The concept and premise are often confused for a logline. The concept can be described as the hook for a story. Perhaps it is the first idea the writer had about their story. A high-concept idea easily conveys the potential for conflict. Liar Liar (1997, written by Paul Guay and Stephen Mazur) is a high-concept idea about a lawyer who cannot lie for a day. That’s it. Very easy to grasp the idea. The premise further develops the concept into the basic idea of the story without the specifics of character and plot.
The Premise Line allows the audience to imagine a world in which the story can exist, perhaps giving the audience an explanation of why or how. It makes it easy for the reader to imagine themselves in that situation as the main character. With the premise line, the audience immediately understands the potential for conflict. The premise line for Liar Liar might be something like, “When a successful lawyer misses his son’s birthday, the boy wishes that his father wouldn’t be able to lie for a day.”
Some movies sell their high concept more than others.
The concept or premise may be enough to sell the story, but it does not sell the specifics of the story. The logline would go into the specifics of conflict, including stakes. For Liar Liar, a logline might be “When a pathological lying lawyer misses his son’s birthday, the young boy wishes that his father can’t lie for 24 hours, now he has to win a career-defining court case with nothing but the truth.” One could quibble on the word choice. Loglines are subjective. However, in just 35 words, the character’s central conflict and stakes are clear.
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