A series of shots that does work on paper is the one from The Graduate - swimming pools, beds, Mrs Robinson - I haven't seen the original script but there's a copy of it in Denny Martin Flinn's "How (not) to write a screenplay".

Thanks Scott...good answer!

For the most part, I find MONTAGES and SERIES OF SHOTS to be overused in spec screenplays. They almost always seem like a cheat and rarely convey the tone the writer wants.

They also read very artificially mechanical.

Modern screenwriting practices seem to incorporate them into description without really acknowledging the mechanics of it. (Which seems to make them easier to read).

Kinda curious how Edgar Wright handles them in his screenplays. He generally does that flash cutting thing between transitions that moves a lot of exposition in like 2 seconds and is humorous to boot.

You should highlight your last two asterisks Scott! I think they are so on the money.

I wrote about montages awhile back. Here's a shameless plug if anyone wants to check it out. http://on-the-scene.blogspot.com/2007/05/montage-in-screenplays.html

Would a Montage have music too? I'm thinking of the Rocky training segments....

@Phil: You wouldn't indicate that in a selling script. In fact, that again points out why a series of shots in particular is a tough thing to pull off on the page as compared to a movie where you can not only see the action, but hear the inevitable kick-ass song to drive the thing.

We can argue that all film is a series of shots. We cut out the boring parts. Film does not take place at the placid speed of life. What we call technically SERIES OF SHOTS is just a speedier version of film-making as a whole. Therefore, it may make sense to just use sluglines.

Montage, on the other hand, is not what we typically find in a film. Symbolism is usually subsumed in elements that are secondary to the storytelling. Russian/Soviet art in general is heavy in symbolism, perhaps that's why montage originates there. I'm sure many art PhDs have analyzed this to death already.

Scott, thanks for making the distinction crystal clear.

Unfortunately, can't link to video from Team America (seems like Warners got them taken down), but here's what Trey Parker had to say about montages (kind of the opposite of Scott's definition):


The hour's approaching, to give it your best
And you've got to reach your prime
That's when you need to put yourself to the test
And show us a passage of time

We're gonna need a montage (montage)
It takes a montage (montage)

Show a lot of things happening at once
Remind everyone of what's going on

And with every shot, show a little improvement
To show it all would take too long

That's called a montage (montage)
Girl, we want a montage (montage)

In anything, if you want to go
From just a beginner to a pro

You need a montage (montage)
Even Rocky had a montage (montage)

Always fade out in a montage (montage)
If you fade out
It seems like more time has passed
In a montage (montage)


There was an earlier, slightly different version of the song in a South Park episode, the changes were mainly expanding the scope from sports-specific training.

Gotcha...thanks.

Thanks, Ken. You reminded me of this post featuring that video. I'll update the OP here with it and a HT to you.

The link from Team America, isn't more like "Series of Shorts"? Since it shows two simultaneous events happening 1) The protagonist is getting ready and 2) The Bad guys are sending the invitation and it is getting popular. It more depicts the passage of time.

Which clearly means I am still a bit confused about distinction between both. Help me in understanding.

Cheers
Mragendra

@Mragendra Singh: The so-called 'montage' in Team America is a perfect example of what I mentioned in the OP, how some people will use montage when in actuality they're referring to what is more aptly called a series of shots. It's just something you will run into in Hwood and elsewhere.

Of course, the filmmakers of Team America can be forgiven because it's a lot easier to write a song parody using the word "montage" than the phrase "series of shots." Besides most people will have heard of the former and not the latter.

For purposes of clarity, why not stick with the definition I gave in the OP:

Montage -- Theme

Series of Shots -- Time

If you refer to them like that, you shouldn't be confused again.

In response to Mragendra:

My comment about Trey Parker's definition being the opposite of Scott's was a reference to the lyrics of Montage, which say that a montage is the way to show a passage of time, vs Scott saying that is a series of shots.

It's likely a good example of what Scott was saying when about people saying montage when they meant series of shots, but I wouldn't rule out the possibility of it being an actual difference of opinion.

Words mean what we all agree they mean: if most people now think of the sequence illustrating Rocky's development from streetfighter to skilled boxer as a montage, and call similar sequences in other movies montages, then that series of shots is a montage, and someone gets to coin a different word for the other kind of sequence.

In the end, though, it was just an excuse to link to a funny song written by a (sort-of) industry-insider making fun of a trope that's been done to death. ;-)

@Ken: You're right, I'm sure. There are people in Hwood who refer to a sequence conveying a passage of time as 'montage.' And if that works for them, fine. I'll just call it a series of shots in my script. The main thing is that we both know what we're talking about, even if the designations we use differ.

In the objective reality of 'language,' the only thing tipping the scales in my direction -- I think -- is the historical roots of montage to Soviet cinema, which is how I started the OP. And there per Eisenstein, it is a series of overlaying visual images, a "collision of independent thoughts."

Does that sound like the best way of conveying the passage of time? I would say no, rather it's a good way of conveying some sort of thematic imagery.

On the other hand, a series of shots is a proper way to think of how to convey passage of time, a series of linear images with a beginning, middle and end.

No matter what, to my larger point, they're both difficult to write in any way that compares to how they are supposed to come off on screen, especially a series of shots, so personally I avoid them at all costs.