Major Project: Early Editing Practice & Experience

In editing, I have previous experience of using Adobe Premiere Pro, such as my summer project video for the start of university and my first university project: 'The Meeting'. But over my time at university, I began solely using Final Cut Pro. While I've gained a large amount of experience, knowledge and skill within this editing software, I feel that Premiere is a far better program to use when trying to gain experience in professional editing - as Premiere is a software that much more closely resembles industry standard editing software such as Avid.

Practice Workshop

In light of this, I decided to gain further knowledge and experience in using Adobe Premiere Pro for my major project and future use. I firstly did this by asking for a one-on-one workshop with the course's technical adviser, who's also a skilled editor, back in the first term of third year.

During the workshop I was taught the most professional ways to navigate the program, learning the correct shortcuts, workflow and two-screen layout of the software when editing. Making lots of notes, I learned the individual shortcuts for basic actions on the editing timeline, along with using practice footage to create a well-timed, smooth sequence.

My rough notes from the workshop

A guide book provided after the workshop

A one-screen/monitor example of my workshop material/timeline

I found the workshop to be very helpful, not only in gaining further experience in navigating the software, but in learning the most professional ways to do so.

Showreel

Recently, I completely recreated my professional showreel, not only by cutting it slightly differently and adding new material, but by doing so all within Premiere. I found this to be great practice in editing a professional sequence together, alongside using text and effects within that sequence. I think that the end result is clean cut and smooth.

An example of my Showreel Premiere timeline

View my Showreel Here

I found both of these editing practices to be very helpful in getting back into using Premiere, and feel that alongside further practice and research my skills will strengthen.

Major Project: Double Exposure

For the rest of the academic year, I will be working on a group project that has been previously written and planned in several areas last term by the director and DOP. The project is a short psychological drama film called Double Exposure. This will be further written, planned, directed, shot, edited and produced by our group, ready for submission in May this year.

Collaboration

Screenwriter/Director: Jordan Parker
Producer: Wesley Denne
DOP: Harry Taylor
Editor: Myself

Before beginning the third year of the course, the four of us had decided to work together, due to previous successful and co-operative experiences of working in a group together, and finding that each other's skills and attitudes are very useful for working on a project as a group. Alongside this, the four of us have a keen interest in our roles and genre choice, with no one having to settle on their position within in the crew.

Holding meetings before the beginning of the academic year, we made a good start by brainstorming a number of ideas as a group, before Wez and I began our own separate projects for term one, and Jordan and Harry continued work on the project. I personally felt that I would be able to add to my portfolio of work and achieve a more detailed and higher standard of work by focusing on a different project for the first term, and then joining Double Exposure for the rest of the year to play a key role in it's filming and post-production development.

Within the first term I was kept up to date with all project developments in order to be knowledgeable of the project when joining. This included updates on a large amount of idea development (leading to the creation of Double Exposure), reading script drafts to give my insight and be up date with the story, viewing shot lists, viewing location images, and reading the package features produced by Jordan at the end of term. I feel that these consistent updates have allowed me to know exactly how the project has been developing throughout the year, without needing to learn about the project when starting work on it now. I feel very confident in working with my group for the rest of the year.

My Role

I have taken on the roles of Film Editor and Sound Editor for Double Exposure. This is because I have a very high interest in post-production - especially editing, and I am keen on becoming an editor in my career path. So undergoing these roles in the project will greatly strengthen my skills and portfolio. I've also successfully edited all of my university work to a high standard, so my group has confidence in my abilities.

While usually in the industry, there would be separate editors for editing the visuals of a project and editing the sound in a project, I will be taking on both of these roles myself. This is due to the fact that as a group, it's preferable that all editing stays within our team instead of using outside help in this specific area, and I'm very keen to undertake both of these roles in the project to have a bigger challenge and play a larger role in the film's creation.

In the past, I have always colour graded and added text, graphics or opening titles/credits to my own work. However in this project, DOP Harry will be taking on these tasks. Because of that fact that firstly, he (in conversation with the director) will have pre-existing knowledge of exactly how each shot needs to be lit and coloured, he has experience in using Adobe After Effects to create any text or graphics, this allows him to work on post-production as well as pre-production & production of the film, and lastly, this gives me much more time to focus on solely on editing the visuals and sound alone. Without my attention being focused on too many areas.

