AllFreelanceWork.com is an 8 year old Freelance Projects Board offering freelancers Freelance Jobs Search, Free Portfolios,& articles. AllFreelanceWork is also a great small business resource for starting a home business & looking for home business opportunities (no scams). AllFreelanceWork is filled with freelance resources, including small business startup tips, self-employment articles, how to start a freelance or small home business, articles about self-employed health insurance offers, promoting & marketing your small business, finding small business & freelance business opportunites for graphic designers, web designers, writers, screenwriters, programmers,artists, editors, & other careers & professions.

Warning: mysql_query(): supplied argument is not a valid MySQL-Link resource in /home/afwork/public_html/articlefreelwriting3Lenore.php on line 232

Warning: mysql_fetch_array(): supplied argument is not a valid MySQL result resource in /home/afwork/public_html/articlefreelwriting3Lenore.php on line 234

Warning: mysql_query(): supplied argument is not a valid MySQL-Link resource in /home/afwork/public_html/articlefreelwriting3Lenore.php on line 236

Warning: mysql_fetch_array(): supplied argument is not a valid MySQL result resource in /home/afwork/public_html/articlefreelwriting3Lenore.php on line 238



Warning: mysql_query(): supplied argument is not a valid MySQL-Link resource in /home/afwork/public_html/articlefreelwriting3Lenore.php on line 242

Warning: mysql_fetch_array(): supplied argument is not a valid MySQL result resource in /home/afwork/public_html/articlefreelwriting3Lenore.php on line 244

Warning: mysql_query(): supplied argument is not a valid MySQL-Link resource in /home/afwork/public_html/articlefreelwriting3Lenore.php on line 246

Warning: mysql_fetch_array(): supplied argument is not a valid MySQL result resource in /home/afwork/public_html/articlefreelwriting3Lenore.php on line 248

 

Warning: mysql_query(): supplied argument is not a valid MySQL-Link resource in /home/afwork/public_html/articlefreelwriting3Lenore.php on line 259

Warning: mysql_fetch_array(): supplied argument is not a valid MySQL result resource in /home/afwork/public_html/articlefreelwriting3Lenore.php on line 261

Warning: mysql_query(): supplied argument is not a valid MySQL-Link resource in /home/afwork/public_html/articlefreelwriting3Lenore.php on line 263

Warning: mysql_fetch_array(): supplied argument is not a valid MySQL result resource in /home/afwork/public_html/articlefreelwriting3Lenore.php on line 265

	Search Career Schools Zip Code: Subject: Digital & Media Arts Fashion Design Interior Design Photography Graphic Design Animation Web Design Business Culinary Arts Education Healthcare Law & Justice Psychology Technology Technicians Degree: - Select All Degrees - Associate's Bachelor's Master's Doctoral Certificates Diplomas Coursework Online Campus Both

Home > Articles > Freelance Writing > CREATING A DYNAMIC LOGLINE

THE SCREENWRITERS WEB ~
CREATING A DYNAMIC LOGLINE

Copyright (c) 2002, Lenore Wright

Logline techniques vary among screenwriters but most will agree with this warning from the American Association of Screenwriters, "If you can't say it in three sentences, you don't know what your script is about."

-- Some Screenwriters simply summarize their movie:

set-up, conflict, and resolution.

-- Other Screenwriters create a one sentence TV Guide style logline emphasizing both the external storyline and the internal one.

An example would be this logline for E.T.: A shy, alienated boy bonds with an extraterrestrial child who's been stranded on earth; the boy defies the adults to help the alien contact his mothership so he can go home.

-- My suggestion for Creating a Dynamic Logline for Your Scripts:

Don't limit yourself to the set-up or the plot, emphasize the unique elements of your script that enable audiences to connect with the situation and identify with the hero. Think of the logline as a commercial for your movie.

