The Difference Between STORY & PLOT || Storytelling Explained

#Screenwriting #Filmmaking #Tutorial
Hi! My name is David I’m a young filmmaker and screenwriter, and today we’ll talk about confusing differences and similarities between Story and Plot!
Screenwriting Apps I use:
FADE IN: www.fadeinpro.com
FINAL DRAFT: www.finaldraft.com
HIGHLAND 2: highland2.app
As always:
Don't beat yourself up over trying to make everything perfect. Mistakes happen; Learn from them; Live with them; In most cases the only person noticing them will be you after all. :)
INSTAGRAM: / david.u.me
TWITTER: / mellon_ephi
INTRO/OUTRO: My friend over at Andy Tells Things made this animation for me. He has some serious editing skills, which I‘m constantly impressed by.
Andy Tells Things: kzbin.info/door/xFvHi1W...

[@the7thseven873]

The story is the train going from one point to the other. The plot, Is the passengers giving life to the story. Without the passengers, the train is just a lifeless machine going from place to place.

[@moviemellon]

Oh that’s a wonderful analogy! I love it.

[@TheThinkersBible]

Great analogy. I've copied your analogy and saved it for future reference. Thanks!

[@SuperDemo89]

Great analogy that’s why train movies do so well

[@storytellerofgamesneglecte7650]

I used to think the two terms were interchangeable, but now I know the difference between them and I have a better understanding of how telling a story works, this is truly a phenomenal video. Surprised this doesn't have more views though, your production value is something I could only wish to do in Filmora.

[@moviemellon]

Hey there! Thank you so much for your kind words, they do mean so much to me. I am really glad the effort is appreciated. It did take me one hell of a time to edit though. So there’s a lot of effort and care put into it :)

[@shadethedon8351]

You may think so but you are actually wrong as is the guy in the video ! The story is the why The plot is the who what when where how James shoot mike and then mike jump behind the a car = PLOT / A SIMPLE SEQUENCE OF " EVENTS " James shoot mike because after giving him so much opportunities to surrender james finally understand than nothing will stop mike = STORY / WHY THE EVENTS HAPPEN If story was a simple sequence of events we would have substories and not subplots ! Don't trust neither me or neither this guy video just make your own research on PLOT driven STORY and CHARACTER driven STORY. You will understand the function of the plot more easily and therefore understand the difference between plot and story ! Peace & good luck on your journey

[@Tiquono]

Thank you so much! This helped me look deeper at my narratives and understand how to build them. Much love!

[@moviemellon]

I‘m really glad to hear it was useful to you!! :)

[@TheThinkersBible]

Great summary of the difference of plot and story. The graph of the Shrek story was very useful.

[@theywereroommates9998]

Amazing! I have an exam today and it helped me very much, thank you!

[@moviemellon]

Hey I‘m glad I could help! Thank you :)

[@alexblackburnproducer]

A really well executed way to layout what both of these mean when running parallell to each other

[@moviemellon]

Even after putting in a lot of research and trying to explain the topic as thoroughly as I was able to at the time I still struggle to fully grasp the difference of both hahaha

[@davide4599]

Yet a story can really be anything, depending by the intellectual level of the reader.

[@moviemellon]

Maybe not exactly the intellectual level, but rather creative capacity of the individual.

[@behindthepageaudiobooks]

The Future of Storytelling provides a similar definition of story, but some writers such as indie-author Brandon McNulty argue that plot is the "what" of a story whereas story is composed four other parts: characters, stakes, structure, and setting (+ point of view). Plot vs Story | Know The Difference (Fiction Writing Advice): kzbin.info/www/bejne/bqeYf4uinKeCrbM The Future of Storytelling 1-3 | Story vs. Plot: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iqS3lHWXn8-mgsk While I agree that a story is the causal and chronological sequence of events, I think story should be defined as the "why" and "who" rather than the "what". I think the "what" or content of events make up the plot as the Future of Storytelling explained.

[@moviemellon]

This is a very nice and thoughtful addition to the video, thank you very much. It is very difficult to thoroughly explain these two concepts, especially since there are so many definitions - some contradictory. To quote McNulty, there is no rock-solid official definition. I think the definition of 'story' doesn't exclusively have to be either the "what" or the "why". As I said in my video the relation between story and plot is so tightly connected to each other, that it may very well be both "what" and "why" (to an extent). However, I still think that the definition makes the most sense if we phrase it as such: "What is the story and why does it progress from A to B?" But in the end, it's all a matter of phrasing, really.

