Ask Adam Savage - The 'One Day Build' Concept

### The Origin and Philosophy Behind One Day Builds: A Deep Dive with Ben Campbell

#### Introduction

Ben Campbell, the mastermind behind the popular "One Day Builds" series, sat down to discuss the origins of his groundbreaking project series. Known for his rapid problem-solving skills and ability to complete intricate builds in a single day, Ben shared insights into how it all began, his unique approach to preparation, and the challenges he faces in balancing creativity with the demands of filming.

#### The Birth of One Day Builds

The concept of "One Day Builds" emerged from a casual conversation between Ben and his colleague Tom Sacks. During their chat, Ben expressed his desire to create a case for his beloved Blade Runner blaster. On a whim, he suggested they could complete the project in just one day. What followed was nothing short of extraordinary—Ben successfully built the case in a single day, finishing at 9:30 PM. This achievement marked the inception of the "One Day Builds" series, which has since become a celebrated showcase of Ben's speed and precision.

#### Influences from Commercial Television

Ben's unique skill set stems from his early career in commercial television. From 1993 to 1997, he worked on over 100 commercials with Jamie Heinemann, where he honed his ability to work quickly under pressure. In this high-stakes environment, he learned to think on his feet, solve problems rapidly, and deliver results within tight deadlines. These experiences shaped Ben into a "speed machine," a title he wears with pride.

#### Preparation for One Day Builds

Ben's approach to preparing for a one-day build is as deliberate as it is unique. He seeks projects that will allow him to hit familiar snags and demonstrate problem-solving in real-time, all while keeping the audience engaged. However, not every project makes it onto camera. Ben often builds off-camera when he needs mental space to tackle complex challenges without the distraction of filming.

One such example was the oxy-acetylene cart he built recently. Despite knowing its basic structure, Ben chose to work on it off-camera, allowing himself the freedom to figure out the intricacies organically. He emphasizes that this approach is essential for maintaining his focus and creativity, even if it means missing opportunities to capture those moments on film.

#### Challenges of Estimating Time

While Ben's rapid-fire problem-solving skills are impressive, estimating time remains a constant challenge. Drawing parallels to his days in television production, where每一分钟的超时都会带来高昂的成本, he jokes that the pressure is slightly less intense in web content creation. However, the inability to precisely estimate time is something he still grapples with, even years into the craft.

#### Filming Considerations

Ben's philosophy on filming is as nuanced as his approach to building. While he feels most comfortable and authentic when working alone in front of the camera, he acknowledges the value of collaborating with experienced videographers like Joey or Cameron from MythBusters. Yet, there’s a palpable difference between being alone in the workshop and having a crew present, especially when deep into problem-solving mode.

#### The Joy of Building Off-Camera

Despite his preference for on-camera builds, Ben admits to feeling guilty about building projects off-camera. He recognizes the value of capturing the struggle and triumphs of problem-solving on film, which he believes is always useful and even delightful for audiences. However, there are projects, particularly those involving machining tools like mills and lathes, where the joy of creation is too personal to share in real-time. These builds become a meditative exercise, allowing him to fully immerse himself in the process without the distraction of filming.

#### Conclusion

Ben Campbell's journey from commercial television to "One Day Builds" has been nothing short of remarkable. His ability to distill years of experience into a single day’s work is a testament to his skill and determination. As he continues to push boundaries, experimenting with new projects and refining his craft, one thing remains clear: the passion for building runs deep, even when the camera isn’t rolling.

Thank you for joining Ben on this insightful journey into the world of One Day Builds. If you’d like to support him further, consider becoming a Tested member. Details can be found below, offering perks like behind-the-scenes photos, advanced updates, and exclusive videos. Until next time, keep those creative sparks flying!

