The January Logline Competition results are in! Check out these great examples of how to write a logline:
THE WINNER
Our winner is Lawrson Pinson with his logline for THE LAST DEFCON, an action adventure:
“Upon foreseeing the cataclysmic destruction of her city, a head-strong teenager must reunite a legendary guild of female vigilantes in order to thwart the genocidal ambitions of a ruthless anarchist.”
We love how much story this logline packs in. It feels like an awesome summer blockbuster that we’d definitely pay to see!
About Lawrson (@lawrsonpinson – Instagram – YouTube – Facebook)
Lawrson Pinson is an independent filmmaker and screenwriter with a passion for telling stories and creating new worlds for people to immerse themselves in. His goals include creating films for the big screen and furthering his knowledge of the vibrant and creative film industry.
THE FINALISTS
First, we have Sean Flaherty with his logline for TAKING THE FALL, a fantasy/comedy:
“When the conniving archangel Michael tricks him into falling from Heaven, naïve-but-plucky Lucifer must fight to save Mankind – and his bromance with God – by proving that even crude humans can light up a halo.”
This logline is irreverent, fun, and funny. We love how Sean has taken a familiar character and turned him into something unexpected and fresh.
About Sean ([email protected])
A spectacularly-ex-Catholic, Sean Flaherty has an MFA in screenwriting from Cal State Northridge.
Next, we have Nathan LeGrand with his logline for THE FORETELLING, an historic fiction:
“Plagued by horrific visions, a weary FDR must trust a southern root-doctor to defend the world against an occult overlord operating deep within Hitler’s war machine.”
This story is certainly different. We love how Nathan went out on a limb and created such a unique, intriguing story rooted in a fascinating historic time.
About Nathan ([email protected])
Nathan LeGrand is an actor, writer, and producer. He grew up in North Carolina and has been living in Los Angeles since 1977. At that time, he moved west with a few story outlines and a dream of writing. After a few stumbles, he began to study acting and slowly began to find work in Theatre, TV, and Film. Nathan is very grateful to say, with the process of researching and writing The Foretelling, he has returned to his first love of writing, which has certainly humbled him.
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The February Logline Competition is now open! Get those loglines in for detailed feedback and a chance at great prizes.
January 29, 2016 at 8:16 pm
Six more words can be trimmed from Pinson’s logline, thus:
“Foreseeing her city’s cataclysmic destruction, a head-strong teenager reunites a legendary guild of female vigilantes to thwart the genocidal ambitions of a ruthless anarchist.”
“Head-strong teenager” and “genocidal+ruthless” are almost pleonasms, but it’s already short enough.
February 2, 2016 at 10:46 am
Re: Loglines I’ve heard short and sweet, to the point is what Hollywood wants. One sentence…a short one. What say you?
February 2, 2016 at 11:06 am
In our years of experience, we have determined that an ideal logline is one sentence that’s between 30-35 words. Much longer, and it gets too complicated. Much shorter, and it’s not providing enough detail. If you have to break it into two sentences, it’s probably not a very high concept idea.