Yes! I was thinking the same thing watching similar videos. That'd be such a cool career.
It may be that that set up is gentler on older, more fragile films?I'm a little surprised at the setup for examining the footage with just a lightbox and a manual loupe. I thought maybe they'd have a special device the film could be fed into and enlarged and inspected more easily.
I think any kind of art conservation would be a fascinating area, but especially these films; it would definitely be a labor of love. I have a book by Ralph Mayer, The Artist's Handbook that describes some of the techniques of painting conservation, and that's an area it seems I'd really enjoy working in also.BettyLouSpence wrote: ↑Tue May 26, 2020 7:18 pmYes! I was thinking the same thing watching similar videos. That'd be such a cool career.
Yes, I'm sure that's probably it.BettyLouSpence wrote: ↑Tue May 26, 2020 7:18 pmIt may be that that set up is gentler on older, more fragile films?I'm a little surprised at the setup for examining the footage with just a lightbox and a manual loupe. I thought maybe they'd have a special device the film could be fed into and enlarged and inspected more easily.
That book sounds so interesting. Art conservation in general is not easy by any means but when it comes to painting conservation I imagine it's very tricky to keep the integrity of the original work when cleaning it up.donnie wrote: ↑Tue May 26, 2020 8:07 pmI think any kind of art conservation would be a fascinating area, but especially these films; it would definitely be a labor of love. I have a book by Ralph Mayer, The Artist's Handbook that describes some of the techniques of painting conservation, and that's an area it seems I'd really enjoy working in also.
blinks Wow. What a sad sight.Years ago on TCM I saw an interesting documentary about the race to save films that were rapidly decomposing. I'm thinking the title may have been The Race to Save 100 Years or something of that nature. I remember they went into the vaults of one of the major studios (and weren't, I believe, permitted to say which one!) and it was really horrendous how those films had been left to fall apart. That's what heartened me to see the facility and care taken at Eastman.
I watched some bits of each part to get an idea of what they were doing. That's really interesting. Such intricate and time-consuming work, and also relying so heavily on skill and science and experience and judgment combined. I'll bet they really have an emotional attachment to that tapestry by the time they're finished!BettyLouSpence wrote: ↑Tue May 26, 2020 11:51 pmTangentially related to art restoration: the British Museum's YouTube channel uploaded a series of videos detailing the extensive, painstaking restoration of the Vulture Peak tapestry depicting the Buddha. The tapestry dates from the Tang dynasty (618-907) so extreme care had to be taken. It's a fascinating process./url]
