TED2016
Adam Savage: My love letter to cosplay
Filmed:
Readability: 3.7
2,863,974 views
Adam Savage makes things and builds experiments, and he uses costumes to add humor, color and clarity to the stories he tells. Tracing his lifelong love of costumes -- from a childhood space helmet made of an ice cream tub to a No-Face costume he wore to Comic-Con -- Savage explores the world of cosplay and the meaning it creates for its community. "We're connecting with something important inside of us," he says. "The costumes are how we reveal ourselves to each other."
Adam Savage - Maker, critical thinker
Adam Savage is an internationally renowned television producer, host and public speaker. Full bio
Adam Savage is an internationally renowned television producer, host and public speaker. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:12
There's this fact that I love
that I read somewhere once,
that I read somewhere once,
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that one of the things that's contributed
to homo sapiens' success
to homo sapiens' success
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as a species
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is our lack of body hair --
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that our hairlessness, our nakedness
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combined with our invention of clothing,
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gives us the ability to modulate
our body temperature
our body temperature
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and thus be able to survive
in any climate we choose.
in any climate we choose.
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And now we've evolved to the point
where we can't survive without clothing.
where we can't survive without clothing.
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And it's more than just utility,
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now it's a communication.
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Everything that we choose
to put on is a narrative,
to put on is a narrative,
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a story about where we've been,
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what we're doing,
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who we want to be.
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I was a lonely kid.
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I didn't have an easy time
finding friends to play with,
finding friends to play with,
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and I ended up making
a lot of my own play.
a lot of my own play.
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I made a lot of my own toys.
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It began with ice cream.
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There was a Baskin-Robbins in my hometown,
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and they served ice cream
from behind the counter
from behind the counter
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in these giant, five-gallon,
cardboard tubs.
cardboard tubs.
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And someone told me --
I was eight years old --
I was eight years old --
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someone told me that when
they were done with those tubs,
they were done with those tubs,
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they washed them out
and kept them in the back,
and kept them in the back,
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and if you asked they would give you one.
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It took me a couple of weeks
to work up the courage,
to work up the courage,
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but I did, and they did.
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They gave me one -- I went home
with this beautiful cardboard tub.
with this beautiful cardboard tub.
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I was trying to figure out what
I could do with this exotic material --
I could do with this exotic material --
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metal ring, top and bottom.
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I started turning it over in my head,
and I realized, "Wait a minute --
and I realized, "Wait a minute --
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my head actually fits inside this thing."
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(Laughter)
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Yeah, I cut a hole out,
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I put some acetate in there
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and I made myself a space helmet.
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(Laughter)
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I needed a place to wear the space helmet,
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so I found a refrigerator box
a couple blocks from home.
a couple blocks from home.
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I pushed it home,
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and in my parents' guest room closet,
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I turned it into a spaceship.
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I started with a control panel
out of cardboard.
out of cardboard.
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I cut a hole for a radar screen
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and put a flashlight
underneath it to light it.
underneath it to light it.
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I put a view screen up,
which I offset off the back wall --
which I offset off the back wall --
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and this is where I thought
I was being really clever --
I was being really clever --
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without permission, I painted
the back wall of the closet black
the back wall of the closet black
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and put a star field,
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which I lit up with some Christmas lights
I found in the attic,
I found in the attic,
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and I went on some space missions.
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02:21
A couple years later,
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the movie "Jaws" came out.
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I was way too young to see it,
but I was caught up in "Jaws" fever,
but I was caught up in "Jaws" fever,
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like everyone else in America at the time.
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There was a store in my town
that had a "Jaws" costume in their window,
that had a "Jaws" costume in their window,
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and my mom must have overheard
me talking to someone
me talking to someone
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about how awesome
I thought this costume was,
I thought this costume was,
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because a couple days before Halloween,
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she blew my freaking mind
by giving me this "Jaws" costume.
by giving me this "Jaws" costume.
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Now, I recognize it's a bit of a trope
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for people of a certain age to complain
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that kids these days have no idea
how good they have it,
how good they have it,
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but let me just show you a random sampling
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of entry-level kids' costumes
you can buy online right now ...
you can buy online right now ...
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... and this is the "Jaws" costume
my mom bought for me.
my mom bought for me.
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(Laughter)
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This is a paper-thin shark face
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and a vinyl bib with the poster
of "Jaws" on it.
of "Jaws" on it.
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(Laughter)
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And I loved it.
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A couple years later,
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my dad took me to a film
called "Excalibur."
called "Excalibur."
