GlossaryPage elements
INSERT
Also: insert shot · BACK TO SCENE
An INSERT is a quick close look at an object the audience has to read or notice, like a text message, a letter, or a clock. You write INSERT, show the thing, then write BACK TO SCENE to return to the action.
Inserts are for details too small to catch in a wide view but too important to miss: the name on a contract, the time on a bomb timer, a photo inside a wallet.
Keep them rare. If everything is an insert, nothing stands out, and you start doing the director's job of choosing every shot.
Sam unfolds the note. INSERT - THE NOTE "Don't trust Jordan." BACK TO SCENE Sam crumples it and looks across the room at Jordan.