what's the right way of writing a series of flashback within the 'present' scene?

roei z

roei z

Veteran
Hi.
i have a main scene written, and i need to add around 10 short flashbacks that are 'cut in' along the main scene.
i'm not sure on how to write them in- as separate scenes? as "flashback"? as what?
what's the proper format of screenwriting it?
could someone write down a few lines for example?

thanks!
 
roei z said:
Hi.
i have a main scene written, and i need to add around 10 short flashbacks that are 'cut in' along the main scene.
i'm not sure on how to write them in- as separate scenes? as "flashback"? as what?
what's the proper format of screenwriting it?
could someone write down a few lines for example?

thanks!
Click to expand...

I don't have access to my Scriptwriter's Bible, or The Hollywood Standard, but I've seen the following:

[scrippet]

BEGIN FLASHBACK:

INT. SUBURBAN HOUSE HALLWAY - NIGHT

MATHER, 20's, pauses at his sister's bedroom door.

LATER

Mather walks to his parant's bedroom door.

END FLASHBACK.

...
...
...
INT. DESERT - DAY (FLASHBACK)

Mather drives a knife into Dad's chest.

INT. INSANE ASYLUM - DAY

Mather convulses, cuffed to a gurney.

[/scrippet]

Note: The 'scrippet' utility is putting the 'flashback' over on the right hand side. I don't believe that is correct. I think it is using the ":" to indicate a transition such as "CUT TO:", which are to be right justified, but in this case it is wrong, and should be on left justified.

The difference between the two forms is if the 'flashback' is only one 'scene', it can be placed in parenthesis on the scene slugline.
 
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thanks.. so if i understand correctly, in my situation (10 flashback scenes inserted in a long 'present' scene)
would be to add 'flashback' at the end of the scene description?

example:

EXT. PARK- DAY
blah blah blah

EXT. STREET- DAY (FLASHBACK)
blah blah blah

EXT. PARK- DAY
blah blah blah

EXT. STREET- DAY (FLASHBACK)
blah blah blah

etc etc..
yes?

btw- if i have a 'future' scene, should i call it - flashforward? or what?
 
roei z said:
thanks.. so if i understand correctly, in my situation (10 flashback scenes inserted in a long 'present' scene)
would be to add 'flashback' at the end of the scene description?

example:

EXT. PARK- DAY
blah blah blah

EXT. STREET- DAY (FLASHBACK)
blah blah blah

EXT. PARK- DAY
blah blah blah

EXT. STREET- DAY (FLASHBACK)
blah blah blah

etc etc..
yes?

btw- if i have a 'future' scene, should i call it - flashforward? or what?
Click to expand...

The high brow english lit terms for these 'effects', and not limited to filmmaking, are 'analepsis', and 'prolepsis', that is flashback, flashforward, respectively, and those 'easy to understand words' are probably preferred in a script... In the description below, "La Jetee" is referenced, a film containg both a flashback and flashforward. "12 Monkeys"(1995) is a commercial film having this same characteristic.

From the web:

-------
Analepsis and Prolepsis:
What is commonly referred to in film as "flashback" and "flashforward." In other words, these are ways in which a narrative's discourse re-order's a given story: by "flashing back" to an earlier point in the story (analepsis) or "flashing forward" to a moment later in the chronological sequence of events (prolepsis). The classic example of prolepsis is prophecy, as when Oedipus is told that he will sleep with his mother and kill his father. As we learn later in Sophocles' play, he does both despite his efforts to evade his fate. A good example of both analepsis and prolepsis is the first scene of La Jetée. As we learn a few minutes later, what we are seeing in that scene is a flashback to the past, since the present of the film's diegesis is a time directly following World War III. However, as we learn at the very end of the film, that scene also doubles as a prolepsis, since the dying man the boy is seeing is, in fact, himself. In other words, he is proleptically seeing his own death. We thus have an analepsis and prolepsis in the very same scene.



-----

From http://www.cla.purdue.edu/english/theory/narratology/terms/narrativetermsmainframe.html
 
[scrippet]INT. DVXUSER - DAY

The landscape is dark; the technically-minded machines have taken control.

INSERT - FLASHBACK - DVXUSER (2008)

We are transported back to the storied reign of creativity.

