Screenplay format guide
How to Write an Intercut in a Screenplay
To write an intercut in a screenplay, give each location its own full scene heading once, then write INTERCUT on its own line, naming the places if it helps. After that, cut between them freely without new headings. Close with a normal scene heading when the intercut ends. An example, the rules and a live formatter follow.
Written and reviewed by ScriptLix Editorial
INT. BANK VAULT - NIGHT
Nadia kneels at the safe, stethoscope pressed to the steel.
EXT. BANK - ROOFTOP - NIGHT
Cole watches the street through binoculars.
INTERCUT - VAULT / ROOFTOP
A patrol car turns the corner. Cole tenses.
COLE
(into radio)
Company. Two minutes.
Nadia doesn't look up. A click. Another.
NADIA
(into radio)
I need three.
The patrol car slows. Its spotlight swings toward the bank.
Write your own
Type in plain text. A name in caps right above a line becomes dialogue, and lines starting INT. or EXT. become scene headings.
INT. BANK VAULT - NIGHT
Nadia kneels at the safe, stethoscope pressed to the steel.
EXT. BANK - ROOFTOP - NIGHT
Cole watches the street through binoculars.
INTERCUT - VAULT / ROOFTOP
A patrol car turns the corner. Cole tenses.
COLE
(into radio)
Company. Two minutes.
Nadia doesn't look up. A click. Another.
NADIA
(into radio)
I need three.
The patrol car slows. Its spotlight swings toward the bank.
How to use it
- 1
Establish each location with its own scene heading and a line or two of action.
- 2
Write INTERCUT on its own line, optionally naming the places, like INTERCUT - VAULT / ROOFTOP.
- 3
Play the scene across both places without new headings, then start a fresh scene heading when it ends.
What is an intercut in a screenplay?
An intercut tells the reader that two or more scenes play at the same time and the film will cut back and forth between them. Phone calls are the classic case, but a heist, a chase or a race against the clock works the same way.
Without it, you would need a new scene heading every time the camera moves from one place to the other. That turns a fast scene into a wall of headings and buries the action.
How do I make it clear where we are?
Set up each place properly before the intercut line, so the reader has a picture of both. After that, let action lines carry the location. A patrol car turns the corner tells us we are with the lookout. Nadia does not look up tells us we are in the vault. If a beat could be in either place, name the character or the place.
How do I end an intercut?
Start a new scene heading. That is all a reader needs. Some writers add END INTERCUT on its own line for clarity, which is fine if you use it consistently. If the scene stays in one of the two places, write that place as a full heading again.
More from the format guide
- How to Write a Montage in a Screenplay
- How to Write a Flashback in a Screenplay
- How to Write a Phone Call in a Screenplay
- How to Write Text Messages in a Screenplay
- Dual Dialogue in a Screenplay
- Voice Over in a Screenplay: V.O. Narration
- Screenplay Transitions: CUT TO, DISSOLVE TO
- How to Introduce a Character in a Screenplay
- How to Use Parentheticals in a Screenplay
- How to Write a Title Card in a Screenplay
- How to Write a Series of Shots in a Screenplay
- How to Write a Flash Forward in a Screenplay
- How to Write a Dream Sequence in a Screenplay
- Smash Cut: What It Is and How to Write One
- O.S. in a Screenplay: Meaning and Format
- How to Write a Pre Lap in a Screenplay
- Subtitles in a Screenplay: Foreign Dialogue
- How to Write a Split Screen in a Screenplay
- How to Write Slow Motion in a Screenplay
- How to Write a Freeze Frame in a Screenplay
- How to Write Song Lyrics in a Screenplay
Questions writers ask
How do you write an intercut in a screenplay?
Give each location its own scene heading once, then write INTERCUT on its own line. Cut between the places freely after that, and start a new scene heading when it ends.
Is intercut only for phone calls?
No. It works for any scenes happening at the same time in different places, like a heist with a lookout or a chase seen from two sides.
Do I need END INTERCUT?
No. A new scene heading ends it. END INTERCUT is optional and fine if you prefer it.
What is the difference between intercut and cross cutting?
They describe the same idea. INTERCUT is the word you write in the script; cross cutting is what editors call it.