I'll show you what I mean by creating loglines for two popular movies:

~~~> LOGLINE FOR A CHARACTER-DRIVEN MOVIE: RAIN MAN

The set-up: A young, self-centered hotshot goes home for his father's funeral and learns he's been cut out of the will. The family wealth goes to an older sibling - an autistic brother he never knew he had.

Imagine we were making a commercial for RAIN MAN. What clips would we use?

-- To create IDENTIFICATION with the star we'd show moments

emphasizing the contrast between the brothers and dramatize the star's frustration with this unexpected obstacle to his ambitions.

-- To create CONNECTION with the star's situation we'd show the ACTION he takes to get what he wants

the family money. How does he try to get control of the inheritance? He kidnaps the autistic brother. Since the brother is afraid to fly, they drive cross-country. They visit places (Las Vegas, fancy shopping malls) where the hotshot feels at home but which the autistic brother finds challenging - comically and touchingly.

-- To highlight the POTENTIAL CRISIS the hero faces

we'd focus on moments that dramatize the unexpected relationship developing between the brothers as the hotshot realizes how unusual his 'savant' brother is.

-- To emphasize what's at RISK for the hotshot

we'd hint at the secret that binds them and threatens the grandiose plans he has made.

LOGLINE FOR RAIN MAN:

A self-centered hotshot returns home for his father's funeral and learns the family inheritance goes to an autistic brother he never knew he had. The hotshot kidnaps this older brother and drives him cross-country hoping to gain his confidence and get control of the family money. The journey reveals an unusual dimension to the brother's autism that sparks their relationship and unlocks a dramatic childhood secret that changes everything.

That logline would convince me to read the script.

~~~~> LOGLINE FOR A PLOT-DRIVEN SCRIPT: SOME LIKE IT HOT

The set-up: Two male musicians witness the St. Valentine's Day massacre. When the mobsters pursue them, they try to elude them by joining an all-girl band headed for a gig in Miami.

What film clips would we use to create a commercial for this classic comedy?

We'd want to emphasize the accelerating COMIC COMPLICATIONS that result from the cross-dressing.

-- The sax player falls so hard for a sexy girl in the band that he creates a new male identity so he can pursue her.

-- The bass fiddle player struggles to keep from blowing their cover as he
dodges the comical romantic advances of an aging, nearsighted playboy.

We'd want to reveal the DANGEROUS COMPLICATIONS that the mob massacre promised upfront. We must reveal that the mobsters show up at the Miami resort where the 'girls' have a gig because their arrival complicates the love stories and pressures the heroes.

LOGLINE FOR SOME LIKE IT HOT:

Two male musicians accidentally witness the St. Valentines' Day massacre; to elude the mobsters who pursue them, they dress in drag and join an all-girl band headed for Miami. One of them falls for a sexy singer and poses as a Miami playboy so he can woo her; his pal has to dodge the amorous advances of the nearsighted Miami playboy he impersonates. Love conquers all -- till the mobsters show up at the same Miami resort for a convention.

Who wouldn't want to read that script?

CHECKLIST FOR YOUR LOGLINE

- Reveal the star's SITUATION
- Reveal the important COMPLICATIONS
- Describe the ACTION the star takes
- Describe the star's CRISIS decision
- Hint at the CLIMAX - the danger, the 'showdown'
- Hint at the star's potential TRANSFORMATION
- Identify SIZZLE: sex, greed, humor, danger, thrills, satisfaction
- Identify GENRE
- Keep it to three sentences
- Use present tense

How can you pack all that into three sentences? If you think of your logline as a commercial for the movie you've seen in your head as you've been writing the script, you'll breathe life and personality into those three sentences.

Try it. Your logline will ROCK!

