Fast clarity. Professional signal.
Film / Series One-Page Pitch (One-Pager)
A one-pager is the fastest way to communicate a project to producers, investors, reps, and collaborators. If you can’t sell your story on one page, your pitch deck will not save you.
Use this to tighten your idea before writing pages, raising money, or hiring a crew.
1) The Rules (what makes it professional)
One page means one page: tight, readable, no walls of text.
Concrete over poetic: clarity beats “mystique.”
Hook early: the logline must work.
Market-aware: audience + comps + budget band.
One clear ask: what do you want from the reader?
Goal: make the reader say, “I understand it — and I want to know more.”
2) Copy/Paste One-Pager Template
Copy this into a doc and fill it in. Keep it tight.
PROJECT TITLE:
FORMAT: Feature / Limited Series / Series / Short
GENRE:
LOGLINE (1 sentence):
THE HOOK (2–3 bullets):
-
-
-
TONE / COMPS (1 line + 2–3 comps):
Tone:
Comparable titles:
CORE STORY (5–7 sentences):
(What happens. The engine. The stakes. The ending direction.)
MAIN CHARACTER(S) (2–4 bullets):
- Name — identity + contradiction + desire
-
-
THE WORLD (2–3 sentences):
(Where are we? What’s unique about this setting? Why does it matter?)
WHY NOW (1–2 sentences):
(Why this story now? Cultural relevance or audience hunger.)
AUDIENCE (1–2 sentences):
(Who watches this? What market segment?)
BUDGET BAND (one line):
Micro / Low / Mid / Studio (pick one) + reason
ATTACHMENTS (if any):
Director:
Producer:
Cast targets:
THE ASK (1 line):
(What you want from the reader: meeting, financing, packaging, representation, etc.)
Avoid writing “THE HOOK” as abstract philosophy. Make it concrete: stakes, conflict, reversal, surprise.
3) Examples (what “tight” feels like)
Example A (Feature)
Logline: A burned-out paramedic fakes a psychic gift to survive Hollywood wellness culture — until the lies attract a real predator.
Clear protagonist
Clear hook
Conflict escalates
Example B (Limited Series)
Logline: A Japanese investigative reporter moves to Los Angeles and uncovers a celebrity charity’s hidden finance machine — forcing her to choose truth or access.
Ongoing engine
Industry world
Episode momentum
4) The Most Common One-Pager Mistakes
No logline power: if the logline is weak, everything is weak.
Confusing story engine: the reader can’t picture episodes or acts.
No audience: “everyone” is not a target audience.
Wrong budget band: a studio idea written as micro-budget fantasy.
No ask: you don’t say what you want, so nothing happens.
Reality: The one-pager is not “creative writing.” It is a business document that sells story.