Log The Line... LOGLINES

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  • Log The Line... LOGLINES

    Breaking off from another thread "what's the difference?"... let's focus on loglines...

    Also let's keep in mind we are giving our logline versions of some of the top movies of all time (JAWS, SPEED, etc)... easy to do because we can see the whole thing in our head no matter what words we choose. And Yes, I'm including Snakes on The "motherfuc%king Plane."

    If you go to the logline section over the years, you can get a sense of how loglines can really be an art form. Because some of them are just very painful to read if we're all being honest. They may contain all the things required, but they are leaving off the most important thing -- INTEREST IN READING SCRIPT.

    Is the idea any good? Interesting to anyone else besides the writer?

    And is the logline at all telling us what the screenplay is actually about? Capturing the tone? Anything?

    Maybe you wrote a great script, but your logline reads like you can't write at all or makes it sound boring as F_U_C_K.

    So keep that in mind. You have to get someone to want to read a script from someone they have never heard of and for a movie they have to imagine by reading your pages... and so far all they got is that 35 word logline...

  • #2
    Re: Log The Line... LOGLINES

    Here's a logline --

    A loser posts a thread and no one cares, leaving him to question his own self worth until he discovers online porn and stops caring about anything else...

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Log The Line... LOGLINES

      Originally posted by Bono View Post
      Here's a logline --

      A loser posts a thread and no one cares, leaving him to question his own self worth until he discovers online porn and stops caring about anything else...
      Gives fresh meaning to BEAT SHEET, which should be the title.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Log The Line... LOGLINES

        Originally posted by Bono View Post
        Here's a logline --

        A loser posts a thread and no one cares, leaving him to question his own self worth until he discovers online porn and stops caring about anything else...
        How about...

        John Mechanic, who spends twenty years trying to perfect a 28 word logline, finally throws in the towel and finds unexpected joy when he actually writes a screenplay.

        Revised version ...

        After a frustrated writer spends twenty years trying to perfect a 28 word logline, he throws in the towel and finds unexpected joy by actually writing a screenplay.
        Last edited by Centos; 05-09-2019, 12:43 AM. Reason: Revision.
        STANDARD DISCLAIMER: I'm a wannabe, take whatever I write with a huge grain of salt.

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Log The Line... LOGLINES

          Or ...

          Jaws PC

          When a killer shark terrorizes a small resort town, the politically correct mayor convinces parents to feed their children to the sharks to atone for past speciesism.
          STANDARD DISCLAIMER: I'm a wannabe, take whatever I write with a huge grain of salt.

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Log The Line... LOGLINES

            Originally posted by Bono View Post
            Here's a logline --

            A loser posts a thread and no one cares, leaving him to question his own self worth until he discovers online porn and stops caring about anything else...
            Bono, don't take it personally. It's not you. Your logline thread is too soon. Loglines were discussed to death in the "What's The Difference" thread. Everyone is burnt out on this topic.

            Everyone, except you, obviously.

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Log The Line... LOGLINES

              I dislike all these sorts of threads. Inevitably, we bring up logs to famous movies to make our point, yet it's almost impossible to separate the logline provided with one's memories of the visual (acting performances, cinematography, etc.) and aural (dialogue, music, sound, etc.) experiences of the resulting film.

              Having just condemned the technique, I'll do exactly that but only to prove how it's so fallible.

              Take a film like Little Miss Sunshine, and its IMDB description of "A family determined to get their young daughter into the finals of a beauty pageant take a cross-country trip in their VW bus".

              As described, the end result could go many different directions. By itself it sounds moderately interesting if you're in a certain mood, but you'd be wrong on most counts when put against the actual film. You might suspect it'd be F- or PG-rated, which it certainly wasn't. It's an ensemble piece of mostly neurotic characters. Without knowing that, you couldn't possibly evaluate the quality of the final film and realize its enjoyment factor for adult audiences looking for something a little different.

              I think few of the top movies were made as a result of the loglines, whether we're talking the initial concept-thing, by the writers, or the blurb that broadcasters/marketers come up with after the film is made, such as on the poster or on IMDB.

              Our very own 'Loglines and Query Letters' critique section, in which we judge DDPro members' loglines against ONLY the mental images they present of the unmade movie, is a more realistic exercise.

