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How would I go about making a flashback/memory?
- Thread starter a.p
- Start date
How does the character remember the flashback?
How do you wish it to be percieved?
Is it happy or unhappy?
Is it vivid or unclear?
Is it painful or joyous to recollect?
All of the above construct the aesthetic of a flashback. Once you know them, it'll be alot clearer as to how you would approach conveying the technique.
How do you wish it to be percieved?
Is it happy or unhappy?
Is it vivid or unclear?
Is it painful or joyous to recollect?
All of the above construct the aesthetic of a flashback. Once you know them, it'll be alot clearer as to how you would approach conveying the technique.
Puking in a toilet, guy falls asleep on the porcelain throne, wakes up in flashback that ends with a splash of water, his mother wakes up with his head stuffed in the toilet-----oh wait that was my family reunion.
Maybe you can play a bit with music.
Nowdays- steady tight song with a good solid beat
flashback- light dreamy sound wich is more pad based instead of beat based.
Or try to imagine how you see a memory in your head. Memories are not super detailed because you forget things, Go for a glitchy edit with a lower framerate (20fps or something), warp some shots and distort them a bit and add noise and you might add a dark vignet around them. Desaturate colors and saturate some shots wich are clearly remembered and add glitchy sounds in the back.
Check some movies like ''Mr. Nobody''. That movie is full of awesome flashbacks!
Nowdays- steady tight song with a good solid beat
flashback- light dreamy sound wich is more pad based instead of beat based.
Or try to imagine how you see a memory in your head. Memories are not super detailed because you forget things, Go for a glitchy edit with a lower framerate (20fps or something), warp some shots and distort them a bit and add noise and you might add a dark vignet around them. Desaturate colors and saturate some shots wich are clearly remembered and add glitchy sounds in the back.
Check some movies like ''Mr. Nobody''. That movie is full of awesome flashbacks!
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If I was going to make a distinguishable flashback I'd have to look at the scenes I'm intending to flash to and from and make a judgement call. For example, extreme lighting changes often signify a massive time jump of some sort, but if both scenes were set outside in a field during the same time of the day that'd be kind of hard to do. I'd look at each aspect of the scenes major properties and decide then and there what to change, preferably at least two - off the top of my head I can think of lighting, colour schemes, pacing, action, location, cast, dialogue, etcetera.
Of course there's always the option of leading into it with dialogue or narration during the present-time scenes, such as the opening of Casino Royale where they're discussing the person who Bond killed and it's flashing back to shots of them fighting in a bathroom every now and again. In that I think they managed to distinguish effectively between the two using a massive difference in pacing and lighting - in the present-day scene it's very calm but tense, with them both sitting in chairs and discussing Bond's career (avoiding spoilers), whereas in the flash back scene it's a well-lit bathroom where the two characters are locked in a fist fight. There's also a massive difference in the sound, with one scene only having their voices and the other having an actiony soundtrack and the sound of them fighting. It's also worth noting the entirety of the beginning of this movie is in black and white until the opening animation, setting the entire section as a flashback for the rest of the film / a prologue.
Really it's all a matter of the scenes you're using in particular, and the style that you want to go for.
Of course there's always the option of leading into it with dialogue or narration during the present-time scenes, such as the opening of Casino Royale where they're discussing the person who Bond killed and it's flashing back to shots of them fighting in a bathroom every now and again. In that I think they managed to distinguish effectively between the two using a massive difference in pacing and lighting - in the present-day scene it's very calm but tense, with them both sitting in chairs and discussing Bond's career (avoiding spoilers), whereas in the flash back scene it's a well-lit bathroom where the two characters are locked in a fist fight. There's also a massive difference in the sound, with one scene only having their voices and the other having an actiony soundtrack and the sound of them fighting. It's also worth noting the entirety of the beginning of this movie is in black and white until the opening animation, setting the entire section as a flashback for the rest of the film / a prologue.
Really it's all a matter of the scenes you're using in particular, and the style that you want to go for.
I guess it depends on the situation, but I think I would most commonly rely on writing to make it clear that this is a flashback. Visual cues aren't always needed, and in my opinion, they tend to be cheesy.
If you really want to make it a visual cue, though, your possibilities are limitless. First thing I would play with would be saturation.
If you really want to make it a visual cue, though, your possibilities are limitless. First thing I would play with would be saturation.
Flashbacks are often used to tell the backstory. My camera has a "Cine" function that gives different picture quality, like a blue tint to the picture, although blue might indicate dream more than remembered reality. The picture quality must be different, possibly with a sepia filter.
Using audio with an echo might work. The kinds of wipes and dissolves you use can cue the audience.
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