So, my tasks for the project are as follows...

• Editing Research: During both pre-production and post-production, I will be consistently researching and learning as much as possible about my roles, editing styles, techniques, examples, professionals and more, in order to highly strengthen my work.

• Journal Entries: I will evidence the above, alongside my workflow and work development throughout the entire academic year on my R&D journal.

• Pre-shoot Editing Checks: I will conduct several editing checks by reviewing the DOP's shot lists and the director's scripts before filming, in order to make sure that each shot and scene will cut together smoothly and effectively in the editing process.

• Creating Dailies/Rushes: At the end of each shoot day, I will work behind the scenes to make quick cuts of the footage - deciding on whether there needs to be re-shoots or if extra footage needs to be shot for each scene. These daily cuts of each scene that are filmed and given to me will then be shown to the producer and director on the following day for their input on the results. This job will ensure that we get a lot of coverage and that everything will cut together smoothly in post-production.

• Film & Sound Editing: In post-production I will create a number of cuts of the film, these being the rough assembly, rough cut, fine cut & final cut. Although when editing in the early stages I will work alone, I will consistently have my work reviewed by the director, producer and DOP to gain their feedback and ideas. I will also collaborate with the DOP in order to use his colour graded footage and any text or graphics that he has created later in post-production, along with giving my insight into this.

• Delivery: I will stick to the schedule that my producer has previously created, delivering each cut of the film by specific deadlines. And delivering the final, finished film in the correct format for submission.

I feel very confident in all of the above tasks, as I have a lot of experience of almost everything, but I will also learn a lot of new techniques, undertake brand new tasks and learn new skills in editing.

Research & Preparation

During the course of the project, I will conduct specific, key research that will strengthen my work and help me to learn.

Evidenced in my R&D journal I will be doing the following...

• Editing Practice: With the help of a professional along with general practice, I will aim to improve my skills, experience and knowledge of Adobe Premiere Pro, in order to make the editing process of Double Exposure run as smoothly as possible.

• Role Research: I will conduct thorough research into the roles of a film editor and a sound editor.

• Editing Techniques & Style Research: I will learn about specific styles, techniques and examples of the typical practices of editing.

• Professional Editors Research: I will research 2 professional, famous editors within the industry, learning about who they are, where they've worked, what on, how they work, their experiences and so on.

• Contacting Editors: I plan to contact professional editors with a questionnaire on their experience in the industry to gain further insight on the role.

• Genre Research: I will research psychological thrillers and short film psychological thrillers to gain insight on their overall styles and editing techniques.

• Film & TV Reviews: I will watch and analyse a number of films specific to our own genre, with focus on their editing styles.

• Dailies/Rushes Editing Research: New to these techniques, I will research these tasks as an editor and their impact on production.

• Editing Workflow Research: I will research the typical workflows and structuring that film editors use and incorporate this into my own workflows for editing Double Exposure.

All of this extensive research, practice and preparation will aid me in doing the best job that I can as an editor.

First Tutorial Feedback & Changes

Initially, my role within the film's production was planned on being a combination of continuity adviser during shoot days, promotions producer, and editor. Giving me the tasks of creating Double Exposure's promotional images and posters in pre-production, the tasks of undergoing continuity checks during filming, and then my role as editor in post-production.

However, after a group meeting and a tutorial with my tutor, I was given a much more important and localised task in place of continuity adviser - the task of quick cut editing in dailies/rushes. I'm extremely pleased with this change, as I feel that it will highly impact the outcome of our shoots, as opposed to a less impact-full task of maintaining continuity. This also gives me experience in something new, and is more specific to being an editor.

Also, I was advised through feedback that I may achieve a higher standard of work if I focus solely on editing preparations and research as opposed to creating promotional materials. While I always have confidence in my abilities to multi-task, I agree that editing focus is a far better use of my time and avoids my attention straying.

I'm very glad that all of my work for the major project will be completely focused on the editing aspects of the film, as this will be very beneficial to the project and my future work.

Professional Pre-Production: Critical Reflections

Now that all of my work is completed, I'm able to look back over this whole term and reflect on the results of my work, the biggest challenges that I faced, what I feel was the most successful, what I would improve on, and what I've learned.

