flashforwards
Narrative time jumps
Flashforwards are narrative devices that jump ahead in time, showing events that will occur later in a story.
The opposite of flashbacks, they create anticipation or dramatic irony by revealing future outcomes before the story reaches them chronologically: The film opens with a flashforward to the protagonist's death.
Common in film, television, and fiction.
Hinting at later events
- nonlinearNot in sequence
- chronologyTemporal ordering of events
- storytellingRecounting events aloud
- anticipationState of awaiting something
preview · glimpse · spoiler · revelation · setup · payoff · epilogue · framing
Stretched or strained state
- anticipationState of awaiting something
- dreadIntense anticipatory fear
- forebodingFearful anticipation of harm
- cliffhangerSuspenseful unresolved ending
mystery · intrigue · ominous · unease · apprehension · stakes · twist · foreshadowing
Advance sense of future events
- visionAbility to see
- prophecyForetelling of future events
- foresightAbility to anticipate futures
- clairvoyanceExtrasensory perception ability
precognition · psychic · oracle · seer · divination · glimpse · foreknowledge · ESP
foreshadowing
Hinting at later events
- nonlinearNot in sequence
- chronologyTemporal ordering of events
- storytellingRecounting events aloud
anticipation · preview · glimpse · spoiler · revelation · setup · payoff · epilogue · framing · structure
tension
Stretched or strained state
- anticipationState of awaiting something
- dreadIntense anticipatory fear
- forebodingFearful anticipation of harm
cliffhanger · mystery · intrigue · ominous · unease · apprehension · stakes · twist · foreshadowing · buildup
premonition
Advance sense of future events
clairvoyance · precognition · psychic · oracle · seer · divination · glimpse · foreknowledge · ESP · prescience
cinematic
Relating to motion pictures
- montageAssembled sequence of images
- sequenceOrdered succession of elements
- editingRefining content for clarity
cut · transition · scene · screenplay · director · Nolan · frame · shot · intercut · juxtaposition
flashforwardsflashbacks
Involuntary vivid memory episodes
flashback · retrospection · memories · recollections · reminiscences
flashforwardslinear narrative
Story following chronological order
the present · present tense · current events · now · in medias res