HOW TO WRITE A LOGLINE AND SYNOPSIS Logline: A logline is a one or two sentence summary of the story premise. It is designed to pique curiosity in the reader. To write a logline you need to pull right back from the story. A simple logline often follows this very simple structure: in this environment, this type of character finds themselves in this predicament. This website has some great advice about writing loglines: http://www.raindance.org/10-­‐
tips-­‐for-­‐writing-­‐loglines/ And here are some good examples (from http://thescriptlab.com/screenwriting/logline-­‐
library): THE BOURNE IDENTITY A man with amnesia discovers he is a governmental assassin who has been targeted for death by the organization that employs him. THE HOURS Three generations of women interconnect with the common theme of Virginia Woolf’s novel “Mrs. Dalloway.” LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE A dysfunctional family takes a cross-­‐country trip in their VW bus to get their seven-­‐year-­‐old daughter to the finals of a beauty pageant. TROPIC THUNDER A group of spoiled actors filming a war movie in Southeast Asia suddenly find themselves in the middle of real combat. It can seem like some films are easier to write loglines for than others. If you are really struggling either you need to pull further back from the story, or, it may be that the story itself is a bit muddled. PO BOX 46076 Auckland 1147
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Synopsis: We ask you to write a one page synopsis. In truth, this is practically impossible. But a fantastic story will shine through this torture. Once again you need to pull away from the detail of the story and give us the basic story outline as well as ‘the vibe of the thing’. Note that this type of synopsis is different than the blurb on a DVD or book cover which aims to entice you to watch or read and deliberately doesn’t include spoilers or give away too much. The type you have to write must tell us how the story is resolved. A common way of approaching this is by writing it in three paragraphs: Paragraph One – The set up. Situation, lead character/s. Problem. What will they do? Paragraph Two – The difficulties and complications of the story developing. Major turning points. (If your story has a three act structure, this would be the bulky 2nd Act.) Paragraph Three – The climax and resolution. We would advise you to focus as much as possible on the basic ideas and major beats of the story. Include emotional beats as well as action. DO NOT TRY TO TELL US THE WHOLE STORY! We want the overview, the best bits, the key beats. Summarise, list and collapse the details as much as possible. Even though this is extremely difficult, we are still looking for great storytelling! Try to show us you are a storyteller, hook us in, make us want to read more! There is some great advice about writing outlines on the internet. Here is a good description from an excellent document produced by Screen Australia. The one page synopsis The generally accepted idea of a synopsis is a one page document. (‘One page’ really does mean one page. No-­‐one is fooled by attempts to squeeze more onto a page by using a compressed font in 10 point with no paragraph breaks.) Like the one paragraph synopsis, the one page synopsis deals in WHO, WHAT and HOW, but also establishes the other major characters and their lines of conflict, what is at stake for these characters, the setting in time and space, and the major turning points of the story. The last is crucial; the key element of any synopsis is a clear indication of the story’s structure. That is, how the story begins, develops and ends. The synopsis must reveal the end if only to convince readers that there is one and that it is a logical, dramatic outcome of all that comes before. Although the one page synopsis is a selling document, it is not a teaser. It should not end in three dots… It should tell the complete story, not simply posit a premise that leaves readers wondering ‘what happens next’. Above all, what needs to be stimulated in the reader is not mere curiosity about ‘how the story turns out’, but an excitement about the possibility of this story as a movie. To summarise, the one page synopsis must include: the event, without which the story would not begin; the decisions and actions the characters make in pursuit of their goals; the obstacles and barriers they encounter and what they do about them; whether they win or lose; and where we leave them in the end. Despite its very compressed form, the synopsis does give the reader a sense of the characters because it includes their key choices and actions. And in a drama, choices and actions define character. Finally, screen drama (and we include documentary here) demands a story which develops in a cause-­‐ and-­‐effect way. The reader of the one page synopsis will want to see that the story develops and builds with rising tension, ever more loaded conflict and something of value riding on the outcome. “What is a Synopsis? An Outline? A Treatment?” (http://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/filmmaking/getting_started.aspx)