Hello Fellow Screenwriters, I’m currently outlining a teleplay that moves back and forth between the present and the past a lot. A large portion of the story is told in flashback kind of in the same fashion as How To Get Away With Murder and Quantico. My question is how to best format the scene headings when I want to include the specificity of when exactly the flash back is happening. Should I include the exact times for instance EXT. PARKING LOT - DAY - LAST WEEK, or is it better to just use EXT. PARKING LOT - DAY - FLASHBACK and include a SUPER to show the specific time? Thank you in advance for any assistance anyone might be able to provide. Justin. G. Wade
Screenwriting : Flashback Scene Headings by Justin Wade
Flashback Scene Headings
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Personally I've done it as
(EXT - PARKING LOT - DAY)
(In this flashback from last week Character X pulls up into the lot...)
Bill, How frequently were you using the flashback. In this project like every other scene is a flashback.
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I like Bill's advise here.
You could even start with "This scene is a flash back of/from ..." or use a text to indicate exactly when the scene took place.
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At the end of the day, it's about being as clear and concise as possible. As long as you're communicating the detail without confusion and you're not taking up too much space doing so, then you're not going to go too far wrong.
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Agree with Phil C, it is about being as clear and concise as possible. ;) Here's a scene heading from How to Get Away With Murder, the pilot script, for example:
EXT. MAIN QUAD, MIDDLETON UNIVERSITY - DAY - 4 MONTHS EARLIER
Wes, the September sun on his face, now rides his bike through Middleton's pristine, manicured campus. A CHYRON appears: FOUR MONTHS EARLIER.
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Here's the How to Get Away With Murder pilot script in its entirety: http://www.zen134237.zen.co.uk/How_To_Get_Away_With_Murder_1x01_-_Pilot.pdf. ;) Hope that helps!
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Thank you all so much this has been very helpful! I was kind of in my head about this and I’m only on the outline. Beth this script is a life saver. Phil I’m trying to do exactly what you described. Once I start the actual script I may post a few examples just to make sure it’s not too confusing. Thanks again guys!