The famous Russian author and playwright Anton Chekhov once stated, “If you say in the first chapter that there is a rifle hanging on the wall, in the second or third chapter it absolutely must go off. If it's not going to be fired, it shouldn't be hanging there." He is also known for saying, “Remove everything that has no relevance to the story” and “It’s wrong to make promises you don’t mean to keep.” All together, these axioms make up the principle that is known as Chekhov’s Gun. Basically, it’s the belief that everything included in a story should be meaningful and necessary. According to Chekhov’s Gun, if you have a setup, you better have a payoff, and if you don’t intend to have a payoff, remove the setup from your story. While this principle often applies to a literal gun (see Shaun of the Dead, for example), it can refer to everything from on-screen objects to lines of dialogue and is crucial to the art of tight, effective storytelling. This video demonstrates the importance of Chekhov’s Gun, shows how to effectively deploy it, and what happens when you avoid it. Just remember: Don’t show us a gun if you aren’t going to fire it.

For more on the beloved and necessary tropes of cinematic storytelling, check out our videos on the slide, the Macguffin, and scary kids, as well as our step-by-step guides to becoming a warrior woman, staging a great car chase, and pulling off the perfect heist!

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