[[quoteright:238:[[Webcomic/GunnerkriggCourt https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/flashbacktime.jpg]]]]

->''"Initiate super-wavy flashback effect!"''
-->-- '''Dr. Nefarious''', ''VideoGame/RatchetAndClankFutureACrackInTime''

[[PaintingTheMedium The use of]] CameraTricks and other {{paratext}}ual elements to distinguish {{flashback}}s, flash forwards, {{Imagine Spot}}s and occasionally dreams from normal, in-the-present action.

These are very helpful on those occasions when there's nothing in the event itself to specify when it takes place.

Common ways of doing this include:
* Explicitly setting the date of the scene through {{narrat|or}}ion or [[TitleIn subtitles]] (or text boxes in {{comicbooks}}). "Seven years ago..."
* Using an {{Idiosyncratic Wipe|s}} or {{Dissolve}} to mark the transition from Present to Past. May or may not be accompanied by a unique sound effect.
** One particularly common (and frequently parodied) version of this is to have the screen go wavy during the Dissolve, accompanied by the sound of harpist plucking up the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whole-tone_scale whole-tone scale]]. Where harps are absent, the usual musical effect is tinkling glockenspiel notes played like wind chimes over string tremolos. The equal distance between notes in the whole tone scale means that it has no key, giving a feeling of ambiguity where one thing (or time) can shift into another.
** [[FlashbackBackBack Repeating the last sound effect over the dissolve is also common enough to have its own article]].
* Make the scene in the flashback look or sound different from the present in some way. Common ways of doing this include:
** Blurring it.
** [[MonochromePast Showing it]] DeliberatelyMonochrome, or more subtly tinted.
** For Platform/HighDefinition-era television shows, making the picture square, and/or adding faux-[[{{Platform/VCR}} VHS]] artifacts and removing detail to give it a 'dated' look.
** Add a misty border around the edge of the screen.
** Apply an echo or other sound effect to everyone's voice.
** In animation or comics, apply an ArtShift.
** For books, changing the [[UsefulNotes/{{Fonts}} typeface]].
** In comic books, changing the panel border style.
** In manga, making the negative space between panels black.

A SuperTrope to FlashbackBackBack, MonochromePast, HappyFlashback, and TroubledBackstoryFlashback. See also PastelChalkedFreezeFrame. Not to be confused with FlashbackCut.
----
!!Examples:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
* ''Manga/OnePiece'' uses the common black negative space for several years ago and gray space when the event was more recent.
* ''Anime/GhostInTheShellStandAloneComplex'': Every time someone has a flashback, it's covered by a monologue, because there is always someone there to listen to the flashback. The exception would be Togusa, who is venting, directing all his thoughts toward an established character who might not be present.
* The entirety of ''Anime/BoogiepopPhantom'' is filmed with a vignette effect and more often than not with dull colors. Correspondingly, the entire series is a huge flashback.
* ''Anime/{{Mnemosyne}}'''s flashbacks are seen from the perspective of the person having the flashback, with the audio and video given a sort of watery distortion.
* {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d in ''Anime/ExcelSaga'' episode 11: after a short discussion about an impending flashback, the ripple effect begins, and Hyatt chants softly "ripple, ripple, ripple..."
* ''Anime/MobileFighterGGundam'' might be one of the very few cases where an anime dub suffered from being TOO faithful to the original. Somehow, "You're the same as you were back then. Back then. Back then. Back then. Back then. Back then. Back then." sounds more absurd in English than in Japanese.
* Done in flashbacks of ''[[Manga/FullmetalAlchemist Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood]]'', where most colors are duller than usual, the audio is often tinkered with and in the Ishbal related stuff, the eyes have a glow-y effect to them.
** Also, a flashback to Yoki's backstory is done in (more or less) the style of a silent film, complete with flicker, scratches, jitter, intertitles, tinny music, and the sound of a projector.
* Irritatingly, the English dub of ''Anime/SonicX'' added these (misty border around the edges of the screen with echoes to everyone's voice) where in the original Japanese version there were none.
** They did the same to ''Manga/YuGiOh'' and probably many other of their properties, but none [[http://s15.postimg.org/matahpjwb/omg_its_a_flashback_border.jpg as intrusively]] as ''Sonic X''.
* Funimation's English dub of ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' had music by Bruce Faulconer specifically made to play for all flashback scenes. They also have the usual echoing voices effect too.
* ''Anime/TheIdolmaster'' - During Chihaya's flashbacks, the animation is darker and granier than usual.
