On this episode of Offworld, we revisit the Danny Boyle science fiction film Sunshine, in which a crew is sent to reignite the Sun. We’re joined by astrophysicist and Professor of Astronomy Gibor Basri to discuss the science of the film and which parts hold up (and the parts that don’t). What would the bomb the size of Manhattan do to the Sun?
PROJECTIONS, Episode 39: High-End Photogrammetry for VR
Virtual reality environments can be built manually, like video game levels, but they can also be constructed using real-world imagery and scanning. We visit the offices of Cyark, an organization that travels around the world documenting historical sites using advanced scanning equipment, converting some of those scans to explore in VR.
PREMIUM – Totally Unauthorized Commentary: Galaxy Quest (1999)
Adam and Norm are joined by Tested’s own Kishore Hari to watch one of our favorite science fiction films: Galaxy Quest! Adam shares some stories about his modelmaking work on the film, we discuss the efficiency of the script, and praise the casts’ spot-on performances.
On the Shooting Set of Aardman Animations’ Early Man!
Adam Savage steps onto one of the film stages at Aardman Animations, where a complex and detailed miniatures set is ready for stop-motion filming. Chatting with one of the Animation Directors of the film, Adam learns how the puppets are mounted on these sets to make them come alive, one frame at a time.
Episode 436 – Enter Metalhead – 2/15/18
Hands-On with Skydio R1 Autonomous Drone!
We go hands-on with the Skydio R1, a camera-equipped drone that not only flies autonomously, but can actually track you and avoid almost any obstacle in its flight path. And from our first test, it actually works–we couldn’t get it to crash. Skydio CEO and co-founder Adam Bry walks us through the computer vision technology that makes the R1 work, and we share our impressions from the impressive test flight.
Mechanical Keyboard Musings – Still Untitled: The Adam Savage Project – 2/14/18
This week, we chat about good customer service encounters, Adam’s hunt for a bluetooth mechanical keyboard, drones at the Olympics, and William Gibson books. Plus, we convince Will to take a chance on The Good Place, trying to stay away from spoilers as best we can (albiet unsuccessfully in the end).
Designing the Stop-Motion Sets of Aardman Animation’s Early Man!
Even though a stop-motion animated film is shot at a smaller-than-life scale, the sets and environments that need to be built for its clay characters can still be massive. Adam Savage enters the production design room at Aardman Animations to learn how Early Man’s sets are blueprinted, prototyped, and then finally built to be filmed, one frame at a time.
PREMIUM – Let’s Build: Tiny Tesla Coil, Part 3
After over a month of troubleshooting, Jeremy, Sean, and Norm regroup to give an update on the Tiny Tesla Coil build. Bad controller boards and blown fuses may have gotten the better of us. But not all is lost–we have some footage of the Tesla Coil working!
Adam Savage’s Maker Box #2: Cosplay!
Adam Savage is teaming up with Quarterly to put together a serious Maker Kit series, starting from the very basic foundation of making. The second Maker box in this series is an introduction into one of Adam’s obsessions: cosplay! Get your Adam Savage Maker Box here.