Women-only poetry reading for local non-profit web video to be held on March 25 from 9 am – 3 pm at Carte Blanche, located at 1024 South 5th Street, Milwaukee, WI 53204.

Calling all female actors, spoken word artists and real people with a passion to be on camera!

We are looking for women to audition to read a poem (approximately two minutes in length) on camera with the potential of being used within a web video for a major local non-profit organization.  The readings will take place on March 25 from 9 am – 3 pm at Carte Blanche, located at 1024 South 5th Street, Milwaukee, WI 53204.

You do not need to be a professional to audition, and we encourage women of all ages, heights, weights and ethnicities to attend.  Snacks will be provided!

To schedule a 20-minute performance block and receive a copy of the poem to practice, email Andi at andi@flipeleven.com.

We ask that you plan to arrive 15 minutes prior to your appointment and familiarize with the poem prior to filming with us. There is no guarantee your reading will make it into the final cut.

As we head into the new year we head into resolutions, change and new things, like colors. That’s right Pantone released yesterday the color of the year for 2012 For some, you have a smirk on your face right now—wondering why anyone would care about such things (after all the world is falling apart and rumor has it will self destruct sometime in 2012 according to the Mayan calendar). But for me, color is a part of life. Pablo Picasso once said, “Colors, like features, follow the changes of emotions.” Precisely the criteria Pantone uses to select it’s color each year. Simply put, color can change our attitudes.

So move off your 2011 throne honeysuckle (PMS 2120). You were a gorgeous color chosen for your ability to encourage us to face everyday troubles with verve and vigor. You made us feel alive and beautiful. But, it’s a new year with a new set of emotions. And lets welcome in the new year with Tangerine Tango (PMS 1463). You are a spirited reddish orange providing us with energy boosts to recharge. You are sophisticated, dramatic and seductive.

Pantone’s Color-of-the-Year influences product development and purchasing decisions in multiple industries, including fashion, home and industrial design, as well as product packaging and graphic design. So this summer when you walk into to Target plan on seeing bursts of reddish orange. Wanting a new look with a fresh coat of paint in your home, that’s right — tangerine dream will likely be offered through Lowe’s. And every magazine you get in the mail—Crate&Barrel, West Elm plan on patterns with, you guessed it, reddish orange. Orange flowers, orange nail polish, orange bikes, orange shoes, orange notepads, orange sharpies, orange appliances, orange furniture…

…orange triangles. Consider yourself trendy Jigsaw. Well at least for a year (insert smile).

Pantone is a company with global authority on color and provider of professional color standards for the design industry. PMS 1463 can be achieved by using C:0 M:82 Y:80 K:0 or R:225 G:82 B:61.

It’s one of my lifelines. It’s something that I try and bring with me everywhere I venture. I’m constantly looking for more. Drugs? No. Not unless you argue the properties of physics. I’m talking about music. Which one could probably argue has similar effects on the body. Personally, sound has the ability to alter my mood, outlook, energy and creativity (among others) in a moment’s time. So. Sometimes I try and use this to my advantage. For instance, right now, I’m listening to a band called Efterklang. Long drawn out tones with soothing notes, a variety of voices and a repertoire of instruments puts me in a state of thought and emotion. Something I think suits whatever it is I’m trying to ultimately describe in this post. But. If I was handed a project, say for 88Nine Radio Milwaukee (a hip, young, edgy client), I’d quickly sift through my library and find something like Miami Horror. With this bands uplifting melodies, steady beats, and a mixture of synths and electro-ism I feel better connected with the persona and clientele of 88Nine. It also gives me the energy I want in order to design something, I feel, would fit into 88Nine’s positive and edgy image.

Now this is just me. Your choice in music, depending on what you’re trying to achieve, could be completely opposite of mine. Or maybe you’re just not into music. But I think not only our work, but our outlook and day-to-day personalties derive from whatever was just emitted from our car speakers, our headphones, our computers or whatever that noise is coming from in the office next door. So the next time you’re having a rough day or feel like your creativity is stale, try searching for some new sounds.

Heres a few bands that immediately were adopted into my library (along with the two above):

Bag Raiders, Blackbird Blackbird, Gypsy & The Cat, The Head And The Heart, Stornoway

Once again, it’s time to go back to the trusty hard drive for the things that I found great inspiration from the beginning of my career. I still find this spot amazing. I had pulled this commercial off a random site back in the day; it blew me away the first time I saw it. It is simplicity in communication, yet sophisticated and eloquent and poignant in its delivery. The spot for The Times of London, has a simple strategy: There are no simple stories – you have to dig for the meaning. It is executed and written with great skill. This spot is all about a banana, of all things; a banana being representative of so many more things than simple sustenance. The spot says it all – it has caused wars, bad jokes, and even ugly racism.

The spot is also a reminder, for me, of how we should never underestimate the value of great writing. I can’t remember the last time I saw a commercial that captures eloquence in communication quite like this. It seems the TV commercial landscape (which is still very alive and well by the way) is littered with bad humor, big type and maudlin emotion. It’s rare to see a commercial like this. The visuals tell a simple story and don’t get in the way of the idea. Awesome spot. I hope you find as much inspiration in it as I do.