A LOGLINE is a one-or-two sentence summary of a film that highlights:

• the protagonist
• the conflict
• the stakes
• the tone

The FORMULA: When [inciting incident] happens, [protagonist] must [goal/action] before [stakes].

Some EXAMPLES:

• A computer hacker discovers the life he knows is an elaborate deception. 
• A cowboy doll is threatened when a new spaceman action figure replaces him as a boy’s favorite toy. 
• A wheelchair-bound photographer becomes convinced his neighbor has committed murder.
• The aging patriarch of an organized crime dynasty transfers control of his clandestine empire to his reluctant son.
• A Christmas Elf goes to New York City in search of his biological father, knowing nothing about life outside of the North Pole.
• A mermaid princess makes a Faustian bargain to become human for three days in an attempt to win a prince’s love.
• A young man is transported to the past, where he must reunite his parents before he and his future cease to exist.

Your logline is more likely to ADVANCE TO SCRIPT STAGE if it requires:

• fewer than three actors.
  
• fewer than three locations.
• few specialized period or historical costumes or props.
• minimal visual effects.
• no specific copyrighted properties (e.g., a girl thinks of her boyfriend every time she hears a Beatles song)