Montage or quick shots?

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  • Montage or quick shots?

    or Series of Shots? Here's Story Sense's view...

    Montage or Series of Shots?

    Writers are often confused about how to present a series of short scenes that are illustrative or transitional in nature. When the shots are so short and disjointed as to make it awkward to present them as scenes, then a "SERIES OF SHOTS- is the answer.

    Montages, on the other hand, are usually transitional, with each shot dissolving into the next one, and they often don't involve the principal characters. For example, a montage of a flight might include the airplane taking off, dissolving into an animated line showing its progress across a map, dissolving into a shot of the plane flying through the clouds, dissolving into a shot of it landing.

    Montages tend to be used less often than a series of shots. In either case, the images should not be random, but progress the narrative and build to a climax.


    Standard screenplay format dictates they begin with a slug line describing the content. It's not sufficient just to describe them in paragraphs of action.
    Each shot must be listed in alphabetical outline form, without a scene heading, starting with a capital letter "A- and a closed parenthesis, followed by two spaces:


    SERIES OF SHOTS - JONES RUNS ACROSS MANHATTAN

    A) Dodging dogs on leashes in Central Park.

    B) Weaving through stopped traffic at Times Square, dodging a bicycle messenger.

    C) Hustling into the Canal Street subway entrance.



    The text in each shot should wrap beneath the text, not beneath the letter of the outline. This is essentially a hanging indent. Unfortunately, most script formatting software cannot handle a hanging indent. You must insert a hard return at the end of each line, and then type four spaces to indent the next line. To prevent each line in a shot from being double-spaced, press "Shift- simultaneously with the "Enter- key.

    Unlike with a flashback, there is no need to tell us when the montage ends. We know it has ended when we see a new scene heading. Always start a new scene (with a complete heading) after a montage.


    Sub-question - which allows you to sneak in dialogue between shots?

    To make it more confusing, I recently read EASY A and they wrote "quick shots" in the action paragraph. Which makes it a smoother read?

  • #2
    Re: Montage or quick shots?

    I normally use MONTAGES to dictate a period or chapter over a passage of time e.g. two characters falling love, a soldier surviving war as we hear the voice over of his wife writing a letter -- that kind of stuff.

    Sometimes the narrative is obvious enough that I don't write MONTAGE or SERIES OF SHOTS.

    I personally don't think the indent is important. And you can sneak in dialogue quite easily. I usually include END OF MONTAGE and END OF SHOTS for clarity.

    SERIES OF SHOTS - JONES RUNS ACROSS MANHATTAN

    A) Dodging YAPPING dogs on leashes in Central Park.

    JONES
    Woof!

    B) Weaving through stopped traffic at Times Square
    and narrowly missing a bicycle messenger.

    JONES
    Woof!

    C) Hustling into the Canal Street subway entrance,
    passing a HOT WOMAN going the other way.

    JONES
    Woof!

    I may even do away with the letters and use an em-dash. To me, QUICK SHOTS are just snappier versions of SERIES OF SHOTS. Depends on the narrative.

    Jones opens a cabinet filled with guns.

    QUICK SHOTS

    -- Sets down shotguns, pistols, and uzis.

    -- Unfurls a long ammo belt.

    -- Locks and loads a SAW MACHINE GUN.

    -- Laces up his boots.

    END OF SHOTS

    Jones stands like a human armory. He shoulders
    shotguns gaffer-taped to other weapons.

    JONES
    Woof!

    But this is just how I personally write.

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Montage or quick shots?

      Always follow basic principles first - however you write it, make it clear and to the point, with no ambiguity or padding. Don't get sidetracked with clever formatting at the expense of clarity and an engaging read.

      If you're using dialogue then it's no longer a series of shots or a montage, it's a normal sequence with alternating dialogue, shot description, dialogue, shot description, etc. and it's written like that without the slug "SERIES OF SHOTS - ..."

      No sane reader will reject your script if it reads "quick shots" instead of "series of shots", but the latter adheres more closely to convention. If in doubt, err on the side of safety.

      Story Sense's description of presentation matches the most authoritative guides I've used. However I'm not sure why it says that shots in a montage are usually dissolved - I don't know where that comes from. The key distinguishing element between a montage and series of shots is that the former is used to illustrate a concept or idea or create a setting, whereas the latter is a sequential series of actions used to build a contained, chronological sequence. In a montage the shots are usually descriptive of a theme and not a particular sequence.

      A really good authority on this stuff is David Trottier.
      "Friends make the worst enemies." Frank Underwood

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Montage or quick shots?

        The definitive reference for understanding a montage:

        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLuOl36vamI

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Montage or quick shots?

          Thanks for the educational material. I've been trying to figure this out for a while. May I ask for assistance?