* ''Anime/AoharuXMachinegun'': Grab footage (normally previously seen) . Make the image lighter and add a frame so that it looks [[https://angryjellyfish.files.wordpress.com/2015/08/horriblesubs-aoharu-x-kikanjuu-07-720p-mkv_snapshot_15-11_2015-08-21_15-56-08.jpg like this]]. [[note]] The image is ''not'' reused footage. [[/note]] This anime is somewhat infamous amongst the shows of its season for having OffModel shots of the majority of its 12 episodes.
* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' originally used a comic-book printing dot look for its flashbacks. It didn't last very long.
* In the ''Manga/{{Touch|1981}}'' anime, flashbacks to childhood have backgrounds done in the style of children's crayon drawings.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Asian Animation]]
* ''Animation/HappyHeroes'' rarely does much to transition between flashbacks and scenes taking place in the present time, but in Season 5 episode 37, Sweet S.'s memory of her searching for Doctor H. earlier is introduced and concluded with a wavy screen effect.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic Books]]
* ''ComicBook/BatmanBlackAndWhite'': The flashback sequence in "In Dreams" has wavy frame borders and softer, more subtle shading than the rest of the story.
* In the ''ComicBook/ElfQuest'' story ''Recognition'', Brandon [=McKinney=] uses wavy borders and a "faded" effect (dark grey inked outlines rather than black) for the images for most flashbacks. Others have a shifted art style matched to the culture of the person telling the story: A style evoking stained glass windows for the medieval Europe FantasyCounterpartCulture, and one inspired by Far Eastern brush drawings for the Mongolia/China mashup.
* In ''ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}'' story ''ComicBook/TheCondemnedLegionnaires'', the panels for the BigBad's flashback have rounded corners and wavy borders.
* ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'':
** In "ComicBook/LuthorUnleashed", the panels narrating Luthor's flashback are shaded in yellow tones, have wavy borders and feature the characters as red-inked outlines. Another later flashback displays degraded colors.
** "ComicBook/TheSuperDogFromKrypton": The flashback panels showing how and why Krypto ended stranded on Earth have rounded corners and wavy borders.
* In ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'', a glint of light off the frame of an old photograph cuts to the flash from that photo being taken.
* ''ComicBook/RedRobin'': When there's a flashback to back when Tim Drake and Steph Brown were still going by Robin and Spoiler the flashback panels had flat coloring instead of the shaded and highlighted coloring of the modern day events.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic Strips]]
* In ''ComicStrip/FunkyWinkerbean'' and its spinoff ''Crankshaft'', artist Tom Batiuk indicates a flashback sequence by shading the panels in sepia tones and adding a little decoration to each corner to make it look as though the panel is an old photograph in an album.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films -- Animated]]
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSuperMarioBrosMovie'': The flashback of Mario defending Luigi from a bully has a noticeable blur effect to the left and right.
* In ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3'', the {{Flashback}} sequence showing Lotso's backstory with the little girl is overexposed and tinted in yellow color.
* In ''WesternAnimation/WreckItRalph'' Sgt. Calhoun gets the Eye Recall type of flashback when Felix calls her a "Dynamite Gal", triggering repeat remembrances of her late fiance's every instance of having called her that.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'', the last few scenes that are flash backed to within Mei's FlashbackMontageRealization are shown rapidly while slowly dissolving to Mei staring back at her panda spirit.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
* ''Film/WaynesWorld'' parodied the use of IdiosyncraticWipes by literally making the flashback noise and hand gestures themselves.
* In ''Film/BigFish'', all of the flashbacks have shots with more brightly-colored objects in them and a slight glowing effect on the characters' faces.
* ''Film/BoggyCreek2AndTheLegendContinues'', every single flashback was slightly blurred. The ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'' crew did not let this pass without comment. They then parodied it in one sketch, where Crow, Tom Servo, and Mike each narrate a flashback to [[ViewersAreGoldfish an event that occurred seconds ago]], and each flashback is blurrier than the last.
* ''Film/Dementia1955'': The woman's flashback is introduced by a spiral effect as the film goes out of focus.
* Film/HobbsAndShaw features flashbacks which appear to be shot on 8mm film, whereas the rest of the movie is shot digitally
* Film/JohnnyDangerously [[LampshadeHanging explained this trope's effect in scene]] to a would-be child thief that he was lecturing about his own childhood choices. The screen blurs and the child responds "What the hell's goin' on?!" Johnny explains that it always happens when he "talks about the past."
* In ''Film/{{GORA}}'', as the alien villain Logar explains why he hates humans, the movie flashes back to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fm9Tf7p34w his grandfather landing his spaceship in 18th-century Turkey]]. The flashback is shot in grainy, black-and-white film reminiscent of the most primitive motion picture technology.
* In ''Film/TrickRTreat'', the flashback is filmed with a much brighter colour pallet than the rest of the film, and is bathed in golden light.
* In ''Film/CiaoManhattan'' when Susan Superstar tells stories of her time in New York, the flashbacks appear in cool, glamorous black and white.
* Lucy's flashbacks to her childhood in ''Film/WhileYouWereSleeping'' are sepia tinted; lampshaded, when Lucy's narration remarks that [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall she doesn't remember her childhood]] "being this ''orange''".
* ''Film/{{Unknown 2011}}'' features a good deal of flashbacks since it is about a guy who has a specific kind of amnesia - the kind where his identity is stolen and he can't figure out why. Being directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, expect every last trick under the "make the flashback look and sound different" category. Also, flashback sex scenes!
* ''Film/TheElementOfCrime'' is one lengthy, hypnosis induced, sepia-toned flashback sequence. This actually works well given the films FilmNoir trappings.
* In ''Film/AmericanHistoryX'', the flashback sequences to the hero's childhood are DeliberatelyMonochrome.
* In ''Film/AdeleHasntHadHerDinnerYet'', Countess Thun's recounting of the events that led to the disappearance of her dog are depicted as [[PhotoMontage a succession of still images]] in [[MonochromePast sepia tone]].
* In ''Film/SherlockHolmes2009'', Holmes' flashbacks during his [[TheSummation summation]] FadeOut with an overexposure effect.
* In ''Film/TheLostWeekend'', there is a blur-over effect used for Don's flashbacks.
* Happens sometimes at the beginnings of sequels with close continuity to the previous film, but there is meant to be some passage of time between the two installments:
** The flashback to the previous film that begins ''Film/StarTrekIIITheSearchForSpock'' is both inset into the black space of the frame and tinted, both explicitly identifying what's being shown as past events. Unusually, the viewer is brought into the past narrative by the inset picture slowly expanding the fill the screen and the color normalizing.
** Similarly, the shots of Eddie performing "On the Dark Side" from ''Film/EddieAndTheCruisers'' that begin the sequel, ''Eddie and the Cruisers 2: Eddie Lives'', are inset into solid black to identify them as taking place the past. (As the action begins these images shift to the [=TV=]s mounted in a bar. The [=TV=]s are showing music videos, and eventually the veejay comes in to note that the video of the Cruisers was from "a long time ago.")
* ''Film/TheGreatHoudinis'' is told mostly in flashback by Minnie. When she starts talking, the screen ripples.
* ''Film/TheIncredibleMrLimpet''. The movie starts in the present day Pentagon, with two U.S. Navy officers preparing for an upcoming assignment. As one of them remembers past events that apply to the current situation, the screen has a wavering {{Dissolve}} and starts to to show those events.
* In ''Film/RelativeFear'', Linda's flashback to Adam's infancy is in black and white, with echoey sound.
* In ''Film/DavidsMother'', every flashback opens with a POV shot from Sally's perspective, shot with a very low frame rate.
* ''Film/MadLove1995'' ends with a series of gauzy-looking flashbacks of Matt and Casey's relationship.
* In ''Film/MurderIsMyBeat'', the screen ripples as Patrick starts to tell Bert HowWeGotHere. It ripples again, with rising harp notes, when he's done.
* ''Film/DancingTrees'': After Nicky leaves the autistic teenager Martha with her DisappearedDad Mark, she starts having sepia-toned flashbacks of earlier scenes with Martha's dead mother Josephina, and especially her promise to Josephina to take care of Martha.
* ''Film/DontLook'': The flashbacks to [[spoiler:Will killing his and Nicole's parents]] are shown in sepia tones with the occasional bit of film grain, mimicking the look of old movies.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* ''Literature/TheYiddishPolicemensUnion'' is written in present tense, but shifts into past tense for flashback scenes.
* The same present-vs-past tense effect is used in ''Literature/SmallerAndSmallerCircles''; extended {{Backstory}} on various characters is written in past tense but most of the novel is in present tense.
* ''Literature/ThePilotsWife''. by Creator/AnitaShreve, does the reverse: the main story is in past tense, but flashbacks are in present tense.
* InUniverse, the Cho-Ja remote-viewing magic in ''[[Literature/TheRiftwarCycle Mistress of the Empire]]'' is described as presenting a wavery image with muted colors when used to view the past, in contrast to a crystal-clear image when viewing the present.
* The flashbacks in ''Literature/{{Relativity}}'' are in blue text.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* ''Radio/OurMissBrooks'': Visual effects and music were used to signify dream sequences in "Magic Christmas Tree", "The Dream", "King and Miss Brooks" and "Mr. Boynton's Return". Just the music was used for the radio in "Connie's New Job Offer" and the radio version of "Magic Christmas Tree".