[@shadethedon8351]

And McNulty is absolutely right ! The story is the why The plot is the who what when where how James shoot mike and then mike jump behind the a car = PLOT / A SIMPLE SEQUENCE OF " EVENTS " James shoot mike because after giving him so much opportunities to surrender james finally understand than nothing will stop mike = STORY / WHY THE EVENTS HAPPEN If story was a simple sequence of events we would have substories and not subplots ! Don't trust neither me or neither this guy video just make your own research on PLOT driven STORY and CHARACTER driven STORY. You will understand the function of the plot more easily and therefore understand the difference between plot and story ! You can also see it in STORYBOARDING E.G what is a scene and what is a sequence the scene is the plot and the sequence is the story. Peace & good luck on your journey

[@kathryncainmadsen5850]

So why do so many writing programs say exactly the opposite, that PLOT is the sequence of events and the story is who and why

[@moviemellon]

The main issue with all of these definitions [mine included] is that they are all true in a sense. The PLOT is just another part of any STORY. There can’t be a PLOT without a STORY. And I agree, in hindsight I failed to mention that: Yes, a PLOT is also a sequence of events within a broader sequence of events. However, a plot serves to give context to a story. The STORY is the who and the what (Who is the character and What happens). The PLOT is the Why and the How (Why do these things happen and How will the STORY unfold). In the words of E.M. Forster: “The king died and then the queen died is a story. The king died, and then the queen died of grief, is a plot.” Another big issue with semantic theory like this is that definitions are prone to change due to conventional use. Since people started using the terms STORY and PLOT interchangeably, the meanings ultimately ended up bleeding into each other. (Other cases like this include the definition of ‘literally‘ being changed to also mean ‘figuratively/virtually‘ which used to be the exact opposite.)

[@jeffmcmahon3278]

Seems to me that the Story is encapsulated in the Logline - what is it about. The Plot is how the logline plays out.

[@AndyTellsThings]

Yoooooo this animation is so good David! Great video 😄

[@moviemellon]

Thank you so much! 😊 it took me long enough, that’s for sure lmao 😂

[@bilalbhatti5696]

Good Work keep it up ❤

[@moviemellon]

Thank you very much!! :)

[@AllenUry]

I have always likened "Story" and "Plot" to "Strategy" and "Tactics." "Strategy" is "What Happens." Tactics are "How Things Happen." (Example: Strategy: "We're going to win the battle by taking the hill." Tactics: "We're going to take the hill by using a combination of light tanks, infantry and air support.") Likewise, Story is "What Happens," while Plot is "How/Why Things Happen." (Example: Story: "Joe saves his mother's house by paying off her mortgage." Tactics: "Joe gets the money to pay off his mother's mortgage by robbing a bank.")

[@shakeerahjohnson3306]

@moviemellon How does sync licensing work?

[@xyllyxyl]

Story is what is this about. Plot is what happens. Idk where this guy gets his intel.

[@moviemellon]

"In a literary work, film, or other narrative, the plot is the sequence of events in which each event affects the next one through the principle of cause-and-effect. The causal events of a plot can be thought of as a series of events linked by the connector "and so"." Story is the series of events. Plot is the cause and effect sequence of a story. My intel comes from a Bachelor’s Degree in Linguistics and Literary Studies.

[@xyllyxyl]

@@moviemellon I disagree and stand by my statement. Other than my questioning of your credentials and congratulations on that. Stories are survival information, either for the survival of the audience or in some causes the narrator. But that’s what a story is, information that benefits someone. So depending on what a story is about determines it’s utility or function the story has in it’s audience or narrators life. Plot is just the parts that make the chair. You only need enough plot to make your chair stand. To much plot that doesn’t service the story is a chair with a potato peeler attached to it. Not enough plot , you’re likely going to miss whatever point you’re trying to make. The point, plot, thesis , base, foundation, takeaway or “theme” of a story IS the story.

[@xyllyxyl]

@@moviemellon and if you check and compare your claim to a actual story, your claim doesn’t hold up.

[@xyllyxyl]

@@moviemellon and your quote just describes time.

[@moviemellon]

It’s nice for you to stand by your statement, yet the differentiation I provided is the one that is used as a rule by millions of storytellers around the globe. This is not about opinions, this is about what is used as a guideline. You know… the… "official" definition. This is also disregarding the fact that you entirely disregard what I said in the video about Story and Plot being so tightly interwoven that one cannot really exist without the other.