Story vs. Plot

In filmmaking or film studies circles, you may hear the terms "story" and "plot" come up a lot. Sometimes, they are used interchangeably. However, for the purposes of film analysis, I wanted to take a moment to point out the distinguishing factors between the two. 

Plot is the way that the story is told. The plot can be out of sync with a story but it refers to the sequence of events in a story. The plot refers to the order, duration and setting of events.

The story is always linear. It refers to everything the audience infers about the events that occur within the diegesis on the basis of what they are shown by the plot. Story is how audience sums up or engages with plot. 

Up next, the Yale Film Analysis Guide --->