Biggest Challenges

Initial Story Idea: I found that at the start of the project, I struggled to come up with a solid idea for my overall story. While knowing early in the term that I wanted to create a hypothetical three-part series, I needed an entertaining plot. With the help of tutor and peer feedback, and a large amount of research on story structuring, I was able to create the beginning story for The Identity - along with its catchy title.

Casting: In some areas, casting felt natural. From the start of creating the characters of Lauren, Helen, and Ethan, I was automatically envisioning them as the now confirmed cast of Tatiana Maslany, Felicity Huffman and Michael B. Jordan, as they were so right for the roles. However in other areas, I spent a large amount of time researching a variety of actors and actresses to portray the remaining roles, struggling to find the right fit. Especially with a character that no long exists (Evelyn) and Chris, as I changed their casting during the project, and eventually scrapped Evelyn altogether. While it wasn't smooth and simple in the casting process, I feel that the problems I faced were a learning curve and added to project development.

Synopsis: This felt like my biggest challenge, having never written a series or episode synopsis before, I was inexperienced in the process. My initial draft of both the series and episode synopsis proved to be too detailed in action, too long, and not visually descriptive enough for a conventional synopsis. I feel that in the first few drafts, I struggled to grasp the ways to write effectively, but with a lot of tutor feedback, I was able to achieve descriptive and entertaining synopsis across all areas that really capture my story.

What I'm Happiest With

Characters: I think that from early in my project, the characters that I was developing for the story started quite strong, and just got stronger. I feel like they were able to really come to life and be believable as watchable and realistic characters that all connect with each other. By researching character types, development and profiles before beginning all of my work on characters, this seemed to really help to improve them.

Broadcasting Channels Choice: I'm very glad that with tutor feedback I decided to use international co-productions for my series, as, after researching further, I found that this was the best way to broadcast a series that stars international cast and locations, along with broader possibilities for crew and marketing. After researching a number of international co-productions between American and England, I decided on AMC and BBC One, which I'm very happy with because they suit the show perfectly and allowed my creative possibilities to open up.

Opening Titles Editing: While there are areas of the opening titles that I would improve, I'm extremely happy with my editing style of the video. I enjoyed being able to produce this type of material in my project and incorporate editing into this term. I think the music selection, colourisation, cutting and text suit the series very well and are enjoyable to watch.

Marketing: One of the most enjoyable areas of the project, I loved creating all of the promotional material for The Identity. Through researching all marketing areas of both my channels, I was able to split and vary the creations that I produced, which I feel gave this area diversity. I'm pleased with how much I was able to create in such a small amount of time, producing two promotional images, two fake websites, five posters, a billboard, and a bus advertisement, all on my own, using online and my own images, and Photoshop.

Package Website: I'm very happy with the end result of my series package. I have no regrets about changing my idea to using a website instead of a book, as it's much more suited to my project and gave me a lot more creative freedom. I enjoyed creating each part of the website and developing the areas throughout the term, and I think the result is easy to use, professional and supports my project a lot.

What I would Improve

Opening Titles Content: While I'm very happy with the end result of my opening titles, I think if I could have (unrealistically) travelled across Philadelphia and London and used a large amount of realistic footage for my titles, it would obviously look a lot better. But I do feel that I made the best out of what was available to me, and achieved the look that I wanted from my footage.

There is only a very small amount that I would want to improve, as with careful planning, scheduling and organisation, I always made sure to leave myself enough time to improve and develop all of my work, making sure that nothing was rushed or not how I wanted it.

What I've Learned

I've learned that conducting a lot of research alongside tutor feedback is absolutely key in all projects. Without this research and feedback my work wouldn't be at the standard that it's at now, and I feel that they both really helped me to understand every area of my project before beginning or completing work on them.

I'm also glad that I faced challenges in the project, as these helped me to learn the ways in which to overcome them and ways to avoid problems in the future. And I'm also extremely proud of myself for the amount I've achieved in a very short amount of time, creating fourteen large, detailed and exciting areas of my work, all in a solo project.

In relation, I've learned that planning and organising is everything. From the start of the term I created my own timetable and a list of tasks to complete for every single day since September, by sticking to this, I was able to complete everything on time and to a high standard.

This has been the most challenging project that I've completed so far, pushing me to work harder than I ever have before. But at the same time I've enjoyed this project more so than any others, and I think my hard work has created fantastic results.