* [[UsefulNotes/TheNetherlands Dutch]] TV presenter Bart de Graaff had this in his channel / program "Waar kan ik je 's nachts voor wakker maken?" (What can I wake you up for, in the middle of the night?) as part of an interview series with famous Dutch people, and then revisited a year later when he would actually wake them up in the middle of the night with the thing in question. It'd start off in the middle of the night going "Do you remember when I talked to [X]? Let's find out!" and then draw wavey lines with his hands in front of the camera [[InvokedTrope making the screen go all wiggly]].
** His last episode had him go "[[NostalgiaFilter This is the last time we're gonna do this]].. [[SchmuckBait Why don't you join me]]? The screen went blurry as per usual, until it reverted back to normal. "You looked like a fucking idiot there, in your living room, [[{{Troll}} Didn't you]]?"
* ''Series/WithoutATrace''. The screen flashes white with every transition from the present to the past (and vice versa). Often these are {{Match Cut}}s as well, establishing that the flashback occurred in the same location as the present.
* ''Series/{{Highlander}}'' usually had black and white or sepia-toned flashbacks.
* ''Series/{{Lost}}'' has a distinctive sound effect to mark the transition to and from each flashback/forward/sideways.
* At least two episodes of ''Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus'' parodied this:
** [[http://ibras.dk/montypython/episode21.htm#10 This sketch]] in episode 21 {{lampshade|Hanging}}d it:
--->''(picture begins to waver and dreamy harp music plays)''\\
'''Pepperpot 1:''' Ooh! What's happening?\\
'''Pepperpot 2:''' It's all right. It's only a flashback.
** The [[http://ibras.dk/montypython/episode28.htm#12 "Puss in Boots" sketch]] in episode 28:
--->'''Captain''': We are from the SS [[NurseryRhyme Mother Goose]]. We were twelve days out from Port of Spain, and one night I was doing my usual rounds, when I had occasion to pass the forward storage lockers...\\
''(Eerie music, screen goes out of focus, wavy lines appear. The music stops and screen returns to normal)''\\
'''Captain''': ''(looks confused, as he expected the flashback scene to appear)''\\
'''Police Chief''': Go on!
** And one episode played it straight:
--->'''Mr. Bones''': Oh, once upon a time there lived in Wiltshire a young chap called Dennis Moore. Now Dennis was a highwayman by profession...\\
''(Wavy lines, cut to Dennis Moore riding along with a big bag of swag)''\\
'''Mr. Bones''': ...and for several months he had been stealing from the rich to give to the poor.
* Also {{lampshade|Hanging}}d in ''Series/TheYoungOnes'' episode "Nasty" where the characters begin swaying in time with the rippling picture effect.
* Parodied in ''Series/SabrinaTheTeenageWitch'':
--->'''Sabrina''': Can't you guys ever tell a story without the whole room going fuzzy?
* ''Series/ColdCase'' often has flash backs to events decades ago, and goes to the trouble of imitating the production styles and techniques of video footage of that time period (low quality resolution, over bleaching, scratches on the film, etc.).
* The flashbacks in the ''Series/{{Heroes}}'' episode "Company Man" are shown in black and white, along with subtitles indicating that it is "fourteen years ago" or whenever.
** HRG's season 3 flashback episode is also in black and white, and Sylar's are in black and white and [[spoiler:red]].
* Parodied on the SketchComedy show ''Roundhouse'', where the flashback effects were provided by cast members waving their fingers in front of the camera lens and making sound effects. In one episode they got the effects for "flashback" and "[[ImagineSpot fantasy sequence]]" mixed-up.
* ''Series/BabylonFive'' used [[DeliberatelyMonochrome monochrome]] effects for flashbacks, memories, and telepathy-induced visions.
* {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d in the ''Wayne's World'' sketches from ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'', with Wayne and Garth waving their hands in front of their faces and making "doodle-oodle-oo" noises as the flashbacks start and end.
* ''Series/BandOfBrothers''. In the last episode, Maj. Winters has a couple, brief DeliberatelyMonochrome flashbacks when a general reviews his service record.
* In ''Series/VeronicaMars'', all the flashbacks are fuzzy around the edges and in sepia tones.
* The flashback scenes in the ''Series/{{Charmed|1998}}'' episode "Pre-Witched" are sepia-toned, and the World-War-II-era scenes in "Saving Private Leo" are DeliberatelyMonochrome.
* In ''Series/MythQuest'''s 11th episode, all the flashbacks are sepia-toned and have a slight reverb sound.
* ''Series/MythBusters'' shows flashbacks to previous episodes with washed-out colors, with some color accents.
* ''Series/UFO1970'': The teaser for the episode "Court Martial" shows Colonel Foster being sentenced to death. The first act starts with a shimmering effect on the screen like falling water, then continues with the beginning of the events that led to the sentencing.
