BAS - Genre & Log lines [26.2.24]
Hello folks, as you know I'm starting my Bachelor of Screen Arts this week, and I thought because I love to learn and share that knowledge, it would be fun to share some of what I'm learning :)
Today, we learned about genre & log lines, which, might not sound interesting or pretty basic at first. But there's surprisingly a lot of cool stuff here & EXAMPLES! :D
Genre is a style or category of film, art, music & literature with a defined set of characteristics that allows examples to be grouped by others.
For video games, the same goes, except genre also includes how the player interacts with the game. E.g. RPG or FPS.
What's interesting, is that genre changes over time. An action movie today, won't be the same as an action movie from 30 years ago. It's how they evolve, change and develop which keeps them new and interesting. What elements are repeated is what keeps audiences feeling safe with something they'll like, and what elements are different (whether it's abiding by or subverting standard conventions), is what keeps in interesting, so the audience doesn't get bored by the same carbon-copy films.
Log line are a summary of a story's essential ingredients in a way which isn't bogged down with details, but is able to capture the listener's interest.
E.g. 'A plucky hen struggles to escape a cruel farmer. When a rooster from the circus arrives, a crack team assemble - Can they get out before the chicken pies get cooked?'
-> Chicken Run
I thought this was really cool. I've tried to do this in the past, and mine always sound washy and long.
So for fun (& practice), I wrote the log line for Lost Children of the CCC:
'A reformed criminal with the power to reverse time is unable to save his friends from a notorious clan of criminals. Desperate to change their fates, he rewrites reality, unknowingly unearthing a dark secret of the past. Can him and his friends survive? Or will they be the next victims of Project Harmonious?'
That sounds SO COOL! Like, this is what I currently have on A03 for the same story:
'It was meant to be the perfect ending, It was meant to be a happy ending with his closest friends Charles & Ellie, It was meant to be HIS happy ending... ... and then the Toppat's happened. But not this time. Henry Stickmin is getting his happy ending, no matter the consequences.'
My current version, it sounds cool like an awesome blurb, but it's very cryptic and unclear. It gives us character names and tells us that someone or thing, called the 'Toppats' ruined this guys happy ending, and he's out for revenge. But that's it. It just tells us a revenge story.
The log line on the other hand is very clearly and easily presents the main character, the stakes, and enough of the plot that you know what happened, and a little bit of how.
The log line clearly has elements of an action/thriller (Ex- criminal vs criminal clan & hints of survival or death), sci-fi (time travel) and mystery ('dark secrets of the past').
All things which are exactly what this story is: An action mystery thriller, with aspects of sci-fi & fantasy. (I know, fantasy isn't technically in there, but the time travel is a part of a magic system in my world, not the sci-fi part (the sci-fi refers to Project Harmonious), so, fantasy.)
