Developing Conflict

The film opening is finally starting to take shape! Today in class I brought up to the rest of my group about my idea of making our project a tragedy and was met with positive feedback. My partner, Manuel, had gone further and suggested that the piece could work as a character study to give a more in-depth look into the protagonist. I thought it was a great idea that perfectly matched the vision I had in mind. Since the subgenre and its specifics for the opening was set, it was time to come up with our plot.

Our approach to creating a plot was to first develop a conflict. With a conflict incorporated from the beginning of the pre-production process, our film opening could have a clear path to follow in terms of setting up the rest of the story. Stories are developed from conflict, and without any the plot would have no device of pushing it forward. From my previous research of film openings, it is clear to see that setting up the plot in those first few minutes is essential. In order to figure out a conflict, I needed to understand the core aspects of one.

Basics of a Conflict

I started researching online to gather information about the fundamental factors behind the conflict of a story and was able to find this useful infographic in the process: 
   

What this illustrates are six typical story conflicts seen throughout a variety of media identified by different types of opposition, whether it be internal or external. Since the tragedy subgenre relies on a central weakness of a character, the conflict that made the most sense out of all of the options was “person against self”. After all, by the plot being a character study, witnessing up close the corruption of our protagonist coming from within would make for a further engrossing story. Further research of the topic made me understand that great conflicts do not only differ in whether they are just internal or external. A great conflict integrates an element of philosophical and moral questioning underneath. I still am trying to flesh this aspect of our plot out, but as of now I believe it will tinker with the idea that inner-change comes with acceptance and understanding. Considering once again that this would be a tragedy film, the message will come through by the protagonist not being able to accept that he was the problem all along instead of him actually following this philosophy. I also took the time to research numerous character flaws that we could apply to the protagonist. While researching various different options, this infographic details seven of the most destructive character flaws:

Arrogance and stubborness could work together to detail the protagonist’s downfall due to it matching with the concept of the character not being able to realize he is in the wrong, which will lead into the implementation of self-destruction. Through this research, the conflict for the film opening was developed.

The Birth of a Plot

Among this discussion of what flaws our character would have in the story, a burst of inspiration had struck me in class. If the film opening was about a celebrity going off the deep end, we would perfectly be able to execute both our conflict and genre. As we continued to discuss the basics of the story, we all started to get excited as we thought about it more. This to me is a sign of great things to come. 

From my experience so far, it is clear for me to see that it is important to connect and consider all aspects of a film opening in order to create a more cohesive piece. I plan on continuing to brainstorm in this same mindset as I begin writing the plot outline for the project.

Sources:

Now Novel. “6 Story Conflicts Possible in Your Book.” Now Novel, 5 Jan. 2015, www.nownovel.com/blog/kind-conflicts-possible-story/. Accessed 20 Feb. 2020.

StudioBinder. “The Real Purpose of Conflict in Your Story.” StudioBinder, 1 Aug. 2019, www.studiobinder.com/blog/what-is-conflict-in-a-story/. Accessed 20 Feb. 2020.

Patterson, Amanda. “123 Ideas For Character Flaws - A Writer’s Resource.” Writers Write, 25 June 2012, writerswrite.co.za/123-ideas-for-character-flaws/. Accessed 20 Feb. 2020.