Filming & Production
Hero shot
Also called: money shot
In product work it is the moment the item is presented at its best: light right, surface clean, movement slow. In a travel or documentary piece it is the frame that justifies the trip. Plan it instead of hoping for it, because a whole shoot can be arranged around getting that one setup properly and everything else moves quickly once it is safely recorded.
Shoot it wider than you think you need. A hero shot has to survive a crop to vertical for a Short, a crop to thumbnail proportions, and a version with text sitting across half of it.