Nov
8
Logline: Examples
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A 17th Century tale of adventure on the Caribbean Sea where the roguish yet charming Captain Jack Sparrow joins forces with a young blacksmith in a gallant attempt to rescue the Governor of England’s daughter and reclaim his ship. (2/5: no inner journey, no antagonist)
Toula’s family has exactly three traditional values – “Marry a Greek boy, have Greek babies, and feed everyone.” When she falls in love with a sweet, but WASPy guy, Toula struggles to get her family to accept her fiance, while she comes to terms with her own heritage. (4/5: outer + inner)
A young man and woman from different social classes fall in love aboard an ill-fated voyage at sea. (4/5)
When a Roman general is betrayed and his family murdered by a corrupt prince, he comes to Rome as a gladiator to seek his revenge. (3/5: no inner, opposite of what it really is “‘ restore justice)
An older man is forced to deal with an ambiguous future after he enters retirement and his wife passes away. Ultimately, he finds hope as he comes to terms with his daughter’s marriage and his own life. (3/5)
A comedic portrayal of a young and broke Shakespeare who falls in love with a woman, inspiring him to write “Romeo and Juliet.” (2/5: no antagonism, only real life hook)
A journey of self-discovery by a brilliant mathematician once he was diagnosed with schizophrenia. He eventually triumphs over tragedy and receives the Nobel Prize.
An Epic tale of a 1940s New York Mafia family and their struggle to protect their empire, as the leadership switches from the father to his youngest son.
A meek and alienated little boy finds a stranded extraterrestrial and has find the courage to defy authorities to help the alien return to its home planet.
A boxer (hero) with a loser mentality (flaw) is offered a chance by the world champ (opponent) to fight for the title (lifechanging event) but, with the help of his lover (ally) must learn to see himself as a winner before he can step into the ring (battle). “Rocky.”
A jaded (flaw) WWII casino owner (hero) in Nazi-occupied Morocco sees his former lover (opponent) arrive (lifechanging event), accompanied by her husband (ally) whose heroism forces the hero to choose between his cynicism, his feeling for his ex-lover, and his once-strong feelings of patriotism (battle). “Casablanca.”
When a pathologically deceitful attorney gets zapped by his son’s birthday wish, he learns that he can no longer tell a lie even when he tries, so he must now win the biggest case of his career by being honest.
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Nov
8
Logline: Definitions
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Let’s start by saying what it isn’t.
It is not a tagline. It is not really a one-paragraph synopsis either. (and it’s definitely not a slug line)
The Australian Film Commission says:
“filmmakers are often asked to supply a one sentence version of their film story. This one sentence should give the most concentrated version possible of the story, or at least its key event.”
This definition is – to say the least – problematic. Do you know what a story’s ‘key event’ is? I don’t.
“For example, here is a one sentence plot premise for Somersault: “A teenage girl runs away from home, hoping to find herself through love, but the people she meets are as lost as she is…”
If this is the best logline possible for this film, the film does not have a story. There may be some sort of an inner journey but that is not enough for a successful film. The AFC document continues:
“This sentence is one way to describe what happens in Somersault. In this case, it gives us the starting event, implies further events and states the protagonist’s predicament.”
The writer of this statement should not give advice to filmmakers. Not only is it confusing, it is plain wrong. ‘A teenage girl runs away from home’ is most definitely NOT a ’starting event’. It is a deliberate action by that character, therefore it can not qualify for a strong inciting incident.
The Unknown Screenwriter (Unk) has a far more useful definition:
“Protagonist’s main character trait + Protagonist’s main function + main story conflict + central question + Antagonist or forces of antagonism + Protagonist’s goal and arc”
I found this for Gladiator, which is a perfect example of the above:
“The brave General Maximus, heir to the throne, is stripped from his powers and made a fugitive slave by his arch rival Commodus. In order to restore the power of the Roman Senate and avenge the murder of Marcus Aurelius he will have to fight and survive as a gladiator and ultimately confront Commodus.”
