M5 Industries


M5 Industries (M5) is a special effects company located in San Francisco, California, best known as the working lab of the TV series MythBusters. Founded in 1996 by Jamie Hyneman, it specialized in producing props for movies and television. It is now a research and development firm.

M5 Industries, Inc.
IndustryMotion picture support services
GenreVisual Effects
Foundedc. 1996
FounderJamie Hyneman
Headquarters1268 Missouri Street,
San Francisco, California
,
U.S.
Services
  • Research and development
  • Custom fabrication and testing
  • MythBusters
OwnerJamie Hyneman
WebsiteOfficial website

History

In 1996,[lower-alpha 1] Jamie Hyneman took over the Colossal Pictures workshop, using it to establish M5 Industries.[1][2][3] The company originally produced special effects props for film, including animatronic puppets, such as those seen in James and the Giant Peach and The Nightmare Before Christmas. M5 Industries has produced special effects for many commercials, such as a motorized 7 Up soft drink vending machine that shoots soda cans at people and a remote-controlled shoe for Nike.

The facilities were used extensively for the production of the television show MythBusters, with the M5 Industries workshop used as the primary shooting location for the first season. During the second season, when a second team of MythBusters was introduced, a second space located at 2200 Jerrold Avenue in San Francisco,[lower-alpha 2] dubbed "M6" was leased for them.[2][4][5] Many of the people who appear on MythBusters were originally employees of M5, notably Kari Byron.

Since the end of production for Mythbusters, the company no longer does special effects for movies and television, now focusing on research and development.[6] The workshop does not offer tours or allow visits from the public because of insurance issues.[7]

Name

The company's name was suggested by Adam Savage. He intended to suggest the name of either the branch of the British secret service which built gadgets in James Bond fiction (Q Branch) or British secret service itself (MI6), but was mistaken as to the correct name, and suggested M5. Savage alleges that Hyneman never paid him the promised $50 prize for having his suggestion selected.[1]

Grant Imahara also explained that he asked Jamie Hyneman what the "M" stood for in M5 to which he replied "Movies, Monsters, Mechanics, Machining..." and Imahara was thinking that the final M comically stood for Mustache.[8] M5 Industries website from 2000 says "M5 stands for Models, Machines, Miniatures, Manufacturing... and yes, at least a little bit of Magic."[9]


References
  1. "Transcript of Jamie and Adam's Nov. 10, 2004, Online Chat," pg. 5 Retrieved 11 October 2006.
  2. http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/mythbusters3.htm "MythBusters" Shop: M5 Industries, HowStuffWorks
  3. "Jamie Hyneman". MythBusters: Jamie and Adam Unleashed. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  4. A day with the 'MythBusters' Retrieved 7 March 2008
  5. Jamie Hyneman Answers Fan Questions. Published 22 April 2007. Retrieved 7 March 2008 Archived 27 April 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  6. "M5 Industries, Inc". web.archive.org. 29 July 2019. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
  7. Retrieved 27 July 2010
  8. Grant Imahara speaks at University of Alabama in Huntsville April 2011 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0c_E0nxLulE
  9. "M5 Industries – Portfolio". m5industries.com. Archived from the original on 11 January 2001. Retrieved 29 March 2016.

Notes
  1. M5 was noted as being founded about 15 years before a 2011 episode of MythBusters "Location, Location, Location", MythBusters (Episode SP6 "Location, Location, Location"), 9 November 2011
  2. Located at 37°44′47.5″N 122°23′52.6″W

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