Collaboration // D&AD: Shutterstock

Brief

BACKGROUND

“Stories make us what we are, remind us of when we’re at our worst, and celebrate our absolute human best. For me, it’s the only way to communicate.” Dan Germain, Head of Creative, innocent

Stories are one of the oldest and most fundamental forms of communication and ways of understanding culture, history and people. They can help us understand who we are, who we were, and what we could become. They can connect to our emotional core, and give meaning to the world around us.

For brands, stories are a way to build deeper ties with an audience. Storytelling can help to give brands authenticity, humanity and relevance. People will engage with, share and respond to narrative in a way they never would with other marketing messages.

Shutterstock is a global marketplace of licensable stock content for creative professionals. Their photos, illustrations, videos, music clips and other content move brands, transform marketing, and bring creative ideas to life. And they know that the most impactful imagery is not just beautifully crafted; it also evokes real moments and interactions and relatable stories.

THE CHALLENGE
Comedy, Rebirth, Rags to Riches, Tragedy, The Quest, Overcoming the Monster, Voyage and Return – these seven plot archetypes can be seen at work everywhere, from global news stories to the smallest interaction (see Christopher Booker’s The Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell Stories for a better idea of what these archetypes involve).

Pick three of the seven archetypes and create a static or moving image for each one that tells a story from the modern world. Look to unexpected places, find the dramatic in the seemingly banal, the emotion and humanity that underlies the routine of our daily lives. In a fast- moving, digital world, having the time and space to unfold a story is a luxury not often available. How do you distil the essence of it down to something that can be captured in a single moment?

WHO IT’S FOR

There’s no target demographic for this brief, but consider how and why your images might be used. The audience will come from the tales you choose, the stories you decide to tell and how you tell them.

WHAT TO CONSIDER

• You only have one image for each archetype, one shot to encapsulate a story. If you go for moving image, each of your three films should only be between 10 and 20 seconds long.

• Your images / video snippets should work in isolation, but also together. You’ll be asked for a short description which the judges may view, but your images should be able to speak for themselves without it.

• Will you embody or subvert your archetypes? Don’t be too literal, avoid cliche and obvious imagery.

• Your image should be powerful and impactful even at a glance, but have the depth to reward closer inspection and repeated viewing. Novelty isn’t enough.

• All image-making approaches are welcome, across illustration, photography and moving image: hand-crafted to computer generated, lo-fi to high-tech.

• Be authentic. Your stories can be fact or fiction, but they need to be genuine if they’re going to mean anything to people.

WHAT’S ESSENTIAL

• Three images or video snippets, each telling a powerful visual story.

• A 30 second video explaining your process and the background to your work (use voiceovers and / or subtitles, but don’t talk directly to camera).

WHAT TO SUBMIT

See ‘Preparing Your Entries’, included in your brief pack, for full format specs
– work will only be accepted in the formats outlined.

Main deliverables (mandatory)
• Three images (JPEG) or three videos

(10-20 seconds each, MPEG/MOV). • One background video (30 seconds,

MPEG/MOV).

Supporting material (optional)
You can also send a physical print of any static images. The judges will only see these if they’re impressed by your digital images and want a closer look.

Key elements taken from the detailed brief:

• its a way of understanding culture, history and people
• stories connect to our emotional core and give meaning
• authenticity, humanity and relevance are important
• the best imagery evokes real moments and interactions and relatable stories

Q&A by the brief writer:

1. Why should people be excited by this brief?

This brief offers image makers across disciplines the chance to really demonstrate a maturity in their work and approach. In some ways this is a complex brief, to bring narrative and story telling into single shots which sit together is a very hard task. But if it is done well demonstrates a real skill.

2. What are the dangers/pitfalls entrants could fall into while responding to this brief?

Sometimes the best ideas are communicated with simplicity. Don't be fooled into thinking that you have to over complicate the content. If you try to say too much you could miss the ability to deliver the sense of what you are approaching. Stay on brief.

3. No freebies, but give us a pointer. Where would you start?

Read the brief. Then re-read it. Then read it again. Try to understand it as if it were a commission. Story board, research and generate ideas. Understand how you will approach. What is the brief asking of you? How can you tell a story with a snapshot, whether moving or still? What will be the elements that punctuate the end goal? Really map out the idea in order to execute it with distinctiveness and finesse. And don't be afraid to take risks and give yourself time to shoot a few times. To make mistakes which inform the process and enrich it.

I've underlined the key helpful points that were brought up: these answers are helpful as they are a good insight from the person who created the brief themselves.


Which archetypes?

• comedy
• rebirth
• rags to riches
• tragedy
• the quest
• overcoming the monster
• voyage and return

Me and Tamar have discussed the plots and we are both drawn to 'rags to riches' the most - Tamar instantly suggested doing something that isn't typical, such as gentrification of city areas, or elements of the punk movement that became something mainstream.

We discussed the meaning of 'rebirth' - its mostly used in a religious context. We talked about how it could be used in simpler terms, such as having a long shower and getting clean, or something along those lines. But I said that I wasn't particularly keen on it, and those kind of stories aren't really effective with deep meaning.

Tamar said that comedy may be difficult as theres a pressure for it to actually be humorous. I pointed out that 'the quest', 'overcoming the monster' and 'voyage and return' all seem slightly similar, so picking only one out of these would be wise.

We agreed for initial ideas we should focus on

• rags to riches
• overcoming the monster
• tragedy

However, it would be unnecessary to rule out the others at this stage - they are all so open and we don't want to miss any opportunities for strong ideas.

Next meeting:

Thursday evening, with some initial concepts of stories.