M5 Industries (M5) is a special effects company in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, best known as the working lab of the TV series ''

MythBusters ''MythBusters'' is a science entertainment television series created by Peter Rees (producer), Peter Rees and produced by Beyond International in Australia. The series premiered on the Discovery Channel on January 23, 2003. It was broadcast in ...

''. Founded in 1997 by

Jamie Hyneman James Franklin Hyneman (; born September 25, 1956) is an American special effects expert who was co-host of the television series ''MythBusters'' alongside Adam Savage, where he became known for his distinctive beret and walrus moustache. He ...

, it specialized in producing props for

movies A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, since ...

and

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

. Following the conclusion of filming the ''Mythbusters'' series, it became a

research and development Research and development (R&D or R+D), known in some countries as OKB, experiment and design, is the set of innovative activities undertaken by corporations or governments in developing new services or products. R&D constitutes the first stage ...

firm.

History

In 1997, Jamie Hyneman took over the

Colossal Pictures Colossal Pictures (also styled as (Colossal) Pictures or (C)P) was an American entertainment company that developed and produced television programming, advertising, network branding, and visual effects. Colossal's work has won every major indus ...

workshop, using it to establish M5 Industries.http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/mythbusters3.htm "MythBusters" Shop: M5 Industries, HowStuffWorks The company originally produced

special effect Special effects (often abbreviated as F/X or simply FX) are illusions or visual tricks used in the theatre, film, television, video game, amusement park and simulator industries to simulate the fictional events in a story or virtual world. ...

s props for film, including

animatronic An animatronic is a puppet controlled electronically to move in a fluent way. Animatronics are the modern adaptation of the automaton and are often used for the portrayal of characters in films, video games and in theme park attractions. Anim ...

puppet A puppet is an object, often resembling a human, animal or Legendary creature, mythical figure, that is animated or manipulated by a person called a puppeteer. Puppetry is an ancient form of theatre which dates back to the 5th century BC in anci ...

s, such as those seen in ''

James and the Giant Peach ''James and the Giant Peach'' is a children's novel written in 1961 by British author Roald Dahl. The first edition, published by Alfred Knopf, featured illustrations by Nancy Ekholm Burkert. There have been re-illustrated versions of it over ...

'' and ''

The Nightmare Before Christmas ''The Nightmare Before Christmas'' (formerly known as ''Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas'') is a 1993 American stop motion Animation, animated Gothic film, gothic musical film, musical fantasy film directed by Henry Selick in his f ...

''. M5 Industries has produced special effects for many commercials, such as a motorized

7 Up 7 Up (stylized as 7UP worldwide) or Seven Up is an American brand of Lemon-lime drink, lemon-lime–flavored non-caffeinated soft drink. The brand and formula are owned by Keurig Dr Pepper, although the beverage is internationally distributed ...

soft drink vending machine that shoots soda cans at people and a remote-controlled shoe for

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine giv ...

. 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, dubbed "M7" was leased for them. Many of the people who appear on ''MythBusters'' were originally employees of M5, notably

Kari Byron Kari Elizabeth Byron (born December 18, 1974) is an American television host, best known for her role on the ''MythBusters'' and '' White Rabbit Project'' series. Byron was born in the Bay Area, California and graduated from San Francisco Stat ...

and

Tory Belleci Salvatore Paul Belleci ( ; born October 30, 1970) is an American television personality and model maker, best known for his work on the Discovery Channel television program ''MythBusters''. He has also worked with Industrial Light and Magic on fi ...

. Since the end of production for Mythbusters, the company no longer does special effects for movies and television, now focusing on research and development, such as engineering a tank which can be used to fight wildfires. The workshop does not offer tours or allow visits from the public because of insurance issues.

Name

The company's name was suggested by

Adam Savage Adam Whitney Savage (born July 15, 1967) is an American special effects designer and manufacturer, fabricator, actor, educator, television personality, and producer, best known as the former co-host, with Jamie Hyneman, of the Discovery Channe ...

. He intended to suggest the name of either the branch of the British secret service which built gadgets in

James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...

fiction ( Q Branch) or British secret service itself (

MI6 The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), commonly known as MI6 ( Military Intelligence, Section 6), is the foreign intelligence service of the United Kingdom, tasked mainly with the covert overseas collection and analysis of human intelligenc ...

), 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.

Grant Imahara Grant Masaru Imahara (October 23, 1970 – July 13, 2020) was an American electrical engineer, roboticist, and television host. He was best known for his work on the television series ''MythBusters'', on which he designed, built, and opera ...

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. M5 Industries' website from 2000 says "M5 stands for Models, Machines, Miniatures, Manufacturing... and yes, at least a little bit of Magic."

References

Notes

External links

* {{Authority control Animatronics companies Companies based in San Francisco American companies established in 1997 1997 establishments in California MythBusters Special effects companies