Dreams
If you want to let the reader or viewer judge whether or not a scene or sequence is a dream based on the context, there's no need to flag it in any special way. Just treat it the way you would any other scene or sequence.
Some reasons you might want to explicitly state that it is a dream:
- In production, the aesthetic approach can signal that what the viewer is seeing is a dream. In the script, you may similarly want the reader to know before reading the scene or sequence that it's a dream.
- Events in the dream are outside the "normal" world of your story.
- Dreams are a recurring part of your script.
- You want to flag dreams for production reasons (style, breakdown, etc.)
Dream scene
If the dream is a single scene, it can be flagged in the Scene Heading.
DREAM - GABRIELA IN AN EMPTY FACTORY
[scene...]
-OR-
INT. FACTORY - NIGHT (DREAM)
[scene...]
-OR-
INT. DREAM - FACTORY - NIGHT
[scene...]
Dream montage
If the dream is a montage or series of shots:
MONTAGE (DREAM SEQUENCE)
-- Katerina flies over the city.
-- ...
-- Katerina sits in a tree.
END MONTAGE (DREAM SEQUENCE)
Dream sequence
If the dream is a sequence of scenes, the beginning and end of the sequence can be indicated as follows:
BEGIN DREAM SEQUENCE
INT. EMPTY FACTORY - NIGHT
[scene...]
EXT. POPPY FIELD - DAY
[scene...]
END OF DREAM SEQUENCE
At the end of the sequence insert a new scene heading:
INT. GABRIELA'S BEDROOM - DAY - BACK TO PRESENT DAY
Revised: March 22, 2025
© 2007-2025 Ken Briscoe