Would anyone know how to reveal that an event that just happened in the script was all just a dream, an not just by having the character waking up in his bed?

Kind of like the premonition scenes in Final Destination.

Thanks.,

You write it out as if it was actually happening and then cut to the character waking up in bed.


Phil

I was thinknig of doing that, but I just wanted it to be clear that it was a dream.

I hate to bra, oh wait, no I don't... I wrote a dream sequence in Deliver Me Death that is 100% impossible to tell if it is or isn't at 1st.

Well, I better not say that around here... Someone will call me on it and swear up and down that is was predictable, when I know that it's not.

"rolls eyes"

As a matter of fact Deliver me death "as a whole" is some of my best work. Pure brilliance.

The best dream sequence I saw in a movie was in Mel Gibson's 'Man With a Face.'  The dream worked with the story so well you couldn't have known it.


Phil

Balt (who I presume is -Baltis), you are useless.  The very least you could do is tell him how you showed it was a dream in the end.

There's a reason most dreams end with the characters waking up.  That's how every single dream ends realistically.  Alternatively, though, you could show the character turning in bed and then go straight to the next morning as he eats his cornflakes with a sleepy look in his eyes.  Or, if the dream has an end (many dream sequences simply get to the scary shot and then cut out), you can go to the character telling another character about his funny dream.  Don't do that if it's one of the scary-end dreams, because then the cut will be awkward and the director will call you an idiot and show him waking up in his bed.
Hope that helps.

I don't know it will help you or make you more crazy that you are with this, but I wrote a short script named "Back to Shawshank" that there are some craziest dream in there.

Raising Cain had multiple dream sequences, flashbacks, and alternate realities thorughout the film. Until it was all over, it was impossible to tell what happened. However, to come out of it, just do as was done in Final Destination. At the end of the dream, start the next scene with the character opening his/her eyes. Gasp if you feel it necessary.

There's actually no special way to write it at all. If you want it to feel real, then don't include in the slug that it's a dream. You'll be telling the story as the audience sees it, and in the movies I referenced, you have no idea that the character is dreaming when the events play out. Raisin Cain is especially cruel with the character waking up three times, I think, in the same bed with the same basic scene with minor differences. That's just mean.

Of course, can't fail to mention the character flat out saying "I had a dream" or "I had a vision"...

Helio, all of your scripts are crazy! :P

In a good way, too! :)

Sean

If the event is a dream, there are different ways of showing this in the script:

-You may read or hear that you should include "DREAM SEQUENCE" in the slugline where the dream begins, but we both know this is useless because the audience can't read the script. So we need some technique that will make things clear for *both* the reader and the audience once your masterpiece gets produced.

-Having the character waking up in bed (or bus, or wherever) is the obvious one.

-Your character tells another about that nasty nightmare he had last night and right after that you describe his dream. The dream sequence will be obvious and you won't need to show the character waking up.

If the event is a premonition, ala Final Destination, describe things as shown in those movies; it'll work. You show the premonition as the character experiences it; he sees blood and death all around him. Then you cut to: everything normal. Everybody's fine and looking at the pale face of the precog character, who suddenly tells the others to get off the (plane, roller coaster, or whatever).

As far as format goes, there's nothing special about this scenes. The key for them to work is how you describe the events and the character reactions to them. The keyword here is "contrast", IMO. During the premonition scene, nasty things are happening, but in the next scene everything's fine. And while everyone is happy, the character who had the premonition is the only one who's spooked.

If you follow these guidelines (and eventually others I might have missed and will possibly be added by other posters) I believe your premonition scenes will work both on the page and on the screen.

Hope that helps.

What if your character has this dream over and over again? Would you still have to include "Dream Sequence"? Or would the audience just basically take the hint and know it's a dream.

'Cause in my "Infected" series, one of my characters keeps on having this dream, and I don't know if it's necessary to write down DREAM SEQUENCE and END DREAM SEQUENCE whenever it has started and ended.

Sean

Forogt to add this:  In certain dream sequences (don't know why they're differentiated like that, the whole movie is a sequence) the audience knows all along that it's a dream sequence, usually through blurriness along the edges of the camera or something like that (the example that comes to mind is "Columo:  Lady in waiting", but that's not really an example many of you will recognize).  If that's the case, write dream sequence in the slugline.  If it's not, you may not write dream sequence in the slugline because you're killing the surprise for the reader.
Also, sometimes it's obvious even without the blurriness.  For instance, when the dream is intercut with the character trembling in bed.  I'm not sure how to do that; possibly you write dream sequence and the director does that, and possibly you spell out the intercut.

The key to all of this is just tell what you see. When you watch the movie in your head, how do you know it's a dream? Is it obvious? Include it in the slug. Is it not? Don't include it. The slug will be the indicator of how obvious something should be.