Ask Adam Savage: What Makes a Prop Work in Its Universe? 

How does the Blade Runner LAPD Blaster work in universe?

Same, I love that ship and the objections to it are just bizarre. The one I keep hearing over and over is that the bottom of it is open to space and that's somehow not possible, and I keep showing them screenshots of the death star open to space with a forcefield on an even bigger opening than that. The ones that don't immediately go quiet make it pretty clear they're not actually upset about the ship, they're mad about something unrelated and trying to justify it by nitpicking design elements.

@@AchronTimeless I kept seeing people arguing that the creators should have used Y-wings or B-wings instead, as if one of those could plausible cripple a massive dreadnought the same way a StarFortress could. The critique that they are fairly big targets for something of their slowness and fragility is slightly more valid, but based on the assumption that the StarFortress destroyed by a TIE crashing into it is normal and the StarFortress that survives at least six laser shots (which no other onscreen fighter has done) is the exception. Really, someone could make a whole video series by taking unreasonable or bad faith criticisms of TLJ (not that it's a flawless movie, of course) and applying them to the Original Trilogy. ("Luke's a Mary Sue who just randomly reveals he knows how to fly fighter jets near the end of the movie!")

I think a big part of the objections have to do with the fact that a B17-style bomb bay wouldn't work in space due to the lack of gravity

@@aridragonbeard745 There's gravity inside the ship, then it's inertia once the bombs are away. They'll just keep going until they hit something.

My objection to this ship is more so doctrine than design. Y-wings and the other typical "bombers" in Star Wars can get away with inertia-based weapons because they are small and fast (relatively) The StarFortress is none of these things, and frankly has no business being within 1 AU of any hostile warship. The fact that even just one got to release its' load in episode 8 can be solely attributed to plot armor. These are slow big targets (at least as shown in episode 8) that I bet you could easily hit the main armament of any warship regardless of that warship's size. Its like packing a fishing trawler full of TNT and then going straight for a Nimitz at only 15 knots. If they launched a crap ton of proton torpedoes from standoff range and then ran like hell after launching, I would have no problem with them - but right now they will never succeed if the foe is given a fair chance against them.

Or just to rephrase it; "What makes a character BE that character on screen or on stage, other than the appearance, personality, or eccentricities of the actor portraying that character?" A good example to make the question more specific: "What makes Sherlock actually be Sherlock?"

@@JonesNate *good one*

I’m wondering if maybe Adam sees this from the outside. “I am not an actor.” And he does a wonderful job of explaining how to integrate what you do into the world that’s being built. But, In my youth, I was an actor. And that is what propelled me into an almost half a century career as a prop person. And from an actor’s point of view I can tell you the exact moment that I became a proper propper. I ended up in a college theater program when I was 15. (I looked like I was maybe 12) I’ve always been a “character actor”, and I found myself somehow cast as “Doctor Baugh The sober Baugh is Daddy's physician. He delivers Daddy's diagnosis to Big Mama and leaves her with a prescription of morphine”. Not exactly a starring role. And, as a 15 year old yankee who grew up in the 60s and early 70s, not an easy person for me to become. It all came down to a pocket watch. There was this bit that the director wanted that involved “Doc” pulling out a pocket watch. And props provided a dime store plastic one for me. I happened to have inherited or elsewise acquired 4 real ones, and I brought them in. So here’s the collaboration. I had two silver ones, one plain and one rather elaborately engraved. One gold one, engraved, but more simply. And another plain gold one. Production design and the role of the character implies a quality watch, but not too fancy. And that’s what I pulled out of my waistcoat (vest) in that moment. A quality and pretty expensive watch. Unadorned. Not really looking all that differently than the plastic one I had been given from 30 feet away. Here’s where it becomes character development. It didn’t look that different. But it FELT different! It made ME feel different. It was the whole character. Station in life, age, his whole personality! Plain. But gold.

First thing that comes to mind is the musical stinger that plays any time Mando enters a room.

How, for example (and I'm deliberately choosing an example that would be instantly familiar to Mr. Savage) does Indy differ from Solo? They're both played by the same actor, so something other than the actor has to be at play in the distinction between the two.

I was thinking he meant a prop that makes a character like Iron Man's suit.

@@DarrenPoulson Indy's whip and revolver, versus Solo's blaster, for example.

It might be because they are constantly surrounded by other big tough guys.

@@danielcox7629 You may be on to something there. Everybody's polite if everybody else can knock you down a peg or two.

If Indy wasn’t on the island at the end the Allies would never have known where the ark was, the nazis would have investigated and got the ark back, and been a lot more careful with it.

The above is a fake tested account

@@Adamsavagestested......... Scamming much?

A traveling one.

He can probably switch off. I used to have a hard time since I did lights and sets. But first time I would be all in and 2nd or 3rd time would be all about "how'd they do that?"

The Candlestick Phone on a desk

I’m sure he is fully aware, but working for years for them must make it pretty hard to no use the term brothers in part tense when reminiscing the time making the matrix for them. I’m sure in any other context he would had said sisters, but that’s muscle memory for you. Unfortunate, but definitely not deliberate. I also didn’t even notice the slip first, but then rewinded back as something felt off and found what happened there. But I’m sure no harm was meant.

yo

Hello there

When the imposter is sus. Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo dumdum dum.

damn they both changed teams, i wonder if adam knows that?

I think it's fair to slip up on that considering most people would know them from a time when that was how they were referred to. Case in point; He was talking about Matrix.

I genuinely don't think Adam meant to say that as a way of offending anyone. When he worked on The Matrix sequels, they would've still identified as 'brothers' and given the rapid train of thought he was on talking about world building, it would've just been a slip of the tongue. We all know how inclusive and genuinely respectful Adam is