Planning · ScreenwritingNO.154 / 166

Watch: The protagonist walks toward the goal, a wall rises to block him, he pushes, gets knocked back, pushes again. The story only starts when wanting runs into an obstacle.A line-art demo that only illustrates the technique, not finished footage.

Planning · Screenwriting

Conflict冲突

What the protagonist wants is blocked by a person, the environment or themselves. Without conflict, no one watches to the end, however good it looks.

Category: Screenwriting
Group: Basics
Medium: Planning
Library: 154 / 166

This is a step in making a film, not a visual technique. For the whole process, see Make an AI short from scratch.

Prompt templates are written from how generation models usually behave and have not yet been verified one by one with real generations. “Common pitfalls” are judgment from experience, not official limits.

When to use it

Before writing each scene, ask who wants what in it and who won't give it to them.

Prompt template

Review this scene: what does the protagonist want here, and who or what blocks it? What actions does each side take? Rewrite it with clearer conflict, shown through action and dialogue, not narration. Scene: [write here]

Sample prompt · ask a chat model

This one is written for chat models like ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini: replace the ideas in brackets with your own and it will help you write the story or revise the script.

Check the scene below: what does the protagonist want in it? Who or what is stopping him? What actions does each side take to get their way? Rewrite it as a version with clearer conflict, shown through action and dialogue, no voice-over, short enough to play out in 15 seconds. Scene: the delivery rider reaches the bus station, the ticket clerk tells him there are no more buses today, he says thank you and leaves.

Common pitfalls

Two people just chatting and exchanging information, with no opposition.
Conflict that's all shouting and arguing, with nothing concrete being fought over.
An obstacle so weak it's solved right away.

Parameter tips

Each scene has one clear thing being fought over (a ticket, an answer, a person).