Shutterstock
http://www.shutterstock.com/
Shutterstock, a global technology company, has created the largest and most vibrant two-sided marketplace for creative professionals to license content - including images, videos and music - as well as innovative tools that power the creative process.
The company has expanded its portfolio to include Bigstock, a value-oriented stock media agency PremiumBeat, a curated royalty-free music library; Rex Features, a premier source of editorial images for the world's media; and WebDAM, a cloud-based digital asset management platform for businesses, as well as creating Offset, a high-end image collection.
Shutterstock is a very well known stock photo website that sells not only photographs but imagery of all kinds, including video. From the brief:
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.
They seem to want something that speaks to humanity and people who use their site. It needs to reflect the impact their content has, and how communication and storytelling makes up a big part of what they do.
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Plots and archetypes
I have read certain parts of Christopher Booker's 'The Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell Stories' but I feel that its so traditional and in depth that other sources that break down similar ideas would be more beneficial to look at. However here are some key quotes from the book that were useful:
"the most natural way we know to describe almost everything which happens in our lives."
"one mystery built upon another"
"the mood at the beginning of the story is one of anticipation"
"provides us with a picture of human nature and the inner dynamics of human behaviour"
"attempts to explain and to dramatise natural phenomena"
Booker's theories about stories have opened my eyes to how complex they can be.
http://www.wired.com/2011/03/why-do-we-tell-stories/
Anthropologists tell us that storytelling is central to human existence. That it’s common to every known culture. That it involves a symbiotic exchange between teller and listener — an exchange we learn to negotiate in infancy.
Just as the brain detects patterns in the visual forms of nature — a face, a figure, a flower — and in sound, so too it detects patterns in information. Stories are recognisable patterns, and in those patterns we find meaning. We use stories to make sense of our world and to share that understanding with others. They are the signal within the noise.
So powerful is our impulse to detect story patterns that we see them even when they’re not there.
It seems that historically storytelling is a tradition that is in our instincts. It is a key communication tool that is used to put morals and thoughts into a context that is easy to understand.
Rebirth
http://thewritepractice.com/rebirth-plot/
Rebirth stories generally focus on villain protagonists who redeem themselves over the course of the story, after spiralling deeper into villainy and meeting a redemption figure. Redemption figures usually come in the form of a child or the protagonist’s other half, and they serve to remind the villain-hero what compassion or love feels like. They also help the villain-hero see what the world alignment is actually like, instead of the warped perception that the protagonist has that has given them the proclivity towards villainy.
The Structure of the Rebirth Plot TypeUnlike the other six plot types, Booker does not give a list of stages for stories of Rebirth. Instead he provides a basic sequence (listed here):
- A young hero or heroine falls under the shadow of the dark power.
- For a while, all may seem to go reasonably well. The threat may even seem to have receded.
- Eventually the threat returns in full force, until the hero/heroine is seen imprisoned in the state of living death.
- This continues for a long time, when it seems like the dark power has completely triumphed.
- But finally comes the miraculous redemption, either by the hero (if the imprisoned figure is the heroine), or by a young woman or child (if the imprisoned figure is the hero).
In most traditional takes on 'rebirth', it seems that it focuses on how a good character falls under 'dark power', but by the end they become good again. It seems to be the act of rebirth happens through someone helping rescue them from the darkness.
However, I'd say that there is also a lot of understanding of 'rebirth' as religious, along the lines of reincarnation. By discussing rebirth with people it also seems that it could be perceived as having something happen to the character that is life changing and changes their perspective or a key aspect of themselves.
Some well known examples are The Grinch, and A Christmas Carol - both instances of 'bad' characters returning to their original good, authentic selves by the end.
Overcoming the monster
http://changingminds.org/disciplines/storytelling/plots/booker_plots/overcoming_monster.htm
From the ancient Sumerian tale of the Epic of Gilgamesh to the Greek Iliad and Odyssey and the modern-yet-ancient tale of The Lord of the Rings, we have been fascinated with stories of monsters and heroes. Even religions have gone big on them, with stories such as David and Goliath, St. George and the Dragon and so on.
The monster typically starts as a Predator, killing, dominating and taking what it wants. It also has a lair in which it becomes the Holdfast, guarding its treasure or captured princess. When threatened, it becomes the fierce Avenger, destroying all who would challenge or steal from it.
The hero has various encounters with the monster or its agents throughout the story, culminating in a final death-match battle where the hero only just wins through. The power of the story is in the steady build-up to what seems like inevitable defeat followed by the miraculous, glorious, triumphant turning of the tables. The hero's reward varies, typically being wealth, property or love.
Booker describes the generic monster plot as:
Anticipation stage: Hints of the monster with a call to action and preparation.
Dream stage: Initial stage, brushing with the monster or agents. Dream-like success with seeming immunity to danger.
Frustration stage: Confrontation with the monster but failure to defeat it.
Nightmare stage: Final ordeal death match where only one can survive. It seems inevitable that the monster will win.
Miraculous escape: The monster is killed through the courage, skill and ingenuity of the hero.
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The first thought that comes to mind when you hear of this plot is a huge dragon or beast that has to be defeated. In the end it is overcome and there is a happy ending. This 'monster' could be a metaphor for something that is inherently evil and derails the story completely, and the reward could be happiness etc. We want to take the basic elements from these traditional plots and put more personal and modern spins on them.
Rags to Riches
http://changingminds.org/disciplines/storytelling/plots/booker_plots/rags_riches.htm
The title describes well this plot, where a person who is poor becomes rich and successful.
The story starts with the hero being clearly at the bottom of the social hierarchy, even within the family as the youngest child. They are kept in this position by a wicked oppressor, such as a step-parent or older siblings. By luck or choice they escape and find success, though this is short-lived, as a sharp crisis forces them to dig deep and fight for their position.
The structure of the story has the following pattern:
Initial wretchedness and the call to action
Getting out with initial success
The central crisis
Independence and ordeal
Completion and fulfilment
In the journey of gaining and using wealth the hero finds courage and wisdom yet perhaps gets to show their lasting humility. Their strivings may be laughed at and their visions shattered, yet they persist, breaking through their former timidity and rising to the challenge. In many ways, the central crisis is the making of the person far more than the initial rise to success.
Variants of the rags to riches story include the enslaved child, the struggling artist, the lone inventor and the aimless vagrant. There is also a darker version where the hero is corrupted by success. |
Rags to riches is very well known and clear: It is the story of someone who starts at the bottom and works their way to the top and becomes successful.
In researching the plots, I've found a little more insight into each and how plots are formed. However, I feel that this brief is more about our own imagination rather than extensive research, as these plots are so traditional and we want to create our own take on it, just like the brief says you can. We want to steer clear from story-telling that isn't personal just like this research has shown.