** "Do you remember the Dalotek Affair, six months ago?" ''The Dalotek Affair...the Dalotek Affair...''
* In the ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' episode [[Recap/SupernaturalS02E20WhatIsAndWhatShouldNeverBe "What Is And What Should Never Be" (S02, Ep20)]], before and after the [[FlashbackCut brief flashbacks]] to the figures Dean saw in his closet and the prior appearance of the woman in white, there were [[IdiosyncraticWipes flashes of bright white]]. [[MonochromePast The flashbacks]] were also [[DeliberatelyMonochrome desaturated]].
* On ''Series/PersonofInterest'', this trope is mixed with ColorCodedForYourConvenience. When a flashback is involves something sad, serious or involving the... work the characters were previously involved in, the colour tones are colder and blue, while happier times are generally represented by warmer tones.
** Specifically:
*** Reese's flashbacks involving the CIA and his time in it are in cold blue tones, while those involving Jessica are in warmer, happier tones. Except for [[spoiler:when he pays her widowed husband a visit in New Rochelle.]]
*** Finch's flashbacks involving work on the Machine and similar things are presented in cooler tones, while those involving friendly meetings with Nathan [[spoiler:and with Grace]] are in warmer colours. Again, there are exceptions, namely, [[spoiler:the ferry bombing and [[FakingTheDead its aftermath]]]].
** Elias' flashbacks in Season 1 are in quite a unique tone, somehow reminiscent of the Godfather.
** In Season 3, as more characters are exposed through flashback, this trope is [[ZigZaggingTrope zig-zagged]], but is still noticeably in play to some extent. For example, the trope seems to be non-present in: Finch's [[spoiler:childhood, college and funeral]] scenes and Shaw's childhood scene but present in the flashbacks showing: the [[StartOfDarkness start of darkness]] of Peter Collier, Carter's flashbacks and the interrogation scenes in "The Devil's Share" (all of these are in blue tones).
* ''Series/TrueBlood'' used the Eye Recall type frequently when any vampire was remembering their human life or earlier in their immortal life. Occasionally used for humans flashing back as well.
* Parodied in ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'' episode covering ''[[Recap/MysteryScienceTheater3000S10E06BoggyCreek2AndTheLegendContinues Boggy Creek II]]'', when Mike finds Crow and Tom fighting but neither of them can remember why, and then Mike forgets what he was doing too. Crow decides to use a flashback like in the movie ("it was fifteen or twenty seconds ago... I remember it like it was just yesterday!") and narrates over blurry footage of Mike walking in. When Mike complains that it didn't answer any questions, Servo does his own flashback, which is even blurrier. After Mike makes an attempt, he remembers why he came onto the bridge in the first place - [[BlindWithoutEm to get his contact lenses.]]
* Parodied on ''Series/GrowingPains'', when Maggie and Jason demand that Ben explain himself. When they ask why he's hesitating, he declares, "I'm waiting for the ripple."
* Parodied on another sitcom when a character becomes thoroughly outraged at everyone else's behavior and declares, "This is a dream!" He then turns to the camera and says, "And you know it because of how the screen wiggled when I fell asleep!"
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLYCLg5wdnE Parodied in]] ''Series/TheLateShow1992'' GagDub ''Series/TheOldenDays'' (based on ''Series/Rush1974''). Olden notes that in order to explain his awkward makeup job "We may have to do a... flashback sequence."
--->''That's alright, I've got a harp in me tent; I'll do the music. Bazza, you tell the cameraman to go out of focus...''
* In the ''Series/MidnightCaller'' episode "Payback," a cop remembers her partner's murder in black and white, with echoey, discordant background music. Once she is able to picture the killer's face, she starts remembering in color.
* ''Series/TheOuterLimits1995'': The flashbacks in "[[Recap/TheOuterLimits1995S3E4LastSupper Last Supper]]" are shown in [[DeliberatelyMonochrome black and white]].
* ''Series/{{Decoy}}'': The image ripples when Casey starts to recount her first assignment in "First Arrest."
* ''Series/{{Firefly}}'': Lighting and camera effects are used in the episode "[[Recap/FireflyE08OutOfGas Out of Gas]]" to create distinct visual styles for the scenes in the present (starting with Mal on the cargo bay floor), for the HowWeGotHere scenes in the recent past, and for the EveryoneMeetsEveryone scenes in the more distant past.
* ''Series/{{QI}}'': Played with. On the episode "Holidays", Rob Brydon's buzzer sound is a harp, which Bill Bailey says sounds like they're going back in time. Later on Rob makes a rather lame pun, and he uses the buzzer to "go back in time" and change it.
