History Main / ShootTheMoney

** ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda'' surprised many viewers by hiring Creator/JackieChan to voice a character with surprisingly few lines. In the end, they also wanted him to provide technical guidance for [[EverybodyWasKungFuFighting the fight scenes]] -- he is, after all, the master of kung-fu comedy.

* If it is an expensive locale, then we see lots of scenes of the characters traveling through the iconic scenery. Especially in [[SceneryPorn very scenic locations like Hawaii]], or at major landmarks that cost large amounts of money to hire out, [[TheEiffelTowerEffect such as the Empire State Building]].

* ''Film/StarTrekTheMotionPicture'' was kind of an odd case. Yes, there are a crapton of shots of the elaborate ''Enterprise'' model that clearly cost a lot to make. But that model wasn't made for the film, but rather for a putative {{sequel|series}} to [[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries the original TV series]] (converted to a film in a scramble, mostly because of the planned Paramount TV network it was supposed to anchor being mothballed, but also because of the then-recent success of ''[[Film/ANewHope Star Wars]]''), where it would have been used more frequently. And the remaining effects were totally unusable, requiring the studio to scramble and get John Dykstra and Douglas Trumbull to work their rear ends off to make the final product, so the Paramount people figured that their hard work (and all that money) should probably be front-and-center in the movie. The problem was that doing so led to the deletion of several CharacterDevelopment scenes that were important to the film.

** Literally the entire reason ''WesternAnimation/TheThiefAndTheCobbler'' exists is for Creator/RichardWilliams to show off every trick, technique, and method of hand-drawn animation he learned from the [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfAnimation golden age]] masters. To Williams, money was no object: if it could be animated, it would, whether or not it was relevant or cost-effective.

* This is why [[InteractiveMovie Full Motion Video games]] were so prevalent on the UsefulNotes/SegaCD, the [[UsefulNotes/ThreeDOInteractiveMultiplayer 3DO]], and pretty much anything that ran [=CDs=] in the early '90s. Switching to CD-drive-based technology was expensive, but the actual gameplay rarely required more than the 8 megabytes that you could fit on a simple cartridge. So what are we going to fill all this extra space with? Why, video files! The gimmick then lost its appeal quite quickly -- actors, props, and sets are expensive, even more so when they're ''good'' -- and was quickly phased out in favour of pre-rendered cutscenes, which at least didn't take up such a disproportionate chunk of the budget. Games then starting using the space for voice acting, music, and 3D assets instead.
* This is also why [[{{Waggle}} motion controls]] were all the rage during UsefulNotes/{{the seventh generation|OfConsoleVideoGames}}, essentially being required in all games of the era. They ranged from "obviously limited but still usable" (most UsefulNotes/{{Wii}} games) to bad enough to indirectly [[CreatorKiller kill companies]] (''VideoGame/{{Lair}}'').

* ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure'': Chaos, a monster made of water, was made the main villain to show off the UsefulNotes/SegaDreamcast's fluid and transparency rendering.

* If it is an expensive locale, then we see lots of scenes of the characters traveling through the iconic scenery. Especially in very scenic locations like Hawaii, or at major landmarks that cost large amounts of money to hire out, such as the Empire State Building.

* If it is an expensive set, then expect it to become the base of operations. If not, it might receive some minor redressing to represent other locations.

** There were also minor things which were incredibly detailed and never shown on screen. For instance, in ''[[Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheReturnOfTheKing Return of the King]]'', Éowyn wears an intricate dress for a scene in which she's only shot from the chest up (a fact lamented on the DVDCommentary by Creator/MirandaOtto), and Théoden's breastplate had beautiful and intricate stitching and details on the ''inside'' -- but Creator/BernardHill still thinks it made it on screen in a sense, because it made him ''feel'' like a king when wearing it.
* [[AvertedTrope Aversions]]:
** In ''Film/{{Alien}}'', the huge Space Jockey in its "pilot chair" was built by artist Creator/HRGiger for a lot of money and was used only in one scene. Then, 30 years later, it inspired [[Film/{{Prometheus}} a film of its own]].
** The ''Film/HarryPotter'' films, in addition to their prolific use of seemingly every ClassicallyTrainedExtra in Britain, have a lot of detail on set that's barely noticeable on screen. Particular instances include the animatronic hog's head mounted on the wall of the Hog's Head pub in ''[[Film/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix Order of the Phoenix]]'' (which you'll notice only if you're looking for it) and a background extra in ''[[Film/HarryPotterAndTheHalfBloodPrince Half-Blood Prince]]'' dubbed "tattoo man", who required five hours of work from four makeup artists and ended up being cut from the film entirely. At least Creator/WarnerBros would get their money's worth by showing off the detailed sets to visitors on their studio tour.
** ''Film/{{Jaws}}'' famously ''wanted'' to shoot the money, having made several animatronic {{Threatening Shark}}s, but they all looked so fake and were so plagued with mechanical difficulties that Creator/StevenSpielberg decided to minimize any focus on them. Most critics agree that this worked to the film's benefit, creating a [[NothingIsScarier more frightening atmosphere]] and increasing the effect when it does appear.
** For ''Film/KingKong1976'', a giant animatronic Kong was built at a cost of $1.7 million, but it was only used for a couple of seconds-long shots -- because it wasn't convincing, and it [[SpecialEffectsFailure was obvious]].
** ''Film/Sahara2005'' tried -- it had a 45-second scene of a plane crash that cost $2 million to film, but it was cut to make room for the ProductPlacement scenes. Let's hope those endorsements made up for that $2 million.

* ''VideoGame/{{Myst}}''. Everything about '''Myst'''.

* ''Film/{{North}}'': Creator/DanAykroyd and Music/RebaMcEntire appear as the [[EverythingIsBigInTexas stereotypical Texan family]], and sing the film's only song, a parody of the ''{{Series/Bonanza}}'' theme song, despite ''North'' not being a musical (and despite ''Bonanza'' actually being set in Nevada). [[spoiler:And it's also possibly {{Foreshadowing}} since the movie's AllJustADream]].

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

* This is why FullMotionVideo video games were so prevalent on the UsefulNotes/SegaCD, the [[UsefulNotes/ThreeDOInteractiveMultiplayer 3DO]], and pretty much anything that ran [=CDs=] in the early '90s. Switching to CD-drive-based technology was expensive, but the actual gameplay rarely required more than the 8 megabytes that you could fit on a simple cartridge. So what are we going to fill all this extra space with? Why, video files! The gimmick then lost its appeal quite quickly -- actors, props, and sets are expensive, even more so when they're ''good'' -- and was quickly phased out in favour of pre-rendered cutscenes, which at least didn't take up such a disproportionate chunk of the budget. Games then starting using the space for voice acting, music, and 3D assets instead.

[[folder:Web Comics]]