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Do I have to write 'FLASHBACK TO:' every time, if there is a lot?

H

harmonica44

In my script, there a few sections where there are a lot of flashbacks, going back and forth to the present, all strung together in montages. A lot of sites say to write FLASHBACK TO:, as a transition, whenever you have one. Other sites you FLASHBACK TO: as part of the scene heading.

When it comes to writing montages, sites say to write MONTAGE, and END OF MONTAGE, at the beginning and end of one.

But if I have a few montage sequences of various flashbacks, flash forwards, and scenes in the present, cutting back and forth a lot, that can take up quite a bit of script space, if I am to write FLASHBACK TO:, every time, as well as writing MONTAGE, and END OF MONTAGE perhaps. But the FLASHBACK transitions will take up lots more space on the pages.

Do I have to write it every time, or should I just write it the first time it happens in a montage, and the audience will get it if I just have no transitions for the rest, and just use scene headings instead? I tried reading some scripts like JFK, and FROST/NIXON, and VALKYRIE, which have sequences like that, and use different formats, but for a spec, I am wondering should I be using a specific one, like sites say to? Valkyrie doesn't even use scene headings or flashback and flash forward transitions, in it's montage, and just describes all the scenes in a few action paragraphs only, saying 'VARIOUS', as it's one scene heading above it. Should I do that?

Thanks.
 
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It's important to anyone reading the script to know when they are viewing a flashback to make sense of the series of scenes. So somehow, yes, you need to indicate this is a flashback and not a cutaway to another location.

I've never heard of using a flashback inside a montage or series of shots. That would not only be confusing but violate industry format. Think of a flashback as its own scene. That is why you see the two styles of treatment.

You're best bet is to post a short segment of your script that illustrates your situation. Then others and I can give you specific suggestions how to structure it. Your description is too vague to give any suggestions. If you post an excerpt, I'd be happy to help you format the segment.
 
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Okay thanks. Well in my script I plan on having two montages that flashback between past, present, and future, within the montages. How would I write those then? I haven't written those scenes yet in the script cause I am not sure how to format them, but I can write them in the format I am guessing is best and post them. Should I write MONTAGE at the start, and then just write the FLASHBACK TO: transitions, as I go, throughout the montage?
 
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Post the sequence as you imagine you will write it. As I said, I've never seen flashbacks used within montage settings. It's not something I would normally do and to me what you're suggesting feels like an improper use of flashback and montage. It may be fine, but I'd have to see your specific approach first. I can't imagine it, so I can't provide an example for you to follow. Past is a flashback, present and future are not. Montage is a group of scenes that usually convey a thematic element. So for me, I'm left scratching my head what you hope to accomplish. So if you post an example, it would help.
 
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harmonica44 said:
.................

I might write it different so their are some scenes from the past in their as well, along with the other montage for later, but that is a rough draft.
Click to expand...

Hope you script is better written>
It is either "in their ass" or "in there as".... :P

Maybe the script from Highlander can help.

Anyway, the format is there to make sure the reader knows where and when (s)he is.
 
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harmonica44 said:
K here it is. The montage starts out in the present but then flashes back and forth between the present and future scenes.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-Xsh5O2ZFssaFRLOFYway15VU0/view?usp=sharing

I might write it different so their are some scenes from the past in their as well, along with the other montage for later, but that is a rough draft.
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From SimplyScripts:
"Montage: In film, a series of images showing a theme, a contradiction, or the passage of time. This film style became common in Russia in the early years of cinema. Russians were the first to truly use editing to tell a story."

Below are some examples of effectively using montages.
http://johnaugust.com/2004/formatting-a-montage-sequence
http://screenwriting.io/how-do-you-format-a-montage-in-a-screenplay/
http://www.steves-digicams.com/know...tips/screenwriting-how-to-write-montages.html

As I mentioned previously, a montage is a series of images without dialogue. So in your example, the scene in the Internet Cafe is not the montage. Also, it is very unclear what is happening when, so it is very confusing to read (and would be confusing to watch as well)--especially the jumps between the park, therapist and shooting range. It would do better to have the cutaways linked directly to the Internet Cafe exchanges.

I think I know what you're trying to show. Here's how I would suggest presenting it. I made a number of changes as well. Keep similar content together. Keep the flow smooth. Flashback is to past events. While I can understand why you may think the "silent" sequences are a montage, in this case, it's easier to treat them as ordinary scenes. It's easier to track as locations as an AD or producer.

Code: 
INT. BACKROOM, INTERNET CAFE - DAY

Jackie taps away on his computer.  He glances back to see
customers in the outer room. Tyler hovers over him.

Jackie stands up from his chair and Tyler pushes him down.

                    JACKIE
   Look, just because you're my probation
   officer, I'm not going to commit crimes!  
   I gotta get--

                    TYLER
   Shut up! Keep your voice down!  Now
   do I say or I'll have your probation
   revoked!

