Screenwriting : Flashbacks by Christine Capone

Hi Christine,

Nothing wrong with the VO - that works for a reader and audience.

An audience can't read the year in a slugline, so a SUPER is clear to both the reader and the audience.

The director and cinematographer can only work with what's on the page - so IMO, you need some visuals to establish the change of year. If it's a location the reader and audience already know, like a house a character grew up in, then highlight just enough visual changes that show the change in the time period.

Thanks Eoin. I'll see what I can do to show the date. Maybe have a poster of Friends in the background?? She also could be sporting the Rachel haircut : ) Having a Super for present day might work best because in my script, the present day is in 2012. I mean seriously, what else can I show that it's 2012? Not much, so I do it with dialogue.

Reading it and shooting it are two different things. Isn't it the Director's job to figure out how to shoot it to make it look like a flashback?

Obviously you can do it either way but there is no reason to do it both ways. The director is responsible how it will appear on film because that is their job.

Ok, I guess I'm looking at it from a reader's standpoint. If I just write it in the slug line, is that acceptable? Or would that be strikes against me because I'm not actually showing details from that decade (in terms of pitching the script)? Is stating that it's 1995 enough for the director as well as set production?

I avoid using them as much as I can....but couple years back I was doing a draft on my optioned script and I had to....I relied to David Twohy's "A Perfect Gateway", as it was thriller and I think his script is perfect example of doing flashbacks in means of a third act twist.

Yeah, I'm not a big fan but I wouldn't have been able to tell the story.

I read a first or second draft of "The Revenant" screenplay and the writer didn't use any sluglines or named flashback scenes, but on the page it was easy to tell current scenes and flashback scenes.

Also, "The Arrival" screenplay has a genius twist of writing flashforwards as flashbacks on the page.

As for identifying flashbacks, dates, transitions, whatever - personally I don't care. Just don't bore readers. Make us turn pages...Good Luck!

Along with all the points mentioned, for formatting: INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT (FLASHBACK) .... add the parenthetical as it will help tremendously when creating a shooting schedule.

Dan I'll check those out, thanks! I agree. I guess I was thinking more in terms of pitching/sending the script out. If it's enough for the reader to put the specific year. The reader obviously will know it's 1995. It's up to the director to make it look that way.

Christine - I'm one of those dreaded readers (for Agents & a few small studios). Don't confuse me. I look to get into the storyline right from the get-go and want to ride that line right to the end. If you throw me off, I may not get back on. Nothing is obvious to the reader. 'FLASHBACK' is a transition - but it's left justified; next line is 'SUPER' - tell me when. Follow that with a scene header. When you're all done, you need another transition; 'BACK TO SCENE or END FLASHBACK' - again left justified. That makes it easy to follow and that's what works best. You all can argue about it all you want - but that's just the way it is.

Doug, I like it that way! It makes sense but now I see that I might have screwed this one up. I put in the slug after she makes a comment about an earlier time in her life. So it reads like this:

Example:

Dialogue

"....and it all happened seventeen years ago"

Int. Home Basement - 1995

SCENE DESCRIPTION

Dialogue

-the character states something that brings us back to current day, which then reads:

Int. Master Bedroom - 2015

It's an easy transition but I didn't put Flashback and End of Flashback because it was kind of obvious with her dialogue and slug line. I think I'll change it to how you suggested it. I hope this makes sense!

'...and it all happened seventeen years ago' is an example of expository dialog that may be more impactful if shown rather than spoken. Don't know the story so I really can't say for sure.

In this situation, I felt that it had to be stated. The ending is at the beginning, then it cuts to a flashback as to why she's doing what she's doing. haha.

Flashbacks play an integral part in most film projects. The initial approach depends on your short and long term objectives. Create a story board with various scenarios and have the team and screenwriters along with actors, directors and producers provide feedback. That is one option.

I make it clear that it's a flashback in the script using the scene heading itself, sometimes adding a date in the screenplay, too, if the story jumps back and forth in time.

I've written flashbacks even when many in the industry say to avoid them. I can see their point. That recent movie WRATH OF MAN had tons of flashbacks. So many it was difficult to follow the story. I think some of the movie reviews commented on the number of flashbacks.

The project I'm on would be simplified by flashbacks, but I'm trying to do without. More work, more ways to get it done.

The slug is definitely the wrong place for the year... if the protag's V.O. says "seventeen years ago" then that's all you need since the next scene has the feel of the past with older music from that era, etc. In my opinion, even a super showing the year that is 17 years prior would be unnecessary under those conditions. Especially since the action description coming directly after the slug gives you yet another chance to establish that the new scene is in the time 17 years earlier.

Hi Christine Capone . I don't use flashbacks a lot but I have done in 2 particular scripts for the character's background story and I did so using dreams. The dream world flashback allows you to make it obvious it's a flashback and because they wake up, it's then obvious they are back in the story.

@A.C. very true! I guess I didn't have to include it. I did put Int. Home Basement - 1995 and probably shouldn't have. I'll fix it, thanks!

A.S. The slug is not the wrong place for the year. It helps the person doing the breakdown and scheduling. If you just have someone say “seventeen years ago” in the previous seen might work for the reader but since they don’t shoot scenes in the same order it is better to have it in the scene heading. Of course this is just my own preference.

Johnathan this definitely works. I did use the word Flashback and then used music from that era. I know that the cinematography would change as well to show it's also from a different era. So many factors can play into the flashback.

True Dan Guardino I'll just keep it. It makes it an easy read. I mean, I'm sure it wouldn't be held against me, right??

Christine. Nobody will hold it against you.

I just write in parentheses "Flashback" (without the quotation marks) as part of the scene heading.