Set piece (filmmaking)

In film production, a set piece is a scene or sequence of scenes whose execution requires serious logistical planning and considerable expenditure of money. The term set piece is often used more broadly to describe any important dramatic or comedic highpoint in a film or story, particularly those that provide some kind of dramatic payoff, resolution, or transition. Thus the term is often used to describe any scenes that are so essential to a film that they cannot be edited out or skipped in the shooting schedule without seriously damaging the integrity of the finished product. Often, screenplays are written around a list of such set pieces, particularly in high-budget "event movies".