0:00:00.618,0:00:03.452
There's this fact that I love[br]that I read somewhere once,

0:00:03.476,0:00:08.126
that one of the things that's contributed[br]to homo sapiens' success

0:00:08.150,0:00:09.493
as a species

0:00:09.517,0:00:11.573
is our lack of body hair --

0:00:11.597,0:00:14.021
that our hairlessness, our nakedness

0:00:14.045,0:00:16.351
combined with our invention of clothing,

0:00:16.375,0:00:19.669
gives us the ability to modulate[br]our body temperature

0:00:19.693,0:00:23.289
and thus be able to survive[br]in any climate we choose.

0:00:23.797,0:00:27.322
And now we've evolved to the point[br]where we can't survive without clothing.

0:00:27.346,0:00:28.876
And it's more than just utility,

0:00:28.900,0:00:30.221
now it's a communication.

0:00:30.245,0:00:33.053
Everything that we choose[br]to put on is a narrative,

0:00:33.077,0:00:35.098
a story about where we've been,

0:00:35.122,0:00:36.714
what we're doing,

0:00:36.738,0:00:37.938
who we want to be.

0:00:39.048,0:00:40.796
I was a lonely kid.

0:00:40.820,0:00:43.652
I didn't have an easy time[br]finding friends to play with,

0:00:43.676,0:00:46.071
and I ended up making[br]a lot of my own play.

0:00:46.423,0:00:48.902
I made a lot of my own toys.

0:00:48.926,0:00:50.565
It began with ice cream.

0:00:50.589,0:00:53.713
There was a Baskin-Robbins in my hometown,

0:00:53.737,0:00:56.089
and they served ice cream[br]from behind the counter

0:00:56.113,0:00:58.720
in these giant, five-gallon,[br]cardboard tubs.

0:00:58.744,0:01:01.006
And someone told me --[br]I was eight years old --

0:01:01.030,0:01:03.730
someone told me that when[br]they were done with those tubs,

0:01:03.754,0:01:05.968
they washed them out[br]and kept them in the back,

0:01:05.992,0:01:07.946
and if you asked they would give you one.

0:01:07.970,0:01:10.404
It took me a couple of weeks[br]to work up the courage,

0:01:10.428,0:01:11.579
but I did, and they did.

0:01:11.603,0:01:14.916
They gave me one -- I went home[br]with this beautiful cardboard tub.

0:01:14.940,0:01:18.336
I was trying to figure out what[br]I could do with this exotic material --

0:01:18.360,0:01:19.745
metal ring, top and bottom.

0:01:19.769,0:01:23.154
I started turning it over in my head,[br]and I realized, "Wait a minute --

0:01:23.178,0:01:25.320
my head actually fits inside this thing."

0:01:25.344,0:01:26.907
(Laughter)

0:01:26.931,0:01:28.624
Yeah, I cut a hole out,

0:01:28.648,0:01:30.167
I put some acetate in there

0:01:30.191,0:01:31.905
and I made myself a space helmet.

0:01:31.929,0:01:33.082
(Laughter)

0:01:33.106,0:01:36.066
I needed a place to wear the space helmet,

0:01:36.090,0:01:38.794
so I found a refrigerator box[br]a couple blocks from home.

0:01:38.818,0:01:40.105
I pushed it home,

0:01:40.129,0:01:42.897
and in my parents' guest room closet,

0:01:42.921,0:01:45.312
I turned it into a spaceship.

0:01:45.336,0:01:47.635
I started with a control panel[br]out of cardboard.

0:01:47.659,0:01:49.457
I cut a hole for a radar screen

0:01:49.481,0:01:51.704
and put a flashlight[br]underneath it to light it.

0:01:51.728,0:01:54.778
I put a view screen up,[br]which I offset off the back wall --

0:01:54.802,0:01:57.435
and this is where I thought[br]I was being really clever --

0:01:57.459,0:02:00.506
without permission, I painted[br]the back wall of the closet black

0:02:00.530,0:02:01.689
and put a star field,

0:02:01.713,0:02:06.243
which I lit up with some Christmas lights[br]I found in the attic,

0:02:06.267,0:02:08.204
and I went on some space missions.