Because we have two sentences, it is not the ideal logline. But with some work, you can tighten this further without losing the essence:
“When the brave General Maximus is made a fugitive slave, he has to fight as a gladiator to confront his arch rival Commodus and restore the power of the senate.”
Unk also calls it a compass logline because:
“it’s the logline I create before I ever ever start writing. It always leads the way for me. It keeps me on track when I get off track and I tend to get off track ALL THE FUCKIN’ TIME.”
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Nov
8
Logline: Introduction
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McKee’s STORY gave me the illusion the logline is one of the last things you ever write. Why? Because during development, things can change.
Of course McKee is right. The creative process is unpredictable and you know where you start but you don’t know where you’ll end.
Really?
If you are assuming things can change SO much you will have a different logline, you may have a problem. You may not really have a story (yet).
The logline says exactly what your story is, in its purest and simplest form. It states what story you are trying to tell. If that changes, you are basically writing a different movie altogether.
One of the most exciting projects I have worked on had a problem in terms of its structure and POV. Numerous discussions with the writer lead to ever improving versions of synopsis and step outline. But we didn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel for quite a while.
One day the writer sent me a new synopsis and at the bottom of the page he had written a logline.
That day not only did we know we had a strong story, the development process suddenly found a clear direction.
Next: What is a logline? (Premium ) >>
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Nov
5
Plot Point: Introduction
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The essence of ‘plot point’ is the essence of drama, yet I find it hard to define. There will always be unresolved elements in its definition, much in the same way the responses to a kid’s unrelenting questions ultimately lead to the question about the Meaning of Life.
Inside the Plot Point lies the Meaning of Drama.
It’s about cause and effect, it’s about what a character DOES because of what it WANTS, it’s about the necessary action following an external trigger event. It is about what the character MUST do because of who he/she is.
Like the scorpion and the frog.
Syd Field launched the concept of ‘Plot Point’ in:
The PLOT POINT is an incident, or event, that “hooks” into the action and spins it around into another direction.
I must say I don’t find this definition particularly helpful. The outcome of a plot point is indeed a change of direction. But I would like to see ACTION included in some way into the definition. Linda Seger does this. She even calls it ‘Action Point’:
An action point is a dramatic event that causes a reaction. Usually this reaction causes another action. Since this action is dramatic and visual (not expressed through dialogue), it pushes the story forward.
Robert McKee introduces conflict into the plot point. The change of ‘direction’ becomes a change of ‘values’ and he calls them ‘Story Events’:
A Story Event creates meaningful change in the life situation of a character that is expressed and experienced in terms of a value and ACHIEVED THROUGH CONFLICT.
Because I have seen numerous failed movies, full of ‘events’ but without any resulting action from the protagonist, I strongly believe the following:
A plot point necessarily consists of two beats:
1. SOMETHING HAPPENS (THE EVENT)
2. SOMEBODY REACTS (THE ACTION)
To have a plot point, you need both sides of the equation: the external trigger + the action taken by the character. Do you notice how this is also the core structure of any story? The first element represents the Inciting Incident and the second is the First Act Turning Point. Add to this a third element:
3. THE REACTION IS SUCCESSFUL/UNSUCCESSFUL
And you have a skeleton three-act structure.
next: Brainstorming Plot Points (Premium) >>
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Nov
1
Mid-Point: One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest
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The two-disk release of ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’s nest features a great commentary by director Milos Forman and producers Michael Douglas and Saul Zaentz.
Forman is known for his ability to bring out phenomenal performances and with his trademark Czech accent he expands on his process, from selecting the cast to cutting their dialogue. Zaentz tells how people at the time didn’t recognise Jack Nicholson (yet), but asked Michael Douglas for autographs instead. The anecdotes are at times moving, as Forman tells about William Redfield’s illness during the shoot and his subsequent death of leukemia.
From a story point of view, I found it surprising to hear that Forman wanted to cut the fishing trip out of the movie. Apart from marking the story’s mid-point reversal, this sequence also gives us a taste of how McMurphy’s story could possibly end. But the director had a problem with the duration and as he says:
“I cut it down television style, under two hours. And you know what was funny? It felt much longer.”
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