# Montage > A run of short beats or shots in quick succession — often under a MONTAGE heading — used to compress time or braid parallel action. Also known as montage sequence **On the page** ``` MONTAGE — TRAINING — Bags hit the mat. Sweat. Dawn. ``` ## In practice Montages work when each fragment advances story or theme. A vague "training goes well" list rarely lands; concrete images with a through-line do. Decide what changes across the sequence — skill, relationship, pressure — and let every fragment prove a step on that arc before you cut away again. Format consistency matters more than which legalistic heading you prefer. Common patterns use MONTAGE or BEGIN MONTAGE, then short action lines or fragment beats, then END MONTAGE or a clean new scene heading. Mixing three patterns inside one draft makes the sequence feel unfinished to readers. End the montage explicitly so the next scene does not feel like a leftover fragment. Readers should know when real-time scene writing resumes. If you need ongoing parallel locations that stay live rather than compressed highlights, intercut is usually the clearer tool than montage on the page. ## See it formatted - [How to format a montage in a screenplay](https://www.inkwell.software/resources/screenplay-formatting/montage-sequences): Signal the montage, organize its visual beats in action, and end it clearly when the reader might not otherwise know where ordinary scene flow resumes. ## Common questions ### How do I format a montage in Fountain or Plot? Common patterns use a MONTAGE heading (or BEGIN MONTAGE) followed by short action lines or slug-like fragments, then END MONTAGE or a fresh scene heading. Pick one pattern and stay consistent inside the draft. ### Montage vs intercut — which should I use? Montage compresses many moments; intercut toggles between ongoing locations that stay live, like a phone call or chase. If both sides continue in time, intercut is usually clearer. ### Should every montage beat get a full slugline? Not always. Many montages use short action fragments under one montage umbrella. Use full sluglines when a beat is a true location change the breakdown must track as its own unit. ### How long should a montage run on the page? Long enough to show change, short enough that it still feels like compression. If you are writing full scenes, you drifted out of montage and into a sequence — label and pace it accordingly. ## Related terms - [Scene heading (slugline)](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/scene-heading): The line that opens a scene: interior or exterior, location, and time of day — for example, INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT. It orients the reader and anchors production breakdowns. - [Transition](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/transition): An editing instruction between scenes — CUT TO:, DISSOLVE TO:, SMASH CUT TO:. Modern specs use them rarely; most cuts are assumed. - [Beat sheet](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/beat-sheet): A short outline of a story’s key moments — the beats — used to plan structure before or during drafting without writing every scene yet. - [Intercut](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/intercut): A formatting pattern for cutting back and forth between locations that are playing at the same time — classic phone calls, chases, or parallel climaxes. --- Canonical page: