Hi folks,

I was just wondering if anyone could tell me the best way to incorporate montages, dream sequences, and flashbacks into a script.
I'm trying to write some at the moment and I think I'm doing it completely wrong, and the advice I've seen online is really contradictory.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Gary

If it's a dream sequence or a flashback, include it in that scene's header. Then, once the dream or flashback is completed, you need to make it clear. Example...

EXT. LAKESIDE - DAY - FLASH BACK

John watches as Lisa walks into the water.

She smiles, motions for him to join her.

END FLASHBACK

The key thing is that you make it clear for the reader what is happening.

As for montages, I'm not the guy for that. :P :)

Hey Gary

You'll always find contradictory formatting info online as there are no rules as such, so you'll see various answers... key is to make sure it is clear to the reader.

David Trottier's book The Screenwriter's Bible is super useful for these type of questions... check out this article and scroll down the page a little - https://www.keepwriting.com/drformat/2012april.htm

Best

Hi Gary,

Take a look at how I handled flashbacks in my most recent script. This is consistent with David Trottier's book, The Screenwriter's Bible as Anthony mentioned, but there are numerous ways to do it. As long as it is clear you can't go wrong.

https://www.simplyscripts.net/cgi-bin/Blah/Blah.pl?b-0721/m-1626803011/

For a montage...

EXT. PARK - DAY

Ben and Lisa walk through the lush gardens.

MONTAGE - BEN AND LISA FALL IN LOVE

-- Ben and lisa do this
-- Lisa does this
-- Ben does this

END MONTAGE

My attempts at flashback sequences:

Quoted Text BEGIN FLASHBACK SEQUENCE EXT. BEACH PARTY - NIGHT Merrick's hand to his mouth as Cameron enter the party. EXT. BEACH PARTY - NIGHT Cameron takes Merrick's hand and won't let go. Richard watches. EXT. SUITE BALCONY - NIGHT Merrick and Cameron kiss. END OF FLASHBACK SEQUENCE

another

Quoted Text BEGIN FLASHBACK SEQUENCE EXT. FIELD - NIGHT Lightning spiders across the sky above the large oak tree. A single GUN SHOT rings out and then a thud. EXT. FIELD - DAY Laura hysterically tries to revive Noah's lifeless body. END FLASHBACK SEQUENCE

The slugs depend on time/place and if it's important to the reader. You could get rid of them. But with what I did above, I was trying to mirror the exact way those scenes were written earlier so as to not confuse the reader.

Good luck!

Thanks for all the advice guys, it's really useful. I feel a lot more confident now. ;D