: Re: How Do I Write a News Broadcast Montage in Different Locations in a Screenplay? I want to write a sequence in my screenplay where the same news broadcast continues on different screens in different

@Shelton455

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According to The Hollywood Standard by Christopher Riley (2nd Edition, pages 54-56), the simplest way to set up montages is with a scene heading of MONTAGE or SERIES OF SHOTS followed by the content separated into paragraphs. (Or including dialogue as follows):

KEVIN'S APARTMENT - MONTAGE

Kevin makes the bed.

KEVIN (V.O.)
There's something about cleaning that calms me down.

He dusts the bookshelf.

KEVIN (V.O.) (CONT'D)
It relaxes me.

Or, if you don't think that looks very organized, you may include scene headings for each shot.

KEVIN'S APARTMENT - MONTAGE

A) INT. BEDROOM - DAY


Kevin makes the bed.

KEVIN (V.O.)
There's something about cleaning that calms me down.


B) INT. LIVING ROOM - DAY


He dusts a bookshelf.

KEVIN (V.O.) (CONT'D) It relaxes me.

Notice that the action is indented to the level of the heading and not flush with the left edge.
Of course, the dialogue is still formatted the same way as normal.

A note about "CONTINUOUS":
Continuous is ONLY used when you are following the character through to a new location. Do not use it when you are indicating something is happening at the same time in a different location. If your character walks outside and we follow, then it is continuous. If he or she walks outside and we stay inside for a moment before cutting to the character, it is not continuous. (This is something that gets misused a lot in screenplays.)

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