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!