Shadow of a Doubt
Shadow of a Doubt
1. Story and Plot
What is the difference between story and plot?
In narrative films the difference between story and plot is quite important. The story is all the events “explicitly presented and those the viewer infers” that occur in the narrative arranged by the viewer in their chronological order (Bordwell & Thompson, 2010, p.80). This material as defined in Film Art, is know as diegetic and therefore existed in the narrative world and can be seen and heard by the characters. Plot consists of “everything visibly and audibly present” shown on the screen which is also known as mis-en-scene (Bordwell & Thompson, 2010, p.80). This includes nondiegetic materials, such as a series of shots that are presented outside the narration (e.g a flashback) and also music, that does not affect the characters in the film as they cannot hear or see them.
What is the benefit of making a distinction between story and plot?
The distinction between story and plot occurs because the plot consists only of explicitly presented events. Off-screen activity is not a part of the film’s plot – this content belongs to the story alone. From this we can see that explicitly presented events are common to both the story and the plot.
However, plot can present nondiegetic material such as images and sound, can further assist the viewer in developing an understanding of the plot and therefore the story. For example, in Shadow of a Doubt the repeated images of a dance scene set to the Merry Widows Waltz, is neither heard nor seen by the characters in the film. It is nondiegetic. This distinction gives us the tools to analysis what the narrative is doing with time, specifically order (chronology, flashbacks, flash forwards), duration (length of time) and the frequency (how often event is revisited in the plot).
What is the relationship between the story and the plot in this film? What does the difference between them tell us? How are order, duration and frequency
1. Story and Plot
What is the difference between story and plot?
In narrative films the difference between story and plot is quite important. The story is all the events “explicitly presented and those the viewer infers” that occur in the narrative arranged by the viewer in their chronological order (Bordwell & Thompson, 2010, p.80). This material as defined in Film Art, is know as diegetic and therefore existed in the narrative world and can be seen and heard by the characters. Plot consists of “everything visibly and audibly present” shown on the screen which is also known as mis-en-scene (Bordwell & Thompson, 2010, p.80). This includes nondiegetic materials, such as a series of shots that are presented outside the narration (e.g a flashback) and also music, that does not affect the characters in the film as they cannot hear or see them.
What is the benefit of making a distinction between story and plot?
The distinction between story and plot occurs because the plot consists only of explicitly presented events. Off-screen activity is not a part of the film’s plot – this content belongs to the story alone. From this we can see that explicitly presented events are common to both the story and the plot.
However, plot can present nondiegetic material such as images and sound, can further assist the viewer in developing an understanding of the plot and therefore the story. For example, in Shadow of a Doubt the repeated images of a dance scene set to the Merry Widows Waltz, is neither heard nor seen by the characters in the film. It is nondiegetic. This distinction gives us the tools to analysis what the narrative is doing with time, specifically order (chronology, flashbacks, flash forwards), duration (length of time) and the frequency (how often event is revisited in the plot).
What is the relationship between the story and the plot in this film? What does the difference between them tell us? How are order, duration and frequency