A money shot is a moving or stationary visual element of a

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

video Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) syste ...

television broadcast A television network or television broadcaster is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, where a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay television providers. Until the mid-1 ...

, or

print publication To publish is to make content available to the general public.Berne Conve ...

that is disproportionately expensive to produce or is perceived as essential to the overall importance or revenue-generating potential of the work.

Cinema

Originally a broad term used generally in film-making, the "money shot" was simply the scene that cost the most money to produce. In general, a money shot (also called a ''money-making shot'') is a provocative, sensational, or memorable sequence in a film, on which the film's commercial performance is perceived to depend. The scene may or may not be a

special-effects Special effects (often abbreviated as SFX, F/X or simply FX) are illusions or visual tricks used in the theatre, film, television, video game, amusement park and simulator industries to simulate the imagined events in a story or virtual wor ...

sequence, but may be counted on to become a selling point for the film. For example, in an action thriller, an expensive special-effects sequence of a dam bursting might be considered the money shot of the film. Many filmmakers read a

script Script may refer to: Writing systems * Script, a distinctive writing system, based on a repertoire of specific elements or symbols, or that repertoire * Script (styles of handwriting) ** Script typeface, a typeface with characteristics of handw ...

and look for the most dramatic or climactic moment—the money shot—in the proposed film. Even though the costs or technical challenges of filming such an impressive scene may be huge, producers and directors will do whatever it takes to get that shot completed. It is because of its box-office importance and expensive set-up, that this climactic scene is often referred to as a money shot. More broadly, it can be any notably dramatic or emotional footage. Conversely, Rich Evans of Red Letter Media, offered up the term "coupon shot" for money shots that are anticlimactic or otherwise poorly executed on the channel's Best of the Worst series.

Pornographic films

The term has become known in its narrower, genre specific context, namely meaning

cum shot A cum shot is the depiction of human ejaculation, especially onto another person. The term is usually applied to depictions occurring in pornographic films, photographs, and magazines. Cum shots have become the object of fetish genres like bukk ...

in pornography, both film and photo. Referring to the

ejaculation Ejaculation is the discharge of semen (the ''ejaculate''; normally containing sperm) from the male reproductory tract as a result of an orgasm. It is the final stage and natural objective of male sexual stimulation, and an essential componen ...

scene as a 'money shot' has been attributed to producers paying the male actors extra for it. According to Steven Ziplow, author of ''The Film Maker's Guide to Pornography'', "the cum shot, or, as some refer to it, 'the money shot', is the most important element in the movie and that everything else (if necessary) should be sacrificed at its expense."Mills, Jane. ''The Money Shot: Cinema, Sin and Censorship''. Pluto Press, Annandale 2001. , p. xi
Extract
It has also been argued that this is the filmed moment that the audience has paid to see. In her book ''Hard Core'', Linda Williams argues that the money shot is not simply desired in and of itself, but proves to the audience that the sex is real.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Money Shot Film and video terminology Cinematic techniques Pornography terminology