film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

diegesis Diegesis (; , ) is a style of fiction storytelling in which a participating narrator offers an on-site, often interior, view of the scene to the reader, viewer, or listener by subjectively describing the actions and, in some cases, thoughts, o ...

refers to the story world, and the events that occur within it. Thus, non-diegesis are things which occur outside the story-world. A Non-diegetic insert is a film technique that combines a shot or a series of shots cut into a sequence, showing objects represented as being outside the space of the narrative. Put more simply, a non-diegetic insert is a scene that is outside the story world which is "inserted" into the story world. Diegetic could also refer to sound in media or film studies.

Examples

* Three images shown during the disastrous opening night of the play in ''

The Band Wagon ''The Band Wagon'' is a 1953 American musical romantic comedy film directed by Vincente Minnelli, starring Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse. The plot follows an aging musical star who hopes a Broadway show will revive his career, but the play ...

'', as a metaphor to highlight how much of a flop the show is. * Sky sequences shown in

Gus Van Sant Gus Green Van Sant Jr. (born July 24, 1952) is an American filmmaker, photographer, painter, and musician. He has earned acclaim as an independent film, independent auteur. His films typically deal with themes of marginalized subcultures. His ...

's ''Elephant''. *Most famously in '' The Great Train Robbery'' a bandit, either following the character's death or before the narrative began, shot his gun directly at the audience. * Starting scene of Charlie Chaplin's film '' Modern Times''. Film and video terminology {{Film-term-stub