0:02:09.214,0:02:10.365
A couple years later,

0:02:10.389,0:02:11.791
the movie "Jaws" came out.

0:02:11.815,0:02:15.061
I was way too young to see it,[br]but I was caught up in "Jaws" fever,

0:02:15.085,0:02:17.247
like everyone else in America at the time.

0:02:17.709,0:02:21.161
There was a store in my town[br]that had a "Jaws" costume in their window,

0:02:21.185,0:02:23.753
and my mom must have overheard[br]me talking to someone

0:02:23.777,0:02:25.897
about how awesome[br]I thought this costume was,

0:02:25.921,0:02:27.779
because a couple days before Halloween,

0:02:27.803,0:02:31.938
she blew my freaking mind[br]by giving me this "Jaws" costume.

0:02:32.365,0:02:34.765
Now, I recognize it's a bit of a trope

0:02:34.789,0:02:36.662
for people of a certain age to complain

0:02:36.686,0:02:40.222
that kids these days have no idea[br]how good they have it,

0:02:40.246,0:02:42.291
but let me just show you a random sampling

0:02:42.315,0:02:46.013
of entry-level kids' costumes[br]you can buy online right now ...

0:02:46.037,0:02:49.859
... and this is the "Jaws" costume[br]my mom bought for me.

0:02:49.883,0:02:52.615
(Laughter)

0:02:52.639,0:02:55.890
This is a paper-thin shark face

0:02:55.914,0:02:59.452
and a vinyl bib with the poster[br]of "Jaws" on it.

0:02:59.476,0:03:00.524
(Laughter)

0:03:00.548,0:03:01.951
And I loved it.

0:03:02.411,0:03:03.802
A couple years later,

0:03:03.826,0:03:06.643
my dad took me to a film[br]called "Excalibur."

0:03:06.667,0:03:08.709
I actually got him to take me to it twice,

0:03:08.733,0:03:13.000
which is no small thing,[br]because it is a hard, R-rated film.

0:03:13.024,0:03:15.180
But it wasn't the blood[br]and guts or the boobs

0:03:15.204,0:03:17.101
that made me want to go see it again.

0:03:17.125,0:03:18.283
They helped --

0:03:18.307,0:03:19.309
(Laughter)

0:03:19.333,0:03:20.498
It was the armor.

0:03:20.522,0:03:24.636
The armor in "Excalibur"[br]was intoxicatingly beautiful to me.

0:03:24.660,0:03:29.277
These were literally knights[br]in shining, mirror-polished armor.

0:03:29.301,0:03:33.478
And moreover, the knights in "Excalibur"[br]wear their armor everywhere.

0:03:33.502,0:03:37.025
All the time -- they wear it at dinner,[br]they wear it to bed.

0:03:37.049,0:03:38.100
(Laughter)

0:03:38.124,0:03:39.994
I was like, "Are they reading my mind?

0:03:40.018,0:03:42.486
I want to wear armor all the time!"

0:03:42.510,0:03:43.525
(Laughter)

0:03:43.549,0:03:45.748
So I went back to my favorite material,

0:03:45.772,0:03:47.321
the gateway drug for making,

0:03:47.345,0:03:48.765
corrugated cardboard,

0:03:48.789,0:03:51.651
and I made myself a suit of armor,

0:03:51.675,0:03:55.120
replete with the neck shields[br]and a white horse.

0:03:55.144,0:03:56.410
Now that I've oversold it,

0:03:56.434,0:03:58.460
here's a picture of the armor that I made.

0:03:58.484,0:03:59.825
(Laughter)

0:03:59.849,0:04:02.299
(Applause)

0:04:04.736,0:04:07.327
Now, this is only the first[br]suit of armor I made

0:04:07.351,0:04:08.695
inspired by "Excalibur."

0:04:08.719,0:04:09.972
A couple of years later,

0:04:09.996,0:04:14.094
I convinced my dad to embark[br]on making me a proper suit of armor.

