MythBusters co-host
Adam Savage gives a fast-paced presentation on personal obsessions.
Savage explains how his fascination with dodo bird skeletons eventually led to his designing of an exact bronze-cast replica of the titular statue from the
1941 Humphrey Bogart movie, "
The Maltese Falcon."
-----
Adam Savage speaks at the 2008
Entertainment Gathering in
Monterey, California. This program was recorded on
December 12, 2008.
EG is the celebration of the
American entertainment industry. Since
1984,
Richard Saul Wurman has created extraordinary gatherings about learning and understanding. EG is a rich extension of these ideas - a conference that explores the attitude of understanding in music, film, television, radio, technology, advertising, gaming, interactivity and the web - The Entertainment Gathering
Adam Savage has spent his life gathering skills that allow him to take what's in his brain and make it real. He's built everything from ancient Buddhas to futuristic weapons, from spaceships to dancing vegetables, from fine art sculptures to animated chocolate — and just about anything else you can think of.
The son of a filmmaker/painter and psychotherapist,
Adam has been making his own toys since he was allowed to hold scissors.
Having held positions as a projectionist, animator, graphic designer, carpenter, interior and stage designer, toy designer, welder, and scenic painter, he's worked with every material and process he could get his hands on — metal, paper, glass, plastic, rubber, foam, plaster, pneumatics, hydraulics, animatronics, neon, glassblowing, mold making and injection molding, to name just a few.
Since
1993, Adam has concentrated on the special-effects industry, honing his skills through more than
100 television commercials and a dozen feature films, including
Star Wars: Episode I -
The Phantom Menace and
Episode II:
Attack of the Clones,
Galaxy Quest,
Terminator 3,
A.I. and the
Matrix sequels. He's also designed props and sets for Coca-Cola,
Hershey's, Lexus and a host of
New York and
San Francisco theater companies.
Today, in addition to co-hosting
Discovery Channel's MythBusters, Adam teaches advanced model making, most recently in the industrial design department at the San Francisco
Academy of Art.
Somehow he also finds time to devote to his own art — his sculptures have been showcased in over 40 shows in San Francisco, New York and
Charleston,
W.Va.
- published: 20 Dec 2008
- views: 255936