Script Studio

Flashback / dream / montage / intercut

4 min read

Scripts often need flashback / dream / montage / intercut scenes. Script format has dedicated markers so readers grasp the type at a glance.

Slima Script Studio Plan view as a visual reference; special scene markers are added to scene headings in Write view

Four common special scene types

1. Flashback

A scene set in the past (childhood, war memory).

Notation: add FLASHBACK to the scene heading:

SCENE 12 / INT. LIGHTHOUSE COTTAGE / DAY - 1995 (FLASHBACK)

Or Hollywood:

INT. LIGHTHOUSE COTTAGE - DAY - 1995 (FLASHBACK)

When exiting flashback, end with END FLASHBACK.

In Slima's mock setting, The Last Night Train's C-story is J. Doe's childhood flashback.

2. Dream sequence

Not actually happening; in a character's head.

Notation:

SCENE 8 / INT. LIGHTHOUSE COTTAGE / NIGHT (DREAM)

Or:

DREAM SEQUENCE:
SCENE 8 / INT. LIGHTHOUSE COTTAGE / NIGHT
...
END DREAM

3. Montage

A series of short shots representing time passing or emotional accumulation.

Notation:

MONTAGE:
- J. Doe climbs the lighthouse at dawn each day
- The lighthouse beam cuts through a storm-wracked sea
- J. Doe ages, but his motions don't change

END MONTAGE

Montages have no full dialogue — just short description lines.

4. Intercut / Bridge

Two scenes crosscut (e.g. both ends of a phone call, parallel chases).

Notation:

SCENE 15 / INT. POLICE STATION / NIGHT - INTERCUT WITH SCENE 16

Officer J. Doe picks up the phone.

  J. DOE
    This is Officer Doe.

INTERCUT:
SCENE 16 / EXT. LIGHTHOUSE / NIGHT

A. Smith stands atop the lighthouse, in the fog, phone to her ear.

  A. SMITH
    You can't tell him...

INTERCUT indicates the shot crosscuts between two locations.

How Slima handles special scenes

Slima doesn't auto-classify flashback / dream / montage — you mark (FLASHBACK) / (DREAM) in the scene heading yourself.

But these special markers appear in:

  • Scene Board card titles (visible label)
  • List mode's scene rows
  • Exported formats (industry-standard layout)

Storyline integration

Special scenes often belong to specific storylines (e.g. a dedicated flashback C-story). Linking via Scene Detail Panel makes the board display them with the storyline's colour.

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