0:04:14.118,0:04:15.763
Over about a month,

0:04:15.787,0:04:20.081
he graduated me from cardboard[br]to roofing aluminum called flashing

0:04:20.105,0:04:22.921
and still, one of my all-time favorite[br]attachment materials,

0:04:22.945,0:04:24.112
POP rivets.

0:04:24.136,0:04:25.848
We carefully, over that month,

0:04:25.872,0:04:28.446
constructed an articulated suit[br]of aluminum armor

0:04:28.470,0:04:29.631
with compound curves.

0:04:29.655,0:04:32.560
We drilled holes in the helmet[br]so that I could breathe,

0:04:32.584,0:04:35.631
and I finished just in time[br]for Halloween and wore it to school.

0:04:35.655,0:04:37.809
Now, this is the one thing in this talk

0:04:37.833,0:04:39.650
that I don't have a slide to show you,

0:04:39.674,0:04:41.676
because no photo exists of this armor.

0:04:41.700,0:04:43.063
I did wear it to school,

0:04:43.087,0:04:45.691
there was a yearbook photographer[br]patrolling the halls,

0:04:45.715,0:04:49.105
but he never found me, for reasons[br]that are about to become clear.

0:04:49.129,0:04:51.207
There were things I didn't anticipate

0:04:51.231,0:04:55.602
about wearing a complete suit[br]of aluminum armor to school.

0:04:56.061,0:04:58.822
In third period math,[br]I was standing in the back of class,

0:04:58.846,0:05:00.647
and I'm standing in the back of class

0:05:00.671,0:05:02.867
because the armor did not[br]allow me to sit down.

0:05:02.891,0:05:04.346
(Laughter)

0:05:04.370,0:05:06.820
This is the first thing[br]I didn't anticipate.

0:05:07.351,0:05:09.866
And then my teacher looks at me[br]sort of concerned

0:05:09.890,0:05:12.882
about halfway through the class[br]and says, "Are you feeling OK?"

0:05:12.906,0:05:15.152
I'm thinking, "Are you kidding?[br]Am I feeling OK?

0:05:15.176,0:05:18.044
I'm wearing a suit of armor![br]I am having the time of my --"

0:05:18.068,0:05:20.728
And I'm just about to tell her[br]how great I feel,

0:05:20.752,0:05:23.145
when the classroom[br]starts to list to the left

0:05:23.169,0:05:25.886
and disappear down this long tunnel,

0:05:25.910,0:05:29.482
and then I woke up in the nurse's office.

0:05:30.275,0:05:33.269
I had passed out from heat exhaustion,

0:05:33.293,0:05:34.719
wearing the armor.

0:05:34.743,0:05:35.894
And when I woke up,

0:05:35.918,0:05:39.063
I wasn't embarrassed about having[br]passed out in front of my class,

0:05:39.087,0:05:41.686
I was wondering, "Who took my armor?[br]Where's my armor?"

0:05:41.710,0:05:43.900
OK, fast-forward a whole bunch of years,

0:05:43.924,0:05:47.258
some colleagues and I get hired[br]to make a show for Discovery Channel,

0:05:47.282,0:05:48.433
called "MythBusters."

0:05:48.457,0:05:49.623
And over 14 years,

0:05:49.647,0:05:52.821
I learn on the job how to build[br]experimental methodologies

0:05:52.845,0:05:55.424
and how to tell stories[br]about them for television.

0:05:55.796,0:05:57.499
I also learn early on

0:05:57.523,0:06:00.382
that costuming can play a key role[br]in this storytelling.

0:06:00.406,0:06:04.441
I use costumes to add humor, comedy, color

0:06:04.465,0:06:07.488
and narrative clarity[br]to the stories we're telling.

0:06:07.935,0:06:10.694
And then we do an episode[br]called "Dumpster Diving,"

0:06:10.718,0:06:12.985
and I learn a little bit more

0:06:13.009,0:06:16.440
about the deeper implications[br]of what costuming means to me.

0:06:16.464,0:06:18.060
In the episode "Dumpster Diving,"

0:06:18.084,0:06:20.039
the question we were trying to answer is:

0:06:20.063,0:06:21.706
Is jumping into a dumpster as safe

0:06:21.730,0:06:23.706
as the movies would lead you to believe?