* ''Series/{{Frasier}}'': Played with in the episode "Father Of The Bride." Martin is telling someone how he remembers dropping off Niles for his first Sunday school class. Adding "Seems like only yesterday", he looks dreamily into the air while a harp glissando begins. Everyone confusedly looks around the room, until they remember the harpist in the corner, whom Frasier was auditioning for Daphne's wedding.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Radio]]
* ''Radio/OurMissBrooks'': Visual effects and music were used to signify dream sequences in "Magic Christmas Tree", "The Dream", "King and Miss Brooks" and "Mr. Boynton's Return". Just the music was used for the radio in "Connie's New Job Offer" and the radio version of "Magic Christmas Tree".
* ''Radio/Ectoplasm2000'': Parodied.
-->'''[[Creator/SophieAldred Mary Cockroft]]:''' Well, it all started a year ago. \\
''(Harp scale)'' \\
'''Lord Zimbabwe:''' Please... don't touch the harp.
** Ten seconds later, played straight with both a harp scale and a FlashbackBackBack.
* Mocked in the recurring sketch "Asso: Spanish Detective" on ''Radio/SonOfCliche'':
-->'''Asso:''' (''narrating'') I started to think back. Back to the beginning of this case...\\
(''harp scale'')\\
'''Asso:''' (''narrating'') I was in my office, playing my harp.
* Parodied in ''Music/MitchBenn's Crimes Against Music'', when discussing Music/RobertJohnson's alleged DealWithTheDevil:
-->'''Mitch''': Now, what's always interested me is that curious little detail about the Devil retuning Robert Johnson's guitar. Y'see, I think what actually happened is this...\\
''(Harp scale)''\\
'''Alfie''': What, he was a harp player?\\
'''Mitch''': No ... no, that was meant to be a sort of dissolve ... y'know, audio cross {{fade|In}}... thing. It's difficult to do on the radio, all right?
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Theatre]]
* For the three flashbacks in the ''Theatre/CityOfAngels'' FilmNoir sequences, the script calls for "flashback effect," and the music cues definitely suggest this trope.
* The dream transitions in the original production of ''Theatre/LadyInTheDark'' were done with a complicated system of turntables within turntables and a kaleidoscopic light effect to get the cinematic effect Moss Hart apparently wanted.
* In ''Theatre/JasperInDeadland'', four notes on a glockenspiel play each time Jasper restores someone's memories.
* ''Theatre/DeathOfASalesman'': Arthur Miller's notes use this within the staging. The walls of the house are implied by stage marks; these are understood as walls in the present, but not in flashback scenes. And then the lines between past and present get blurred as Willy's mental faculties deteriorate.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* In the later ''Franchise/AceAttorney'' games, the Flashbacks are done DeliberatelyMonochrome; in the original, they're in sepia tone.
* In ''VisualNovel/DaughterForDessert'', much like with dreams, the screen fades to white around the edges to signify a flashback.
* ''VideoGame/Persona5'' have flashbacks shown with a quick flash and the scene shown in black and white.
* In the PC game ''VideoGame/SecretsOfDaVinciTheForbiddenManuscript'', protagonist Valdo will experience flashbacks of ''someone else's life'' when he completes certain action sequences. These are presented in sepia tone and, as might be expected, are very confusing to the character.
* Lampshaded by Grandpa in ''VideoGame/TheSimpsonsHitAndRun''. "It was so long ago that I'll have to describe it in ''sepia tone''!"
* Flashbacks in ''VideoGame/{{Theresia|DearEmile}}'' are interspersed with dots that resemble white noise, but are the same reddish color as the concentrated form of the titular disease.
* The "All Ghillied Up" mission ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyModernWarfare'' is actually an aversion, since it plays out in full color. However, it's possible to ''make it'' DeliberatelyMonochrome yourself by use of the COD Noir cheat. But the mission briefing shows physical maps and B&W photos of the targets instead of the usual computer imagery.
* While not exactly a Flashback, during the [[TimeTravel past]] sequences of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'' the regular battle theme is replaced by the somewhat more peppy [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jho-peCAKs "The Man With the Machine Gun"]] to go with Laguna's battles, the title reflecting that Laguna's weapon of choice is a machine gun.
* Flashback scenes in ''[[VideoGame/TrailsSeries The Legend of Heroes - Trails]]'' series have a [[FadeIn fade-in]] effect while the images are colored as yellowish with shades of brown.
* During flashback sequences in the story mode of ''VideoGame/NarutoShippudenUltimateNinjaStorm2'', a pretty cool-looking graphical effect is used that simulates grainy, sepia-tone film. This even extends to at least one gameplay battle that takes place during a flashback. In addition, the game uses stills that seem to be taken straight from the anime (with the aforementioned effect applied) for flashbacks to events from the pre-Shippuden series.
