Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
This is purely my own conjecture, but I believe the writers of
Aliens
probably worked backward from the climactic situation they wanted, and
created a scene earlier in the movie to set it up. Writers do this all the time,
and most planting works this way—you start with your end goal, and work
backward in time to retroactively set it up.
One final observation regarding this “plant the Power Loader” sequence:
the time and place the writers chose for it to occur was no accident. Ex-
position is always easier to convey when tension is low. Establishing what
things are or how they work is best done not during an intense, fast-mov-
ing sequence, but during a relatively calm and slow-moving one. Nearly all
planting is done during these “down times.”
Some other notable examples of planting in movies include:
▪
James Bond receives his special agent gear and gadgets from Q in
nearly every 007 movie:
▪
At least one always comes in handy at a critical moment later on.
▪
RoboCop's interface spike in
RoboCop
:
▪
When first seen, it's used to connect to computers, but ultimately,
it's used to kill henchman Clarence Boddicker.
▪
Woody's matchstick in
Toy Story
:
▪
Planted in his holster by the villain Sid, it's used later in an attempt
to light a rocket strapped to Buzz's back.
▪
Milton Waddams' repeated, mumbled warnings that he'll set the In-
itech building on fire in
Office Space
:
▪
He later makes good on his threat, which in turn saves the skins of
Peter Gibbons and his co-conspirators.
The keys to successful planting are to a) introduce the plant in a way
that seems innocuous and doesn't call unnecessary attention to itself at
the time, and b) allow enough time between setup and payoff for the
audience to almost forget about the original plant.
The biggest danger when planting is telegraphing, which can potentially
allow the more clever members of your audience to immediately recog-
nize the plant for what it is, and correctly guess how it plays into the story
later on. It's a very fine line.
