Film: Gorgeous short film documents a four generation printing company

Date
30 January 2014

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We’re not really sure why any opportunity to get into the guts of the printing process is so intoxicating, but this tremendous short film provides yet more proof for the prosecution. It features Perrott Bespoke Printing in north London, a die-stamping specialists where father Steve is currently handing over the reins to daughter Catherine, who will be the fourth generation of the same family to operate its presses. We caught up with Evan Gildersleeve – who created the film’s score – to find out a little more about it…

How did you first come across this company? What made you want to document it?

The gentleman featured is Stephen Perrott, father of our good friend Catherine, so the family business has always been a popular topic of conversation. They’d been kind enough to show us around the factory and we were fascinated by Steve’s process. Having witnessed the care and attention he puts into his work, we felt it was important to raise awareness of his craft and commemorate his family’s long running involvement in the business.

There are a lot of this kind of film about, how aware of the cliches of the genre were you and how did you set about avoiding them?

We wanted to delve a little further into die-stamping specifically and depict as much of Steve’s physical involvement as possible. DOP Guy Gotto did a fantastic job of capturing this in depth which allowed us to explore the Perrott family history more informally. The building itself has tonnes of character so we felt it was important that this was reflected in all aspects of the film. Sound designer Greg Niemand and myself set out to produce a soundtrack that we felt best described the detail of the heritage machinery and the rhythm of Steve’s process.

Why do you think people are so interested in the physical printing process? 

Although screen-printing and letterpress have seen increased popularity, die-stamping has become somewhat of a rarity. It’s exciting to witness someone who’s dedicated their life to perfecting their craft as every job bares the unique mark of a human touch. Steve’s daughter Catherine will be the fourth generation to continue the tradition and is responsible for designing the cards that feature in the film. These will be included in a pack of print examples that are to be sent out in the coming months. 

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Guy Gotto: Print

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Guy Gotto: Print

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Guy Gotto: Print

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Guy Gotto: Print

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Guy Gotto: Print

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Guy Gotto: Print

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About the Author

Rob Alderson

Rob joined It’s Nice That as Online Editor in July 2011 before becoming Editor-in-Chief and working across all editorial projects including itsnicethat.com, Printed Pages, Here and Nicer Tuesdays. Rob left It’s Nice That in June 2015.

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