Of course, in most man vs. man or man vs. nature stories, the protagonist is often overcoming something within himself while addressing the external conflict (Comics Trip). The man vs. himself theme has a consistent habit of finding its way into all types of conflict-oriented storylines.

Pick a few of your favorite novels, short stories, television shows, commercials, plays, feature films or animated shorts. Then, for each one, try to identify the basic plot structure, the main characters, their goals, the details of the setting and the nature of the story's central conflict.

As an example, the central plot of Star Wars is a combination of the rescue of the Princess and the destruction of the Death Star. The main characters are Luke, who yearns to be a pilot; Leia, who wants to save her people; Han, who's just in it for the money; and the villain, Darth Vader, who wants it all. The setting is a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. The central, global conflict is the Alliance vs. the Federation, while a number of sub-conflicts abound, including the ultimate struggle between the positive and negative sides of The Force.

Pixar's Oscar-winning short, For the Birds, has a simple plot involving an odd newcomer seeking acceptance from a group of snobbish resisters. The central character is the large, clumsy bird. His goal is to join the other birds. The setting is a telephone line. The conflict is the territoriality of the smaller birds.

Fine Arts Films
Conflict is generally regarded as a necessary element of storytelling; however, a number of compelling animated shorts contain no conflict whatsoever because they were not intended to tell stories at all. An animated short film author sometimes foregoes story completely and decides instead to captivate his audience with interesting imagery and movement alone. 1982's Tango is one such film, which was so visually compelling it earned an Oscar. These fine arts pieces are often memorable (and sometimes even considered classics) because their imagery is particularly unique or they demonstrate a significant technical achievement.

In the early 1980s, when CG was in its infancy, films such as Quest: A Long Ray's Journey into Light and Chromosaurus captivated audiences because their imagery was previously unimagined. Computer scientists were impressed by the technical breakthroughs. Artists were introduced to a new visual medium with infinite possibilities. And the general public was witnessing the birth of the next big thing in cinematic imagery. In those days, simply presenting something previously unseen was all that was required to produce a "classic." However, now that CG has been around for a couple of decades, technical breakthroughs are few and far between. Audiences are rarely wowed by technical accomplishments anymore because they've pretty much seen it all by now.

[Figure 7] Only fine arts films can be without conflict because story elements are intentionally absent.

Fortunately, however, while technical milestones are temporary and finite, unique visual style has infinite possibilities. One can still captivate an audience with the absence of story elements if the imagery is significantly unique or compelling (see Figure 7). Furthermore, all this talk about story should not deter you from creating a fine arts piece if that is your desire. Just keep in mind that although such pieces qualify as films, they don't qualify as stories in the true sense of the word.

Where to Get Story Ideas
Story ideas are everywhere. Some will just pop into your head without any invitation whatsoever. Others need to be laboriously crafted through diligent experimentation and a seemingly endless succession of edits and rewrites. One thing to remember, though, is that there is no such thing as a completely unique and original idea. Every concept is at least partially influenced by something that came before. What makes an idea new and interesting are the ways in which those influences are altered and recombined. So don't be too obsessed with the notion of creating something altogether visionary and totally unique in every way. It is quite sufficient to simply put one or two new spins on a familiar premise that has worked successfully in the past.