              I've only used that 'Service', here, once, with mixed results. I included my entire synopsis because I knew how far off people would go by reading just the logline I presented. I was right. I know this, because I usually form an entirely incorrect storyline in my head when I read others' loglines. That, and a fear of being influenced creatively, is why I generally avoid the topic here.

              Logs are necessary, they're it's still a really stupid way to do business. Talk about judging a book by its cover.

              So, yes, you can tell that I hate how loglines make or break, or at least deny or delay, success to unsold writers.

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Log The Line... LOGLINES

                Originally posted by Bono View Post
                Here's a logline --

                A loser posts a thread and no one cares, leaving him to question his own self worth until he discovers online porn and stops caring about anything else...
                LOL. No goal. No stakes. No antagonist. Where is the story?

                When a depressed writer with writers block stops creating everything but internet porn, he must elude a deadly moral bureau assassin to remain online.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Log The Line... LOGLINES

                  New logine -- A comedy writers fails at starting a comedy thread.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Log The Line... LOGLINES

                    Originally posted by JoeNYC View Post
                    Bono, don't take it personally. It's not you. Your logline thread is too soon. Loglines were discussed to death in the "What's The Difference" thread. Everyone is burnt out on this topic.

                    Everyone, except you, obviously.
                    Actually Joe, truthfully I was burnt out on this topic in 2007, but I love talking about writing instead of writing, so here I am!

                    Please someone post some other threads or a logline or something... I'm bored! Fix this please.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Log The Line... LOGLINES

                      Originally posted by Centos View Post
                      How about...

                      John Mechanic, who spends twenty years trying to perfect a 28 word logline, finally throws in the towel and finds unexpected joy when he actually writes a screenplay.

                      Revised version ...

                      After a frustrated writer spends twenty years trying to perfect a 28 word logline, he throws in the towel and finds unexpected joy by actually writing a screenplay.
                      Take that sh*t back to reddit

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Log The Line... LOGLINES

                        Originally posted by nativeson View Post
                        Take that sh*t back to reddit
                        I posted it here first, so I guess Reddit wants me to "take my sh*t back here."
                        STANDARD DISCLAIMER: I'm a wannabe, take whatever I write with a huge grain of salt.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Log The Line... LOGLINES

                          Originally posted by catcon View Post
                          Logs are necessary, they're it's still a really stupid way to do business. Talk about judging a book by its cover.
                          My main problem with loglines is that, for some, they're an end unto themselves. A logline is supposed to be a means to an end. It's supposed to be attached to a script (either a finished script or at least one the writer is working on). So many people just use them as "trial balloons." I think of a logline as an attention grabber, something that gets your interest and makes you want to look further into the story. But there's no way you're going to get the whole screenplay capsulized in 28 words. If you try, it's going to read like a convoluted mess — and so many loglines DO read like a convoluted mess. And how many times does someone post a logline here, gets it hashed around, "improved," etc., and then immediately they start over with another logline... and then another... and then...

                          I also don't think a logline should be your "north star" to "keep you focused." Huh? You're investing months into writing a screenplay, but you can't remember what your screenplay "is about" until you refocus on your logline? Really?

                          (I'm not directing these comments at you, BTW, just my general opinions on loglines and how — in my opinion — the whole concept is misused.)

                          I don't know where the idea that a logline is where you should start a screenplay came from, but my personal opinion (for what it's worth) is that a logline should be written AFTER the screenplay is done.
                          STANDARD DISCLAIMER: I'm a wannabe, take whatever I write with a huge grain of salt.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: Log The Line... LOGLINES

                            Is the 28-word logline limit the new rule? Maybe I'm revealing my age but I remember back when the limit was 35 words. I'm in the "no rule" camp -- write a log that reveals the conflict and don't worry about word count.
                            Advice from writer, Kelly Sue DeConnick. "Try this: if you can replace your female character with a sexy lamp and the story still basically works, maybe you need another draft.-

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: Log The Line... LOGLINES

                              Originally posted by sc111 View Post
                              Is the 28-word logline limit the new rule? Maybe I'm revealing my age but I remember back when the limit was 35 words. I'm in the "no rule" camp -- write a log that reveals the conflict and don't worry about word count.
                              No, not that I know about anyhow. 28 was just an arbitrary number I came up with, but I don't think it's far off the mark.
                              STANDARD DISCLAIMER: I'm a wannabe, take whatever I write with a huge grain of salt.

                              Comment

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