Hoq do poeple from Myth busters go about organizing and performing their experiments?

Answer 1

- First they determine what myths they are going to use, based on if they can prove it or not in some fashion.
- Then they do some research to see if the myth has been done, and by who when and where.
- Then they determine the budget and the shooting schedule.

If the myth can be tested under these constraints then they need to figure out how to make it exciting television.

Then they look at the science behind the testing methods they plot out a plan to follow usually starting with small scale proof of concept tests and then they continue until they have tested the actual circumstances of the myth. Then they make their determination on which myths will be put on the shooting schedule and their order.

Over 50% of the show happens before it even reaches the filming stage. The hard part is finding which myth they can test, which myth needs to be tested and which myth is worth testing. They do actually have a good staff of researchers who do a lot of this work for them and they have a college professor who is an expert on urban legends and myths. She probably has her department and students handle some of the research.

Scheduling has to work around Jamie’s own work schedule, after all he is a special effect creator, the show is just a side line and when it loses popularity he has to keep his main line of work. Adam is his employee/almost partner; the shop is clearly owned by Jamie, but Adam has been working with him for a long time and Jamie needs his fabrication skills. He likes the typical Adam Savage design; simple, maybe brute force, and reliable; most of the time. Jamie can handle the tools, but you notice that Adam does the bulk of the work and all the fine and complex work.

I don’t know about the life of the Grant, Kerry, and Tory. They were hired for the show, but Grant at least had prior experience and his electronic knowledge is probably something that Jamie relies on for his special effects work. All of them are far from amateurs and fools, it is clear that they know the science or have at least been taught it very well.

They have a lot of interns and low rank staff members who do the background work, but the staff you see on the show does a good deal of the actual construction. They are given a time frame and a budget and this includes shopping, construction, and testing. Once they start filming they hope that they can use it, but a lot of the footage is edited out; who wants to see Jamie cutting wood for an hour. They also need to compress the time it takes do the work for the show.

They have to be careful to not make any references or show anything that will date the show or lock it into any specific time frame. They must also stay off controversial stories and take care not to offend any companies. The only brand name they have used is Mentos, but the myth was that specific. Otherwise they use “Mythbuster Brand” products and generic names like soda instead of coke.

One important thing they stress is safety. They even tested their so called bullet proof shields to see just how safe they are. That’s why when it came time to blow up the old concrete truck they did it from five miles away. Jamie has had a checkered career as a dive instructor and in several others all of which he brings to the mix and many of which have their own safety rules and procedures that he brings to the show.

The filming is done live at the time and later edited and compiled into a show. One season is filmed then it goes to post production and editing and won’t reach the air until the next television season. Each segment is filmed separately and some are going on at the same time. Like when they tested the moss can’t grow on a rolling stone myth; it was the record for the longest time spent on a myth. The how do plants respond to sound and music myth had to be restarted because their irrigation system broke and it didn’t take a few days to grow those plants it took at least two months. In the mean time they are doing work for the other myths planned for the year.

They seem to start work in the fall and wrap up the season in spring. Since M5 is a contractor who is only hired when needed and they work and are only paid by the job they can’t turn down work and must always keep the shop open to new projects. Those projects are what pays the rent and stocks the shop, at least until the show became so popular.

What drives the show now seems to be the fans, because they are the source for most of the myths that they test. At least the fans give them a trail to start looking on, some leads and they do the early research for the show for free.

The key facts for each experiment are:
- Can it be tested and how, is it practical, possible, and worth doing.
- Can they do the testing in the time frame and for the budget allowed by the shooting schedule?
- They need to schedule the trips to get supplies and for the location shoots. They have a standing agreement with a High School for their pool, the Alameda Navy Base and they have a lot of fans who offer them equipment, and even locations. They work with ex-FBI agents and a gun range for their explosive and weapons work.

Answer 2

They go about it just as a scientist would the scientific method. First:

-They do alittle research on the myth they want to do, recognize the problem, and form a research question like "Can a dog always find its trail?"

-Then they form a hypothesis, which is an educated guess "It will vary based on its environment."

-Now comes time for the actual experiment which they list the procedure

1) A
2) B
3) C

......and so forth until they perform the whole experiment. Then after they record all the data and make a theory (which explains why they think the data is like this). Then comes the conclusion, wrapping up what they did. And the show then broadcasts on your TV!

Answer 3

I have a few myths to bust, but they have nothing to do with Chuck Norris.