The Exciting New Age of Storytelling

We hear the word ‘storytelling’ a lot in our business and as filmmakers we are part of the ancient, campfire-born tradition. The human desire to capture a moment in time is as old as cave paintings and the ancient art of Greek mythology but these days we can fully immerse ourselves inside a story with AR, VR and 360 technologies. 

Some of today’s highest grossing movies are born of myths and legends, just with a little more popcorn, cheese dripped nachos and questionably derived pork matter accompanying them. The camp fire is still aflame, but can be found in coffee shops, school playgrounds, online, on our phones, in our living rooms and on the big beautiful screens of the multiplex cinemas.  

We can walk inside the shoes of our heroes, bring Hollywood into our homes and we can choose our own endings. The ability to share stories has never been greater. But with home entertainment systems bringing high quality sound and visuals into our abodes and streaming platforms enabling us to binge watch content to our heart’s delight, it’s more important than ever to cut through the volume and share stories that impact. If we’re really lucky, they can also affect real, social and cultural change. Global brands have recognised this importance and as such it is an exciting time to be a filmmaker in advertising. 

Modern audiences have a seemingly insatiable appetite for high quality visuals, as companies such as Netflix, Disney and Amazon put funding into original content and talent, both in front of and behind the camera. Advertising not only has to keep pace, as we fight for audiences’ attention, but actually has much to add. At the heart of any truly engaging content is a good story, told by gifted storytellers (creatives, directors, editors…).  Not only do we, as an industry, carefully craft these stories, we do so with often tight turn-around times, ambitious budgets and are able to skillfully condense these narratives into whatever length is required of us.

With this in mind, the advertising industry is incredibly well placed to not only protect the heart of a good story, but also to ensure that fresh voices are entering the advertising community and that they are supported, nurtured and given opportunity. Without a fresh eye - focusing its lens in a new direction, a new point of view - we stagnate and lack relevance with our audience. It’s absolutely crucial to support filmmakers’ personal projects and ambitions, in order that their skills and their passion are kept razor sharp, making them an incredible partner on more client-led, commissioned projects. After all, in order to be a master storyteller, you have to know your voice and keep telling stories ….

Without new, fresh, diverse voices and stories we’re just shouting into the void or echo chamber. Whilst the industry has been closed off in the past, we must now recognise our power and enter a more open, accessible phase of our evolution. With it comes new voices, with new experiences to draw upon, new ways of telling stories.

In ancient tribes, the elders are not only charged with the responsibility of protecting stories passed down to them but also in passing on those stories and skills to others within the community. It is our duty to ensure that a diverse, talented community of filmmakers are both encouraged and supported.

At Spindle, we invest in real stories and in the storytellers who have a vocational desire to tell them. We are also advocates for embracing the new. Each story has its own requirements, its own need to be told in a certain way and as such, new kit might help us tell it better, new techniques might have to be learned or embraced and emerging talent can teach us how to bring the story to life in a way only they can. Take Roxy Rezvany, who tackled the themes of identity and refugee communities in her self-produced film Little Pyongyang. Roxy took design techniques traditionally used in drama and applied them to documentary - something that on paper may seem controversial amongst the documentary making community. 

The end result has been celebrated and the film continues to receive acclaim. In this instance her visual approach was the perfect way to share former North Korean soldier, Joong-wha Choi’s story. As soon as we saw this film, we knew she was someone who had to be supported and given the platform and opportunities that advertising can bring.

As diversity of point of view is finally prioritised and pushed to the fore and as technology and the multi-platform evolution continues, we’re living in an exciting new age of storytelling.

Lois Newcombe is EP at Spindle