The
Great Movie and TV Loglines Contest
Contest Details And How To Win
Here are a few key suggestions and directions that might help
you do better in this contest:
1. Get help. Learning to write great loglines is
not just
helpful in this contest. It is the difference between
catching
the interest of a potential buyer or agent or losing the opportunity.
We have listed several helpful free resources below.
2. Register early rather than late. If we receive too many
registrations, we will cut off entries in order to complete the judging. Yes, DO rewrite your logline and
run it by people whose judgment you trust before you enter.
But then...
3. Consider entering a couple of versions of the same logline.
Yes, we do require a separate registration fee for each
entry,
but this contest is inexpensive, and you will receive separate feedback
on each properly submitted logline.
So for a little more than $10 each, you can get feedback from
professional contest judges, on your different versions of your
logline(s) and use the best. That is potentially very
valuable
feedback!
4. Read the prize list and the contest rules.
You need to know the big and little details like what happens if the
submission server gets overloaded at the deadline. (There is a plan and
a rule, but that is also another reason to enter early.)
5. If you are a "Master" screenwriter, why pay extra
to enter? Two reasons:
– We will list
“Master” logline
winners first in the article in Creative Screenwriting Magazine and on
this web site.
– It is highly possible that
as a master screenwriter, you can
get a meeting, or even get multiple bidders because you have a finished screenplay. So the dissemination of
your
winning logline is likely to be more valuable than for the other
contest levels.
6. Why enter at all if you're a complete Newbie?
Three great reasons:
– This contest puts you on almost equal footing with longtime
professionals in terms of getting your script idea before the eyes of
producers, agents, and managers.
– It is possible that even as a complete amateur with no
screenwriting experience, your story could be so compelling that you
could get a meeting or meetings with producers.
– Feedback. Wouldn't you want to hear from a
professional
script judge that your idea is worth investing the time and
effort
to learn how to write a screenplay and complete the screenplay?
Equally important, many writers get their hopes up and spend a lot of
time working on stories that simply have no market. And among
beginners, some need to hear, "It's not a story." Wouldn't you rather
move on to a better story than waste months trying to write a bad one?
7. "What if somebody steals my logline, or my entire story
idea, after you publish the logline?"
Many loglines are similar and some are nearly identical. It
can't
be helped because there are only so many plot lines, and you are
writing no more than 250 characters. So there are bound to be
some closely similar loglines.
Regarding "stealing" your entire story from a logline: it can't be done
unless your story is so simplistic or so dependent on one gimmick that
it's naught but a cookie-cutter cookie. Every
writer would
write a different story from the same story line.
In fact, see our own Cyberspace Open at http://cyberspaceopen.com.
In that contest (also a very low entry fee, and running now), every
entrant writes one scene from the same scene premise. And
what
happens is that every scene comes out completely different from every
other scene. See for yourself -- Last Spring's winning
scenes,
and videotaped readings of them, are posted at that web site.
It is who the characters are and how their inner natures drive the
action that differentiates one story from another.
Bottom line: no one can steal a good story from your logline.
|
 |
|
How To Write a GREAT Logline
|
|
Dream Up A Movie
Logline* And
Use This Contest
To Get It To Hollywood Producers And Agents
*What
is a logline?" It is a pithy, descriptive sentence or two
– or it can be even less than a sentence –
describing what a script is about and its unique qualities.
A
great logline is not merely descriptive; it is enticing.
A
logline is advertising for your script. So,
to borrow a phrase from advertising, it
“sells the sizzle, not the steak.”
Here
are some resources on loglines:
From
our friends at the Writers’ Store:
http://www.writersstore.com/writing-loglines-that-sell
From
the knows-all-about-everything-or-strives-to Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Log_line
From Christopher Riley,
author of The Hollywood Standard: The Complete and
Authoritative Guide to Script Format and Style, and with his wife and
co-writer Kathleen Riley, (both produced screenwriters):
http://www.scripthollywood.com/id30.html
From
Scriptologist:
“”How
does a logline help you sell your screenplay?
“When
your screenplay is ready to sell, your query letter to agents,
producers, and directors must contain a logline. Sometimes, they don't
read past the logline. So, if you don't grab them with your logline,
you won't have any chance of getting them to read your entire
screenplay.
“If
you speak to a producer, director, or agent, that person will ask you:
"What is your script about?" You will have 30 seconds to describe the
plot in a captivating way.”
—
Scriptologist at http://www.scriptologist.com/Magazine/Tips/Logline/logline.html
Ted
Pedersen at Ehow.com:
Ted
Pedersen, who has had more than 150 of his teleplays and screenplays
produced, offers these tips in the article, “How to Write a
Great Logline for Your Screenplay” at eHow:
“--Often loglines work better as a sales tool than
screenplays do. Agents and producers look for easy outs when dealing
with unproduced writers. Loglines provide less for them to say no to
than a detailed synopsis or a complete script does. This can be a plus.
“– Some writers simply summarize their
movie--set-up, conflict and resolution. Don't limit yourself to the
set-up or the plot, emphasize the unique elements of your script that
enable audiences to connect with the situation and identify with the
hero. Think of the logline as a commercial for your movie.”
Read
more of his tips at:
http://www.ehow.com/how_2170716_write-great-logline-screenplay.html
Among
those resources, and perhaps with a minimum of additional searching on
your own, you will know everything you need to know about writing a
great logline.
So
write– and submit your great loglines to this new, unique
contest!
|
|
|