Professional Pre-Production: Package Creation & Results

From early in the term, I decided to begin the creation of my website and start adding each feature after the completion of each area. For example, finishing my broadcasting channel research and decisions, then soon after adding them to my package etc. This allowed me to stay on top of my work and complete each part of the package while it was fresh in my mind.

Overall, I have mostly continued with my initial plan for my package, with some features being removed and some added, and the format that it's presented on has changed. But the end result is extremely insightful and supportive in looking into every area of my miniseries creation.

Package Features

Synopsis: This section includes the series' pitch & logline, alongside the final series synopsis, and all final episode synopsis. Giving the reader descriptive and clear information on the series' plot.

Broadcasting Channel: This includes researched information on international co-productions, BBC One and AMC. And the ways that The Identity is well suited to the channels. With channel and television series example images.

Schedule & Run Times: To give clear representations of the series being made for these channels, exact run times are presented for each episodes in chart form.

Characters: Supported by many suitable character images, short bios and in depth character profiles are presented professionally for all characters to portray their exact personalities, lifestyles and appearances.

Cast: These pages tell the reader who each actor and actress is, about their previous work, and why they're suitable to their characters. Along with professional photos of each cast member.

Crew: This section is made up of researched role descriptions to provide information on each crew member's job and importance in the production, crew bios, previous work, written and image portfolio examples, and why they're suited to the production. Alongside images of the crew where possible.

Locations: This page consists of all location types from the start to finish of the story, discussing where and why they're used, their themes and their colour schemes. With a large amount of image examples.

Visual Style: These pages include a researched definition of visual style, and very descriptive definitions and examples of all themes, cinematography and lighting that would feature in the series, with how, where and why. With many images to support this.

Editing Style: Similar to visual style, these pages include a researched definition of editing style, with very descriptive definitions and examples of all colour grading, cutting and pacing, and editing techniques that would feature in the series, with how, where and why. Alongside many example images and videos.

Branding: This section explains the importance of branding in the series, along with the fonts that were used and the series' finalised logo - with where, how and why, alongside colours, styles and sizes per series element (such as promotional posters, website etc.). Also, a personalised colour chart is presented with an explanation to how and why it used in each element. With example images of each area.

Concept Images: These pages discuss how and why my concept images are useful for the series' visuals and promotions, along with featuring all five concept images individually, with in depth descriptions and their original images to accentuate the end results.

Marketing: This section is one of the largest, with descriptions of The Identity's marketing style and the broadcaster's effects on marketing. With pages on the promotional images created, with how and why they were made, alongside where they're used, and the original images and the final images. The next two pages are on the series' BBC One and AMC marketing, with researched information on their conventional promotional styles, and detailed descriptions and images on the BBC One trailer and website, and the AMC website, posters, billboard and bus advertisement.

Opening Titles: This page features researched descriptions on the uses of opening titles and their common features, along with explanations of my opening titles' length, features, visuals, themes, editing style, sound and why it's suited to the production. And most importantly, the page features the opening titles video itself, able to be viewed on the website, and key image stills from the video.

Together, every one of these features provides all of The Identity's important information and visuals that I have envisioned and created.

The Advantages of Creating a Website

Initially, I intended to create a hard copy book as my package. But when considering other options, and reviewing my past work, I realised that creating a website was a much better option for me and my project's elements.

By using a website to present The Identity's package, I was able to use my previous knowledge and experience in creating websites to contribute to it's professional look, and a smooth, unproblematic creation of the site. The website also allows for access at any time for anyone simply with an internet connection - something that is unavailable with a book. And lastly, and most importantly, the website allows for interactivity and accessible visuals. With my project being one that is extremely visual based, the ability to use an unlimited amount of images and visuals that can be enlarged, used in galleries and slideshows, and viewed as many times as required, greatly supports my project elements.

Above & Below: An example of the website's interactivity and visual elements. With the contents permanently at the header of the website, the site is easy to use. Along with the home page consisting of all contents of the package with professional and supportive aesthetics and images (the images consist of relative themes of London, Philadelphia, travelling, loneliness, and identity).

Above & Below: An example from Promotional Images, Marketing. This represents how the website allows for not along descriptions, individual images and a large image. But that the smaller images can be clicked on and enlarged through website tools (below).