          Let's say I'm writing a scene of someone's life flashing before their eyes. Would that be considered a series of shots, a montage or something different?

          I'll write a quick example. It contains several scenes at various locations, some dialogue and it jumps back and forth between past and present tense. How would a professional clean up this mess that I've made?


          Int. Dark Alley - Night

          Tommy lies in a puddle of his own blood while a masked gunmen escapes through a narrow corridor. He struggles to maintain consciousness.

          Flash To:

          Series of Shots - Recent memories racing through Tommy's mind.

          A) Tommy catches brother in bed with his wife -- all hell breaks loose.

          B) 10 years earlier, brother stands as best man in Tommy's wedding. The wife reads her vows.

          Wife
          I will always love you.

          Flash To:

          C) Present: Blood seeps through Tommy's teeth. His eyes roll back into his head.

          Flash To:

          D) Days earlier, Tommy and wife fight in a busy restaurant.

          Wife
          I $*#@ed your brother! Are you happy now?!

          E) Present: Tommy stops breathing...

          End of Series


          Thanks in advance for the help.


          KENTA

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Montage or quick shots?

            I read in one of the online guides (don't remember which) that a Montage shows different locations and times, whereas a Series of Shots is confined essentially to the same location, same time frame.

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Montage or quick shots?

              In David Trottier's latest Screenwriting Bible he says that they have basically morphed almost into one, so doesn't really matter which one you use -- just make sure it is easy to follow
              "you have to write right, right?" -- Todd Gordon

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Montage or quick shots?

                The only part of this question that really matters:

                Originally posted by Moviequill View Post
                -- just make sure it is easy to follow
                "Friends make the worst enemies." Frank Underwood

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Montage or quick shots?

                  Other than clarity being a given, I use Series of Shots.

                  All Montages (in the classical sense) are a Series of Shots,
                  but not all Series of Shots are Montages.
                  "I am the story itself; its source, its voice, its music."
                  - Clive Barker, Galilee

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Montage or quick shots?

                    Thanks folks,

                    I really appreciate the help. In regards to the sample I wrote, could someone please provide feedback as to whether or not I used the technique effectively? Was my sample easy enough to follow? If not, what would you do differently?

                    Thanks again,

                    KENTA

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Montage or quick shots?

                      Originally posted by KENTA View Post
                      Thanks for the educational material. I've been trying to figure this out for a while. May I ask for assistance?

                      Let's say I'm writing a scene of someone's life flashing before their eyes. Would that be considered a series of shots, a montage or something different?
                      There's been a lot of conficting ideas posted as to what constitutes a SERIES OF SHOTS and what constitutes a MONTAGE, and to wrap it up someone reports that Trottier is now saying the two have morphed essentially into the same thing, which I find disconcerting because I think they are completely different cinematic techniques that do completely different things and should be differentiated much in the way they have always been.

                      I have Trottier's Third Edition in which on page 119 he writes:

                      "The MONTAGE is used more often than the SERIES OF SHOTS. Even when the sequence is a true SERIES OF SHOTS, the MONTAGE format is often used. Sometimes the heading MONTAGE is used and then the shots are numbered exactly like the SERIES OF SHOTS example above. The rules are fluid here, and the terms are often used interchangeably. Use both devices sparingly."

                      Me, I take little comfort from this as he seems to be mincing his words because he's not quite sure of himself. I dunno, I probably just prefer gurus who take stronger more specific stands on things.

                      That said, it appears from what Mr. Trottier says we can all just do it however we choose, adhereing as best we're able to the admonition "to be clear," which applies in all cases anyway.

                      In my mind, a MONTAGE is a series of lap dissolved shots that illustrate a theme or some cogent story component that passes time, a boxer doing a series of training regimens, a long distance runner running in a series of different locations at different times as he prepares for the big race, a dissatisfied painter working on different paintings at different times and not getting anywhere (or, getting somewhere and making progress), a group of mounted outlaws riding to the place where they'll perpetrate a train robbery, a pair of young lovers in a series of different situations in different locations that illustrate the idea they are falling in love, and so on.

                      Whereas a SERIES OF SHOTS is used to illustrate the movement of a character or a group of characters through time and place when it's necessary to show that some time and distance and effort is involved, which would not be seen if a cut was made directly to the end place; a kind of bridging device. Or when we wish to illustratea series of independent actions by a character that lead to a given result or conclusion, a cowboy breaking a horse for example, or a cabinetmaker building a cabinet or a house painter painting a house or a rock climber climbng a high rock face.

                      There are of course other kinds of instances or situations where a MONTAGE or a SERIES OF SHOTS would be appropriate, don't let my examples constrain the possible uses.

                      I don't think dialogue should be included in either a MONTAGE or series of shots; again, that's traditional.