* ''VideoGame/AmberJourneysBeyond'' does this in relation to whenever you enter the memories of one of the ghosts haunting the house, and each one has their own specific effects, down to ''[[PaintingTheMedium warping the gameplay window to match]]''.
* ''VideoGame/CityOfHeroes'' uses sepia [[FadeIn fade-in]]/fade-out effects for "flashback" missions: missions that are run at a level lower than your character's current level.
* ''VideoGame/{{Achron}}'' adds a sepia tone to the screen when a player is watching/playing in the past.
* In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'', Old Snake relives his past in the form of the original ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid''. Shows a nice way of comparing the older style of gameplay and graphics to the newer style. Also counts as {{fanservice}} and a ShoutOut to anyone who has played the original game.
* While not exactly a flashback, during the boss battle reruns in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker'', everything except for Link and certain particle effects is rendered in grayscale. The normal boss battle music for each fight is replaced with a trippy and more electronic version of the theme.
* Despite Dr. Nefarious's LampshadeHanging, ''Franchise/RatchetAndClank'' doesn't usually use the classic harp and wave dissolve combo for flashbacks - a quick ArtShift from 3D to 2D does the trick most of the time.
* {{Lampshaded}} in ''VideoGame/RiverCityGirls'' prior to the battle with [[VideoGame/RiverCityRansom Yamada]] discussing his past while the screen starts fading to white with Kyoko and Misako stating they don't care what he has to say.
* The transitions in and out of flashback episodes in ''VideoGame/ThimbleweedPark'' happen via those wavy lines and a harp sound.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]
* In ''Webcomic/ArthurKingOfTimeAndSpace'' the background colour of the website (usually green) is blue for flashbacks and red for flashforwards (representing redshifting and blueshifting; the central console in Merlin's TimeMachine uses the same colours to indicate travel to the past or future).
* In ''Webcomic/CountYourSheep'', the present day comics have a blue coloration, while past scenes (from when the mother was a child) are shown in magenta.
* ''Webcomic/DarthsAndDroids'': Uses sepia for flashback panels.
** In [[http://www.darthsanddroids.net/episodes/1270.html Episode 1270]], Boba Fett actually flashes back to [[http://www.darthsanddroids.net/episodes/1086.html himself having a flashback]] (prompting a "ScrewThisImOutOfHere" reaction from Luke). This flashback-within-a-flashback is in grayscale.
* ''Webcomic/DoubleK''. "And what's this?! The ever-darkening panel gutters would seem to indicate the approach...OF A FLASHBACK"
* ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'' uses the rounded panel corners variant for both flashbacks and {{Imagine Spot}}s.
* ''Webcomic/ExterminatusNow'': Toys with it in a LeaningOnTheFourthWall moment in [[http://exterminatusnow.co.uk/2011-01-29/comic/chase-sequence/remember-smitty-and-jonesy/ this]] strip.
* ''Webcomic/TheFoxSister'' uses reddish monochrome colors with faded edges for a flashback panel.
* ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'' uses sepia toned panels most of the time. There are [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20031119 some]] [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20031201 exceptions]], though.
* ''Webcomic/{{Goblins}}'' rarely uses flashbacks. When it does, it uses different effects. There are shiny panel edges [[http://www.goblinscomic.com/10302006/ here]], and black/white [[http://www.goblinscomic.com/09172010-2/ here]].
* ''Webcomic/GunnerkriggCourt''. {{Flashback Cut}}s are represented by a sepia-toned panel inside the present-day panel. Longer, full-panel flashbacks are in color and are distinguished either by textured backgrounds, rounded panel corners, or both.
** When some fans thought these weren't clear enough, Tom responded with [[http://gunnerkrigg.wikia.com/wiki/Image:437alt.jpg this parody.]]
** A later flashback chapter has slightly desaturated/sepia-ish colors throughout.
* ''Webcomic/IrregularWebcomic'' uses both the [[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/1260.html misty border]] and the [[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/comic.php?current=1283&theme=5&dir=next5 sepia tone]] effects.
* In ''Webcomic/QueenOfWands'', when Kestrel is recounting how she and Shannon met and how everyone became roommates, the flashback strips are sepia-toned. When, ''during the flashback'', Kestrel recounts her backstory with Felix to Shannon, it's portrayed in black-and-white, without the sepia cast.
* ''Webcomic/StarMares'' uses psychedelic backgrounds and frame edges during Gracenote's visions of the 'Episode I' events.
* ''Webcomic/StrawberryDeathCake''. {{Flashback Cut}}s are represented by a sepia-tone-reminiscent black/white/yellow color scheme, rather than the regular black/white/red one.
