Essay

Writing a Logline Template

Fill in the blanks for your film, but check the tips below first!

A because

(describe) protagonist acts (protagonist’s main action) his/her motivation

against and ends up*

(describe) antagonist/force discovering/changing/achieving*

* italicized part above may be in second sentence

1. Lead with the protagonist, but don’t use a character name

It has no intrinsic information. Instead, tell us something about the character.

- A sous-chef

- An ex-superhero

2. Use an adjective to give depth to the character

It’s helpful if the characteristic you describe will have something to do with the plot.

- A mute sous-chef

- An alcoholic ex-superhero

3. Clearly and quickly present the protagonist’s main goal

- A mute sous-chef wants to win the position of Head Chef at her boss’ new restaurant

- An alcoholic ex-superhero searches for his daughter

4. Describe the Antagonist

The antagonist should also be briefly described. If the hero faces a more general antagonistic force

then make clear what they are battling.

- A mute sous-chef wants must fight off an ambitious rival to win the position of Head Chef at her boss’s new restaurant.

- An alcoholic ex-superhero searches for his daughter after she is kidnapped by a maleficent force made up of the souls of those he’s killed.

5. Make sure your protagonist is pro-active

He or she should drive the story and do so vigorously. In some cases the protagonist will be reactive, but note, this is not the same as passive.

6. If you can, include stakes and/or a ticking time-bomb

- To save his reputation a secretly gay frat-boy must sleep with 2 different women during

the big end-of-semester party or lose his membership in the prestigious club.

7. Setup

Some scripts operate in a world with different rules to our own. Others have a protagonist whose personal or psychological history is crucial to the story and needs to be explained. - In a world where all children are grown in vats…

- Driven to a mental breakdown by an accident at work, an aquarium manager…

8. The Outcome

Keep whatever the hero achieves brief and make sure it ties into his/her motivation

- A mute sous-chef who wants to win the position of Head Chef at her boss’s new restaurant must fight off an ambitious rival and ends up finding out that winning in business often means working smart and not just working hard.