0:06:23.730,0:06:25.504
(Laughter)

0:06:25.528,0:06:28.163
The episode was going to have[br]two distinct parts to it.

0:06:28.187,0:06:31.242
One was where we get trained[br]to jump off buildings by a stuntman

0:06:31.266,0:06:32.599
into an air bag.

0:06:32.623,0:06:35.104
And the second was the graduation[br]to the experiment:

0:06:35.128,0:06:37.973
we'd fill a dumpster full of material[br]and we'd jump into it.

0:06:37.997,0:06:40.284
I wanted to visually separate[br]these two elements,

0:06:40.308,0:06:41.465
and I thought,

0:06:41.489,0:06:45.173
"Well, for the first part we're training,[br]so we should wear sweatsuits --

0:06:45.197,0:06:48.945
Oh! Let's put 'Stunt Trainee'[br]on the back of the sweatsuits.

0:06:48.969,0:06:50.313
That's for the training."

0:06:50.337,0:06:53.702
But for the second part, I wanted[br]something really visually striking --

0:06:53.726,0:06:56.204
"I know! I'll dress as Neo[br]from 'The Matrix.'"

0:06:56.228,0:06:57.302
(Laughter)

0:06:57.326,0:06:58.636
So I went to Haight Street.

0:06:58.660,0:07:01.239
I bought some beautiful[br]knee-high, buckle boots.

0:07:01.263,0:07:03.705
I found a long, flowing coat on eBay.

0:07:03.729,0:07:07.450
I got sunglasses, which I had to wear[br]contact lenses in order to wear.

0:07:07.474,0:07:09.454
The day of the experiment shoot comes up,

0:07:09.478,0:07:11.446
and I step out of my car in this costume,

0:07:11.470,0:07:13.120
and my crew takes a look at me ...

0:07:13.990,0:07:16.399
and start suppressing[br]their church giggles.

0:07:16.893,0:07:19.987
They're like,[br]"(Laugh sound)."

0:07:20.011,0:07:22.442
And I feel two distinct things[br]at this moment.

0:07:22.466,0:07:24.163
I feel total embarrassment

0:07:24.187,0:07:26.933
over the fact that[br]it's so nakedly clear to my crew

0:07:26.957,0:07:29.599
that I'm completely[br]into wearing this costume.

0:07:29.623,0:07:30.773
(Laughter)

0:07:31.328,0:07:34.548
But the producer in my mind reminds myself

0:07:34.572,0:07:36.999
that in the high-speed shot in slow-mo,

0:07:37.023,0:07:40.116
that flowing coat is going to look[br]beautiful behind me.

0:07:40.140,0:07:41.290
(Laughter)

0:07:42.012,0:07:43.883
Five years into the "MythBusters" run,

0:07:43.907,0:07:46.563
we got invited to appear[br]at San Diego Comic-Con.

0:07:46.587,0:07:49.983
I'd known about Comic-Con for years[br]and never had time to go.

0:07:50.007,0:07:53.611
This was the big leagues --[br]this was costuming mecca.

0:07:53.635,0:07:55.675
People fly in from all over the world

0:07:55.699,0:07:58.821
to show their amazing creations[br]on the floor in San Diego.

0:07:58.845,0:08:00.370
And I wanted to participate.

0:08:00.394,0:08:03.456
I decided that I would put together[br]an elaborate costume

0:08:03.480,0:08:04.914
that covered me completely,

0:08:04.938,0:08:08.557
and I would walk the floor[br]of San Diego Comic-Con anonymously.

0:08:08.581,0:08:09.899
The costume I chose?

0:08:09.923,0:08:11.073
Hellboy.

0:08:11.493,0:08:12.644
That's not my costume,

0:08:12.668,0:08:13.819
that's actually Hellboy.

0:08:13.843,0:08:14.862
(Laughter)

0:08:14.886,0:08:16.044
But I spent months

0:08:16.068,0:08:18.908
assembling the most screen-accurate[br]Hellboy costume I could,

0:08:18.932,0:08:20.867
from the boots to the belt to the pants

0:08:20.891,0:08:22.279
to the right hand of doom.

