During one of the lectures given in the week the model of "7 Grand Narratives" was spoken about. I write various notes on it, and on reflection realised how important this was to me....and how this could be feed through all work both theory and practical based.
These 7 grand narratives is a good starting to point which the journalistic model of the 5W's and 1H system comes in to play, and allows you to use 1 ideas and explore it 6 different ways.
The 7 Grand Narratives are:
1. Over Coming The Monster
A terrifying, all-powerful, life-threatening monster whom the hero must confront in a fight to the death. An example of this plot is seen in Beowulf, Jack and the Beanstalk, and Dracula, The Silence of the Lambs, Dracula, Jaws, Hansel and Gretel.
2. Rags to Riches
Someone who has seemed to the world quite commonplace is shown to have been hiding a second, more exceptional self within. Think the ugly duckling, Jane Eyre and Clark Kent.
Aladdin, Cinderella, Great Expectations.
3. The Quest
From the moment the hero learns of the priceless goal, he sets out on a hazardous journey to reach it. Examples are seen in The Odyssey, The Aeneid, The Count of Monte Cristo, and Raiders of the Lost Ark.
The Lord of the Rings, Apocalypse Now, Raiders of the Lost Ark,
4. Voyage and Return
The hero or heroine and a few companions travel out of the familiar surroundings into another world completely cut off from the first. While it is at first marvellous, there is a sense of increasing peril. After a dramatic escape, they return to the familiar world where they began. Alice in Wonderland and The Time Machine are obvious examples; but Brideshead Revisited and Gone with the Wind also embody this basic plotline.
Alice in Wonderland, Gulliver's Travels, Back to the Future, the Wizard of Oz.
5. Comedy
Following a general chaos of misunderstanding, the characters tie themselves and each other into a knot that seems almost unbearable; however, to universal relief, everyone and everything gets sorted out, bringing about the happy ending. Shakespeare’s comedies come to mind, as do Jane Austen’s perfect novels.
All’s Well That Ends Well, When Harry Met Sally, Some Like It Hot.
6. Tragedy
A character through some flaw or lack of self-understanding is increasingly drawn into a fatal course of action which leads inexorably to disaster. King Lear, Madame Bovary, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Bonnie and Clyde—all flagrantly tragic.
Hamlet. Carlito’s Way, Macbeth, Oedipus the King.
7. Rebirth
There is a mounting sense of threat as a dark force approaches the hero until it emerges completely, holding the hero in its deadly grip. Only after a time, when it seems that the dark force has triumphed, does the reversal take place. The hero is redeemed, usually through the life-giving power of love. Many fairy tales take this shape; also, works like Silas Marner and It’s a Wonderful Life.
A Christmas Carol, Beauty and the Beast.
As well as having 7 grand narratives, which can also be identified in the lovemark, and Propps' theory. There is always the counter to this, being Aristotles 6 dramatic element of drama.
I aim to apply this to the YCN brief that I have chosen to work on and also the Project Brief with MA Management
So the brief set states "As part of a multi disciplined design team you are being asked to developed a new consumer product or service and associated brand identity that i a response to an every day problem, issue or irritant that you have experience."
So the key element for this is to "identify and get to the heart of the TRUE PROBLEM."
We are all very much excited about this particular brief and have already started brainstorming as a group and individually.
* As this is a competitive brief I will not post everything up on weekly basis, but will keep up to date with things I feel I can talk about.
So after a long discussion, AZIDE (myself, Jason and Yolanda) have joint force with an MA Management group, which consists of Jerry, Gabriella and Andre, alongside this Jamie from (Amaze aka Minotours) has also joined.
So for the semester we have a group of 7, and we are looking forward to this exciting part of the semester.
We had a big discussion at lunch time yesterday (which I recorded) and we all introduced ourselves, shared our interest, strengths etc, and what we aim to get out of this.
We discussed the new brief, which Damian gave to us, and have already set up a day where we are heading into london to do some primary research so that we are able to come up with a few ideas, suggestions and problems that we can deconstruct to brainstorm themes and ideas for the new brief set.
So today it was MA Graphic based, and we went through key elements that need to be *rigorously instilled through out our work books for this semester.
As posted in the previous post, this semester we will be working on 3 briefs
1. With MA Management (creating a product of our own)
2. Either a D&AD or YCN Brief
3. Two Stories One Tale
So....for point 1. We are still currently deciding on who to merge with within MA Management, so not much I can talk about yet.
2. I have chosen to go for a YCN brief, but have not yet decided on which one.
These three are the ones which have stood out to me, and would like to explore. We have the opportunity to work with others, which I feel is definitely a fantastic experience to coincide with, but I might actually approach one of these briefs independently.
So I am going ot come up with a few mind maps to deconstruct each brief so that I am able to distinguish firstly, what can I achieve from this?
The third point was 3. - yet to be explained further by tutors.
Today was the intro to Semester Two, where we was given a vast amount of info which will surely be beneficial for this third of my MA experience.
The intro began with a an inspirational (video link) of Steve Jobs, 2005 to which he stated "Stay hungry stay foolish"
This quote is very interesting and the word HUNGRY was something of which we need to have to full fill and get to where we want to be. FOOLISH is the word to which we need to remember to try and keep pure..and to not restrain ourselves to what we already know.
To know that Semester Two is an area to which we will be trying and making...and this process will be combined with working with MA Management. I am looking forward to this, and official groups will be arranged by Thursday. As already known myself, Jason and Yolanda already have our team AZIDE...but we are looking into adding to this, and what is best for us in terms of management collaboration.
So within the next couple days I will post the decision made.
A key element which has been a focus of Semester One was to understand and clarify narratives when explaining ones self, etc..Damian showed us a video from site packtv.co.uk. The video was by Steve Osbourne from osburnepike ....which was really interesting deconstructing easily the narrative of branding and how to follow it through.
I thought I would share this on my blog, as I found it interesting, and would like to bring this through to semester two.
Another key statement made today is "CREATE NEW OPPORTUNITIES"!
