Use CONTINUOUS for unbroken movement into a new location, SAME for simultaneous time, and a plain action beat or new time label for an actual jump forward.
Direct answer
Use CONTINUOUS when the action moves directly from one location to another without a break, such as following someone through a door. Use SAME when a new scene happens at the same time as the previous scene but is not necessarily one continuous move. For a real time jump, state the elapsed time in action or use a clear scene-heading time such as LATER when the reader can understand its reference; do not use CONTINUOUS merely because two scenes are adjacent.
On the page
INT. ARCHIVE - NIGHT
Mara shoulders through the fire door.
EXT. ARCHIVE ROOF - CONTINUOUS
Rain catches her before the door slams shut.
THREE HOURS LATER
The rain has stopped. Mara has not moved.
Evidence weight
CONTINUOUS describes uninterrupted action across a location boundary; SAME describes simultaneity; LATER or an action line marks elapsed time. Choosing the accurate relationship is more useful than varying labels for style.
Some writers reserve CONTINUOUS for a literal continuous shot; others use it more broadly for uninterrupted story action across adjacent spaces. Both readings exist. If the distinction affects staging, describe the movement itself so the scene remains clear without relying on the suffix alone.
Not one rigid template
A separate action line such as THREE HOURS LATER is direct, visible, and avoids turning a relative phrase into production location metadata.
INT. ARCHIVE — LATER can work when the location is re-established and the prior temporal reference is close enough to be unmistakable.
Use a fresh concrete time of day when the jump changes the production period or when LATER would make the schedule and the image less clear.
Reader and handoff friction
Choose for the recipient
Choose the shortest label that lets a reader picture when the scene occurs. A reading draft benefits more from clear temporal movement than from exhaustively specifying schedule categories.
Time-of-day labels affect breakdowns and scheduling, so a production may normalize LATER, SAME, dawn, or continuous sequences. Coordinate those changes instead of silently revising locked scene identities.
In Plot, keep each location change as a Scene Heading and choose the time value that reflects the story relationship. Put explicit elapsed-time cards in Action. Structured headings remain useful for navigation and production without forcing narrative explanation into metadata.
Browse the screenplay formatting reference
Complete, source-backed guides for common screenplay situations
Flashbacks
Make the time shift explicit in a scene heading or action cue, then clearly return to the present when the transition could otherwise be missed.
Montage
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.
Inserts, screens & written material
Put the exact words the audience must read in action, and use an INSERT only when the change in visual emphasis is itself important.
