set piece

Noun

set piece (plural set pieces)

1. A piece of freestanding stage scenery.
2. Any carefully planned sequence of operations, especially as part of a military operation.
   • set-piece battle
3. An elaborate and interesting scene in a movie or video game, usually the most important and visually iconic scene in the work.
   • What’s so great about the episode is it takes its time. The first 30 minutes of this 79-minute behemoth—a model for season eight’s reportedly extended run-times—are a single set piece, the big parlay in the Dragon Pit at King’s Landing.2017 August 27, Brandon Nowalk, “Game Of Thrones slows down for the longest, and best, episode of the season (newbies)”, in The Onion AV Club
   • The message is that Hynkel is not a brilliant strategist or a mighty leader. He is an overgrown adolescent – as demonstrated in the sublime set piece in which he dances with an inflatable globe, dreaming of being "emperor of the world".2021 February 5, Nicholas Barber, “The Great Dictator: The film that dared to laugh at Hitler”, in BBC
4. Any planned strategy that a team uses after play is restarted with a free kick, penalty kick, corner kick, goal kick, throw-in or kickoff.
   • Roberto Carlos is deadly from set pieces.

   Synonyms:

   set play