0:08:22.303,0:08:25.694
I found a guy who made[br]a prosthetic Hellboy head and chest

0:08:25.718,0:08:27.007
and I put them on.

0:08:27.031,0:08:30.762
I even had contact lenses made[br]in my prescription.

0:08:30.786,0:08:33.116
I wore it onto the floor at Comic-Con

0:08:33.140,0:08:37.769
and I can't even tell you[br]how balls hot it was in that costume.

0:08:37.793,0:08:38.833
(Laughter)

0:08:38.857,0:08:40.892
Sweating! I should've remembered this.

0:08:40.916,0:08:43.805
I'm sweating buckets[br]and the contact lenses hurt my eyes,

0:08:43.829,0:08:47.378
and none of it matters[br]because I'm totally in love.

0:08:47.402,0:08:48.552
(Laughter)

0:08:49.066,0:08:52.629
Not just with the process of putting[br]on this costume and walking the floor,

0:08:52.653,0:08:56.232
but also with the community[br]of other costumers.

0:08:56.256,0:08:58.152
It's not called costuming at Cons,

0:08:58.176,0:09:00.002
it's called "cosplay."

0:09:00.026,0:09:02.550
Now ostensibly, cosplay means[br]people who dress up

0:09:02.574,0:09:05.137
as their favorite characters[br]from film and television

0:09:05.161,0:09:06.345
and especially anime,

0:09:06.369,0:09:09.110
but it is so much more than that.

0:09:09.134,0:09:12.195
These aren't just people[br]who find a costume and put it on --

0:09:12.219,0:09:13.616
they mash them up.

0:09:13.640,0:09:15.100
They bend them to their will.

0:09:15.124,0:09:18.916
They change them to be the characters[br]they want to be in those productions.

0:09:18.940,0:09:20.856
They're super clever and genius.

0:09:20.880,0:09:23.543
They let their freak flag fly[br]and it's beautiful.

0:09:23.567,0:09:24.606
(Laughter)

0:09:24.630,0:09:25.781
But more than that,

0:09:25.805,0:09:27.258
they rehearse their costumes.

0:09:27.282,0:09:28.758
At Comic-Con or any other Con,

0:09:28.782,0:09:31.329
you don't just take pictures[br]of people walking around.

0:09:31.353,0:09:32.508
You go up and say,

0:09:32.532,0:09:34.984
"Hey, I like your costume,[br]can I take your picture?"

0:09:35.008,0:09:37.804
And then you give them time[br]to get into their pose.

0:09:37.828,0:09:39.498
They've worked hard on their pose

0:09:39.522,0:09:42.142
to make their costume look[br]great for your camera.

0:09:42.166,0:09:44.656
And it's so beautiful to watch.

0:09:45.178,0:09:46.609
And I take this to heart.

0:09:46.633,0:09:48.139
At subsequent Cons,

0:09:48.163,0:09:52.556
I learn Heath Ledger's shambling walk[br]as the Joker from "The Dark Knight."

0:09:52.580,0:09:55.630
I learn how to be a scary Ringwraith[br]from "Lord of the Rings,"

0:09:55.654,0:09:57.715
and I actually frighten some children.

0:09:57.739,0:09:59.639
I learned that "hrr hrr hrr" --

0:09:59.663,0:10:01.800
that head laugh that Chewbacca does.

0:10:02.625,0:10:05.599
And then I dressed up as[br]No-Face from "Spirited Away."

0:10:05.623,0:10:09.074
If you don't know about "Spirited Away"[br]and its director, Hayao Miyazaki,

0:10:09.098,0:10:10.549
first of all, you're welcome.

0:10:10.573,0:10:11.723
(Laughter)

0:10:12.136,0:10:15.576
This is a masterpiece,[br]and one of my all-time favorite films.

0:10:15.600,0:10:19.943
It's about a young girl named Chihiro[br]who gets lost in the spirit world

0:10:19.967,0:10:22.300
in an abandoned Japanese theme park.

0:10:22.324,0:10:24.220
And she finds her way back out again

0:10:24.244,0:10:26.560
with the help of a couple[br]of friends she makes --

0:10:26.584,0:10:28.074
a captured dragon named Haku

0:10:28.098,0:10:30.362
and a lonely demon named No-Face.