Tyler stares him down. Jackie sits back down. 

                    JACKIE
    What's this guy to you?

EXT. PARK -- DAY (FLASHBACK)

Tyler, following John, watches from his parked car. 

John sits on a bench looking at a woman across from him. 
He nervously approaches and sits down beside her.

From a distance, Tyler sees them speak.  John stands and
looks dejected and walks away. 

Tyler observes John's emotions through binoculars.

INT. BACKROOM, INTERNET CAFE - DAY

                      TYLER
      An enigma wrapped in a whole lotta
      bullshit, I'm guessing.

                      JACKIE
      Guy's into guns from his bank
      statements.

Tyler looks at an entry.

EXT. SHOOTING RANGE -- DAY  (FLASHBACK)

Tyler watches from a distance, hidden.

An instructor shows John how to block a pistol draw and force
the pistol out of a gunman's hand.

John attempts it and improves with each attempt.

The instructor nods approval.

INT. BACKROOM, INTERNET CAFE - DAY

                      TYLER
      Just focus on finding any unusual
      deposits into his account.

Jackie scrolls down the list of Henderson's bank 
transactions.

Jackie whistles.

                      JACKIE
       This guy rakes in the dough.  Must
       be nice to be a lawyer.  There are
       a few flagged entries.

                       TYLER
       Flagged?

                     JACKIE
       Yeah, anything over $15K is 
       automatically flagged to catch
       money laundering operations.

Jackie scrolls down.

                      JACKIE
        Hold on.  He deposited 27,489 
        dollars into his account, cash. 

Tyler thinks for moment.

                      TYLER
        Can you cross-check anyone 
        previously connected to John
        Wray's account to see if any of 
        them withdrew the same amount 
        of money?

Jackie looks up in disbelief.  Tyler glares down.  Jackie shakes
his head and goes back and taps on the keyboard.

EXT.  SHOOTING RANGE -- DAY (FLASHBACK)

John shoots a target and hits the middle several times.

                         JACKIE (V.O.)
         That's impossible but there are only
         four major banks in the area that 
         would handle that much money.

John's instructor motions.  The target moves all the way to 
back.

Wray lines up and fires. 

                        JACKIE (V.O.)
         Looks like your in luck.  

The target slides forward with tight hits in the chest of the 
target.

INT. BACKROOM, INTERNET CAFE - DAY

Tyler leans in.  Snorts to himself and shakes his head.

                     TYLER
      Leo Henderson.

                                                     FLASHBACK TO:

EXT. PSYCHOTHERAPY OFFICE BUILDING -- DAY 

Henderson walks out in a suit and color shirt, sunglasses,
wth a coffee paper. 

Tyler looks at him with a telephoto lens from his parked car. 

Through the lens, Tyler watches Henderson cross the street.

EXT. PARK -- DAY

Henderson is having a BBQ with friends and family. 

Tyler watches from behind the trees in the distance with the
parobolic microphone aimed at him.

He lowers it and looks at the family and kids in wonder.

He's agitated, looks around, frowns and grabs a fast food cup
from the ground.  He glances about and undoes his fly.  A
sense of relief crosses his face until

he drops the cup and starts shaking his hand.

EXT. PARK -- LATER

He waits as the Hendersons pack up their car.

Tyler looks at his watch, sleepy and exhausted.

END FLASHBACK:

INT. BACKROOM, INTERNET CAFE - DAY

                     TYLER
     Get me a list of his personal contacts.

                      JACKIE
     You owe me for this.

Tyler looks down at him then a small grin breaks his lips.

                     TYLER
      If I'm right.  Yeah, I do.
 
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Oh okay thanks. I didn't know montages were dialogue-less. Some movies like Spy Game, and The Fugitive have montages, but some lines are said as the scenes jump back and forth. In my sequence though, it's not really a flashback, but a flashforward. Tyler is blackmailing the computer hacker to get him information on suspects, and it flashes forward to different scenes of Tyler tailing them. Should I write flash forward instead of flashback?

I also noticed you wrote (FLASHBACK) in the scene heading in one case, but you wrote FLASHBACK TO:, as a transition in another. What is the difference that caused you to write it in two different formats?
 
