LOGLINE

LOGLINE
The logline is the short summary of your film which must entice the interest of your audience in under
40 words. It makes the reader, producer and audience want to know more about your story. Here is how
to write your exciting #logline.
How to Write a Logline
Look at your script to analyze the stages and then answer the following questions:
What [character traits] does your main protagonist have?
What [dynamic action] must he take to keep your story in suspense?
What is the obstacle or antagonist that your main character has to overcome?
The secret here is using [character traits] and [dynamic actions] to sell your story. See below for
examples.
You always need a Film Business Plan to get funding from investors.
Logline Formula
There are several ways to construct your logline with a formula, here are 2 examples that will get you
moving forward.
1. Simple Logline Formula
When a [major event], the [character trait] hero, must [dynamic action] to overcome [obstacle]
What is the major event?
Who is your main character and what is their [character trait]?
What [dynamic action] does your main character have to do to overcome [obstacle]
The Godfather
The aging patriarch [character trait] of an organized crime dynasty transfers control [event] of his
clandestine empire to his reluctant son [obstacle].
Star Wars
Luke Skywalker, a spirited farm boy [character trait], joins rebel forces [dynamic action] to save Princess
Leia from the evil Darth Vader [obstacle], and the galaxy from the Empire’s planet-destroying [event]
Death Star.
ET: The Extra-Terrestrial
A meek and alienated little boy [character trait] finds [event] a stranded extraterrestrial. He has to find
the courage to defy the authorities [dynamic action] to help the alien return [obstacle] to its home
planet.
2. Save the Cat ® Genre Logline Formula
When a [the hero] must reach his [goal] to overcome [the problem]
The Hero
The Goal
The Problem
Golden Fleece
A driven hero [character trait] must lead a group of allies to retrieve a prized possession through a
perilous journey that wasn’t what the hero expected.
Rites of Passage
A troubled hero’s [character trait] only way to overcome a spiraling life crisis is to defeat his worst
enemy - himself.
Buddy Love
An inadequate hero [character trait] must rise above an extremely difficult situation to be with his love.
Test your Logline
When you share the logline with your friends, do their eyes light up?
Read it out loud to a group of people to see the reaction
Ask a friend to tell the storyline to someone, then you will be able to hear what part makes them most
excited
Lists of [character traits] and [dynamic actions]
Let’s give depth to your loglines by using [character trait] and [dynamic actions] to get the reader to
quickly grasp the character and story.
Remember the formula: When a [major event], the [character trait] hero, must [dynamic action] to
overcome [obstacle]
EXAMPLES OF LOGLINES
If you have a perfectly constructed logline that genuinely taps into the essence of what your film is all
about, then its meaning should resonate on every page of your script. Here is the list of the best logline
examples for feature films that became box office hits.
THE GODFATHER
The aging patriarch of an organized crime dynasty transfers control of his clandestine empire to his
reluctant son.
PULP FICTION
The lives of two mob hit men, a boxer, a gangster's wife, and a pair of diner bandits intertwine in four
tales of violence and redemption.
FOREST GUMP
Forrest Gump, while not intelligent, has accidentally been present at many historic moments, but his
true love, Jenny Curran, eludes him.
THE MATRIX
A computer hacker learns from mysterious rebels about the true nature of his reality and his role in the
war against its controllers.
SILENCE OF THE LAMBS
A young F.B.I. cadet must confide in an incarcerated and manipulative killer to receive his help on
catching another serial killer who skins his victims.
INSIDE MAN
A cop has to talk down a bank robber after the criminal’s perfect heist spirals into a hostage situation.
CASABLANCA
Set in unoccupied Africa during the early days of World War II: An American expatriate meets a former
lover, with unforeseen complications.
REAR WINDOW
A wheelchair bound photographer spies on his neighbor’s from his apartment window and becomes
convinced one of them has committed murder.
THE HANGOVER
A Las Vegas-set comedy centered around three groomsmen who lose their about-to-be-wed buddy
during their drunken misadventures, then must retrace their steps in order to find him.
THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION
Two imprisoned men bond over a number of years, finding solace and eventual redemption through
acts of common decency.
THE HELP
An aspiring author during the civil rights movement of the 1960s decides to write a book detailing the
African-American maid’s point of view on the white families for which they work, and the hardships they
go through on a daily basis.
THE ARTIST
Hollywood, 1927: As silent movie star George Valentin wonders if the arrival of talking pictures will
cause him to fade into oblivion, he sparks with Peppy Miller, a young dancer set for a big break.
You always need a Film Business Plan to get funding from investors.
FORREST GUMP
Forrest Gump, while not intelligent, has accidentally been present at many historic moments, but his
true love, Jenny, eludes him.
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL
Blacksmith Will Turner teams up with eccentric pirate “Captain” Jack Sparrow to save his love, the
governor’s daughter, from Jack’s former pirate allies, who are now undead.
APOCALYPSE NOW
During the U.S.-Vietnam War, Captain Willard is sent on a dangerous mission into Cambodia to
assassinate a renegade colonel who has set himself up as a god among a local tribe.
DJANGO UNCHAINED
With the help of a German bounty hunter, a freed slave sets out to rescue his wife from a brutal
Mississippi plantation owner.
THE LION KING

Lion cub and future king Simba searches for his identity. His eagerness to please others and penchant for
testing his boundaries sometimes gets him into trouble.
AMERICAN BEAUTY
Lester Burnham, a depressed suburban father in a mid-life crisis, decides to turn his hectic life around
after becoming infatuated with his daughter's attractive friend.
TAXI DRIVER
A mentally unstable Vietnam war veteran works as a night-time taxi driver in New York City where the
perceived decadence and sleaze feeds his urge for violent action, attempting to save a preadolescent
prostitute in the process.
RESERVOIR DOGS
After a simple jewelery heist goes terribly wrong, the surviving criminals begin to suspect that one of
them is a police informant.
WILD STRAWBERRIES
After living a life marked by coldness, an aging professor is forced to confront the emptiness of his
existence.

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LOGLINE

How to Write a Logline

What [character traits] does your main protagonist have?

What [dynamic action] must he take to keep your story in suspense?

1. Simple Logline Formula

What is the major event?

Who is your main character and what is their [character trait]?

ET: The Extra-Terrestrial

2. Save the Cat ® Genre Logline Formula

Read it out loud to a group of people to see the reaction

Lists of [character traits] and [dynamic actions]

SILENCE OF THE LAMBS

THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL

THE LION KING

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