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I actually got him to take me to it twice,
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which is no small thing,
because it is a hard, R-rated film.
because it is a hard, R-rated film.
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But it wasn't the blood
and guts or the boobs
and guts or the boobs
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that made me want to go see it again.
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They helped --
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(Laughter)
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It was the armor.
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The armor in "Excalibur"
was intoxicatingly beautiful to me.
was intoxicatingly beautiful to me.
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These were literally knights
in shining, mirror-polished armor.
in shining, mirror-polished armor.
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And moreover, the knights in "Excalibur"
wear their armor everywhere.
wear their armor everywhere.
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All the time -- they wear it at dinner,
they wear it to bed.
they wear it to bed.
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(Laughter)
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I was like, "Are they reading my mind?
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I want to wear armor all the time!"
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(Laughter)
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So I went back to my favorite material,
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the gateway drug for making,
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corrugated cardboard,
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and I made myself a suit of armor,
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replete with the neck shields
and a white horse.
and a white horse.
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Now that I've oversold it,
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here's a picture of the armor that I made.
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(Laughter)
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(Applause)
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Now, this is only the first
suit of armor I made
suit of armor I made
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inspired by "Excalibur."
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A couple of years later,
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I convinced my dad to embark
on making me a proper suit of armor.
on making me a proper suit of armor.
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Over about a month,
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he graduated me from cardboard
to roofing aluminum called flashing
to roofing aluminum called flashing
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and still, one of my all-time favorite
attachment materials,
attachment materials,
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POP rivets.
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We carefully, over that month,
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constructed an articulated suit
of aluminum armor
of aluminum armor
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with compound curves.
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We drilled holes in the helmet
so that I could breathe,
so that I could breathe,
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and I finished just in time
for Halloween and wore it to school.
for Halloween and wore it to school.
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Now, this is the one thing in this talk
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that I don't have a slide to show you,
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because no photo exists of this armor.
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I did wear it to school,
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there was a yearbook photographer
patrolling the halls,
patrolling the halls,
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but he never found me, for reasons
that are about to become clear.
that are about to become clear.
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There were things I didn't anticipate
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about wearing a complete suit
of aluminum armor to school.
of aluminum armor to school.
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In third period math,
I was standing in the back of class,
I was standing in the back of class,
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and I'm standing in the back of class
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because the armor did not
allow me to sit down.
allow me to sit down.
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(Laughter)
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This is the first thing
I didn't anticipate.
I didn't anticipate.
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And then my teacher looks at me
sort of concerned
sort of concerned
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about halfway through the class
and says, "Are you feeling OK?"
and says, "Are you feeling OK?"
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I'm thinking, "Are you kidding?
Am I feeling OK?
Am I feeling OK?
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I'm wearing a suit of armor!
I am having the time of my --"
I am having the time of my --"
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And I'm just about to tell her
how great I feel,
how great I feel,
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when the classroom
starts to list to the left
starts to list to the left
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and disappear down this long tunnel,
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and then I woke up in the nurse's office.
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I had passed out from heat exhaustion,
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wearing the armor.
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And when I woke up,
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I wasn't embarrassed about having
passed out in front of my class,
passed out in front of my class,
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I was wondering, "Who took my armor?
Where's my armor?"
Where's my armor?"
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OK, fast-forward a whole bunch of years,
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some colleagues and I get hired
to make a show for Discovery Channel,
to make a show for Discovery Channel,
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called "MythBusters."
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And over 14 years,
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I learn on the job how to build
experimental methodologies
experimental methodologies
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and how to tell stories
about them for television.
about them for television.
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I also learn early on
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that costuming can play a key role
in this storytelling.
in this storytelling.
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I use costumes to add humor, comedy, color
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and narrative clarity
to the stories we're telling.
to the stories we're telling.
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And then we do an episode
called "Dumpster Diving,"
called "Dumpster Diving,"
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and I learn a little bit more
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about the deeper implications
of what costuming means to me.
of what costuming means to me.
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In the episode "Dumpster Diving,"
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the question we were trying to answer is:
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Is jumping into a dumpster as safe
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as the movies would lead you to believe?
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(Laughter)
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The episode was going to have
two distinct parts to it.
two distinct parts to it.
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One was where we get trained
to jump off buildings by a stuntman
to jump off buildings by a stuntman
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into an air bag.
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And the second was the graduation
to the experiment:
to the experiment:
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we'd fill a dumpster full of material
and we'd jump into it.
and we'd jump into it.
