Movie trailers - you know, where the deep male voiceover takes you through clips of a movie in a very short, very intense synopsis? Or you're bombarded with scenes that have you giggling in a short 2 minute span? If they do their job, you'll be dying to see the movie. If they fail, the movie will tank. I need to hire a movie trailer writer!
Working on my stuff for conference and struggling (still) with my one paragraph synopsis for The Seduction of Lady Bells. I started with two, but after a lengthy discussion with Hayley and much thought I've trimmed it down to one. I still think it could be better, but time is running out. Now my issue today is to come up with a tagline (a powerful, one sentence synopsis) that will make whomever reads it NEED to read the entire book.
I'm going to head over to my favorite movie place - IMDb - to read some taglines. I'll be right back...
Here I am - first one I find is Amelia (based on Amelia Earhart's story). Tagline: Defying the Impossible, Living the Dream. Wow
Next up: Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant. Tagline: Meet Darren. He's sixteen going on immortal. Eh.
Where the Wild Things Are (one of my favorite picture books). Tagline: There's one in all of us. Perfect.
Law Abiding Citizen (swoon over Gerard Butler) Tagline: The system must pay. Not that great.
And one more. Couple's Retreat. Tagline: It may be paradise...but it's no vacation. I snorted on that one. Sums it up nicely and sets the tone for a comedy.
So, that's what I have to do. Find the perfect phrase, simple sentence, that sums up my novel perfectly. Easy? I've been at this for a year, always attempting something better when I send out a query letter. Where do you hire a tagline artist? Wish me luck.
Seen any great movies lately?
yeah ... glad I don't have to worry about this any time soon :D
ReplyDeleteThe thing about taglines is they often only seem to resonate in relation to the movie. They sit well with a dramatic poster going "Ahhh, I see."
ReplyDeleteOf the ones you've listed, Amelia's means nothing to be on its own, just random evocative language. Cirque du Freak may not be your cup of tea but it certainly shows the premise. Where the Wild Things Are (of course I love it) captures a really excellent mood, that escapist nature. Law Abiding Citizen, fairly flat imo, but conveys revenge at least. Couple's Retreat, the conflicting terms set up a question, and as you say, offers a comedic tone.
So I think the question is whether you want something that captures an element of the story, or evokes it. I remember when we did one-sheets, the tagline for Stardust was something like "On [release date], a star falls. The chase begins." I'm of mixed minds about that one, but it's short and simple, implies a bit of plot, and (if one decides to dissect the line) raises the question of chasing after a star. I don't honestly think a person would conclude that with no knowledge of the movie though.
God.. I'm sorry, I just keep going. Thought on another topic that might also be helpful. We talked about theme and premise at the fall retreat (I blogged about the exercises we did. No one participated :p) and those seem like they'd be good fodder for a tagline.
ReplyDeleteFor the book we plotted on the Sunday (the paranormal romantic comedy), our tagline was one of the first things we had, from a suggested theme of being unable to bring back loved ones, but being able to find new ones. So we twisted it backward, and had something along the lines of 'you *can* bring back your loved ones... but should you?' Not that catchy, but we weren't harping on it. That might be a good route for you to try, grabbing onto a key element (seduction, curiosity, etc) and raise an interesting question for whoever reads it.
We're here to help when you're ready, ban.
ReplyDeleteYou're right, Hayley. Those taglines go with either movie posters or at the end of trailers. They make sense. Creating a tagline for a novel no one has read is a little more complicated.
I really think that from now on I'm going to start with the tagline and work from there. It may offer grounding for when I get sidetracked from my story line or my Muse wants to wander off in a different direction.
For now, I'll have to go with what I have. Where do you suppose those tagline artists hang out?