End Flashback.

BACK TO SCENE

The newest cyborg, the DSLR100 model, fires a pixel gun at one of the few remaining survivors of the "Old World"... [/scrippet]




(had to play with underlining/capitalization on scrippet's behalf)
(The word "FLASHBACK" should be underlined)
(The words "END FLASHBACK." should be bold and capitalized)
 
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hmmm...
thanks.
that's another interesting option, especially good while I'm in a one whole scene,
instead of breaking it up to 'mini scene' every other sentence.
 
And regardless of formatting, please keep in mind the audience - how will they know it's a flashback? (And later the end of the flashback?) Sure, sometimes multiple timelines are flagged to the audience entirely via production/post-production techniques and so aren't directly script-relevant, but it's still something to keep in mind when writing. I've seen some really badly done multiple timelines that just ruined their movies. :(
 
clang said:
And regardless of formatting, please keep in mind the audience - how will they know it's a flashback? (And later the end of the flashback?) Sure, sometimes multiple timelines are flagged to the audience entirely via production/post-production techniques and so aren't directly script-relevant, but it's still something to keep in mind when writing. I've seen some really badly done multiple timelines that just ruined their movies. :(
Click to expand...

well, i like broken timelines, it can provide a very interesting feel and purpose.
please tell me of some failures so i could avoid those mistakes..
 
roei z said:
well, i like broken timelines, it can provide a very interesting feel and purpose.
please tell me of some failures so i could avoid those mistakes..
Click to expand...

Here's a script for "Sherlock Holmes"(2009), and appears to be a draft of the film, which is somewhat different from the resulting movie. But on page 111 of the draft, there's a 'flashback' sequence where Holmes narrates how the Blackwood character esccaped death by hanging. Holmes' dialog is done with 'voice over' to connect the flash sequences.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&ved=0CDQQFjAD&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.raindance.co.uk%2Fsite%2Fpicture%2Fupload%2Fimage%2Fbooks%2FSherlock_Holmes.pdf&ei=Bv0FT6CMLeH-2QX3y5SyAg&usg=AFQjCNFwWPJP1RUNMXjEakG8tr2LlCYU4A&sig2=k782N1JvrUcLl714kI3D_w

On the one hand the 'formal' script conventions are directed to 'spec' scripts, that is the writer writes, in hope of a sale. In your case, I assume you are going to make the film you write, and so some of the more formal conventions may be too much. The Sherlock Holmes script is an assignment script, and as such, was written for a specific project, and so, may be closer to what you need to get your ideas down on paper, and have others review them. (For example, the script above as a number of 'cut to:' lines, which are discouraged in 'spec' scripts these days.
 
10 flashbacks inserted into a main scene? No offense mate, but that's gonna be dicey to pull off. I'd restructure to avoid such things. For starters, you're straying very close to "telling" your audience important information, instead of allowing them to experience it by "showing". If those scenes are so important that you have to refer to them, then why not open with those earlier moments and build the story from there?
 
thanks.
ok, from reading here and googling,
i have several ways of entering and ending a flashback scene.
the one you suggested and some other 'formal' ways.

i do think that people have to understand the changing timeline while reading the script
and not get confused or frustrated.

in the "Sherlock" script the V.O is such a basic element of the flashback
that it really holds up the whole scene without much explanation.


on the other hand, if you've seen "don't look now" (1973), it has many cuts to flashbacks,
or even a single dissolve, or just a brief shot. of course most of it was done only when editing,
but how do i try to achieve a feel of this kind of structure?
my flashbacks are also really very short and almost silent,
so cutting to a heading every other sentence can also be irritating..
 
KurtF said:
10 flashbacks inserted into a main scene? No offense mate, but that's gonna be dicey to pull off. I'd restructure to avoid such things. For starters, you're straying very close to "telling" your audience important information, instead of allowing them to experience it by "showing". If those scenes are so important that you have to refer to them, then why not open with those earlier moments and build the story from there?
Click to expand...


look at my earlier post ^^^^^

i'm trying to CUT TO very brief and short shots from earlier time. they suppose 'follow' the main scene and eventually reveal some valuable/emotional info at the right time.
it's not suppose to be 'tidy' and be placed at the start or ending. it suppose to be rough and emotional.
 
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