I missed the Bob Villa show but with all of the excitement (and indictement!)
on Museum-L the next show is swiftly becoming a "must-see"!

I agree with Bryon Johnson and others in respect that nothing pays off more
than preparation and strict guidelines from Museum Staff.  At Colonial
Williamsburg we have filming in our historic  exhibition buildings constantly
and we have a regimen of strict policies and monitoring by curatorial and
conservation staffs.

I'll never forget one instance, last year, when I had to research stage smoke
because the director wanted more "athmosphere" in one of our historic
buildings.  We ruled out the usual oil fogs in favor of a substitute,
Frankensence, which didn't leave a detectable film on clear mylar (it also
had a neutral PH, negative Oddy test results, and the thermal decomposition
product was CO2).  The Art Director was told to use it only in front of the
camera and not in direct proximity to objects, just to be safe. Of course,
during the supposed lunch-break, as soon as our monitor left, they hastily
set up their oil fog machines and saturated everything in the room to get
their 3 second "athmospheric" shot.  You really have to watch these guys!
(they won't be coming back anytime soon).

I still think that Old Bob deserves this cyber-thrashing that he's
getting...ignorance is no excuse for improper behavior - most restoration
carpenters I know go ballistic if they see the uninformed pawing at their
precious tools.  Maybe the curators in these historic houses should hang a
sign on all of the furniture, "WET PAINT"

Now that's a sign that Old Bob could understand!  ;-)

Dave

David Harvey
Conservator of Metals & Arms
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
P.O. Box 1776
Williamsburg, VA  23187-1776  USA
voice:     804-2209-7039
e-mail:  [log in to unmask]