There are many devices in the toolbox of a screenwriter that allow him or her to reveal major story points or character revelations without the use of dialogue. One such device is Planting and Payoff.

Planting and Payoff is the technique where the writer plants an idea or a conflict or a prop or some other storytelling element at one point of the story and then pays it off later in the story. The farther away the payoff is from the plant, the more effective it is in the story. There are many examples of its effectiveness throughout film making, but I noticed one recently while watching Cabaret starring Liza Minnelli and Michael York.

Cabaret takes place in Berlin in the early 30’s, the days leading up to the Nazis’ ascension in Germany. Liza Minnelli plays Sally Bowels, a self-absorbed ex-patriot American who sings and dances at a Cabaret theater and dreams of becoming a world famous movie star. Michael York plays Brian Roberts, an Englishman who teaches English to Germans. The two of them meet when Brian moves into the boarding house that Sally lives in with several other lost souls, and the two of them strike up an unlikely romance.

It turns into something of a love triangle when Maximilian von Heune enters the picture. He’s a baron and a rich playboy and he’s everything that the superficial Sally wants. However Brian is stable and educated and is everything that the real-life Sally needs. Brian is instantly jealous of Max and all of the material things that he can afford to buy for Sally. He seethes when Sally meets him for dinner wearing a new fur coat that Max has bought for her, because he knows that he simply can’t compete with Max on that level. Brian rudely declines the gift of a cigarette lighter that Max offers him, stubbornly implying that he can make his own way in the world and doesn’t care for Max’s charity. A few scenes later he declines it again when Max tries to give it to him a second time, causing Max to sneak it into his pocket. As the film moves through the second act Brian softens towards Max, and this is shown to us when the three of them drink and dance together at Max’s estate. In a later scene when Max pulls out a cigarette, Brian lights it with the gifted lighter. Their rivalry is over and a budding sexual tension between them has begun. No dialogue needed. Everything was shown to us and very little was told.

In this instance the plant is the cigarette lighter. It is a symbol of Max’s wealth that Brian resents. In some ways the lighter is symbolic of a key to opening up Brian’s heart towards Max. Initially refused, but eventually accepted, the payoff is shown to us when Brian uses the lighter to light Max’s cigarette. It’s a subtle action, but it does not go unnoticed by either character. So along with Planting and Payoff, the writer also threw in a dash of irony, yet another device in the writer’s toolbox. This Payoff also serves as a plant for their relationship that is paid off later (WARNING! SPOILER ALERT!) when Brian admits to Sally that she isn’t the only one who is screwing Maximilian.

The beautiful thing about Planting and Payoff, especially this example, is that it’s quite often a very simple convention that can be used to add levels of complexity to the characters’ relationships and depth to the story. It’s an easy way to take your script from mundane to interesting or from good to great.

This is just one of the many examples of Planting and Payoff effectively moving stories along without the need for dialogue. Do you have similar opportunities in your script of which you’re not taking advantage? Monument Script Services can evaluate your script and offer up suggestions for adding these types of elements that will deepen your story and heighten the level of interest in your characters. Please check out the link below to see our different levels of coverage and decide which one is right for you.

http://monumentscripts.com/service/screenplay-coverage/