Chapter 4 · Conflict

Incompatibility, layers, cost and escalation — the engine of the film.

What will you learn in this chapter?

That conflict isn't a fight but an incompatibility: two wants that can't both come true
Cost and escalation: answering “what happens if they lose” and raising the pressure
To close off the easy solutions the audience can see — writing your central conflict into the Film Lab

01What Is Conflict?15 cards · ~7 min

02The Three Layers of Conflict15 cards · ~7 min

03Cost: What Gets Lost?15 cards · ~7 min

04Escalation: How Does Conflict Grow?15 cards · ~7 min

05Obstacle Design and the Easy-Fix Trap15 cards · ~7 min

06Central Conflict + Film Lab Task: Your Conflict Map15 cards · ~7 min · writing assignment

Step-by-step progress: this chapter opens once Chapter 3 is finished and its Film Lab output is written.