Adam Savage is obsessed with spacesuits, and his latest costume build for this year's Comic-Con incognito walk is a replica of the very first spacesuit made for famed aviator Wiley Post in 1935. Adam's also excited to experiment with Worbla in this build for the helmet, and make heavy use of his sewing machine for this striking suit!
Adam, Norm, and Joey arrive in Wellington, New Zealand, home of Weta Workshop to begin work on our short film. Equipped with just a story outline and some pre-planning, we jump right into preparations for the film shoot that'll happen at the end of the week. We begin with a visit to the prosthetics lab, where Adam has his arm moded for a prop, and then sit down to work out the details of the script. Plus, we see the creature suit for the very first time!
We can finally reveal a project we've been working on since the beginning of the year, when Tested visited Weta Workshop in New Zealand! In collaboration with the world-class artists, craftspeople, and filmmakers at Weta Workshop, Adam Savage and Tested proudly present this short film. This kicks off a new mini-series that follows our journey as we put this film together just one week at Weta! Watch the first episode right now!
We take a tour of LAIKA Live, the incredible exhibition of LAIKA Studios' stop-motion film props, puppets, and miniatures at this year's Comic-Con. Norm and Kayte go behind the scenes to chat with LAIKA modelmakers and animators to learn about their process and get up close with these beautiful characters.
At this year's Bricks by the Bay LEGO convention, we meet builder Jack Carleson, who designed and assembled a massive 10-ft tall LEGO Saturn V rocket, launchpad, and tower that's mini-figure scale! We chat with Jack about how he built this amazing sculpture and why he chose to replicate this piece of NASA history.
In the final episode of this build series, Adam and Darrell finish their lightsabers, add some weathering to their cloaks, and try on their costumes for the first time! Thanks for joining us in this journey documenting a one-week costume build. We'll have more projects with Darrell in the future, and stay tuned for our next Tested premium member series!
Joey gives an update to his use of camera sliders with this review of a motorized slider sysetm using the Kessler Second Shooter+ controller. Here's how Joey uses sliders for production of Tested videos, product coverage, timelapses, and other types of cinematography.
We always publish a "where to find Adam Savage" blog post, but this year, we thought we'd include our friends too! And if we're missing anybody, please post your suggestions in the comments below.
This list is chronological except that we're going to start with the Magic Wheelchair panel, since Norm is on it (Adam is missing it because he needs to get back to San Francisco for MythBusters Jr.)
Magic Wheelchair (Sunday at 3:45 pm)
Magic Wheelchair is a nonprofit organization that has garnered international attention for creating epic wheelchair costumes and promoting inclusive cosplay. Hear from the SDCC 2018 Star Wars Magic Wheelchair Team: Fon Davis (FONCO Studios), Tom Spina (Tom Spina Designs and Regal Robot), Michael McMaster (McMaster Robots, Team Echo Base), Gordon Tarpley, Norman Chan (co-founder of Tested), James Powell (Monster City Studios), Sean Fields (Project 842), Tony Le, and others as they discuss their experience of building these face-meltingly awesome costumes, the impact of inclusive cosplay, and how you can get involved.
An Evening With the MythBusters (Wednesday at 6 pm)
The Fleet Science Center is debuting its MythBusters exhibit! Starting at 6PM, head to the Fleet Science Theatre for a chat with Kari Byron, Tory Belleci, and Grant Imahara. At 7PM, you'll head into the Fleet Science Center's MythBusters: The Explosive Exhibition and check out props from the show with Kari, Tory, and Grant.
Anatomy of a Robot (Thursday at 10 am)
Physical effects crew Weta Workshop (Blade Runner 2049, Elysium, Chappie, District 9, Lord of the Rings trilogy) and director Grant Sputore along with Michael Green share how the titular robot of I Am Mother was brought to life. From designing and prototyping to the filming experience, discover one of the most complex builds that Weta Workshop has ever attempted. See Grant and the crew reveal the robot for the first time.