I see a lot of verbiage bandied about but can someone please note a clear and concise distinction between a logline, a tag line, a premise and a theme. Thanx
Screenwriting : A clear Distinction? by Doug Nelson
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LOGLINE: A summation of the story in around 25 words: "A city born policeman has to overcome his fear of water in order to protect his town (and family) from a giant man-eating shark." (Loglines get their name from when a screenplay is logged into the development records. There's the title and a summation of the story, so they can go into that room of floor-to-ceiling bookshelves filled with scripts and retrieve the script... or go to the computer file these days. "Jaws" - was that the script about the killer shark or the person killing dentists? You can read the logline and know that "Jaws" is not "Compromising Positions" (about a dentist's murder).)
TAGLINE: The advertising line on the poster: "Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water..."
PREMISE: Similar to the logline - the idea of the story. The concept. "What's your story about?"
I like to think of it as - "My story is about a person (__________) who is forced to deal with their emotional problem (_______) in order to deal with a physical problem (________). If they fail to deal with the physical problem, (_______) will happen - destroying their life forever! (The stakes)" That gets all of the important information in there.
But Premise = Concept. The idea of the story.
THEME: "But what's your story really about?" The moral of the story or the element of the human condition you are exploring in your story. Everything in your story will usually be connected by theme - in my OUTLINES & THEMATIC METHOD book I look at a bunch of movies like WIZARD OF OZ which is not about "there's no place like home", but about how we don't need some outside magic thing (Wizard) to rescue us, we already have everything we need to rescue ourselves. The story is about a group of characters who are searching for outside solutions to problems but find the solutions within themselves. Dorothy has the slippers - she just needs to believe in herself, the Cowardly Lion has the courage, the Tim Man has a heart, the Scarecrow has a brain... getting the Witch's broomstick didn't solve anything (though watering the Witch did). You have the power to solve your own problems! Usually every scene, every character, everything in the story is connected to theme.
Every good story will have a "moral" of some sort or explore some issue or element of the human condition. That's what makes the story stick with us.
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In a nutshell...
Logline: A concise, brief summary (typically one sentence) that captures the central narrative or story plot of a film, book, screenplay or television program.Alien logline example: "After the crew of a commercial space vessel investigates a possible distress signal on a desolate planet, they inadvertently bring a deadly organism back onboard."
Tagline: A slogan or catch phrase or line of copy used for marketing.
Alien tagline example: "In space no one can hear you scream."
Premise: The story foundation or single core statement or initial state of affairs that drives the plot.
Alien premise example: Crew trapped on a space vessel try to stay alive as an alien monster hunts them down.
Theme: The main subject or idea or underlining meaning in a piece of writing, film, or book.
Example: The main themes of Alien revolve around fear, dread, and isolation, but also 'man versus the natural world'. Corporate greed over human life is thematic as well as the company wants this organism, the crew deemed expendable. Plus this film has also been noted to have some symbolic or overtones of sexual violence. Theme, of course, further expands in the following films of the franchise. ;) Hope that helps!
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Excellent and accurate explanation Beth! I can almost guarantee Doug already knew the answer but he is testing us! :)
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You can't argue with anything William says.
I think this is a modern take on a logline.
"A logline is not a synopsis but rather a mini-pitch which is all about selling the script. It must create excitement and intrigue in the reader.A logline is not a synopsis but rather a mini-pitch which is all about selling the script. It must create excitement and intrigue in the reader."
Taken from here.
http://www.scriptmag.com/features/visual-mindscape-the-kinetic-log-line?...
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William - excellent. Now I have to buy a copy of your book. Krista - you're on to my little game.