Above: This part of the Opening Titles page shows the video presented and constantly available for the viewer, as opposed to having to watch a hard copy of it instead.

Finished Package

The finalised website package for The Identity has a large amount of information, visual content and professionalism. Below are descriptions of how and why each element was added to the package...

Firstly, the overall layout of the website was decided when creating my very first page, Broadcasting Channel. When testing a number of tools, fonts, colours and layouts, I decided on using one block colour as the cover page, consisting of blue, black and white in particular orders across all pages. I then decided on my branded fonts (which are explained in my Branding post), and decided to create an article/column style of text layout and simple middle-of-the-page text, separated by simplistic lines, depending on appropriateness for content. When deciding on backgrounds, I wanted them to alternate in a similar way to the block colours, but remain consistent throughout the website. I decided on textured black and white backgrounds to achieve this.

In terms of speech, I wanted to consistently avoid saying words such as 'I' or 'my', in order to keep the package completely professional. All text consists of professional speech, with researched quotes from professional sources and cast members (all research can be found on my journal, with referencing links). I feel that the quotes on certain pages adds to this stylish, high quality approach.

I also found that something that adds to the high-end and entertaining style of the website is using tagline for every page, providing brief descriptions on what the viewer is about to read. I think this is informative, unique and draws the reader in.

Lastly, by using images and videos that I carefully selected from my blog, along with more of these that were carefully selected specifically for the package, I made sure that every single visual element included in the pages were highly supportive of the content surrounding them, and appealing for the viewer.

Below are three examples of the above. The Broadcasting Channel page is an example of everything just discussed, the Synopsis page is an example of the continued use of these elements, along with the argument that the stylish layout makes a page aesthetically pleasing to look at even without images or videos, and the Visual Style section is another example of my layout, speech and quotes...

Reflections

On reflection of my package work, I think that the amount of time and effort that I put into presenting a high-quality website has shown through. I think that the package is easy to navigate around, provides extensive amounts of information across all areas of the series and is enjoyable to view due to it's branding, images and videos.

With so much opportunity to change and develop the website, there isn't anything that I would change, as when those opportunities have arisen, I've been able to do so with ease. I think that the package achieves all content from this journal without unnecessary areas included, greatly improved professionalism, and large quantities of improved on and newly added content and visuals.


Here is the finalised website package for The Identity...

www.theidentitytv.wixsite.com/home

Professional Pre-Production: Branding Research & Creation

The branding of The Identity has slowly been established and created over time when producing each part of my work. For example, I decided on the main font and logo when beginning my package website and have incorporated this into each cut of my opening titles so far, along with my package, as I feel that the styles worked together.

Each part of the series' brand plays a major role in how the show would be presented to the public and the types of moods, content and overall style that they would be able to draw from the brand. Before narrowing down each component of this, I researched real life examples of style guides, finding a Channel 4 guide that I found extremely helpful.

Channel 4 Identity Style Guide [1]

While the guide is for a channel as opposed to a television series, the same style and branding rules apply in a number of areas. Drawing inspiration on where to focus my branding elements from this guide, my brand is made up of fonts, a logo, colour schemes, a log-line, taglines, and how these effect marketing and the opening titles.

Fonts

The selected fonts for The Identity's package, opening titles and promotional materials are variations of the fonts Lulo Clean and DIN Next. I found these through firstly searching through a number of downloadable fonts that proved to not be the mix of modern and bold that I was looking for. I then looked through the Wix website designer fonts that were available and found two that work extremely well together and suit the themes of the series.

Lulo Clean in bold is the most commonly used font across all platforms, mostly used for key information such as cast names, headings, and most importantly, the logo. All in caps, and very sharp yet rounded, I found that this font allows for clear writing, a stand-out appearance and a modern and serious look that suits the series and its uses.

Sizes:

60pt in opening titles cast & production names

40pt in package contents headings

10pt in package contents subheadings

18pt in package page headings

12pt in package page subheadings

Colours:

Opening Titles - Black

R: 0   G: 10   B: 16

Opacity: 100%

Package - Lighter Black

R: 40   G:  47   B: 54

Opacity: 100%

Package - White

R: 255   G: 255   B: 255

Opacity: 100%

Lulo Clean regular is a lighter version of the above bold variation, that allows for stylistic contrast when using the two fonts together. For example putting a cast member's first name in regular, and their surname in bold in the opening titles.