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harmonica44 said:
Oh okay thanks. I didn't know montages were dialogue-less. Some movies like Spy Game, and The Fugitive have montages, but some lines are said as the scenes jump back and forth.
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Technically those should be SERIES OF SHOTS not MONTAGE. For a detailed discussion, check Trottier's "Screenwriter's Bible". I could have used voiceovers for the flashback sequences because they are regular slugline scenes. Montages are less structured and more descriptive. A Series of Shots is more structured and often themed. Many writers just opt to use regular sluglines than use series of shots.

harmonica44 said:
In my sequence though, it's not really a flashback, but a flashforward. Tyler is blackmailing the computer hacker to get him information on suspects, and it flashes forward to different scenes of Tyler tailing them. Should I write flash forward instead of flashback?
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This is a personal choice but I would strongly urge against "flash forward". There is no visual clue for the viewer to know you are flashing forward instead of recalling an event. You will lose your viewer. The reader has the advantage of knowing what you write. Not the audience. Some writers are even dead set against "flashbacks" but I think the can be useful if used judiciously.
harmonica44 said:
I also noticed you wrote (FLASHBACK) in the scene heading in one case, but you wrote FLASHBACK TO:, as a transition in another. What is the difference that caused you to write it in two different formats?
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In the first case, it was only for one scene which was then followed by jumping back to the present (Internet cafe). When you flashback over multiple scenes and/or locations, use it as a block. In that case (therapy building and park) before returning to the cafe.
 
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Okay thanks. But there have been movies that have flash forwarded before. Like in Valkyrie, the ending had flash fowarded into the future, and then goes back to the present, and cuts back and forth. I found it on youtube. It's at 1:40:30, into the clip.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nI9-dgq7a4

Can I write flash forwards if Valkyrie was able to make it make sense?

I like how you rewrote some of the dialogue, thanks. However, when wrote this like "That's impossible but there are only four major banks in the area that would handle that much money", were you trying to convey that the suspect could be found by what bank? I am not sure where you were going with that.
 
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In the US, financial institutions alert the government when large sums of money are deposited or withdrawn. Most small institutions won't allow you to withdraw more than $500-$1000 in cash. For me, a large corporate bank would be more likely to permit a large cash withdraw by a corporate customer. A lawyer would have hundreds of legitimate clients. And in the case of a crooked lawyer probably anyone would be careful not to document the under-the-table ones. So if it was a cash deposit, literally anyone could be the client. Asking to find that withdraw was a needle in a very, very large haystack. Jackie would need to narrow it down. Looking at large banks seems more likely. It could also have been a fail. The withdrawal could have been for more and not that specific amount. So instead of just one name, several names may have come up and Tyler spotted Leo's.
Again, Tyler would have to know about Leo in advance or all the names (many presumably innocent as well) would need to be vetted for a possible connection to Wray.

As for flash forward, it ONLY works if you tell the audience that this is what will happen. I haven't seen Valkyrie. It certainly doesn't use flash forward in the script when I looked at it online. Are you sure they weren't transitioning between concurrent events?

Code: 
                  TOM
    The plan is simple.  First we need
    to engage the SS.

Scene of SS being mobilized

                 TOM (V.O.)
      As they mobilize it will expose the
      base camp.

Scene of insiders, moving stealthily into control
rooms.
 ....
Like I said, I haven't seen it. I'm not saying you can't use flash forward, just be sure you make it clear to the audience this is happening. Why not simply show the events as they unfold naturally? A simple way to do that would be:
Code: 
EXT. INTERNET CAFE - DAY

Tyler walks out with his notepad in hand.  He looks 
about and crosses to his car.

INT.  TYLER'S CAR - DAY

Tyler looks down at a hand written list of names.
Top of the list, John Wray.

Montage of shots showing him following John.

Tyler's hand scratches through John Wray.  He taps
next to Leo Henderson.

Montage of tracking Leo Henderson.

INT.  TYLER'S CAR - NIGHT

Tyler's hand scratches through Henderson.  His 
pencil pauses at Linda's name.  He taps it and 
draws a circle beside it.

Tyler tosses the pad to the side and flips off the
overhead light.  He drives off.
This allow for some "flashforward" but suggests it through implied purpose. It's not clear in the Internet cafe scene that's what was happening. Good luck.
 
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Okay thanks. Well basically as Tyler finds out about Henderson on the computer, I want to flash forward to him tailing Henderson around, but then cut back to him with Jackie as they discover more, if do-able. Do I write (FLASH FORWARD) and END FLASH FOWARD:, in the script, or how should I let the audience know?
 
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harmonica44 said:
Okay thanks. Well basically as Tyler finds out about Henderson on the computer, I want to flash forward to him tailing Henderson around, but then cut back to him with Jackie as they discover more, if do-able. Do I write (FLASH FORWARD) and END FLASH FOWARD:, in the script, or how should I let the audience know?
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Good question. I know of no way. You're telling the reader of your script, not the audience. That's why I advise against it. I'm suggesting it's not doable in this instance. Those are the descriptors you would use. Good luck.
 
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Okay thanks. The Valkyrie script does not specify that the script jumps into the future and then back again, but that is what happens in the final cut of the movie. Frost/Nixon also did the same thing. Another movie that comes to mind is The Bourne Ultimatum. In that one, at the end... SPOILER:

Bourne is shot and falls into the bay. It then flashes forward to the villains being indicted a few days later, when Nicki watches in TV. It then cuts back to born in the water, waking up, and swimming away. The script does not use flash forward, but that is what I want to do basically.
 
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