How to Write a Logline

By Andrew Spear

A great logline can sell someone in Hollywood on your movie idea and make them want to read your script. Here’s what you need to know about crafting the perfect logline. Common industry practice dictates that loglines are only one sentence long. Some even cap loglines at 30 words.

There are four primary elements of a logline -

1. Protagonist

2. inciting incident

3. protagonist’s goal

4. central conflict

Here are a couple of examples.

Titanic: Two star-crossed lovers fall in love on the maiden voyage of the Titanic and struggle to survive as the doomed ship sinks into the Atlantic Ocean.

Little Miss Sunshine: When a wannabe child beauty queen learns that a spot has opened up in the “Little Miss Sunshine” pageant, she convinces her dysfunctional family to make the cross-country trek, despite her father’s (and society’s) protestations that she may not have what it takes to win.

A good logline clearly and succinctly lays out the dramatic narrative of a screenplay and hooks the reader, enticing them to read the entire script. But remember, never give away the ending.

Use active language that articulate the visual possibilities for the film. Words like “struggles,” “journeys,” and “fights” are intriguing to read.

Identify the protagonist’s biographical and physical information by using the strongest adjectives that best represents who they are.

Now that you know who your protagonist is, what is the thing that turns their life upside down? This is your inciting incident and it is the jolt from the blue that sets your story in motion.

Outline what the hero wants or needs with a few quick words. This aligns the reader with the character's goals, and creates a level of empathy when obstacles stand in the character's way. The hero's goal is the primary motivation for the rest of the action.

Movies are nothing without conflicts getting in the way of your character achieving his or her goal. Select the conflict with the highest stakes and describe this conflict in a few words, like “treacherous journey” or “before the ship sinks.”

A properly written logline allows a reader to make a reliable snap judgment on the prospects of a project. This is one reason why the logline is the most powerful instrument to gauge the quality of a screen story.

Writing A Feature Film Script - Andrew Spear

By Andrew Spear

Okay, you’ve decided to take the leap and write a feature-length script.

I’m going to assume that you will tackle this task with the goal of eventually having it produced. With that in mind, let’s look at some things you should focus on. You might disagree with these points I am going to make because this or that script was made and didn’t follow these guidelines. Don’t start this difficult process with the thought of doing something unique. You can break all the molds you want after you have had a couple of scripts that actually got produced and made producers money.

First, let’s look at what genre you will write in? Just remember, producers, love a clearly defined genre. Their marketing team will know exactly who their target audience is and how to sell to them. One of the biggest mistakes novice writers make is attempting to shove too many genres into their scripts. Some genres are a natural match, like romantic-comedy or even action-comedy, but when you start going beyond that, you risk birthing a mess. If your target audience is “everyone,” then your actual target audience is “no one.”

Remember, it is SHOW BUSINESS, and it is the WRITER’S JOB to worry about budget. A writer does not need to know the exact budget of their script, but they should have a budget range, and that range should be micro-to-low. Ideally, write something that takes place in one or two locations with five or fewer characters. Your script has a much greater chance of being optioned, purchased, and even made if it is affordable to produce. That means no exploding buildings, no wild car chases through the streets of a big city that three city blocks will have to be shut down, no crazy special effects, and no massive scenes that require five hundred extras. Even the length of your script matters. Aim for 90-110 pages. Every extra page means more time added to the shooting schedule, which means $$$.

Okay. You’ve got your idea, rooting in a specific genre that will not break the bank to make. What’s next? Film titles are fun and can be iconic. A good title will help set up your film’s concept, such as The 40-year-old Virgin or The Wolf of Wall Street. On the other end of the spectrum, we have eXistenZ. Any idea what that one’s about? Take the time to think about the title of your film and how an audience will react when they see or hear it. Great titles get attention from producers and executives. Great titles suggest genre and concept. Is it hard to figure out what Wedding Crashers is going to be about?

There is a reason why they give out a golden statue for the best supporting actor and actress, and many times it is these roles specifically that get a film green-lit. Actors are always looking for great roles, even if they are not starring, and producers are no different. Many projects get made simply because an actor is attached. I know a producer that could only afford Gary Oldman for three days, but that didn’t stop him from putting Gary Oldman’s character’s image front and center on the poster.

So you’ve finished your script. Congratulations. But you’re not done yet. Remember, producers and executives receive hundreds of scripts and don’t have the time to read them all. So expect to be judged every step of the way, on every page, and with every word choice. Overworked producers are always looking for a reason to pass on having to read something, and an unprofessional presentation is at the top of the “throw this script in the trash” list. An excellent first impression can open the reader’s mind to your remarkable story. 

Professionalism matters, proofreading matters, and formatting matters. Think of presenting your script as dressing appropriately for a job interview.

Best of luck.

The Importance of Writing Shorts

By Andrew Spear

Everybody thinks they have the next greatest idea for a movie, and most of those people think that they can write the script for that movie. Easier said than done. Screenwriting is difficult. Some of the greatest writers of all-time were brought to Hollywood and failed.

The beginning of a screenwriter’s journey consists of learning the craft. That involves; reading books, studying screenplays, attending seminars, listening to podcasts and of course, writing. Writing and more writing. Less important, the fun part, watching movies. I can listen to a great symphonic performance, and yet have no idea how it all came about.

After all that comes maybe a bigger hurdle to clear, discovering one’s voice. Believe it or not, the most common major fault in scripts is a lack of meaning. A script can have a beautifully-crafted premise, interesting themes and engaging characters on fascinating journeys but the stories that resonate most are the ones which convey a meaning or evoke an emotion. You have to know what it is that you want to write about? What emotions do you want to expose to others? Tarantino puts it this simply, he writes scripts for films that he’d want to watch.

This is where writing shorts can help. A short is a great way for screenwriters to learn the technical complexities of writing a script and its formatting requirements without the burden of structure and writing 112 pages. Not to mention making how much easier it is to express yourself and see if your 6-15 pages, you can evoke the emotion on your potential audience that you were aiming for. Unlike a feature film, shorts can really upend traditional storytelling and take artistic risks. It’s like writing a poem instead of a novel. And as easy as that sounds there are some guidelines to pay attention to.

Introduce characters with goals, show them encountering obstacles and trying to overcome those obstacles. Show us how they or their world has changed. Set up and resolve dramatic questions. If a story feels unfinished, the emotional impact will be diffused, and will feel anticlimactic.

Focus on the decisions, actions, and goals that define who a character is or who a group of characters are. These minutes, hours and days decide everything. It’s okay to start a story that is already in motion. Just make sure to give the audience the important facets of a story by watching a character do or say something.

It’s easy to get carried away with dialogue, or actions you think are essential to the project. Concentrate on that single moment, that single conflict, building up to its resolution and the unfolding of the character’s arc.

Make sure your film has a point. What was it trying to accomplish? And what pulls it all together is the ending. A feature is full of many scenes with many moments and many characters but you don’t have as much room for this kind of content in your short film, which is why the final, lasting impression is so important. It’s largely what your audience will walk away with.

To quote the old joke, “Can you tell me how to get to Carnegie Hall? Practice, practice practice.”

So how many short scripts have you written?

NB Film Co-op member Andrew Spear