In need of advice: How to script the passing of (3 yrs)?

[cissymalfoy]

I have a story which I am still coming to fine tune proudly. At basics, I see it as being a modern day fairytale, which from begining to end should span 3yrs more or less. In this time I need to show growth through turmoil but also the passing of time. How does one write the passage of time convincingly and naturally, without it jumping all the time?

I am new to scriptwriting, and have been teaching myself the things I feel are important to my story development, while remembering the necessities of a believable script. This is one thing I have not been able to figure out. I have not been able to find scripts that span a time like this, that dont include a birth or something that obviously spans time, like a seasonal montage, but something else...? Something more storyline driven.

One script I am curious to read is "Love In The Time Of Cholera" with Javier Bardem, but have been unable to find it. If someone could point me in the right direction, I would appreciate it. (I know the film is not what it could have been, but I am still curious to read it...)

I am new to this, and new here and would really appreciate any feedback. I just need a nudge in the right direction or tips of other scripts to read. I am desperate to do this properly and have hit a real writers block. (I have however finally settled on an ending. I now just need to figure out reasoning behind it all. Its complicated, but Im getting there.)

[quitofilms]

How does one write the passage of time convincingly and naturally, without it jumping all the time?

Use the seasons as a time change device...people can comment on how it's winter...or show signs of spring (the only two you really need)

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[cissymalfoy]

Apologies for the photo, I have resised it. i couldnt find one smaller...

Anywho, seasons are something, but over the space of a supposed three year storyline, wont it get boring? I feel like I can only do it in a one sequence moment, but if i do it again, it may exhaust it. I wouldnt want to stretch over more than a six month period in any one progression, but there has to be something else I could do. I hope Im making sense... You cant show the passing of time with seasons, two or three times in a movie.

I had thought birthdays, but again, it seems a little clichéd to me, and i would rather something along the same lines. More physical, like child birth, but without the child...

[quitofilms]

I had thought birthdays, but again, it seems a little clichéd to me, and i would rather something along the same lines. More physical, like child birth, but without the child...

Without knowing your story, it would be difficult to say exactly what would fit.... a child's birthday would be good if in your story, at a certain age, something happened with the child...going away to school...etc...think of the passing time less as a going towards something and more as a countdown to something else...due to the repetitive nature...anything you do could become boring
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[Cynjut]

I had thought birthdays, but again, it seems a little clichéd to me, and i would rather something along the same lines. More physical, like child birth, but without the child...

You can do anything three times, as long as it's the same thing, but with a difference. In fact, depending on your story, you could use the imagery of something like a birthday party as your opening scene, your break into two, and your break into three.

Anything repetitive, like the election of a candidate (today is election day in some municipalities in the US) or Halley's Comet returning can be used to show specific time cycles.

You can also use something completely uncreative like:

(OVER: Three years later.)

[patrickb]

Take a look at the dining table sequence in Citizen Kane, which spans a couple of decades in a very subtle, interesting way without recourse to intertitles or repeated effects.

[Teddy8683]

