Flashback Research

With our piece being flashback heavy, I thought it rather important to have a look at some examples of flashbacks and especially how the cuts are constructed.

1. Overlapping flashbacks with speech being spoken in the present (by use of voice over) e.g 'Spaced' (Edgar Wright, 1999) when Tim (Simon Pegg) and Daisy (Jessica Stevenson) are talking about the other's childhood. As they are talking pictures that relate to their speech are shown on screen.
This can be used for quick flashbacks, helping to establish our protagonist quickly.

2. Use of sound from the past leading into the flashback. This indicates that we are indeed entering the past rather than simply cutting to another location.

3. Use of a sound to indicate the cut. For instance in Danny Boyle's 'Slumdog Millionaire' they use the sound of a slap as a point to cut back into the past, using a graphic match of Jamal's position after the slap to make the cut very smooth.
'Lost' (Created by J.J.Abrams) also uses a sound to cut to flashbacks, this is a sound that through repitition of use for every flashaback, means viewers know exactly what timeline they are in.

4. Use of a visual effect to indicate the cut. In the same way that a slap can indicate a cut, a visual effect such as fading up to white can have the same effect.

5. By giving the flashbacks a different treatment to the rest of the film, this also becomes another indicator of what is flashback and what is not. A good example of this is the use of a black and white treatment for the past in 'American History X' (Directed by Tony Kaye).