• Thanks to you, we met our Kickstarter goal!

fundraising
We appreciate all your support!  We couldn't have done it without you.  Now, we will begin to put your generous donations to work.  Stay tuned:  we are going to use these new funds to explain 'cold fusion" through cool animation, mysterious re-enactments, and intriguing archival footage.  And you will see the results in the new year.

If you missed the Kickstarter campaign, not to worry --- you can still help us on our mission to raise science literacy through storytelling by visiting our Support page. 

Thank you!

All of us at 137 Films

• 137 Films logo cards will be hand-printed on a letterpress

Which Came First?, a great design shop located just around the corner from our office, will be printing a 2-color, 5-7 logo card for us with a very old process: on a letterpress.  These hand-printed cards will be sent off to our Kickstarter contributors as well as to other donors and friends, and will be for sale on our website (suitable for framing!).  Yes, it's a bit ironic that 137 Films, a company dedicated to telling the stories we find in the world of science, is using centuries-old technology to print our logo cards.  Think of it this way: in 1440, Gutenberg was cutting edge.

From Wikipedia:

A small amount of high-quality art and hobby letterpress printing remains—fine Letterpress work is crisper than offset litho because of its impression into the paper, giving greater visual definition to the type and artwork. Today, many of these small Letterpress shops survive by printing fine editions of books or by printing upscale invitations and stationery, often using presses that require the press operator to feed paper one sheet at a time by hand. They are just as likely to use new printing methods as old, for instance by printing photopolymer plates (used in modern rotary Letterpress) on restored 19th century presses.

The process requires a high degree of craftsmanship, but in the right hands, Letterpress excels at fine typography. It is used by many small presses that produce fine, handmade, limited-edition books, artists' books, and high-end ephemera such as greeting cards and broadsides. Setting type by hand has become less common with the invention of the photopolymer plate.

To bring out the best attributes of Letterpress, printers must understand the capabilities and advantages of what can be a very unforgiving medium. For instance, since most Letterpress equipment prints only one color at a time (unlike presses for offset printing which often use four-color process printing), printing multiple colors can be challenging. The inking system on Letterpress equipment is less precise than on offset presses, which can pose problems with some graphics: detailed, white (or "knocked out") areas, such as small, serif type, or very fine halftone, surrounded by fields of color, can fill in with ink and lose definition. However, a skilled printer can overcome most of these problems. Working with a Letterpress also gives you the option of using a wider range of paper, including handmade, organic, and tree free. Letterpress printing allows for a large variety of choices. The classic feel and finish of letterpress papers takes printing back to an era of quality and craftsmanship that is not often found in other printing methods today. While less common in contemporary letterpress printing, it is possible to print halftoned photographs, via photopolymer plates, on letterpress equipment. However, letterpress printing's strengths are crisp lines, patterns, and typography.

• 137 logo cards printed!





Thanks to our friends at Which Came First? and Rohner Letterpress, our beautiful 5x7 logo cards were cranked out on Friday, 1/7/11.  Now they just need to be cut and they'll be ready to ship out to our donors and supporters.

They do this kind of printing in one pass for each color so there is a tremendous amount of exactitude and patience involved --- we thank Michael, Jessica, and Bruno for their hard work!  Here's a preview of what they look like before being trimmed. Unfortunately, the raised texture that is the hallmark of a letterpress can't be seen in a picture, so you'll have to take my word for it that it's a pleasure to run your fingers across the writing.  (OK, I know --- too much information...)

My good friend Eric from The Life and Times was on hand to videotape the entire printing process, so we'll be creating a short video soon for anyone who wants to watch how a letterpressed image gets made.  Rumor has it that some music will be composed for this tiny epic video by Allen Epley of the aforementioned musical outfit.  We'll see.

• 137 Films has a new Events Planner

Welcome to Renata Pasmanik.  Planning for our fundraising event, set for October, is underway...

• Clayton and Monica return from L.A.

The co-directors of The Believers interview an internet radio host who believes Hollywood should fund Cold Fusion.  James Martinez hosts a radioshow on the internet where he promotes Cold Fusion and explains his theories about why the supposed discovery in Italy hasn't appeared in mainstream media.  Clayton sets a light in the studio.




• The wacky 137 swag keeps on coming

Handmade tiles, anyone?

Co-Director Clayton Brown makes coffee mugs, bowls, and other ceramic pots. 137 Films will soon have a new hand-crafted commodity: stoneware tiles.  Yes, we're fond of using ancient technology to express our relationship with science... look for these to be available soon.  Here they are in their first stage, as simple dried clay, before being glazed and fired.

• The Atom Smashers used in Research

The Atom Smashers will be used as part of a research study at the University of Kansas about science education, and how it relates to the students' interest and retention in science and engineering fields.  The study will focus on the usefulness of different kinds of scientific instruction.  We look forward to hearing about the results!

• "Into Eternity" at Siskel Film Center

Gene Siskel FIlm Center presents "Into Eternity"

Into Eternity is an eerie documentary about a three-mile-deep storage tunnel for nuclear waste--located in Finland--that will take 120 years to complete, and is meant to keep its lethal contents safe from human tampering for a mind-boggling 100,000 years. Visit http://www.siskelfilmcenter.org/intoeternity for more details about the film.

Saturday, April 23, 3:30 pm
Tuesday, April 26, 8:00 pm
Wednesday, April 27, 6:15 pm

Tickets: $10/general admission; $7/students; $5/Film Center members.

$7 discounted admission to 137 Films email subscribers, available in-person only at the Film Center box office with the code "137" to the Tuesday and Wednesday screenings.

Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 N. State St.

312-846-2800 / www.siskelfilmcenter.org


Karen Durham
Associate Director of Public Relations and Marketing
Gene Siskel Film Center
of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago
164 N. State St.
Chicago, IL 60601

312-846-2074 (direct)
312-332-5859 (fax)
312-846-2600 (main number)
312-846-2800 (movie hotline)

kdurham@saic.edu
www.siskelfilmcenter.org

• Production wraps on The Believers

With a great interview in Michigan, 137 Films moves squarely into post-production. With all our interview footage in the can, we're looking forward to resuming the edit!

• Mia Capodilupo is now Associate Producer for The Believers!