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The Comisar Collection Case
Study visit
site
The TVtour.org website was instrumental
in the efforts to raise several million dollars for the "America,
as Seen on TV" museum tour.
Client
The Comisar Collection, Inc. is the world’s most comprehensive
collection of television artifacts, featuring over 6,000 TV treasures,
besting even the Smithsonian Institution in Washington. Curator
James Comisar shares his unique expertise of Hollywood artifacts
with a diverse clientele: Hollywood superstars, museums, theme
restaurants, casinos, talk shows, and the United States government
among them. He has authenticated tens of millions of dollars worth
of artifacts for Christie’s, Sotheby’s and other auction
houses; he also started the Hollywood memorabilia department for
Ebay-Butterfields.
Comisar’s efforts to rescue and restore relics and pay homage
to the pioneers who changed the television medium have been extensively
documented in the media. He has been showcased on several national
TV shows including The Oprah Winfrey Show, CNN, and Lifestyles
of the Rich and Famous.
Issue
Many years of collecting, preserving, and caring for thousands
of TV artifacts had led The Comisar Collection to the next logical
phase in its evolution: a museum tour of the entire collection.
The Comisar Collection needed a way to showcase its extensive
catalog of artifacts as it began the search for funding of the
upcoming “America, as Seen on TV” museum tour. It
was decided that an interactive website would be cost effective
while giving them the flexibility they needed in presenting the
information to a wide variety of constituents.
Due to our extensive work in the entertainment sector and our
love of the subject, Comisar felt that interFUEL was the perfect
fit for this project.
Needs
The importance that these TV shows have on the landscape of American
pop culture needed to be at the forefront at all times. Comisar
insisted that the website evoke the emotion that each of us share
from watching these shows of our childhood. The challenge was
to develop a concept that could carry the theme of each unique
television show genre in a seamless and cohesive manner while
paying homage to these relics of our culture.
In addition to being used as a presentation for potential investors
of the museum tour, the website needed to inform prospective clients
of the many services that The Comisar Collection offered, such
as the restoration and expertising of artifacts.
Project Summary
As children, we at interFUEL spent our share of time in front
of the family TV set (and then some), so naturally we have a deep
respect for the efforts of The Comisar Collection. But more importantly,
we understand the emotional nature that these artifacts had on
those who watched these shows. We felt that in order to capitalize
on that, the entire tour preview portion of the site should be
presented inside of a television set (complete with functioning
knobs for navigational purposes) to evoke the sensation of watching
these shows on TV. By using stills, animation, and original theme
songs, interFUEL developed a uniquely memorable experience that
captured the feel and character of these shows.
Impact
Since the launch of the TVtour.org website, The Comisar Collection
was able to secure millions of dollars in funding from investors
and has secured several museum venues throughout the US for the
tour. Look for the tour to begin in Spring 2004.
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