The narrative format famously used by episodes of *24* is real time.
Each episode is designed to depict approximately one hour in the lives of its characters, while each season generally covers a single 24-hour period. The series follows counterterrorist agent Jack Bauer as multiple plots unfold simultaneously.
A digital clock, split-screen editing, and scenes that appear to happen concurrently reinforce the format. The clock shows the story’s in-universe time, and the passage of time continues during commercial breaks. Travel and other routine events may therefore happen off-screen, even though the story remains structured around continuous time.
A common mix-up is “found footage,” which describes a filming style in which fictional events are presented as recovered recordings. *24* is instead a scripted action thriller using a real-time narrative device. It also is not an anthology: the same continuing characters and overarching storylines connect the episodes.