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The Creative 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?