Montages In Screenwriting: When and How To Use Them

Montages aren’t only the domain of editors splicing shots together - they’re also a storytelling tool that belongs to the screenwriter. Because montages are such a staple of cinematic language, it’s completely normal to see them written into scripts. In fact, “MONTAGE” has become a kind of shorthand. The moment someone in the industry reads it on the page, they can already see the sequence playing out in their mind.

In screenwriting, a montage is essentially a directorial cue, which isn’t always encouraged when you’re writing a screenplay. Still, because montages are so common, it’s not strange to see them written out in a script. In fact, using a stylistic cue like a montage can often be helpful, since it allows the reader to more clearly envision how the story will play out on screen.

There was a time when pretty much every script had at least one montage, but as with many techniques it can be overused and abused. Also montages aren’t as fashionable as they have been in the past (due to them being so heavily used in the 1980s that montages can come across as parodic). That being said, having one or two well-placed montages in your script can be a useful way to impart necessary information in your screenplay, and without having too many scenes or resorting to exposition (ie. imparting information about your story through dialogue rather than a character’s actions). Generally speaking, it’s better to show and not tell in a screenplay, and montages enable a writer to do just that.

Here are some common montage techniques and how to write them. 

The goal-driven montage shows how a character is progressing with their goal. Perhaps the most famous example of this kind of montage is the training sequence in Rocky. This sequence proved so popular that it led to similar training montages in the Rocky sequels and many films in the 1980s featuring a protagonist either physically training or working towards a goal. In many cases, the montage was accompanied by a pop or rock song with inspirational lyrics. As a result, if you utilize a montage in this fashion, it may come across as a spoof. This doesn’t mean you can’t have a goal-driven montage, but be mindful of how it can come across if you don’t stylistically distinguish it from a 1980s montage (unless you’re going for nostalgia or parody).

Character-driven montages, as opposed to goal-driven montages, haven’t been used to the point that they’re parodic. A good example are the montages in Taxi Driver in which we see various shots of Travis Bickle driving through the city as a voiceover conveys his thoughts. The montages in this context are used to reveal Bickle’s worldview and growing psychosis. It also gives you a sense of his job: driving restlessly, night after night, in a decaying city.

The most common and straight-forward use of a montage is to show a character making their way from one location to another. In a road trip film, it’s more or less guaranteed you’ll see a montage. This is general enough to not come across as parodic (unless you use Lindsey Buckingham’s famed song from National Lampoon’s Vacation, ‘Hollywood Road’ as a soundtrack cue). 

Road trips themselves have been played-out in recent years, but unless it’s a contained thriller, sometimes a character needs to get from Point A to Point B. And if it’s a long trip, spanning several days, a montage can be your best way to show the journey.

Typically all of the above montages also simultaneously convey a passage of time. Yet there might also be scenarios in which this is the sole purpose for writing one. For example, if your setting is a contained location, a passage-of-time montage can be useful to break up the action and let readers know how long the characters have been at this location.

There’s no set screenwriting montage format, so sometimes it’s just up to what you think looks good on the page. Below is an example of one way you might approach writing a montage in a script.

1. Introduce the montage.
   Instead of a full slug line, write “BEGIN MONTAGE” or “CUE MONTAGE.” This signals the start of the sequence.
2. Set the context.
   Provide one short line describing what the audience is about to see. For example:
    “We see various shots of Pierre making his way across the French countryside.”
3. List the shots.
   After the setup, simply list each shot. Avoid creating new scene headings for every moment as this takes up too much space and breaks the flow. A montage is meant to be flashes of action, not a series of full scenes.
4. Keep it simple but visual.
   Use clear, vivid descriptions so the reader can picture the sequence. Industry professionals already understand what a montage is, so there’s no need to over-explain.
5. Choose a clean formatting style.
   In the past, writers sometimes numbered or even lettered montage shots (e.g., 1, 2, 3 or A, B, C). Over time, this came to be seen as overly technical. Today, the most common and streamlined method is to use a simple dash to separate each shot.
6. End the montage.
   Once your montage is finished, you can either write the words END MONTAGE, or simply go straight into writing your next scene with a new slugline. 

START MONTAGE: 

1.) Junior and Ray carry a PLASMA TELEVISION from the frat house to the Dodge Dart.

2.) Junior and Ray hop into the Dart.

3.) The Dart peels out.

4.) The Dart drives away from the college campus and onto the highway.

END MONTAGE.

CUE MONTAGE:

— Junior and Ray carry a LCD TELEVISION from the frat house   to the Dodge Dart.

— Junior and Ray hop into the Dart.

— The Dart peels out. 

— The Dart drives away from the college campus and onto the highway.

See? You didn’t lose anything by losing the numbers. If anything, the dashes are less distracting and force the eye to focus on the description and action.

In regards to length, the shorter the better. Simply list the shots that convey vital information and move the story forward. If your montage is more than a page long, readers are going to get impatient.

Like any oft-used film technique, montages can come across as parodic or hackneyed, but used sparingly, they can be useful and give your script motion. A montage can help you to convey your characters’ journey, show them achieving their goals, reveal who they are, where they’re going and how long they’ve been at it.

Montages are pure visual storytelling, and that itself is the essence of screenwriting.