November 4, 2006

MythBusters Lecture
November 4, 2006 at 8:00pm in Kresge Auditorium.

Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman have over 30 years of special effects experience between them. On their Discovery Channel hit television show, they use their knowledge of engineering and explosives to put urban myths to the test: could a fire-fighting plane really scoop up a scuba diver? Can you really escape from Alcatraz across the bay on a raft made in prison? Just how explosive is explosive decompression in an airplane? Now they're coming to MIT, probably to cause a ruckus. Check it out!

TICKETS ARE SOLD OUT. If you ordered a ticket online and have not yet picked it up, you may do so on November 4 from 2pm onward. One valid ID per ticket is required for pickup of MIT Student, MIT Community, and non-MIT Student tickets.

Sponsored in part by the Large Events Fund, the DeFlorez Fund for Humor, Fall Festival, a Director's Grant from the Council of the Arts, and Weekends@MIT.

Simply put, Adam Savage makes stuff. He's constructed everything from spaceships to Buddhas, from puppets to rifles, from sculptures to toys ... and just about anything else imaginable. Adam's fascination with creating things started when he began building his own toys at age 5, and he hasn't stopped since. He's served as an animator, graphic designer, stage and interior designer, carpenter, welder and scenic painter, and he's worked in everything from metal to glass, plastics to injection molding, and pneumatics to animatronics.

But for the past eight years, Adam has concentrated on the special-effects industry, honing his skills through more than 100 television commercials and 12 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. His skills don't end there. Not only has he worked in the research and diagnostic division for several toy companies, but he's also acted in several films commercials and including a Charmin ad, in which he played Mr. Whipples' stock boy.

And now, in addition to co-hosting Discovery Channel's MythBusters, Adam also teaches advanced model making, most recently in the industrial design department at the San Francisco Academy of Art. And 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.V.

Hailing from Indiana farm country, Jamie Hyneman is a multifaceted man: wilderness survival expert, boat captain, diver, linguist, animal wrangler, machinist and chef, to name a few. His career has been equally diverse: Jamie earned a degree in Russian languages and literature and ran a sailing/diving charter business in the Caribbean for several years before he moved over to the visual-effects industry.

Once he had joined that field and had worked for several production companies, Jamie found his way to Colossal Pictures' model shop, where he managed the production of models and special effects for hundreds of commercials and movies. Then, eight years ago, Jamie took over the shop and created M5 Industries Inc. Today, the top U.S. production companies seek out M5 Industries when unusual or problematic props need to be fabricated, especially if they involve animatronics or robotics. Jamie has worked on the Matrix sequels for Eon Productions, as well as Star Wars: Episodes I and II for Industrial Light and Magic, among others. Jamie has also worked on commercials for major automobile manufacturers, soft-drink companies (including 7- UP) and athletic shoe companies (including Nike). And in the midst of all this activity, Jamie has diversified his company into toy prototyping as well.

The holder of several patents and the winner of numerous industry awards Jamie is also a long-standing Screen Actors Guild member.