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Northern Lights' videos
Meet Nick Sambrato. He runs a print shop in Orlando, Florida called Mama's Sauce.

Nick isn't a very smart guy. At a time in history when the print industry is pouncing from one space-age technological advancement to the next, Nick has decided to take a giant leap backwards into the industrial revolution.

Meet the Kluge letterpress. An 2,000 pound, cast iron, electric powered monstrosity of vacillating rods, giant spinning wheels and pneumatic hoses. The Kluge is Nick's weapon of choice in his battle against the future.
So why does Nick use the Kluge? A clearly outdated, cumbersome and obsolete machine? The same reason any craftsman uses any tool: for the quality of the finished product. A letterpress offers a tangible, three-dimensional look and feel to the printed image that no other technology can replicate.

Let Nick take you on a trip back in time as he runs through the process of turning an ordinary piece of paper stock into work of art.


produced by: Fiction
fctn.tv

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  • Jonathan Berkey plus 2 years ago
    that was pretty nice, what did you shoot on, got some nice depth working in there.
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  • Northern Lights plus 2 years ago
    thanks man, shot it on the canon EOS 5D Mark II. things pretty awesome.

    GO MAGIC!
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  • Bill Pyle 2 years ago
    I really enjoyed this. You have a bright future ahead of you if you keep doing things like this.
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  • Northern Lights plus 2 years ago
    thanks bill, im glad you liked it.

    here is a link to the company i am apart of that produced this video.

    fctn.tv
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  • credonaut 2 years ago
    Great, great stuff. Being an editor and seeing the physical act of printing displayed in such a beautiful way, my mouth is actually watering, and I wanna get my hands dirty. Off with the finger!
    Also some pretty nice work of film making.
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  • UPPERCASE gallery plus 2 years ago
    This is great. It really captures the romantic appeal of the antique technology.

    I'm new to shooting film with the 5d... any advice on stabilization of hand held shots and a good tripod head for motion? what do you use?
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  • Northern Lights plus 2 years ago
    yea its light camera so you are going to have to work harder to keep it from shaking but any heavy duty production sticks should do the trick.
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  • DSLRcinema plus 2 years ago
    Nice work. Whatever lenses you used you made a great choice on each shot.
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  • citoplasmas 2 years ago
    It's wonderfull, these crafts must stay alive ever. I Think people will soon change his mind and search for those kind of quality.
    Good shots!!
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  • Northern Lights plus 2 years ago
    i actually used the 24 to 105 zoom that came with the camera bundle for the hole thing. its surprisingly a pretty versatile lens.
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  • remi dessinges plus 2 years ago
    This machine is simply amazing.
    Nice video. I love how you play with the depth of field, the colours.
    Well done.
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  • Sam Beamond 2 years ago
    Great video, well put together and I appreciate the Kluge endorsement! Do you own any foil stampers?
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  • Diane Zerr 2 years ago
    I love letterpress! What happens if there's a jam on that thing? My Epson turns into a paper eating monster when it jams and it's only 14 inches!
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  • nick sambrato 2 years ago
    there are no jams really... more like a paper explosion! if it miss feeds, sheets fly! it's beautiful actually.
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  • Elliot McCarthy 2 years ago
    Awesome video! I'm an ex-Kluge employee but still very connected to the printing world. I really appreciate how you capture the almost lost art of letterpress printing. Kluge is an icon in the printing industry and is perfect for this video. What is the backround music, it's very catchy?
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  • Northern Lights plus 2 years ago
    thanks glad you liked it, the name music is radiohead.
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  • b gd73 2 years ago
    I have an uncle that last all digits and a thumb to old school paper printing. Staying digital as advice ...well, I am here with a 145 degree cpu, a blippy 8mbit connect and a hope. the vid was great but the macros were goofy from an overall thought point of view.
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  • Paul Wong plus 2 years ago
    5+ minute video I was cringing, but I thoroughly enjoyed every minute! great stuff.
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  • Mike Ferrara pro 2 years ago
    Good job. I believe this piece would be perfect if you used more natural sound for the close-ups and wired the people being interviewed. Also, keeping your handheld motion/shake consistent would add some continuity as well.
  • Northern Lights plus 2 years ago
    yea, i was doing it pretty raw dog style, i kind of wanted to see what the internal mic on the 5d was capable of. it was the raw camera and nothing eles attached.
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  • Sunny Thaper 2 years ago
    Beautiful! I'm quite jealous that I don't own it.
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  • Eric Vasquez 2 years ago
    excuse me but would you happen to know what camera was used to make this?
  • Northern Lights plus 2 years ago
    canon 5d mark 2
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  • Daniel Eckert 2 years ago
    Fantastic shots. Loved it all.