* In ''Webcomic/ChampionsOfFaraus'', flashbacks have panels drawn in a way that makes them look like pictures tucked into a picture frame by their corners.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Original]]
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdby-GkQlg0 STELLA's "Birthday" sketch]] has David Wain's character David Wain start his flashback to the time he met Michael Showalter's character Mi-well, you know what comes next. Wain says he "must've met [=[Michael]=] twenty years ago!" Then the flashback starts. The color balance is slightly different, and the establishing shot is of a giant calendar with squares reading "REM", "The Cure", "Synth-Pop", and "UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan", plus a ''[[Film/TheTerminator Terminator]]'' poster visible on a nearby wall.
* ''WebAnimation/TheStrangerhood'': Every time Wade wants to tell a story, the screen goes wavy and leads into a flashback. Eventually Sam gets fed up with this.
-->'''Sam''': "Quit making these stupid wavy lines"\\
'''Wade''': "Don't fight it, man."\\
'''Sam''': "You're making me dizzy"\\
'''Wade''': "Don't fight the wavy lines"
* In Creator/SamAndMickey videos, flashbacks have a wavy transition, and flashbacks to TheFifties or TheSixties have a faded color scheme and/or an abundance of print flaws.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/AquaTeenHungerForce'', The Cybernetic Ghost does a fade-in effect after doing a smoke screen while giving one of his ridiculous stories. Another effect is with a flashes of images before the flashback is shown.
* LampshadeHanging in ''WesternAnimation/RockosModernLife'', "Future Schlock." TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture, an aged Filburt attempts to enlighten his kids via FlashBack, and forgets which button to press to "make things go all squiggly."
** "The green one, Daddy!"
* Used in the episode of ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'' which parodies ''Film/CitizenKane''. Buster even {{lampshade|Hanging}}s it by saying, "I remember it as if it were...a flashback!"
* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' had quite a bit of fun with this in the episode "I'm A Little Bit Country", in which Cartman is trying to flashback to the year 1776 for a school project.
* In clip show episodes (except "Time Trap!") of ''WesternAnimation/TheRaccoons'', echoes are added to every voice and sound effect.
* Subverted in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers''. The Monarch starts reminiscing about his past with Doctor Venture and the screen starts wavering gently. Then he realizes he's on fire and the distortion is from the heat.
* Spoofed in the Canadian animated series, ''WesternAnimation/{{Sidekick}}''. Whenever there is a flashback or even a cut to dreams we are treated to Eric and Trevor overtaking the screen, wiggling there arms saying, "OooOooh, OooOooh!" while the background wavers out.
* Parodied in the ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'' episode "Doof Dynasty".
-->'''Phineas''': But why, master Perry?
-->'''Wavery flute music and ripple effect as Perry looks off in the distance.'''
-->'''Phineas''': What's he doing?
-->'''Ferb''': That's a ripple dissolve. He must be having a flashback.
-->'''Phineas''': Does he...know...we can't see it? ... Should we give him some privacy? I--I don't know the protocol for flashbacks.
** But Buford just does it because it's relaxing.
* ''WesternAnimation/ThomasAndFriends'' uses misty borders for flashbacks, and often ripple dissolves to transition to them.
* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'':
** "The Secret of My Excess": when Rarity tells off the greedy beast dragon who's ponynapped her, he gets a look at her fire ruby. The Eye Recall happens and he is reminded how she got it -- and that he, Spike, gave it to her and was rewarded with a kiss for being so generous. The recollection is enough to jar him from his greed and revert him to normal.
* ''WesternAnimation/LittlestPetShop2012'':
** "Bad Hair Day:" The trope is played with. The first time we see Blythe EyeRecall, it's actually more of an ImagineSpot that she ''believes'' is a memory than a genuine Flashback, which she then uses to assure Mrs. Twombley that she's an ace stylist. The second time, she remembers the memory unembellished, and realizes she's not the awesome stylist/groomer she believes herself.
* Fitting the fairytale world of the ''Shrek'' franchise, flashbacks in ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfPussInBoots'' ArtShift to a limited animation 2D artstyle, which when combined with Puss' narration, make the whole thing feel like a story being told from a picture book.
* Parodied in the ''WesternAnimation/{{Chowder}}'' episode "The Meach Harvest", when Mung Daal freaks out at the prospect of having to make "Mince-Meach Pie". The screen starts to waver as if a flashback is about to happen, but Mung Daal interrupts it with a shout of "No, no flashbacks! It's too gruesome!" Played straight later in the episode, when the wavy effect happens uninterrupted as Mung Daal relates to Chowder and Schnitzel what happened the last time he tried to harvest meaches.
[[/folder]]
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