                      Originally posted by KENTA View Post
                      I'll write a quick example. It contains several scenes at various locations, some dialogue and it jumps back and forth between past and present tense. How would a professional clean up this mess that I've made?
                      Not past and present tense but rather and more simply, past and present.

                      (We still write things in a flashback in present tense ... movies are always "now.")

                      Originally posted by KENTA View Post
                      Int. Dark Alley - Night

                      Tommy lies in a puddle of his own blood while a masked gunmen escapes through a narrow corridor. He struggles to maintain consciousness.
                      This could be read as the masked gunman struggles to maintain consciousness. I'd turn it round:

                      Tommy lies in a puddle of his own blood. He struggles to maintain consciousnes as a masked gunmen escapes through a narrow corridor.

                      This way, there's no mistaking who struggles to maintain their consciousness.

                      Originally posted by KENTA View Post
                      Flash To:

                      Series of Shots - Recent memories racing through Tommy's mind.

                      A) Tommy catches brother in bed with his wife -- all hell breaks loose.

                      B) 10 years earlier, brother stands as best man in Tommy's wedding. The wife reads her vows.

                      Wife
                      I will always love you.

                      Flash To:

                      C) Present: Blood seeps through Tommy's teeth. His eyes roll back into his head.

                      Flash To:

                      D) Days earlier, Tommy and wife fight in a busy restaurant.

                      Wife
                      I $*#@ed your brother! Are you happy now?!

                      E) Present: Tommy stops breathing...

                      End of Series
                      I'd revise this and not use "flash to," which seems to be an uncommon mechanism (Trottier makes no mention of it, for example).

                      The opening scene caption need not specify "dark" when the scene is declared to be "NIGHT."

                      INT. ALLEY - NIGHT

                      Tommy lies in a puddle of his own blood. He struggle to maintain consciousness as a MASKED GUNMAN escapes through a narrow corridor.

                      SERIES OF SHOTS

                      A) Tommy catches his brother in bed with his wife -- all hell breaks loose.

                      B) Ten years earlier, Tommy's brother stands as best man in Tommy's wedding.

                      C) Tommy's new wife says her vows MOS.

                      BACK TO SCENE

                      Blood now seeps through Tommy's teeth. His eyes roll back into his head.

                      INT RESTAURANT (DAYS EARLIER)

                      Tommy and his wife engage in heated argument, attracting attention from other PATRONS, of whom there are many.

                      WIFE
                      I dumped your brother! Are you happy now?!

                      BACK TO SCENE

                      Tommy stops breathing, expires.

                      This uses 118 words, or five less than your rendition but it strikes me as being a cleaner read, mainly because it's formed in a more traditional manner.

                      I'd count on the director to determine the appropriate pacing of the cuts.

                      I guess we all have to pick our poison.

                      Originally posted by KENTA View Post
                      Thanks in advance for the help.

                      KENTA
                      Indeed, and good luck with this!

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Montage or quick shots?

                        Originally posted by FADE IN View Post
                        I don't think dialogue should be included in either a MONTAGE or series of shots; again, that's traditional.
                        Because it's traditional? IMO, it's a bad reason not to do something that might be helpful. I haven't seen it in a few years, but I seem to remember a speed dating montage in 40 Year Old Virgin that's almost all dialogue, with a few visual jokes tossed in.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Montage or quick shots?

                          Originally posted by JeffLowell View Post
                          Because it's traditional? IMO, it's a bad reason not to do something that might be helpful. I haven't seen it in a few years, but I seem to remember a speed dating montage in 40 Year Old Virgin that's almost all dialogue, with a few visual jokes tossed in.
                          I don't think this is a question of what to write, just whether or not to label it as a MONTAGE in the script.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: Montage or quick shots?

                            So it's okay to use dialogue in a montage or series of shots as long as you don't label it as a montage or series of shots?

                            That doesn't really make sense to me.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: Montage or quick shots?

                              Originally posted by JeffLowell View Post
                              So it's okay to use dialogue in a montage or series of shots as long as you don't label it as a montage or series of shots?

                              That doesn't really make sense to me.
                              My background is as a director, primarily TV commercials, some music videos, short films and other branded content. Before that I was an editor. Historically, and as the terms are commonly used, a MONTAGE or a SERIES OF SHOTS wouldn't include dialogue. This has nothing to do with what's okay, or rules. It's simply, in my humble opinion, a misuse of the terms. Here's one way to handle it that would make more sense to me:

                              A MONTAGE showing the history of manned space flight, INTERCUT with snippets of ASTRONAUTS speaking directly to camera.

                              -- Description of shot
                              -- Description of shot
                              -- Description of shot

                              JOHN GLENN
                              Dialogue

                              -- Description of shot
                              -- Description of shot

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