In a nutshell, a logline is a fast summation of the premise (or idea) of a film, TV or book that touches on the lead characters, the story’s plot and central conflict. To adequately convey what the story is about, they should include these three elements of a logline:

• Who the protagonist is
• What they want
• Who or what the antagonist is to that goal

Loglines are more than just a necessary marketing tool while pitching your film — they can help you clarify the main draw of your story before you even start writing. Comedy screenwriter Justin Malen (Office Christmas Party, Father Figures, Yes Day) puts it this way:

“I actually like writing at least a draft logline before I commit to writing a script because it’s a good test of how marketable the concept is. If writing the logline is really difficult, it tells me that it will likely be a harder sell, given what studios/Producers tend to look for. Also, I read my draft loglines out loud to confirm they’re simple enough and would be easy for an Agent/Producer/Exec to pitch over the phone.”

A logline is also much more than a summary. Through the fewest words possible, your goal with a logline is to provide your potential audience with a vivid mental picture of the look and feel of your story. Your aim in building a logline isn’t so much as to describe your story as it is to have them be engaged in its idea.

Great! So how do we do that?

Right from the jump, movies are about characters. Even the best plot falls flat without people we care about driving it. As explained by Screenwriter Thomas Bezucha (Fargo, Let Him Go), “Everything I do is very character-based. I’m not a conceptual guy that’s like, ‘There’s a comet that’s going to hit the Earth.’ I’m sort of like, ‘A woman’s just left her husband and there’s a comet that’s going to hit the Earth.”

So who are your characters? Can you give your audience a fast overview of them? Sometimes you’ll need no more than a word or two, but make sure to be clear.

Context is super important, so you’ll want to make mention of the environment/setting/world and (if necessary) the time period the story goes down in.

Don’t be shy here, because again, you want to be as clear as possible – plainly define your story’s central conflict (and how it relates to your character(s)). Drama is conflict, it’s the essence of all storytelling, and if you’re having difficulty pinpointing exactly what your central conflict is, there may be an issue with your premise (you’ll want to fix this before you move onto your logline).

Express what consequences the characters in your story will face should they fail at that big conflict. The more relatable the stakes, the greater your chances of effectively engaging an audience.

Arguably the most crucial element when it comes to taking hold of an audience, the twist or hook of your story is what should ultimately make it stand out from everything else out there. We’ll dive deeper into this more in a moment.

This is another crucial aspect of your logline. We can’t express the importance of a logline’s brevity enough. You need to be able to pitch your logline at lightning speed, without rushing through it, keeping it to roughly 25-50 words. Economy of words is key when it comes to loglines. Be very selective and judicious in your descriptive choices. And to that…

You’ll want to employ strong words that paint lively, striking and distinct pictures. The idea is to bring your scenarios to life with the fewest words possible so analyze your sentences carefully.

Once you feel you’ve got a concise logline that accurately and quickly describes what your movie (or TV show is), read it aloud. Pay attention to the picture being painted and the flow of the words. Does it work together well? The first pass will probably need some work, but once you’ve got something you’re happy with, try it out on some trusted people. Get their feedback. Did they have a clear understanding of what your story is about? Were they engaged? And most importantly, is this a story they’d want to know more about?

Keep working at your logline until it’s perfect. This could be your one chance at getting a potential buyer or audience member to take a look at your creation. Don’t settle on a result. Keep at it until it’s exactly where it needs to be.

The term “hook” should actually be taken literally – you’re looking to snag an audience member into your story in much the same way you might catch a fish on a line. In creating that hook, you want to consider what’s different and/or special about your project and highlight that.

So let’s dive deeper into how to build that hook and make a potential audience member take notice…

The whole idea behind creating new content is to give audiences an experience of something they haven’t yet seen. And this is where the uniqueness of your work comes into play. This could be anything from an extraordinary premise to a compelling twist to a wildly memorable character. While it’s important to focus on the uniqueness of your hook, remember the ultimate purpose of it is to intrigue and leave your audience wanting more. And to that point –

You want to make sure your story’s intriguing aspect creates a degree of curiosity in your audience. Typically, some of the best ways to accomplish this are through a high-stakes conflict, an alluring mystery, or a fascinating question. You want to engage with your audience, so weigh your best approach.

As with the logline itself, brevity is essential to introducing your story’s hook to your audience; you’ll be using fewer words within the given parameters of fewer words for a logline, so make every word count! You only need to entice with the hook, so keeping it brief will not only ideally pique some interest in your audience, it’ll also keep your logline from running too long.

Presenting the high stakes and/or consequences of your hook can also help highlight the unique angle of your story and is another great way to engage an audience member in your story. Often, the intensity and urgency involved with high stakes can act as an engaging hook unto themselves.

Let’s take a look at some example loglines of familiar and successful films. Keep in mind the logline is meant to reflect a film’s tone as well as its content…

• FORREST GUMP – A simple-minded, kindhearted man enjoys a life of accidental success and fame when all he wants is to love the beautiful woman he has known since they were kids.
• APOCALYPSE NOW – During the 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.
• NAPOLEON DYNAMITE – A listless and alienated teenager decides to help his new friend win the class presidency in their small western high school, all while dealing with his bizarre family life and farm back home.
• NORTH BY NORTHWEST – When an innocent advertising executive is framed for murder by foreign spies, he must evade the authorities for long enough to uncover the spies’ plot, and save the enigmatic woman who is mixed up with them.
• PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: 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.
• SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION – Based on Stephen King’s novella, a pair of imprisoned men bond over a number of years, finding solace and eventual redemption through acts of common decency.
• STAR WARS A NEW HOPE – An optimistic farm boy joins a rebellion to save a princess from a sinister imperial enforcer — and the galaxy — from a planet-destroying weapon.
• TOY STORY – A cowboy doll is profoundly threatened and jealous when a new spaceman action figure supplants him as top toy in a boy’s room.
• ZERO DARK THIRTY – After 9/11, a CIA analyst spends years tracking Osama bin Laden down and must negotiate terrorist bombs, moral dilemmas, and skeptical superiors to find the terrorist leader’s hiding place and persuade the government to attack it.
• MIDNIGHT COWBOY – A naive man from Texas arrives in New York City to make his fortune as a hustler, but soon strikes up an unlikely friendship with the first scoundrel he falls prey to.
• CASABLANCA – Set in unoccupied Africa during the early days of World War II, an American expatriate meets a former lover, with unforeseen complications.
• LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING – A meek hobbit of the Shire and eight companions set out on a journey to Mount Doom to destroy the One Ring and the dark lord Sauron.
• THE MUMMY – An American serving in the French Foreign Legion on an archaeological dig at the ancient city of Hamunaptra accidentally awakens a Mummy.
• SHERLOCK HOLMES – Detective Sherlock Holmes and his stalwart partner Watson engage in a battle of wits and brawn with a nemesis whose plot is a threat to all of England.
• HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER’S STONE – Rescued from the outrageous neglect of his aunt and uncle, a young boy with a great destiny proves his worth while attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

A quintessential selling tool, a good logline captures the essence of your story and engages the audience to the point of wanting more. It should be concise, attention-grabbing, and give a sense of what makes your film unique or compelling.