Many thanks for the previous CUT TO: tips. If I may, I would like to pose this one. One of my main characters spends a scene or two cleaning up the attic. During the chore, he discovers so much about the life of another character - he finds family photos, an 8mm film, a wedding dress, etc. He starts to piece together her life simply by this task. I have previously used CUT TO: to move between the gaps in missing time - for example, he holds the photo up to the light - it shows a toddler on a tricycle CUT TO: he opens a box to find a folded wedding dress. The character is in the garage for one whole evening, which I have reduced to 2 scenes with cut-tos like above. So, following on from the thrust of the previous advice to use CUT TO: as little as possible, how should I best denote this passage of time WITHIN a scene? Alternatively, the question would be, should I simply start a new scene (even though it follows on same location) for each passage of time? Many thanks in advance for what I am sure will be great advice.
Screenwriting : Passage of time by Peter Smith
Passage of time
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Here's a little bit of advice: Cut the attic scene(s)--it's wasted time, and it can be logistically/monetarily hard to shoot. Instead, have your main character carry a box (from the attic) to a table somewhere downstairs. Have something in that box that distinguishes the other character in a way that sets her apart from the norm. Photos like the little girl on tricycle, a wedding dress, and old films can be found in many attics. They're mundane. Have what your main character finds give him more understanding of the uniqueness of the other character. An example would be a picture of the other character as a teenager sitting on a camel next to an Egyptian pyramid. That is definitely not mundane. Just make sure that what your main character finds relates to the plot, either to move it along or to add significant details.
In my current project, I ended up moving an attic scene to the second floor of a carriage house where I cut out all the normal attic stuff and left what was most important to the plot--a lot of shipping boxes. That change will make the scene much easier to stage and less expensive to film. From the changes I also made in the preceding scene, the carriage house scene now holds a more effective shock for the characters and for the viewers.
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Ratter than deciding where the editor should place the cuts could you just write what happens. For example:
He holds the photo to the light. It is a toddler on a tricycle.
He opens a box. It holds a wedding dress.
He yanks on a very dusty tarp. Covering his mouth with his hand he sees and old photo album as the dust clears. Its empty.
Another box reveals several rolls of 8mm film.
You could put each action on its own line without using a transition. Make sure each action reveals something essential to your story. Allow the director and editor to shoot and cut the scenes in the way they feels it. The reader will understand what is happening and be able to move on with the story.
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Perhaps a montage would work here? Simple. Concise. Easily shows passage of time...
Thanks so much. Seems there is no ideal way to do this, but your advice is really helping.
I'm learning that directors are engaging themselves with montages much these days.
Nuha, I don't believe there is a "should" in this. There are many different options that a writer can choose. A montage can be so much more than different locations of things happening at the same time.
Peter, you are correct; there is no ideal way to show the passage of time. How you do it will show your own voice as a writer.