What I have in mind is a scene where a character sees, in flashback, himself and his sister having a conversation. I want to have the 10-year-old Sam start a line in the FB and have the 25-year-old Sam finish the line in the present. It will jump back and forth each time Sam has a line of dialogue.

I have tried a CUT TO: and a new slugline but I think it loses its effectiveness on the page and for the reader. A montage doesn't seem to fit either.

What is the best structure for something like that? Or if anyone knows of any examples of something like that in another script that would be great.

Thanks for any help, ideas, or best wishes.

James

This is just an idea, but I think an INTERCUT might be best, the same as you would use for a phone call. That way you can jump between Sam watching and Young Sam without cluttering up the page.

It's obvious it's a flashback so I'd have it -

INT. SAM'S BEDROOM - DAY

     YOUNG SAM
And then she took the bowl from me and....

INT. JANE'S BEDROOM - DAY

    SAM
...threw it in the river.

Sam lowers his head. Jane puts her arm around him.

I would also go with the INTERCUT idea more so than the constant use of slugs. After awhile, it'd be kind of like "okay, we get it" and wish you'd intercut it. Naturally, you'd have to have SAM and YOUNG SAM to differentiate the two voices. The only hangup here is where you say it happens "each time Sam has a line of dialogue." If there is more that goes on in the individual scenes, such as action or other characters' dialogue, before Sam has his line of dialogue that flips back and forth, then you'll need to use slugs to differentiate the scenes. CUT TO is unnecessary. Another option to keep it as clean as possible would be to use secondary headings. Like this:

INT. HOUSE - DAY - PRESENT

Sam does something.

EXT. FOREST - PAST

Sam does something.

YOUNG SAM
I did...

TO PRESENT

SAM
Something clever. That's what this room needs.

Sam stares at the bare white walls.

TO PAST

Sam does a somersault.

YOUNG SAM
I am so...

TO PRESENT

SAM
Pathetic. Have you seen this story online?

Sam stares at a computer screen.

JANE
Yeah, I've seen it.

TO PAST

Sam dances on a log over a river.

YOUNG JANE
Sam, don't do that.

Sam does a back flip and misses the landing, straddling the log. He looks up in pain.

YOUNG SAM
Oh, I think I cracked my...

TO PRESENT

SAM
Nuts! What happened to my cell phone.

He looks frantically for his lost phone.

Thanks, Jonny and rendy. And George, that was very informative and entertaining. That's probably what it will end up looking like, I like the way it reads without getting too technical or cluttered. And to thank you properly I'll have Sam crack his nuts even though it is a serious and emotional scene.

James