Loglines

It seems that one sentence summaries of screenplays are a well know thing, and in the jargon they are called loglines. The logline, holds prevailing opinion, can be used as a litmus test to determine the structural integrity of the narrative. This seems reasonable to me, and further research indicates that I need to revise my logline substantially.

There seem to be various, but substantially similar, formulas for loglines. The most simple logline formulation includes only protagonist, protagonist's goal, and antagonistic force. I also like this articulation of the logline formula from Joe Calabrese on the Absolute Write forums:

(A) must do (B) before (C) does (D) or (E) will happen.

ie. Luke Skywalker must destroy the Deathstar before it's completed or Darth Vader will destroy the Rebellion.

or A sheriff must kill the shark before it kills again and ruins the town's summer business.