An adventurous archeology professor tries to find the Ark Of The Covenant before the Germans in order to prevent them from using its power to take over the world. The film follows the professor as he searches for the Ark and battles against German forces. Key characters include the professor and the Germans who are trying to acquire the Ark. The film would be classified for mature audiences due to violence and wartime themes. Similar films that have inspired this idea include Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indiana Jones films.

1. Your Challenge
Part One: The Pitch
Create a sales pitch for an imaginary film
consisting of:
• a logline (a one or two sentence summary of
your film’s narrative)
• brief reference to the film's genre, stars,
narrative and audience.

2. Slide One
On this slide you should include the name of your film, its genre
and a tagline.
Taglines (often called slogans) are catchy, enticing short phrases
used by marketers and film studios to advertise and sell a movie
(create "buzz"), and to sum up the plot, tone or themes of a film.

3. What is the difference between a
logline and a tagline?
• A “logline” is a movie’s concept boiled down to one or
two sentences:
• On his deathbed, a father tells the story of his life the
way he remembers it: full of wild, impossible
exaggerations. His grown son tries to separate the
truth from the fantasy before it’s too late. [Big Fish,
2005]
• A “tagline” is a short, clever one-off slogan found on a
movie’s poster:
• An adventure as big as life itself.
• A logline can be thought of as the shortest possible
pitch of a movie — what a writer could use to sell an
idea to a buyer in just a sentence or two. Taglines are
used by marketing departments to sell movies to
audiences.

4. Tagline
• 10 Things I Hate About You: How do I loathe
theee? Let me count the ways.
• Alien: In space no one can hear you scream
• Braveheart: Every man dies. Not every man
really lives.
• Catch Me If You Can: The true story of a real
fake
• Final Destination: Death doesn’t take no for an
answer

8. Slide Two : Logline
• This slide will only contain your logline.
Remember, a good logline usually covers three
bases and it should be clear from your logline
what genre your film is:
1. It gives us the main character,
2. the main character’s goal,
3. and the central conflict in the story (what’s
preventing them from getting that goal).

9. What makes a great logline?
A good logline usually covers three bases.
1. It gives us the main character,
2. the main character’s goal,
3. and the central conflict in the story (what’s preventing
them from getting that goal).
The logline for Black Swan might be:
“A sheltered ballerina must train for the most
important role of her career while fighting off
fierce competition from her talented and
dangerous understudy.”
We have the main character (the ballerina), the goal (training
for her role) and the central conflict (the other ballerina
trying to steal the role from her). Bonus points if you can give
or allude to the hero’s defining characteristic. This is usually
done with an adjective. “A sheltered ballerina must train…”
gives us a lot more information than “A ballerina must train.”
And there it is. That’s your logline template.

10. On the eve of World War 2, an adventurous archeology professor tries to find the
mythical Ark Of The Covenant before the Germans, who plan on using the powerful relic
to take over the world. (Raiders Of The Lost Ark)
In a future where criminals are arrested before the crime occurs, a drug addicted cop
struggles on the lam to prove his innocence for a murder he has not yet committed.
(Minority Report)
After a thirteen year old outcast accidentally destroys a mixtape belonging to her
deceased parents, she struggles through an impossible journey to re-find each rare track
in hopes of finally connecting with the parents she never knew. (Mixtape)
A precocious and selfish high school playwright whose life revolves around his unique
private school, finds himself in a dangerous competition with its most famous and
successful alumnus for the affection of a first grade teacher. (Rushmore)
A reclusive sociopath must fight his way across the wasteland of a dangerous
postapocalyptic America to protect a sacred and mysterious book that holds the key to
saving the future of humanity. (The Book Of Eli)
Examples of Effective Loglines

11. Slide Three: Narrative
• An overview of the full story of the film – the
beginning, middle and end of the film’s
narrative including key plot points.
• (Make sure your full narrative includes key
features of your chosen genre)
• This should be written as a clear paragraph,
not as bullet points.

14. Slide Four: Key Characters
• An overview of the main character and any
significant characters.
• Who are they? What is their motivation?
What type of film stars would you choose to
play the character and why would they be
appropriate?

15. Slide Five: Costume and Make-Up
• On this slide you should include any
information on key items of costume and
make-up that will be important to your
narrative and to establishing who your
characters are.

16. Slide Six: Target Audience
• Use the BBFC website to identify which
certification your film should be given:
http://www.bbfc.co.uk/what-
classification/guidelines
• On this slide you should clearly explain the
aspects of your film that have contributed to
the classification you decided on.

17. Slide Seven: Similar Films
• This information in a pitch helps film
producers to get an idea of the kind of films
and, more importantly, show that there is an
established audience for this sort of film
• Write about two films you know that are from
the same genre as your film and have inspired
your film idea.