Now, that you've gotten your pilot written,
it's time to start putting together the materials to get it read.
"Well, I don't know about the rating.
We didn't discuss the rating."
Today, we're going to focus on the logline.
The logline is a sentence that encapsulates what your pilot is about.
There are a lot of theories and formulas
about how to write a logline.
"- What did you do today?
- I got up and came to work.
- There's a show, that's a show."
But we've looked at the best ones
and develop two options that we know will work for every show.
"If you want to just keep doing the same old thing.
Maybe this idea is not for you."
For our first formula,
there are four key elements that make a great logline.
An Inciting Incident.
A Protagonist.
An Action. And Antagonist.
An inciting incident,
it`s what happens to your protagonist that ends the normality of their first story
and begins the next chapter in their life.
Setting off the main plot of the show.
The protagonist is your main character.
If you're writing an ensemble show.
It's the catalyst character that everyone revolves around,
like JD in "Scrubs."
Or Michael in "Arrested Development."
The action is what protagonist has to do.
Like how Michael wants to keep his family
from spending corporate money on personal things.
"- We throw away banana for every buck we take,
so no one finds out.
- I think you should do that math again."
The antagonist is what's standing in the way of their action,
like Michael's mother Lucille spending money on everything they don't need.
"Luce, that coat cost more than your house.
Oh, that's how we joke. She doesn't even have a house."
So, for example, in "Stranger Things"
the disappearance of Will is the inciting incident that kicks off the story.
The whole town rallies around the cause including his close friends.
But they quickly find out that in order to find him.
They have to fight this guy.
There you have it.
An Inciting Incident. A Protagonist.
And Action and Antagonist.
Our second version is similar,
but adds two elements and removes one.
As you can see, the inciting incident is gone.
Instead, we have Protagonist.
Action.
Antagonist.
Goal.
Stake.
Similar to action,
our goal is the reason for the protagonist action.
Action, therefore, becomes more specific.
The protagonist does an action to obtain a goal.
"Star Wars" for example, we have an orphan kid
who joins Rebel forces, to fight Darth Vader,
and rescue a princess from the hands of certain death.
But here's the thing.
Studio Executives read hundreds of loglines.
Adding personality, color, texture and tone,
go a long way to writing a great logline.
For example, instead of just calling Luke "an orphan boy"
but "a spirited farm boy" gives us an image of him.
He joins Rebel forces to fight the evil Darth Vader.
Just adding that four-letter word and spirit and purpose.
Here`s another.
It's one thing to say,
"A Sheriff, Biologist, and Sailor
have to team up to fight a shark that terrorizes a beach."
It's another to say, "A local sheriff, a marine biologist,
and a salty Seafarer form an unlikely team
that must stop a Great White Shark
from taking more lives and ruining an entire beach community.
You already know the relationship between the characters
and the importance of their job.
And you haven't even read the script.
Not convinced?
Look at what we just have for "Stranger Things."
Now, watch as we apply specificity to the other logline option.
When a young boy disappears,
his mother, a police chief
and his three closest friends
must confront terrifying forces to get him back.
Using specificity allows for personality and tone.
It creates the small details that we relate to more personally.
See, you have two options for how you want to approach your logline.
Go ahead and download our logline template,
so you can perfect the version that works best for you.
Subscribe and then comment with your favorite character from "Stranger Things."
I'm going with Steve and yes, it's because of the hair.
"- It's not about the hair,man.
Faberge.
- What?
- It`s faberge organics?"