Film Courage: What’s your reaction to the idea that no other element matters in a story if there’s no conflict?
Troy DeVolld, Producer/Author: I think that is very true. I think people misunderstand conflict. Conflict doesn’t have to be people punching each other in the face on the boardwalk as I used to say. Conflict is a person versus time, person versus the vision of themselves, their vision of themselves versus the reality of being themselves. Some of the greatest movies I’ve ever seen, the conflict is so subtle that you can’t even identify the villain. It’s just a person versus time. So yeah, I would say that’s an accurate statement.
Film Courage: How do you create conflict?
Troy: Create conflict, as Jen Grisanti…I don’t know if you’ve ever interviewed her before? I love her. She’s wonderful but she talks a lot about wounds, the character’s wounds, and those identify the things that they are dealing with and coping with even now about How do I resolve this thing that happened to me so long ago that it’s practically in my DNA? Conflict is about what that person cares about putting behind them and it’s like Sure the guy who shot my Pa, but it’s also I’m going to lose my house if I can’t come up with two thousand dollars to pay back taxes or some other thing. There are some things that are more visually interesting than others. But good conflict can be defined in a much broader way than I think most people think about it.
Film Courage: What is meaningful conflict versus conflict that doesn’t matter?
Troy: For me meaningful conflict is…(Watch the video interview on Youtube here).
BIO:
Producer Troy DeVolld, widely regarded as a leading authority on the reality television production process, boasts some four dozen credits spanning THE OSBOURNES to Food Network’s BIG BAD BUDGET BATTLE and bestselling books REALITY TV: AN INSIDER’S GUIDE TO TELEVISION’S HOTTEST MARKET and AND ANOTHER THING: A BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO THE TELEVISION NOTES PROCESS. He’s contributed to or been quoted in publications like TIME and NEWSWEEK and been seen on TODAY and SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. He’s a 1996 graduate of Full Sail University and the ninth inductee into its Hall of Fame.
BUY TROY’S BOOK HERE – Reality TV – An Insider’s Guide to TV’s Hottest Market: 2nd Edition
MORE VIDEOS WITH TROY DEVOLLD
CONNECT WITH TROY DEVOLLD
MORE MICHAEL WIESE PRODUCTIONS AUTHORS
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