Planning · ScreenwritingNO.151 / 166

Watch: Three puzzle pieces fall into place: who (the protagonist), wants what (the goal), blocked by what (the obstacle). With all three, that one sentence is the steering wheel for your whole film.A line-art demo that only illustrates the technique, not finished footage.

Planning · Screenwriting

Logline一句话梗概

One sentence that says who, wants what, and what stands in the way. If you can't say it, you haven't worked out the story yet.

Category: Screenwriting
Group: Basics
Medium: Planning
Library: 151 / 166

This is a step in making a film, not a visual technique. For the whole process, see Make an AI short from scratch.

Prompt templates are written from how generation models usually behave and have not yet been verified one by one with real generations. “Common pitfalls” are judgment from experience, not official limits.

When to use it

Before you generate any image; to ask people whether they'd watch it; to set the direction of each short-drama episode.

Prompt template

Turn my idea into 3 alternative loglines. Format: a [flawed or situated protagonist] wants [a concrete, visible goal], but [a strong obstacle], or else [stakes]. Max 30 words each. My idea: [write here]

Sample prompt · ask a chat model

This one is written for chat models like ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini: replace the ideas in brackets with your own and it will help you write the story or revise the script.

Turn my idea into 3 different loglines in this format: A [protagonist with a flaw or a predicament] wants [a concrete, visible goal], but [a powerful obstacle]; if they fail, [the cost]. Keep each under 30 words and say which one would work best as a 60-second vertical short. My idea: on Lunar New Year's Eve, a delivery rider who just lost his job wants to get back to his hometown for the reunion dinner, but he never told his family he lost the job.

Common pitfalls

The protagonist has no goal and just goes through some things.
A goal too abstract (wants to be happy) to film.
No obstacle, so the story runs smoothly to the end and no one wants to watch.

Parameter tips

The goal has to be filmable (catch a bus, get a letter back); write 3 versions and pick one.