A logline is one sentence — sometimes two — that captures your screenplay. It's how you sell the project, how producers remember it, how readers decide whether to keep going past page one. If you can't logline your script, you don't yet know what you wrote.
The formula
A working logline contains four things:
- An ironic protagonist — someone uniquely unsuited to the situation
- An inciting incident — the thing that disrupts their world
- A clear goal — what they're trying to do
- The stakes — what happens if they fail
Examples that work
The Shawshank Redemption: "An innocent banker, sentenced to life in prison, befriends a fellow inmate while orchestrating a years-long plan to escape and clear his name."
Get Out: "A young Black photographer discovers that his white girlfriend's wealthy family is hiding a horrifying secret about what they do to people who look like him."
Whiplash: "A driven young drummer at an elite music conservatory clashes with an abusive instructor whose methods may either destroy him or make him great."
Notice how each one tells you the genre, the protagonist's specific obstacle, and what they want.
The 4-sentence test
If your logline isn't landing, write four sentences:
- Who is the protagonist (in three words)?
- What kicks off the story?
- What do they have to do?
- Why is this hard for THIS person?
Combine those four answers. Edit until you can say it in one breath.
Common logline mistakes
- Vague protagonist. "A man" tells me nothing. "A claustrophobic submarine pilot" tells me everything.
- Multiple goals. One protagonist, one objective. Subplots don't go in the logline.
- No ironic angle. A hitman becomes a hitman → boring. A hitman becomes a kindergarten teacher → I'll read it.
- Telling vs. selling. Don't summarize the plot. Sell the engine.
Good loglines fit on a Post-it. Great ones make you ask, "What happens next?" If your logline doesn't make a stranger lean in, your screenplay won't either.