Sizes:

60pt in opening titles cast & production names

Colours:

Opening Titles - Black

R: 0   G: 10   B: 16

Opacity: 100%

DIN Next Light is used for descriptive writing across the promotional and package platforms. This allows variation from the use of Lulo Clean, and as a font that works in upper and lower case forms, it is more suitable as a font that provides larger or more descriptive pieces of information. I think the similar mix of rounded and sharp suits the above fonts as well as the series very well, with a less intense appearance.

Sizes:

14pt in promotional posters

50pt in promotional billboard

24pt & 48pt in promotional bus ad

15pt in package page text

Colours:

Promotional Posters/Billboard/Bus Ad - White

R: 255   G: 255   B: 255

Promotional Bus Ad - Blue

R: 85   G: 120   B: 160

Package - Lighter Black

R: 40   G:  47   B: 54

Opacity: 100%

Package - White

R: 255   G: 255   B: 255

Opacity: 100%

The italic style of DIN Next is used mostly for quotes within the package platform, to clearly and conventionally indicate that the text has come from a different source. This also adds variety to the font styles.

Sizes:

15pt in package page text

Colours:

Package - Lighter Black

R: 40   G:  47   B: 54

Opacity: 100%

Package - White

R: 255   G: 255   B: 255

Opacity: 100%

The bold style of DIN Next is used in the promotional materials platform of the series, to make certain text such as taglines and schedule information stand out more so than the rest of the text that it features in, without distracting from the uses of Lulo Clean.

Sizes:

14pt & 36pt in promotional posters

40pt in promotional billboard

24pt & 48pt in promotional bus ad

Colours:

Promotional Posters/Billboard/Bus Ad - White

R: 255   G: 255   B: 255

Promotional Posters - Blue

R: 85   G: 120   B: 160

Logo

The logo of the series underwent multiple versions in order to find the right fit. But once the main font was decided, the logo naturally started to come together. The logo consists of simple text without gimmicks, this fits with the conventions of both AMC and BBC's logos such as The Missing and The Night Manager.

This was the initial logo idea that I used in a poster mock up. Using Letter Gothic font in all caps, this proved to be useful initially establishing the type of brand that I would like the create. However, it was slightly too sci-fi looking to me, and didn't have a unique look.

Once deciding to use Lulo Clean Bold as my logo font, I tested a number of different approaches. Firstly by matching my initial logo idea - however this having 'The' beside the identity didn't seem to fit right as a logo. I then placed the word above, and while this looked better, it still appeared off. I then found the right placement for the two words, with 'The' sitting in the centre above 'Identity', this looked much more like a professional logo.

I then cleaned up the appearance, making 'The' slightly bigger in order to fit directly over the 'N' and 'T' of 'Identity'. I think this makes the logo much neater and structured. I then decided on two colour options, a slightly light variation of black for when the backdrop is light (avoiding the harshness of pure black), and a white variation when the backdrop is dark.

Overall I'm extremely pleased with the end result of the logo, I think it has the modern, serious and cold feel that I was going for, in order to fit with the dramatic themes of the series. I also feel that testing a number of options supported it's development and improvements.

Sizes:

12.47 x 2.82 pixels on promotional posters

25.58 x 6.17 pixels on promotional billboard

14.53 x 1.42 & 16.33 x 3.10 pixels on promotional bus ad

2.64 x 3.02 pixels on promotional AMC website images

Unknown pixels, 69 & 100pt on opening titles cast & production names

600 x 172 pixels in package home page

Colours:

Promotional Posters/Billboard/Bus Ad - White

R: 255   G: 255   B: 255

Opacity: 85% (Posters)  95% (Billboard)  90% (Bus Ad)

Opening Titles - Black

R: 0   G: 10   B: 16

Opacity: 85%

Package - Lighter Black

R: 40   G:  47   B: 54

Opacity: 100%

Package - White

R: 255   G: 255   B: 255

Opacity: 100%

Colour Schemes

The overall colours of the series' package, opening titles and promotional materials are mostly dark colours such as greys and blacks, contrasting whites, and blue toned colours to give a more eye catching addition of colour to the palette, along with one yellow colour from the AMC logo on promotions and a slight cream from the fake BBC website layout.