    If you don't mind me asking, what was your lighting set up? What type of lights did you use? Did you leave any lights on that were already inside the room?

    Thanks
  • FCTN plus 2 years ago
    it was 2 keno's

    and natural light coming in through the window.
  • FCTN plus 2 years ago
    i used 2 kenos and the natural light coming in through the windows.
  • Daniel Eckert 2 years ago
    Thanks man. I really like the lighting, even though it seems like a simple set-up. By the way what Kino lights were they? Vistabeam? I've been trying to learn more about lighting recently and this is helpful and inspiring. Weird. I bet you didn't think your lighting set-up would inspire someone. :)
  • Northern Lights plus 2 years ago
    man, i love kino flows, its such a nice even light. they are light techs, i use these things for literally everything. they are nice and portable and really to an awesome job of filling the room. alot of times we will fill the room with kino's and then spot with a mini arri kit on the subjects face.
  • Daniel Eckert 2 years ago
    And that Mini Arri isn't too harsh on their faces?

    Now I just need to get my hands on a set of these things. Are you guys hiring? Looking for any interns?
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  • mike ambs plus 2 years ago
    This was great :) interesting to watch.
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  • John Hennessy 2 years ago
    Outstanding! Great footage, excellently chopped together, really beautiful! I really can't believe that came out of an SLR! Stunning.
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  • kaspars 2 years ago
    gotta love this
    if one could ever love machine, this would be the machine to marry. :)
    awesome cinematography. some of those shots are just brilliant.
    and the machine. ahhh, piece of art.

    jeez, so great!
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  • tim n annette gulick 2 years ago
    What i love about this video is the storytelling aspect. You do a great job of telling the story in words and images.
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  • Evan Davis 2 years ago
    I would love to do that sort of printing myself, but information is scarce on the inter-web.
  • Harold Kyle plus 2 years ago
    briarpress.org has a lot of info. Then you can gear up at boxcarpress.com and donblack.ca .
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  • Jack Garland 2 years ago
    Love your music choice!
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  • traskblueribbon plus 2 years ago
    wow, great stuff. Makes me want to move in to a basement with one of those and never come out.

    love the shot with the suction hoses coming at the lens then returning to grab another sheet...

    great work.
  • Harold Kyle plus 2 years ago
    Please for the love of God don't put the 2,000 lbs press in the basement. What goes down, must come up. ;)
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  • varick plus 2 years ago
    Very cool. I'll be looking to send some biz their way.
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  • The Sea Will Decide 1 year ago
    A beautifully shot piece about a beautiful machine. I love it.
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  • Boris Müller 1 year ago
    i have a 3x5 adana press; i love her and when she grows up she'll hopefully become a kluge ;)

    great video; much love and respect from the uk
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  • Max Leifermann 1 year ago
    Really nice video...
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  • razvan c 1 year ago
    Hey!! super vid'!! love the song from the begining:D:D
    can somebody tell me what song is it?
  • Northern Lights plus 1 year ago
    radiohead: house of cards
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  • AGGD 1 year ago
    Iv watched this video so many times. Its great.
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  • Michael Pearce 9 months ago
    Put a bird on it. I don't think people who purchase "cute" letterpress cards fully appreciate the craft behind the art.
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  • Mario D. 8 months ago
    Great Video! Brings back memories of my post-college job running one of these. I remember setting up a job and just watching the press do it's thing, wheel turning, cams lifting, pump blowing. An incredible mechanical ballet.
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  • MOUNT Video Awards 5 months ago
    Silver of the day! Congratulations!

    mount-video.com/2011/08/silver-31082011.html
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  • Simone Bissolati 3 months ago
    Added to "Men at work" channel
    vimeo.com/channels/248480
  • Northern Lights plus 3 months ago
    Awesome!
  • Simone Bissolati 3 months ago
    Thanks a lot!
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  • Chase Guindon 3 months ago
    When this guy finds out about computers, he's gunna flip!
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