I would.  But that's me. Maybe you can post a sample

If the script runs chronologically, it isn't too difficult for actors to find their lines with nothing more than action setting a new age.

JAKE (6) draws stuff.

JAKE (now 16) does stuff.

JAKE (now 21) does mature stuff.

On the other hand... if there are flashbacks, and voice-over narration, and other nonlinear jazz, then yes you need to make it clear exactly who is doing and saying what every moment.

Quoted from eldave1 I would.  But that's me. Maybe you can post a sample

I PM'd you, Dave.

Quoted from FrankM If the script runs chronologically, it isn't too difficult for actors to find their lines with nothing more than action setting a new age. JAKE (6) draws stuff. JAKE (now 16) does stuff. JAKE (now 21) does mature stuff. On the other hand... if there are flashbacks, and voice-over narration, and other nonlinear jazz, then yes you need to make it clear exactly who is doing and saying what every moment.

This is the option I've gone with at the moment as the script does run chronologically.

A follow on from my original post is; would you then do that for all the characters aging with the lead or just assume by default that everyone else ages?

JAKE, 6, draws stuff with JIM 10.

JAKE, now 26, does stuff with JIM, now 30.

With a large cast, that's a lot of "now".

There isn't any need for 'now'.

Quoted from DustinBowcot There isn't any need for 'now'.

It’s certainly not mandatory, but I’d include it once for the first character introduced after a time jump. Unless there is a SUPER making the time jump bloody obvious... in which case stop beating the reader over the head with it.

Not even needed once. We write what we see on screen. 'Now' is redundant. That said, you shouldn't get marked down for it. I like to polish my sentences so everything runs crisp. Using a redundant word is what should be termed as overwriting. Unfortunately, most think overwriting is down to how many lines are in an action block. Or, maybe that's fortunate?

I'm having this problem too.

But as my thing skips around every few years I've gone with BRAD (age 10). BRAD (now 20). BRAD (now 24). Brad (45). -- "Big Fish" does this.

I don't think Benjamin Button even bothers. I'm guessing the reader can only take in so much information.

YOUNG BRAD. TEEN BRAD. MID-TWENTIES BRAD would probably clutter up my script ha.

Anyways, I hope you find one that works.

Hey, I read this thread very closely in the days it's been current.

Ha, I once thought to state toward Warren that he should take his own decisions cause well, he's experienced enough to take them and a reader will appreciate it imo.

Then I found myself in a similar situation lately where I know I may piss some people off when going away from the rulebook.

So, if I may hijack....

I got a story with a present time angle and other angles that happen in the past or even the future. Those angles between the 'present angle', long sections, aren't chronological ordered on their own.

To me it would be absolutely idiotic to indicate that in each slugline. FLASHBACK, FLASH FORWARD TWO YEARS, BACK TWO MONTHS etc etc etc...

My choice yet is to write in italics and underlined:

DIFFERENT TIMELINES FOLLOW

Then I just go with normal slugs and hope my reader paid attention.

ending with

BACK IN PRESENT

To me that would be clean and clear.

I really want to stay strict and consistent with this concept, so that I even use this format when only switching back to one single flashback.

Other segments may run 15 pages and more of course, otherwise it wouldn't make sense.

Would this be a problem for you?

You could make the year part of the slug.

INT. 1943 - LONDON - BOMB SHELTER - DAY

EXT. 2001 - U.S.S. DESTINY ONE - SPACE

INT. 2018 - ATLANTA - BASEMENT - NIGHT

but a SUPER would be easier on the viewers (they don't see the slugs!). Once you go that route, you'd need a SUPER or other indication at every time jump, not just the first time you visit a time.

Now you mentioned timelines, which is more a sci-fi alternate reality kind of thing (most recent one I've seen was Alpha Gateway, but there are a lot of them). The slug or SUPER method should work there as well.

You can visit

INT. OUR REALITY - LONDON - SHOPPING MALL - DAY

EXT. WAR-TORN REALITY - LONDON - RUBBLE - DAY

INT. UTOPIAN REALITY - LONDON - MEETING ZONE - DAY

all without leaving a single "place."

Fringe used the SUPER method, but the only immediate clue of the reality was that place names in the other reality were spelled slightly differently. Alpha Gateway didn't give any on-screen clue at all, which was used to fool the audience about where some scenes took place.

No, that's no option. It just goes like a movie, there's no super needed. The readers and viewers are live with the story and I don't want to push them with the nose into the structure. It's rather part of the concept to guess for the connections and so on

Also, it's not about cities as you wrote, just normal locations like HALLWAY and stuff ;-)

@ timeline should just say it's 'somewhen' else. Perhaps there's a better word.

Well, if you don't want to do any of that then a visual clue is all that is really necessary... and, IMO, the best way to handle this. I'll keep this simple with an easy example of what I mean.

If you have three timelines to deal with, then a visual clue from each time zone will be enough to tell the viewer where they are. 1950s could be an old car. The 70s - everyone wears flared trousers/pants, and the 90s could be a certain type of mobile phone, perhaps a Nokia 3210 or something.

I get what you're saying and of course will try to emphasize the time through descriptions, then all in all the happenings are rather mundane itself.

I looked into the first section f.i.

The story starts in the present. My main character is 34.

Then there's a scene in a forest where she's 10.

Then there's a scene of other characters where my character would be 33, but she's not even in this scene.

Then there's a scene where she's in and which is only few month before the foregone scene.

Then the second last story angle continues with the other characters; so a few months forward again so to say.

Then back to present.

And this whole process repeats along the whole script and story.

What would you say about placing that one reference before: different timelines follow    ?

I just think without giving any reference readers would argue that flashbacks are not marked at all.