Below is the colour palette that I created for The Identity's colour branding, based on my work across all platforms...

Logline

'A logline is a one- or two-line synopsis of the concept. It is an essential part of presenting or marketing your idea to the networks and is typically used in tandem with the treatment or script.

Successful loglines immediately provoke interest and make the network executives envision the show's potential. If they see potential, odds are they will consider it for development.' [2]


Tips on Writing a Logline

'1. A logline must have the following

-       the protagonist
-       their goal
-       the antagonist/antagonistic force

2. Don’t use a character name
It has no intrinsic information and so is a useless word. Instead, tell us something about the character.

- A sous-chef
- An ex-superhero

3. Use an adjective to give a little depth to that character
This is your chance to show some character. Beware of cliche, and also of the power of irony. It's helpful if the characteristic you describe will have something to do with the plot.

- A mute sous-chef
- An alcoholic ex-superhero

4. Clearly and quickly present the protagonist’s main goal
This is what drives your story and it will drive your logline too. Make sure that the goal is present early in the script - if you don’t make good on your logline’s promise early enough the rest of the script won’t get read.

- A mute sous-chef wants to win the position of Head Chef at her boss' new restaurant
- An alcoholic ex-superhero searches for his daughter

5. Describe the Antagonist
The antagonist should be described in a similar, but preferably shorter, manner than the hero. If the hero faces a more general antagonistic force then make it clear that they are battling something, not just life’s bumps and buffets.

- A mute sous-chef must fight off an ambitious rival to win the position of Head Chef at her boss's new restaurant.
- An alcoholic ex-superhero searches for his daughter after she is kidnapped by his dementing, jealous former sidekick.

6. Make sure your protagonist is pro-active
He or she should drive the story and do so vigorously. A good logline will show the action of the story, the narrative momentum that carries you through the script. In some cases the protagonist will be reactive, but note, this is not the same as passive.

7. If you can, include stakes and/or a ticking time-bomb
These are very useful narrative devices that add urgency to your script. If they fit in easily, include them in your logline.

- To save his reputation a secretly gay frat-boy must sleep with 15 women by the end-of-semester party.

8. Setup
Some scripts operate in a world with different rules to our own and require a brief setup to explain them, e.g. most science-fiction stories. Others have a protagonist whose personal or psychological history is crucial to the story and needs to be explained. Again, be brief.

- In a world where all children are grown in vats...
- Driven to a mental breakdown by an accident at work, an aquarium manager...

9. About the ending
Do not reveal the script’s supercool twist ending, even if it is the next The Usual Suspects. The story, and thus the logline, should be good enough to hold up by itself; a surprise ending should be a lovely bonus found when reading the script. N.B. This all changes when you get to writing your treatment.

10. Don’t tell the story, sell the story

Create a desire to see the script as well as telling them what’s in it. Loglines are like poetry, every word counts. Tinker, test, and tinker some more.' [3]


After researching the main purposes of a logline, alongside very helpful tips on how to approach a logline for my own series, I have created one for The Identity that I feel is strong and has the ability to draw in the audience without spoiling anything.


After being stolen as an unborn baby in 1989, a hidden away young woman is determined to find her birth parents, unknowing of what she could lose along the way.

Pitch

The Three Visible Elements Your TV Show Pitch Must Have [4]

'- Distribution channel

- Length of the show

- Time slot'

With this in mind, I have stuck roughly with my original pitch for The Identity since the beginning of the project, that I feel provides the key information of the series type and structure:

A BBC One & AMC drama miniseries consisting of three hour-long episodes, broadcasting on Wednesdays at 9pm.

Branding Thoughts

Overall, I think that the branding of the series has developed to be very clear and precise, with suitable fonts, logos, colour schemes and loglines/pitches. I also think the unique logo and font combinations make The Identity's brand very recognisable, and represent the overall style of the series.

By developing a specific, professional and modern brand for the series, my package, opening titles, and marketing has greatly benefited, giving them all continuity, themes and a stand-out approach to it's audience - as can be seen in my previous posts and within my finalised package.

References

1. Channel 4 Identity Style Guide

2. Television Show Loglines

3. 10 Tips for Writing Loglines

4. How To Pitch A TV Show