Formatting a montage sequence
I was just wondering what is the actual format to cite a montage? Is it similar to:
EXT. MONTAGE – DAY
There are so many images coming from so many different places, how does one cite such a thing as a montage? Thanks for your time and help.
–Mike
North Carolina, USA
A montage is a collection of very short scenes, sometimes only a single shot each, designed to show a series of actions over time. Depending on the needs of the sequence, there are a few different options for how to write a montage in screenplay form.
The easiest example is when all the action is taking place in one location. For instance, say you have a character trying on clothes — the infamous Changing Room Montage. It might read something like this:
INT. CHANGING ROOM – DAY
Holly enters with a massive armload of clothes. Kyle’s eyes bulge. Holly pulls the curtain shut.
MONTAGE
Holly emerges, dressed in different outfits, each more elaborate than the last. Kyle watches in horror and dismay, checking his watch as the madness continues.
And when it’s time to finish, a single line of “END MONTAGE” lets the reader know you’re going back to normal time.
When a montage moves between multiple locations, the situation gets a little more difficult. Often the best choice is to not even say “MONTAGE” and just let it be a series of short scenes — just a slugline and a sentence or two of description. The reader will correctly intuit that there’s a montage occurring.
If all the locations in the sequence fall within one larger location, the most economical choice may be to just change the slugline:
INT. MARY’S HOUSE – VARIOUS ROOMS
MONTAGE as Mary chases after the dog, trying to put in the eyedrops. Every time she has him cornered, he manages to escape, ducking under the coffee table or vaulting over the bed.
My advice is to pick the simplest version that gets the point across. You may find that you’re using two or three different formats in a single script, depending on the needs of each sequence.
Articles
July 21st, 2004 at 5:00 pm
What formatting info can you provide in respect to showing a montage with simultaneous narration?
July 21st, 2004 at 5:04 pm
When combining narration with montage, I would recommend to keep narration blocks in relatively big chunks, and not try to match up line-by-line, shot-by-shot. In the Big Fish script (on this site) you can see quite a bit of this.
April 17th, 2006 at 2:41 pm
I am a writer of suspense and non-fiction, though I have never tried my hand (or keyboard) at screenwriting until now. I am also making my first stab at comedy, so this premiere attempt will unite two new endeavors at once. The information, especially formatting guidelines were more than helpful, especially in their simplicity. Thank you so much, John!
November 11th, 2006 at 2:04 pm
My wife bought me Montage. What do you think of it? Should I take it back and just throw down some more cash? Also, writing a montage with multiple locations isn’t in as much depth as I would have hope you would have explained it to me on this site. Could you direct me to other writings? Sites? Books?
Thank you, Mark
November 13th, 2006 at 2:20 pm
John is right. Easiest is best. General mess in this area can be reduced to extra superflous direction that need be cut. Or layman terms deemed not enough – I say somewhat correct because there is always sticklers for his or her method to be found anywhere. It will all be rearranged by them, the first a.d., when she or he breaks down the script, so it all becomes quite academic. Make it snappy and easy to follow through. I would just write it down as normal action, perhaps add montage on parenthesis on the slug line to help the coverage reader, if you are so inclined.
December 27th, 2006 at 2:00 pm
Anyone have any tips on using dialog during a montage scene?