Alright, so we all know the 5 basic types of conflict:
Man vs Man
Man vs Nature
Man vs Society
Man vs The cosmos
Man vs Himself
The screenplay that I’m writing now, involves the protagonist with an inner conflict with himself, which the entire story revolves around (which all screenplays should: a conflict, or the character achieving his goal).
The problem I’m having is, it’s not very visual, I know screenplays need to be visual. Though, I’m not sure of the methods used in screenplays to externalize inner conflicts.
I asked my screenwriting prof, and she said that I should try to embody this problem with another character - the antagonist, in order to externalize things. Have this character sort’ve repersent what he hates about himself.
Thoughts? Ideas? Suggestions?
Cant really see what your getting at entirely man, you maybe need to give us a basic stoyline of how your going about this “internal conflict”.
In writing my screenplay im including flashback scenes that kinda dredge up the past story for the audience, and go into the origins of the main characters internal conflict, while with the present storyline - developing the character to battle and eventually conquer the inner conflict.
It’s one way to go about it I guess.
A good example is Ripley in Aliens. In Alien Ripley fights her life, is half scared to death, and has some serious emotional trauma. So in Aliens she starts off a woman with serious repeated nightmares about these Aliens, kind of unbalancing her life. Then she gets the offer to face the aliens, she accepts so that she can face her demons. So she lands on the planet and then faces her demons, becomes an ass kicking machine (the total opposite to what she originally was) in the process, and eventually wins over what was causing her nightmares. At the end she declares its safe to dream. Inner conflict conquered. I guess Aliens is a basic example of an inner conflict but applies to what your prof was saying about externalizing the inner conflict.
[quote=“deliveryman”]
The screenplay that I’m writing now, involves the protagonist with an inner conflict with himself, which the entire story revolves around (which all screenplays should: a conflict, or the character achieving his goal).
The problem I’m having is, it’s not very visual, I know screenplays need to be visual. Though, I’m not sure of the methods used in screenplays to externalize inner conflicts.
I asked my screenwriting prof, and she said that I should try to embody this problem with another character - the antagonist, in order to externalize things. Have this character sort’ve repersent what he hates about himself.
Thoughts? Ideas? Suggestions?
[/quote]
Check out some films with a somewhat similar theme that’s centered mostly around one character. Maybe check out Polanski’s REPULSION. I’m not sure if you can find the screenplay anywhere. But maybe do a search for it, and see how that script looks like. Click the title for the Amazon.com link for a possible copy of the script.
ADAPTATION might be a good choice, since that kind of employs the tactic that your professor suggested. I know you can find the script for that. I’ve seen it at the Virgin Megatore here in San Francisco some time ago. Amazon has it here.
I know there’s others, but these titles are the ones I can think of right now.
8)
American Beauty and About Schmidt are both really good movies that have internal conflicts.
Usually every main character in every movie has some kind of inner conflict.
[quote]Usually every main character in every movie has some kind of inner conflict.[/quote]
That’s like a DP asking a specific question about lighting. Then getting a response like, “Every movie is filmed using cameras.”
Some of the other posts were just simply naming movies in which a character had an inner conflict, and that is why I said that just about every movie has a character with an inner conflict. Understand?
edit: Well, it was mostly just in response to funk_machine’s post.
I realize that virtually ever movie has a character with a inner conflict, but in American Beauty and About Schmidt that is the main focal point. Like in About Schmidt, it’s all about a guy and how hes deteriorating inside. American beauty is about a guy with severe mid-life crisis issues. Understand?
Well, then I guess you could have said that in your earlier post. Your bad.
You could have the character do certain things…and then let him reflect on it on V.O.
Like having him talking to a lady and comenting in V.O. on the things that he thinks he’s doing wrong and hates about himself…
I made a little script myself in which the character isnt that assertive and after every stupid thing he says, or before you here him say a quote from a movie…like thats the cool way to say it…but he never says what he really wants…or acts like he wants…till some point he gains total control and does what he wants and goes psycho…