Log Lines: simple concept, straight-forward rules, impossible challenge

 What the heck is a log line? I've heard of tag lines -- you know, "In space, no one can hear your scream" or "Who you gonna call?" -- but a log line? That's new to me.

I had already been working on tag lines for my new romantic comedy screenplay. If I do say so myself, I came up with some pretty good ones. They need to be short, pithy and memorable. They don't have to say what the movie is about in any detail: they just have to spark interest, catch attention, make people want to know more.

That's why the two I include above (from Alien and Ghostbusters respectively) are so successful. They grab you. They're memorable. And they make you want to see the movie.

But a log line? Yikes.

The problem is, the Final Draft script-writing contest, The Big Break, tracks entries not by the name of the screenwriter or the title of the project but by the log line. So I had to do some research, and get good at writing log lines, pretty quick.

A search on the internet came up with some pretty consistent rules, thank goodness:

1. Limit your logline to between 25 and 30 words
2. Describe your protagonist clearly
3. Set a clear goal for your protagonist
4. Be ironic, or punny, where possible
5. Set high stakes; give your protagonist something to lose
6. Make it memorable, even if it means breaking these rules

From my research, it seems a log line is sort of like an elevator pitch for your script: clear, concise and effective. A person reading the log line should not only understand the basic plot of the screenplay but should also be intrigued enough to want to read it.

I bet you can identify the movies to which the following log lines relate:

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.

A young police officer must prevent a bomb exploding aboard a city bus by keeping its speed above 50 mph.

And I bet you understand why producers wanted to read, and eventually option, the scripts themselves.

With my research complete, I sat down and tried to create a log line for my own screenplay. I sat for hours. On several different occasions. I checked with my readers for ideas. I tried hundreds of combinations of words. I used a thesaurus.

My partner and I had an extended conversation about the difference among the words/phrases "reclusive", "publicity-shy", and "privacy-seeking", trying to figure out which one was right. And asking if a hyphenated word is counted as two words.

You argue with yourself about which aspects of your story are most important to include in the log line -- is the setting important? or some aspect of the protagonist's past? or the antagonist's profession? -- because, with a maximum of 30 words, you can only include so much!

And then you get to the point where you have several options for expressing the same ideas and have to type out every possible combination of them to figure out which combination works best.

I have currently narrowed it down to 22 possible log lines, with one (at just 23 words!) the frontrunner. I plan to make the final decision today -- just to put the matter to bed!

From Master Class to Final Draft, a burst of creative activity

 

After a long (a very long) hiatus, I am happy to announce that I am back behind the keyboard, writing creatively once again. Although I have been keeping up on some of my blogs, I haven't really done anything creative of my own in at least a year.

Well, that all changed two months ago with a sudden burst of writing energy and the purchase of Final Draft, the profession's leading screen and playwriting software. 

I had been contemplating writing a screen play for some time but, when I finally sat down to put some of my thoughts into script pages, I quickly realized that Microsoft Word just wasn't going to cut it.

So I spoke to some screen-writing friends, did some online research, and took the plunge to purchase Final Draft. I was surprised at the modest price for this amazing tool and soon came to the conclusion that I could never be an effective scriptwriter without it.

The gift of a subscription to Master Class also helped. I've been watching Aaron Sorkin's brilliant class on writing scripts quite regularly since January -- it has not only taught me a lot, if has also been the source of significant inspiration.

With all of those factors working in my favour, a romantic comedy script I had been planning for more than a year came pouring out over the course of a two-month period. I finished the first draft of Summer Hideaway a week ago and, after some encouraging words and fantastic comments from my partner, I think I will have a strong enough draft to send to my readers before the end of the month.

While I am polishing that script up for review, I am starting the more challenging process of inputting my Abigail Massey at McAdam Station stories into the single-camera television series template in Final Draft.

This will take some time. Unfortunately, it combines the banality of touch typing an already existing story into a new program with the huge challenge of re-imaging scenes that I had written so carefully in prose for children as scenes in a TV show, complete with Scene Intros, transitions and plain dialogue. I'm just lucky I focused so much on the dialogue when I wrote the stories -- that makes it so much easier!

And, thanks to Master Class, I will have Shonda Rhimes coaching me through the process.