmaker, and the founder of the boutique production house, Creative Rebellion. His work can be seen at international film festivals, on network television, and in various publications across the globe. Follow Noam on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for more content like this!

24 Comments

  • […] This formula appears widely on the web. I’m not certain who originated it, but the earliest only mention I found was on Noam Kroll’s screenwriting site. […]

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  • APKun
    at

    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.

    Reply
  • […] Eine einfache Anleitung zum Schreiben der perfekten Anmeldung und warum sie so wichtig ist wie Ihr Drehbuch Noam Kroll noamkroll.com / … […]

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  • Thank you so much Noam!

    Reply
  • […] concept was developed by Noam Kroll (an award winning filmmaker based in Los Angeles). According to  Kroll, an easy way around it is to first Think about “the who what when and how” as this sill keep […]

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  • Jannas
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    Thank you so much this helped me a ton!

    Reply
  • […] When [INCITING INCIDENT OCCURS], a [SPECIFIC PROTAGONIST] must [OBJECTIVE], or else [STAKES]. (from here) […]

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  • Kait Marcus
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    Wow, so helpful! Thanks. Might want to fix typo in the first sentence: The logline is truly an art form of it’s own…. it’s should be its.

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  • Beth
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    Thank you for this different perspective. I have heard of the format “Protagonist-Action-Goal-Stakes” and been trying unsuccessfully to write a log line for my book for months. Your different angle of using plot points and asking questions has helped me approach it a different way.

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    • So happy to hear, Beth. Really appreciate the feedback and glad it was helpful for you!

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  • Sally
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    Very good guidance but couldn’t someone correct the spelling of “longline” in the title?

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  • Loughlin
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    This is great, thanks Noam. Glad I found your site.

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  • Peter
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    I should have read this two years ago. Just rewrote every logline I ever wrote.

    Many thanks Noam, many thanks.

    Reply
  • […] you’re interested in writing a logline for your screenplay check out: Noam Kroll and Raindance. and if you’re brave, submit it to Logline […]

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  • Michele
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    Thank you. Your post is very helpful. Can you tell me the original article you read referencing Back to the Future and loglines?

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    • Thanks Michele! I’ll need to see if I can find it now… It’s going back quite a while. If I do, I’ll be sure to post it here!

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  • Excellent article on loglines =-)

    Here’s a logline for ya: “A lonely swordsman who can slow time saves the life of a hunted woman whose presence nullifies all magic, then vows to protect her from those that would see her dead as they attempt to thwart the genocidal plans of a tyrannical, lightning-wielding god-king who wants her dead.”

    It’s a short logline of my latest fantasy novel THE LAST SOOTHSAYER which you can view HERE: http://www.amazon.com/Last-Soothsayer-tale-blood-love/dp/1516981960/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1440579173&sr=8-1&keywords=The+Last+Soothsayer

    *ONLY .99 cents on Kindle (with Unlimited Sharing) & $14.99 paperback, 400+ pages of exciting fantasy adventure!

    Reply
  • Judi L. Christopher
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    Log line… I can write 750 pages (to make a trilogy) … and have the worst time thinking of a log line…
    I am working on one “Write” now (pun intended) … about my manuscript: “Billy the Kid: Little Black Book of Secrets”… luckily the name of the book, is already helpful… except I have written the book, to coincide with my screenplay for a movie… It’s well known they (PBS, HBO, Haunted History) have a (new) movie or documentary about Billy the Kid every 6 years.
    The difference is: I am the subject (true story) about living in Lincoln County New Mexico for 21 years… and finally (proof) that Billy the kid was not killed by Pat Garrett!…
    Whoa… is that my log line? See, you’re already helping me… Thank you! Judi

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    • Woah! Sounds like an incredible story… And I completely understand what you’re saying about the challenge of writing a longline. I find writing a feature the easiest thing to do. A short is harder, and a logline is the hardest at times. That said, the formula definitely helps a lot in a pinch. Best of luck with your project.

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  • Karen Rogers
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    “When [INCITING INCIDENT OCCURS], a [SPECIFIC PROTAGONIST] must [OBJECTIVE], or else [STAKES].”

    Just wanted to say thanks for that. I’ve studied concept and loglines for a long time and i still always seem to flail about till finally some pieces fall together. I just took your above template down my list of script starts and it works every time to introduce the elementals. I may reword it later to add or refocus or just get a different feel to it, but as a structure guide it’s superlative for pulling the idea together, for me at least.

    Thanks for taking the time and effort to share. I truly do appreciate it.

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    • Thank you Karen, I’m so glad to hear that it’s been helpful for you. That’s what I write these articles, so I very much appreciate the feedback.

      Reply
  • […] log line that will later act as the DNA for your screenplay. If you haven’t already read it, check out my article on writing the perfect log line for more on this. Part of the benefit of having a great logline (much like the self imposed limitations), is to give […]

    Reply
  • Thanks! My instincts were leading me in this general direction that you have confirmed and so well explained. However, you’ve gone above and beyond to lay out the tools and details which I believe have me well-equipped to write my first screenplay. It’s my hope, the hope that trusts, I will use my success to also encourage other writers and help them as you have helped me today.

    Reply
    • Glad to help Lou! Thanks for the kind words and best of luck with your project.

      Reply

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