Format question! Help please!

J

JustinBrown

Well-known member
I am currently writing a piece that is being told sort of in reverse order where many of the expositional elements are derived from flashbacks to the events leading up to the climax of the movie. Do I need to mark each scene that takes place in the past as a flashback? Or is this just excessive? A few people who have read over it felt confused by the order of scenes with nothing to demarcate when they were in the present or past...though to me it seems pretty strait forward.

Thanks any comments you might have!
 
After reading some of the other answers in different threads I would add that there are two story lines being told...and investigation of an event in the present, and the description of the events that lead up to it in the past.
 
Sounds interesting, Justin!

As for the flashbacks, I believe it's usually standard practice to denote a flashback in the slug line. For instance:

INT. FLASHBACK, DONNY'S HOUSE - DAY

Donny runs into the bedroom and rifles through the drawers, searching.

I don't personally use a lot of flashbacks, but in one script where they were prominent I preferred to mark them within the scene itself. For instance, if an entire scene was a flashback, I would write it something like:

INT. DONNY'S HOUSE - DAY

Flashback. Donny runs into the bedroom and rifles through the drawers, searching.

The reason I do this is because very few people actually read the slug lines. I almost never do. Usually when reading someone else's script, I'll pass over most of the slug lines and then if I get confused about something, I'll glance back up at them to get my bearings.

Now sometimes when two different storylines are being told in a movie (especially in a past/present time difference), they are shot with different styles. For instance, the past might be in black-and-white or sepia, or something of the sort.

In a script, it's harder to make that differentiation. I'd say if it isn't clear that there are two storylines, you should definitely use whatever means necessary to make that clear. That said, I wouldn't suggest writing something like "Please read: There are two different storylines in this script." <grin>
 
In general put nothing in a script that you cannot see or hear. If people get confused reading your script, yes, putting FLASHBACK in the slug will make it clearer for them. But how do you know that viewers of the final movie will not still be confused?

If you say that there will be some visual indicator that we are in a flashback --- black-and-white, harp music, a slow dolly into the main character's eyes beforehand --- then put that in the script instead of the word FLASHBACK.
 
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Michael Traven said:
Sounds interesting, Justin!

As for the flashbacks, I believe it's usually standard practice to denote a flashback in the slug line. For instance:

INT. FLASHBACK, DONNY'S HOUSE - DAY

Donny runs into the bedroom and rifles through the drawers, searching.

I don't personally use a lot of flashbacks, but in one script where they were prominent I preferred to mark them within the scene itself. For instance, if an entire scene was a flashback, I would write it something like:

INT. DONNY'S HOUSE - DAY

Flashback. Donny runs into the bedroom and rifles through the drawers, searching.

The reason I do this is because very few people actually read the slug lines. I almost never do. Usually when reading someone else's script, I'll pass over most of the slug lines and then if I get confused about something, I'll glance back up at them to get my bearings.

Now sometimes when two different storylines are being told in a movie (especially in a past/present time difference), they are shot with different styles. For instance, the past might be in black-and-white or sepia, or something of the sort.

In a script, it's harder to make that differentiation. I'd say if it isn't clear that there are two storylines, you should definitely use whatever means necessary to make that clear. That said, I wouldn't suggest writing something like "Please read: There are two different storylines in this script." <grin>
Click to expand...

I'm sorry I missed your reply for a bit, but thanks for it any how. What you suggested about adding flashback into the action text might just work for me. The problem I was, and still am running into is keeping all of the jumps straight mentally for me, and whomever decides to read it. My answer to that so far has been to exclude the extra story line and to write out the main one. Once it is complete I plan to go back and add the flash backs that seems to fit appropriately and discard the ones that don't work. It's weird though, because the main story is in the past and it basically flashes back to the present intermittently to remind the viewer that the events have already occured....sort of non-linear, but not really.
 
combatentropy said:
In general put nothing in a script that you cannot see or hear. If people get confused reading your script, yes, putting FLASHBACK in the slug will make it clearer for them. But how do you know that viewers of the final movie will not still be confused?

If you say that there will be some visual indicator that we are in a flashback --- black-and-white, harp music, a slow dolly into the main character's eyes beforehand --- then put that in the script instead of the word FLASHBACK.
Click to expand...
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I had thought about doing the flashblacks in black and white, but I kind of wanted to retain ambiguity of the scenes...we'll just have to see I guess.
 
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