0:10:30.386,0:10:33.256
No-Face is lonely[br]and he wants to make friends,

0:10:33.280,0:10:36.445
and he thinks the way to do it[br]is by luring them to him

0:10:36.469,0:10:38.539
and producing gold in his hand.

0:10:38.563,0:10:40.314
But this doesn't go very well,

0:10:40.338,0:10:43.155
and so he ends up going[br]on kind of a rampage

0:10:43.179,0:10:45.435
until Chihiro saves him,

0:10:45.459,0:10:46.648
rescues him.

0:10:47.081,0:10:49.616
So I put together a No-Face costume,

0:10:50.731,0:10:52.988
and I wore it on the floor at Comic-Con.

0:10:53.012,0:10:57.733
And I very carefully practiced[br]No-Face's gestures.

0:10:57.757,0:11:01.371
I resolved I would not speak[br]in this costume at all.

0:11:01.395,0:11:03.434
When people asked to take my picture,

0:11:03.458,0:11:05.083
I would nod

0:11:05.107,0:11:07.528
and I would shyly stand next to them.

0:11:07.552,0:11:09.218
They would take the picture

0:11:09.242,0:11:11.956
and then I would secret out[br]from behind my robe

0:11:11.980,0:11:13.502
a chocolate gold coin.

0:11:13.526,0:11:16.894
And at the end of the photo process,[br]I'd make it appear for them.

0:11:16.918,0:11:19.627
Ah, ah ah! -- like that.

0:11:19.651,0:11:21.034
And people were freaking out.

0:11:21.058,0:11:24.091
"Holy crap! Gold from No-Face![br]Oh my god, this is so cool!"

0:11:24.115,0:11:27.505
And I'm feeling and I'm walking[br]the floor and it's fantastic.

0:11:28.006,0:11:30.783
And about 15 minutes in something happens.

0:11:31.368,0:11:33.394
Somebody grabs my hand,

0:11:34.014,0:11:36.092
and they put a coin back into it.

0:11:36.116,0:11:39.312
And I think maybe they're giving me[br]a coin as a return gift,

0:11:39.336,0:11:41.869
but no, this is one of the coins[br]that I'd given away.

0:11:42.229,0:11:43.680
I don't know why.

0:11:43.704,0:11:45.952
And I keep on going,[br]I take some more pictures.

0:11:45.976,0:11:47.427
And then it happens again.

0:11:47.939,0:11:51.150
Understand, I can't see anything[br]inside this costume.

0:11:51.174,0:11:52.661
I can see through the mouth --

0:11:52.685,0:11:54.304
I can see people's shoes.

0:11:54.328,0:11:57.143
I can hear what they're saying[br]and I can see their feet.

0:11:57.167,0:11:59.437
But the third time someone[br]gives me back a coin,

0:11:59.461,0:12:01.119
I want to know what's going on.

0:12:01.612,0:12:04.671
So I sort of tilt my head back[br]to get a better view,

0:12:04.695,0:12:08.009
and what I see is someone walking[br]away from me going like this.

0:12:10.271,0:12:11.773
And then it hits me:

0:12:12.600,0:12:16.233
it's bad luck to take gold from No-Face.

0:12:16.257,0:12:18.169
In the film "Spirited Away,"

0:12:18.193,0:12:21.590
bad luck befalls those[br]who take gold from No-Face.

0:12:22.351,0:12:28.609
This isn't a performer-audience[br]relationship; this is cosplay.

0:12:29.855,0:12:32.068
We are, all of us on that floor,

0:12:32.092,0:12:35.425
injecting ourselves into a narrative[br]that meant something to us.

0:12:35.763,0:12:37.608
And we're making it our own.

0:12:37.632,0:12:41.732
We're connecting with something[br]important inside of us.

0:12:42.333,0:12:46.092
And the costumes[br]are how we reveal ourselves

0:12:46.116,0:12:47.299
to each other.

0:12:47.984,0:12:49.140
Thank you.

0:12:49.164,0:12:54.594
(Applause)