_____________________
About the Contributor:

Lenore Wright has 15 years experience writing and selling screenplays in Los Angeles and New York. For her free tutorial on script formatting =>
www.breakingin.net/format_tutorial.htm

For script marketing tips SUBSCRIBE to her FREE newsletter SCRIPT MARKET NEWS
by email: newsletter@breakingin.net
_________________________

Please suggest a site here

Freelance Billing Help

Graphic Design Portal

Adobe Photoshop Tutorials

sister sites :

Freelance Self-Employed Jobs Directory

Graphics Software Information

All Work At Home Ideas

Tutorials Directory

All Freelance Work is a freelance jobboard, small business community, consulting business article base, and freelance self-employment business information zone (and also great for people who have home-based businesses). All Freelance Work has been around since 2000 and is the home to over 170,000 freelancers. With 100s of freelance articles and 30,000 registered employers of freelancers, we have helped 1000 of contracted independent professionals find the perfect consulting jobs. Spend some time on this freelance site and see why so many freelancers keep coming back to All Freelance Work day after day. We welcome all self-employed professionals and we welcome all employers looking to hire our independent professionals. (Employers Can Search or Browse for Portfolios from the bottom or top of this page).

CONTACT US ------ ADVERTISERS ------ FAQ ------ ABOUT US ------ PRIVACY POLICY ------ TERMS OF USELinks -----> folios--Adobe Photoshop Tutorials--All Work At Home Ideas--Freelance Jobs --Graphic Designers Resources--All Advertising Online--Artists Helping Children--Blue Sfear--ContractedWork--Family Travel Destinations -- Schools and Learning -- Find Dentists --Web Design Resources -- Graphics Software & Photoshop Tutorials -- Web Design -- Web Designers -- Web Design Portfolio

ARE YOU LOOKING FOR A FREELANCER - BROWSE THROUGH OUR FREELANCER'S PORTFOLIOS BELOW:

Freelance Graphic Designers Portfolios -- Freelance Animators Portfolios -- Freelance Multimedia Artists Portfolios -- Flash Artists Portfolios -- CAD Professionals Portfolios -- Freelance Copyeditors Portfolios -- Proofreaders Portfolios -- Creative Direction Portfolios -- Freelance Creative Directors Portfolios -- Fashion Designers Portfolios -- Film / Video / Audio Artists Portfolios -- Game Artists Portfolios -- Freelance Desktop Publishers DTP Galleries -- Illustrator and Illustration Galleries -- Free-lance Cartoonists Galleries -- Free-lance Industrial Designers Galleries -- Free-lance Interior Designers Galleries -- Marketing and Promotional Designers Galleries -- Muralists Galleries -- Faux Finishers Galleries -- Free-lance Photographers Galleries -- Powerpoint Artists Galleries -- Free-lance Presentation Artists Galleries -- Free-lance Translators Galleries -- Free-lance Web Designers Galleries -- Writers Galleries -- Journalists Galleries -- Contracted Web Developers Galleries -- Database Developers Galleries -- Contracted Web Copywriters -- Web Animators Portfolios -- Contracted IT Testers -- Contracted Tech Trainers -- Programmers Portfolios -- Contracted IT Networkers --Database Programmers -- Contracted Tech Writers -- System Administrators and Admins --Engineers -- Contracted Data Processors -- Contracted CPAs -- Contracted Accountants -- Financial Planners -- Contracted Bookkeepers -- Contracted Lawyers and Attorneys -- Financial Analyzers -- Investors -- Contracted Legal Assistants -- Contracted Paralegals -- Contracted Managers and Strategists -- Contracted Analysts -- Contracted Brand Strategists -- Contracted Customer Service Agents -- Contracted Business Development -- Self-Employed Advertisement Managers -- Self-Employed Marketers -- Self-Employed Sales -- Media Buyers -- Self-Employed Web Promoters -- Self-Employed Public Relations Agents -- Self-Employed Architects -- Self-Employed Engineers -- Event Planners -- Self-Employed Musicians -- Self-Employed Politics Advisors -- Recruiters -- Self-Employed Scientists -- Self-Employed Coaches and Trainers -- Entertainers -- Self-Employed Fitness -- HR Human Resources -- Self-Employed Real Estate Agents -- Self-Employed Retailers -- Self-Employed Trainers -- Self-Employed Data Administrators -- Self-Employed Transcriptionists -- Virtual Assistants