To write a montage in a screenplay, put a heading such as MONTAGE - IDA LEARNS TO SAIL, list each brief image on its own line, then close with END MONTAGE. A flashback is written as an ordinary scene with FLASHBACK in or above its heading, followed by BACK TO PRESENT or a new scene heading when the story returns.
Montages, flashbacks, dream sequences and intercuts all bend time or space, so each has a label that tells the reader what is happening. The exact wording varies from writer to writer; what matters is that the reader never has to guess when or where they are.
How to write a montage in a screenplay
A montage compresses time — weeks of training, a relationship falling apart, a city waking up — into a run of short images that together make one point. Here is how to format it:
- Write a heading in capitals at the action margin: MONTAGE, followed by a dash and what the montage is about.
- List each image as its own short line of action. Start each with a double dash, a bullet or a letter.
- Give a location in an image only when it changes, so the reader can follow.
- Keep it to roughly four to eight images; readers skim long lists.
- Close with END MONTAGE, then continue with a new scene heading or with action in the scene the montage returns to.
MONTAGE - IDA LEARNS TO SAIL -- The dinghy capsizes. Ida surfaces, spitting harbor water. -- Dawn. She ties a knot, fails, ties it again. -- Rain. She bails with a saucepan, grinning. -- The dinghy cuts clean across the bay. KOFI watches from the pier, arms folded, not quite smiling. END MONTAGE
Montage vs series of shots
A series of shots is a quick run of related images that covers one stretch of continuous action, usually in one place and over a short time. A montage covers a longer span and often several places. On the page the two look almost the same; a series of shots is commonly lettered:
SERIES OF SHOTS - THE STORM HITS A) Shutters bang open along the harbor wall. B) A café sign tears loose and cartwheels down the quay. C) Ida's dinghy strains at its rope, then snaps free. BACK TO SCENE
Close a series of shots with END SERIES OF SHOTS or BACK TO SCENE if the scene continues where it left off.
How to write a flashback in a script
A flashback is written as a normal scene with a label that places it in the past. There are two common ways to mark it:
- In the heading: add (FLASHBACK) to the end of the scene heading, or put FLASHBACK - in front of it. This suits a single flashback scene.
- As a block: write FLASHBACK: or BEGIN FLASHBACK on its own line, then as many scene headings as you need, and close with END FLASHBACK. This suits a sequence of several scenes.
Return to the story with BACK TO PRESENT, BACK TO SCENE or simply a new scene heading with the present-day time. A label such as TWENTY YEARS EARLIER works as an on-screen title (a SUPER) if the audience needs the date as well as the reader.
INT. HARBOR CAFE - NIGHT (FLASHBACK) Younger IDA (30s) and a man in an oilskin share one umbrella in the doorway, laughing at something we do not hear. BACK TO PRESENT INT. HARBOR CAFE - NIGHT Ida, older, stares at the empty doorway.
Write flashbacks only when the past changes how we see the present. A flashback that explains what the audience has already guessed stops the story without moving it. Voice-over over a run of images is another way to bring the past in without a full flashback; After the Flood sets narration against picture this way.
How to write a dream sequence
A dream sequence is formatted like a flashback: label the heading with (DREAM) or open the sequence with BEGIN DREAM SEQUENCE, and close it with END DREAM SEQUENCE before the character wakes.
BEGIN DREAM SEQUENCE EXT. BAY - DAY The water is perfectly still. Ida walks on it, barefoot, toward the pier. The pier is gone. END DREAM SEQUENCE INT. IDA'S BEDROOM - NIGHT Ida jolts awake.
If the film is meant to fool the audience, you can let the reader be fooled too — write the dream as reality and reveal it when the character wakes. Just make sure the reveal is clear on the page.
How to write an intercut
An intercut tells the reader the film will cut back and forth between two or more places — most often both ends of a phone call. Establish each location with its own scene heading first, then write INTERCUT followed by the places, and carry on with the dialogue without repeating headings.
INT. IDA'S KITCHEN - NIGHT Ida dials. Waits. INT. COAST GUARD OFFICE - SAME KOFI answers, a chart spread under his elbow. INTERCUT - IDA'S KITCHEN / COAST GUARD OFFICE IDA The dinghy's gone. KOFI Then stay off the water tonight.
When the call ends, a new scene heading or END INTERCUT returns the story to one place. Two Calls in the Screenplay Museum is a full one-page intercut you can open and study. For the details of SAME, CONTINUOUS and other heading labels, see the scene headings guide.
Flash cuts and flash-forwards
A flash cut is a flashback reduced to an instant — a single image that intrudes on the present, often a memory a character is trying not to have. Write it as FLASH CUT TO: followed by one or two lines of action, then BACK TO SCENE. A flash-forward works like a flashback in the other direction: label the heading (FLASH FORWARD) or open with a block label, and make the return to the present just as clear. Both are strongest when used once or twice in a script; a story that keeps jumping needs a structure the reader can hold, not more labels.
Write it in Scenaloom
Scenaloom has no special montage or flashback element; you write them with the ordinary ones, the way the screenplay format expects — the heading as a scene heading or shot, the images as action and BACK TO PRESENT as a transition or action line. Because scenes are read from the script, a flashback written with its own scene heading shows up as its own card on the scene board and line in the scene list. For a film told out of order, the Nonlinear Narrative Planner advisor can review the structure with you. Start a script.
Questions
How do you format a montage in a screenplay?
Format a montage with a capitalized heading such as MONTAGE - THE MOVE, then list each image as a short line of action starting with a dash or a letter, and close with END MONTAGE. Keep it to about four to eight images and mention a location only when it changes. Then continue with a new scene heading or with action in the scene you return to.
What is the difference between a montage and a series of shots?
A montage compresses a longer stretch of time, often across several places, into short images that make one point — training, falling in love, a city at work. A series of shots covers a brief, continuous piece of action, usually in one location. Both are formatted as a capitalized heading followed by a list of short images.
How do you end a flashback in a screenplay?
End a flashback with BACK TO PRESENT, BACK TO SCENE or END FLASHBACK on its own line, then continue with the present-day scene. If the flashback was marked only in a scene heading, a new scene heading set in the present is also enough. The goal is that the reader always knows which time they are in.
How do you write a dream sequence in a script?
Write a dream sequence like a flashback: add (DREAM) to the scene heading, or open with BEGIN DREAM SEQUENCE and close with END DREAM SEQUENCE before the character wakes. If the film is meant to fool the audience, you can write the dream as reality and reveal it clearly on the page when the character wakes.
How do you write an intercut in a screenplay?
To write an intercut, give each location its own scene heading first, then write INTERCUT followed by the locations, such as INTERCUT - KITCHEN / OFFICE. After that, the dialogue runs without repeating headings, and the editor decides where to cut. It is the standard way to write a phone call. See the one-page example Two Calls.