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I wanted to visually separate
these two elements,
these two elements,
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and I thought,
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"Well, for the first part we're training,
so we should wear sweatsuits --
so we should wear sweatsuits --
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Oh! Let's put 'Stunt Trainee'
on the back of the sweatsuits.
on the back of the sweatsuits.
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That's for the training."
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But for the second part, I wanted
something really visually striking --
something really visually striking --
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"I know! I'll dress as Neo
from 'The Matrix.'"
from 'The Matrix.'"
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(Laughter)
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So I went to Haight Street.
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I bought some beautiful
knee-high, buckle boots.
knee-high, buckle boots.
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I found a long, flowing coat on eBay.
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I got sunglasses, which I had to wear
contact lenses in order to wear.
contact lenses in order to wear.
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The day of the experiment shoot comes up,
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and I step out of my car in this costume,
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and my crew takes a look at me ...
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and start suppressing
their church giggles.
their church giggles.
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They're like,
"(Laugh sound)."
"(Laugh sound)."
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And I feel two distinct things
at this moment.
at this moment.
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I feel total embarrassment
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over the fact that
it's so nakedly clear to my crew
it's so nakedly clear to my crew
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that I'm completely
into wearing this costume.
into wearing this costume.
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(Laughter)
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But the producer in my mind reminds myself
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that in the high-speed shot in slow-mo,
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that flowing coat is going to look
beautiful behind me.
beautiful behind me.
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(Laughter)
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Five years into the "MythBusters" run,
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we got invited to appear
at San Diego Comic-Con.
at San Diego Comic-Con.
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I'd known about Comic-Con for years
and never had time to go.
and never had time to go.
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This was the big leagues --
this was costuming mecca.
this was costuming mecca.
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People fly in from all over the world
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to show their amazing creations
on the floor in San Diego.
on the floor in San Diego.
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And I wanted to participate.
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I decided that I would put together
an elaborate costume
an elaborate costume
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that covered me completely,
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and I would walk the floor
of San Diego Comic-Con anonymously.
of San Diego Comic-Con anonymously.
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The costume I chose?
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Hellboy.
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That's not my costume,
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that's actually Hellboy.
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(Laughter)
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But I spent months
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assembling the most screen-accurate
Hellboy costume I could,
Hellboy costume I could,
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from the boots to the belt to the pants
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to the right hand of doom.
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I found a guy who made
a prosthetic Hellboy head and chest
a prosthetic Hellboy head and chest
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and I put them on.
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I even had contact lenses made
in my prescription.
in my prescription.
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I wore it onto the floor at Comic-Con
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and I can't even tell you
how balls hot it was in that costume.
how balls hot it was in that costume.
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(Laughter)
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Sweating! I should've remembered this.
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I'm sweating buckets
and the contact lenses hurt my eyes,
and the contact lenses hurt my eyes,
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and none of it matters
because I'm totally in love.
because I'm totally in love.
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(Laughter)
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Not just with the process of putting
on this costume and walking the floor,
on this costume and walking the floor,
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but also with the community
of other costumers.
of other costumers.
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It's not called costuming at Cons,
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it's called "cosplay."
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Now ostensibly, cosplay means
people who dress up
people who dress up
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as their favorite characters
from film and television
from film and television
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and especially anime,
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but it is so much more than that.
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These aren't just people
who find a costume and put it on --
who find a costume and put it on --
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they mash them up.
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They bend them to their will.
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They change them to be the characters
they want to be in those productions.
they want to be in those productions.
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They're super clever and genius.
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They let their freak flag fly
and it's beautiful.
and it's beautiful.
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(Laughter)
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But more than that,
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they rehearse their costumes.
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At Comic-Con or any other Con,
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you don't just take pictures
of people walking around.
of people walking around.
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You go up and say,
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"Hey, I like your costume,
can I take your picture?"
can I take your picture?"
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And then you give them time
to get into their pose.
to get into their pose.
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They've worked hard on their pose
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to make their costume look
great for your camera.
great for your camera.
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And it's so beautiful to watch.
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And I take this to heart.
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At subsequent Cons,
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I learn Heath Ledger's shambling walk
as the Joker from "The Dark Knight."
as the Joker from "The Dark Knight."
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I learn how to be a scary Ringwraith
from "Lord of the Rings,"
from "Lord of the Rings,"
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and I actually frighten some children.
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I learned that "hrr hrr hrr" --
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that head laugh that Chewbacca does.
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10:14
And then I dressed up as
No-Face from "Spirited Away."
