Is now the time to pull the plug on arts in schools?

That’s the question that The Right Brain Initiative is asking.

On the 18th of September, in front of nearly 200 advocates, NORTH helped unveil the new identity and mission platform for the Portland-based arts collaboration formerly known as Arts Partners.

Now branded as The Right Brain Initiative, the group is working diligently to integrate arts education experiences into the standard curriculum of every K-8 classroom across the region’s school districts.

After renaming the program, NORTH worked with local artists aged 5-50 to craft an evolving, participatory logo, short film and web presence that feels as genuine and unique as the children who stand to benefit from the program.

Many thanks to The Right Brain Initiative for letting NORTH be part of shaping our kid’s, and collective, future.

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NORTH has just unveiled a television spot for client Portland General Electric with a curious proposition: use less of our product.

Yes, desperate times call for desperate measures. And NORTH and PGE are responding to the current energy crisis with a high-road message: conserve.

This elegiac spot grows from the often overlooked observation that, in our prudent quest for wind, solar, tidal and other alternative energies, we sometimes forget  that the most critical step of all is simply cutting back.

Add to this unexpected proposition an equally right-brain execution.

Working in partnership with photographer Chris Hornbecker and Grow Film, NORTH developed a unique stop motion technique using digital still photography as the content source. 250 still shots were woven together to create a seamless, yet slightly impressionistic story.

To further the idea of conserving energy, NORTH directed, edited and scored the spot.

The political buzz here at NORTH isn’t strictly confined to the national scene.

NORTH, in co-operation with Grow Film, has set its sights on producing a new kind of campaign video for Portland mayoral candidate Sam Adams.

After seeing the Big Brothers / Big Sisters promotional video that NORTH had produced, Sam was moved enough to want to work with the company who put together such an effort. Phone calls were placed, connections were made and the project began to take shape.

While the video’s intentions are to gather support for Sam and bolster the “Sam Adams Army” from a grass roots level, the traditional campaign rhetoric has been tossed aside in favor of a narrative more in-line with the man himself.

Sam’s vision for Portland is inspiring, we believe, because he reflects Portlanders’ desires to be evolving, authentic and fully realized human beings. People look at Sam and they see that possibility in themselves, especially when they encounter him in person.

That’s what we set out to capture. Stay tuned…

Proving a health insurance company isn’t just a faceless “payer,” Regence created a portal for its members to connect with each other, find support, and take charge of their wellness. To increase participation, we simply revealed the provacative dialogue already in progress.

Bus:
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Grocery:
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Park:
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Into the crisis that is health care, we offer solace in the original promise of insurance – people, strangers even, pooling resources to protect one another. In this connectedness, too, may lie the key to controlling costs.

Canoe:
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Bicycle:
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Pregnant:
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