In film , diegesis refers to the 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 technical film that combines a shot or a series of shots in a sequence, showing objects represented as being outside the narrative space. 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 The Wagon Band , as a metaphor to highlight how much of a flop the show is.
• Sky sequences shown in Gus Van Sant ‘s Elephant .
• Most famously in The Great Train Robbery has a bandit, following the character’s death or before the narrative, shot at his audience.
• Charlie Chaplin’s film scene from Modern Times .