No-Face from "Spirited Away."
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If you don't know about "Spirited Away"
and its director, Hayao Miyazaki,
and its director, Hayao Miyazaki,
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first of all, you're welcome.
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10:22
(Laughter)
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This is a masterpiece,
and one of my all-time favorite films.
and one of my all-time favorite films.
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It's about a young girl named Chihiro
who gets lost in the spirit world
who gets lost in the spirit world
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in an abandoned Japanese theme park.
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And she finds her way back out again
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with the help of a couple
of friends she makes --
of friends she makes --
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a captured dragon named Haku
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and a lonely demon named No-Face.
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No-Face is lonely
and he wants to make friends,
and he wants to make friends,
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and he thinks the way to do it
is by luring them to him
is by luring them to him
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and producing gold in his hand.
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But this doesn't go very well,
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and so he ends up going
on kind of a rampage
on kind of a rampage
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until Chihiro saves him,
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rescues him.
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So I put together a No-Face costume,
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and I wore it on the floor at Comic-Con.
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And I very carefully practiced
No-Face's gestures.
No-Face's gestures.
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I resolved I would not speak
in this costume at all.
in this costume at all.
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When people asked to take my picture,
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I would nod
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and I would shyly stand next to them.
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They would take the picture
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and then I would secret out
from behind my robe
from behind my robe
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a chocolate gold coin.
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And at the end of the photo process,
I'd make it appear for them.
I'd make it appear for them.
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Ah, ah ah! -- like that.
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And people were freaking out.
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"Holy crap! Gold from No-Face!
Oh my god, this is so cool!"
Oh my god, this is so cool!"
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And I'm feeling and I'm walking
the floor and it's fantastic.
the floor and it's fantastic.
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And about 15 minutes in something happens.
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Somebody grabs my hand,
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and they put a coin back into it.
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And I think maybe they're giving me
a coin as a return gift,
a coin as a return gift,
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but no, this is one of the coins
that I'd given away.
that I'd given away.
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I don't know why.
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And I keep on going,
I take some more pictures.
I take some more pictures.
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And then it happens again.
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Understand, I can't see anything
inside this costume.
inside this costume.
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I can see through the mouth --
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I can see people's shoes.
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I can hear what they're saying
and I can see their feet.
and I can see their feet.
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But the third time someone
gives me back a coin,
gives me back a coin,
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I want to know what's going on.
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So I sort of tilt my head back
to get a better view,
to get a better view,
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and what I see is someone walking
away from me going like this.
away from me going like this.
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And then it hits me:
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it's bad luck to take gold from No-Face.
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In the film "Spirited Away,"
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bad luck befalls those
who take gold from No-Face.
who take gold from No-Face.
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This isn't a performer-audience
relationship; this is cosplay.
relationship; this is cosplay.
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We are, all of us on that floor,
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injecting ourselves into a narrative
that meant something to us.
that meant something to us.
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And we're making it our own.
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We're connecting with something
important inside of us.
important inside of us.
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And the costumes
are how we reveal ourselves
are how we reveal ourselves
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to each other.
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Thank you.
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13:01
(Applause)
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Adam Savage - Maker, critical thinkerAdam Savage is an internationally renowned television producer, host and public speaker.
Why you should listen
Adam Savage's mother is a psychologist; his father was a celebrated artist, painter and filmmaker. From the youngest age they encouraged his flights of fancy. Savage has been a paperboy, a projectionist, juggler, unicycle rider, sculptor, graphic designer, scenic painter, robot builder, welder, carpenter, machinist, prop maker, toy designer, actor, writer, executive producer and director. He spent six years in theater and 10 years in commercial and film special effects working for clients such as Nike, Corning, Hershey's, and Coca-Cola, and films like Star Wars, The Matrix films, A.I., Space Cowboys, Terminator 3 and Galaxy Quest.
Savage has built everything from theater sets to miniature particle accelerators. From spaceships to animatronic arms. He's made Rube Goldberg machines, hand props and spacesuits. His online videos have generated over 230 million page views. He's written for Popular Mechanics, the Wall Street Journal and Wired Magazine, among others. His program "Mythbusters" produced 270 episodes that aired in over 100 countries for 14 years. Adam shares his builds, his love for movie props and costumes, and passion for the transformative power of making on his award winning website Tested.com. He lives in San Francisco with his wife Julia, his twin boys Thing1 and Thing2, and two amazing dogs.
(Photo: Michael Shindler)
Adam Savage | Speaker | TED.com