the passage of time in visual art is something that's always interested me. from the perspective of a viewer, i've always thought that it must be one of the most difficult things to achieve because it seems that often those extended 'moments' stick out like sore thumbs. after-all, it's very easy to notice an unwanted, uncomfortable, unnecessary interruption of rhythm. there's little you can do but find the best way to represent the story's overall rhythm at a different tempo. properly done, it can have a very beautiful effect.
in a sense, moving from scene to scene is often the very same thing on a smaller scale.
you make a transition out of events in one moment into related events in another moment.
if you have any scene headings that aren't part of the same continuous series, you've done this.
it can be accomplished as easy as FADE OUT followed by FADE IN.
for writing specs, the consensus seems to be that shots and transitions are generally left out- to be determined by the director and his artistic staff at their discretion. in this case, utilizing those elements may be necessary in order to convey your concept. if so, that will probably be obvious to anyone who reads the script.
i would recommend stepping away from the script and considering the various other ways we humans experience the passage of time outside the 60bpm structure. there are many.
sleep, meditation and the like.
traveling at very high speed.
phenomena of nature, generally. seasonal change has been mentioned and probably best represents that, though others could work as well.
our own perceptions observing physical decay, perhaps.
i'm sure there are more.
for what it's worth, often dramatic (or even simple) change-ups in the score can serve to move viewers through time as well, necessitating only a 'standard' transition into the next scene. so if it's not necessary to design something elaborate than it may be just as well if you don't.
a few different techniques i've seen used that pop into mind:
Slumdog Millionaire. boys fall from the train, tumble, tumble, then come to a stop at the bottom of a hill. when they rise and the dust settles, they've grown older. wonderfully done, in my opinion.
Song of the South. a small group of African Americans (they were somewhere between slavery and freedom, conceptually; it was an early 50s Disney production and that wasn't really addressed directly) but anyway, they walked slowly down a dirt road singing what was then often referred to, i believe, as a 'Negro Spiritual' to show the passage of time.
Shallow Hal. at the end of the intro the Jack Black character (as a child) is walking straight at us.... he morphs into the character we spend the rest of the film with.
it seems like a fairy tale might be a nice place for something either very natural or possibly even magical. is this an adaptation of an Irish classic or one of your own entirely?
anyway, best of luck with it. would be interested to know what you end up settling on and how it turns out.

[Sharkey]

I liked the way the passage of time was dealt with in 500 Days of Summer, but it's probably not the sort of thing you need.

There are hundreds of different ways to show a passage of time, from a simple title card to appearance, dress and other changes.

Look at Notting Hill and the scene where Hugh Grant goes through the market while seasons pass.

I know it might sound unimaginative, but I would say that how the passage of time is portrayed would be more up to the storyboard writer or the shooting script writer in collaboration with the director. I wouldn't really put it down to the job of a spec screenwriter to decide how such a thing is portrayed unless it's deeply inherent to the story.

[cissymalfoy]

WOW!!

Thank you all for the responses!! I have been battling with this over a period of time - i think i am so in love with my story, i just wanted to have a scene which was beautifully respectful. Essentially i see Europe, parties, drugs, music, with a complex but utterly true love underlying consistently. I am begining to see it as an almost seperate entity in the film. I need to show the passing of time as being work endured, earning the right to the love.

I love the ideas mentioned above, such as the images from Slumdog Millionaire (I had completely forgotten that moment!), the comets passing and of course Notting Hill. (BTW - Song Of The South is a beautiful film). I dont know why, but i feel if i use the same transition two/three times in the film, it can only have a negative impact. It would get to the point of it being so obvious and expected. In a way, it is a good thing, as the audience get it and know what is going on, but towards the end (especially) you want to be different, memorable. Oh and I could never use something like "1 year later..." - its a bit like voice overs - an easy way out...

I have just had the idea of a plant growing, with or without the seasons, a seed, to a small sprout, the first leaf, the first branch, the first flower in full bloom... I had also thought of maybe the main character writing a diary, where in one scene she is writing in the first few pages, and then she pulls back to be finishing the final page, and flicks back through a hundred (say) pages of time and memories.

I think the only "problem" or issue i have is the span of time. I feel like 3 ish years is perhaps an awkward time frame to work within in 120 pages. I have also forgotten the artistc influence of the director. Thank you for reminding me I would share more, but im keeping the true essence of the story close. For now, it is a modern day fairytale, without the dragons or the evil step sisters, but with all the magic and joy of a true love story.

[quitofilms]

(BTW - Song Of The South is a beautiful film).

That was discussed here some months back....end of the day, I'm pretty happy that it won't ever be re-released....artistically, yes, awesome...but the message it sends is one that belongs in the past....a dangerous message about racial bias that in today's world shouldn't be spread....
shame, really, because visually, it is a well done film....
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