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enben campbell says can you tell us about the origin of one day builds what are some of the earliest projects uh do wives thank you for consistently busting the myth that house projects can't be completed in a day i don't love those jokes ben um the origin of one day builds is that in when was the first one was it 12 2012 we were chatting and about stuff that we could build and i was like you know i've been wanting to make a case for my blade runner blaster and i could probably do that in a day oh that's actually yeah and then i thought right i've got a skill i'm fast i can yeah let's let's call this series one day builds it was that simple yeah enormous agreeing it was that simple and then astoundingly i built that blade runner blaster case in one day it was like we finished like 9 30 at night but that was absolutely the first case that was the first that was the first one they built and it's born out of the fact that as a model maker my training came from commercial television first so from like 1993 to 1997 or so i worked on about a hundred some odd commercials with jamie heinemann in his shop and that kind of work hones you into a speed machine as a maker you know you have hours to finish something not days not weeks you don't have a team it's you and like a glue gun and there's a whole crew waiting and they cost ten thousand dollars a minute um it's not quite that bad but it's close to that bad uh so my skill base comes from rapid iteration rapid problem solving and i thought that's a great frame for a build series and really early on we discovered that all the one day builds go over one day every single one and what's what's so funny because a few of you asked me questions in here about my self-proclaimed superpower of like knowing how much i could get done in a day and what's funny is i still think of that as one of my supervisors when producing television but somehow when producing web content i can't estimate exactly how much time anything takes it's really seriously true um yeah the blade runner blaster case was by was the first one day built we'll include a link in the comments um that was the first thing tom sacks and i talked about when we were first chatting he was like dude i really love that piece uh david a projects by david a moody projects by david a moody asks how do you prepare for a one-day build are you locked into a plan are you still around room for improvisation i yeah okay so let's see here yeah i i want to cover the stuff i shoot on cam because there's another couple of questions where people like you shouldn't feel guilty about building stuff off camera because i do say i often feel guilty about building stuff off camera um i prepare myself for a one-day build i'm looking for a specific kind of building experience in which i can hit familiar snags and move past them in ways that are useful for my audience that's the goal it never is quite perfectly achieved but that's the goal there are one of the reasons i build stuff off camera is because there are certain kinds of problem solving that i need a little more mental space to do and having the camera set up takes away some of that mental space because i'm thinking about the storytelling and not to say and it might be very different if i had a full-time crew in here covering everything that i was doing but again frankly even having a crew in the in the room can be the wrong kind of energy when i'm trying to just sort of figure out how to make something it's so the the uh oxy acetylene cart that i built last week is a terrific example i knew the basic structure but i also knew i kind of really wanted to figure this out organically and my body just knew i didn't want to film it so i didn't um but you asked how i prepare for a one-day build not how i reject one so i look for a set of tasks that are going to be fun to execute i don't mind hitting snags when i'm doing those it used to be that i'd send these guys out of the room when i hit a snag i stopped doing that a while ago um because you know that's like sometimes you hit a snag you're like ah i need to reset okay everyone can everyone just give me the room for half an hour and sit and you think about it and sometimes you're like i wish i wasn't stupid and then you kind of figure it out and okay everyone come on back and you sort of delve back into it um actually frankly filming myself alone is so great for that because i feel like i can have genuine moments with the audience through the camera because i'm alone and i can't quite replicate that same thing when someone's filming me even like you know someone i'm as familiar with as joey or my old cameron saw cameraman saws from mythbusters i mean like both of those guys have been filming with them for years and i'm so comfortable around them and yet still there's like this there's like a difference of being alone in this space and and filming with another person so um it's different for every build except that as i embark on a one-day build i have a certain bird's-eye view of it that i understand and i can't go into a build until i have that specific bird's-eye view so i like right around the corner here i've got like three things in boxes set up for potentially soon one day builds but they haven't quite hit that sweet spot of my mental frame yet and until they do i i i can't do it um and you know someone else where's the person that forgives me for building stuff off camera i want to thank them because it's very sweet um uh look one of the reasons i feel guilty when i build stuff off camera is because i'd love all of my surmounting of problems to end up on camera i think that's always useful i think it's great to watch people screw up i think it's delightful to watch people actually solve problems to watch the i look i watch my own videos to see how we're doing and i there are times i'm like huh i laugh at my own jokes or i'm thrilled at my own enthusiasm over something because it's so real ooh packages um and you know i some frequently i finish a build off camera and i think oh that would be so good that would be so good to show there's another reason i shoot stuff off camera and sometimes it's just that i want the pleasure so there are often machining projects i'm working on one right now which i think i will cover pieces of as built but the overall aspect of it uh it's just a chance for me to kind of like get into that headspace of the mill that's really like the mill and the lathe are two tools in which sometimes i just do builds on them because it's so pleasurable to spend like two whole days just diving into the zeros and making stuff work really well thank you so much for watching if you'd like to support us even further you can by becoming a tested member uh details are of course below but it includes all sorts of perks and we're building them all the time you get advanced word and behind the scenes photos of some of our projects questions you get to ask direct questions during my live streams and we have some members only videos including the adam real time series of unbroken unedited shots of me working here in the shop they are weirdly meditative thank you guys so much i'll see you on the next oneben campbell says can you tell us about the origin of one day builds what are some of the earliest projects uh do wives thank you for consistently busting the myth that house projects can't be completed in a day i don't love those jokes ben um the origin of one day builds is that in when was the first one was it 12 2012 we were chatting and about stuff that we could build and i was like you know i've been wanting to make a case for my blade runner blaster and i could probably do that in a day oh that's actually yeah and then i thought right i've got a skill i'm fast i can yeah let's let's call this series one day builds it was that simple yeah enormous agreeing it was that simple and then astoundingly i built that blade runner blaster case in one day it was like we finished like 9 30 at night but that was absolutely the first case that was the first that was the first one they built and it's born out of the fact that as a model maker my training came from commercial television first so from like 1993 to 1997 or so i worked on about a hundred some odd commercials with jamie heinemann in his shop and that kind of work hones you into a speed machine as a maker you know you have hours to finish something not days not weeks you don't have a team it's you and like a glue gun and there's a whole crew waiting and they cost ten thousand dollars a minute um it's not quite that bad but it's close to that bad uh so my skill base comes from rapid iteration rapid problem solving and i thought that's a great frame for a build series and really early on we discovered that all the one day builds go over one day every single one and what's what's so funny because a few of you asked me questions in here about my self-proclaimed superpower of like knowing how much i could get done in a day and what's funny is i still think of that as one of my supervisors when producing television but somehow when producing web content i can't estimate exactly how much time anything takes it's really seriously true um yeah the blade runner blaster case was by was the first one day built we'll include a link in the comments um that was the first thing tom sacks and i talked about when we were first chatting he was like dude i really love that piece uh david a projects by david a moody projects by david a moody asks how do you prepare for a one-day build are you locked into a plan are you still around room for improvisation i yeah okay so let's see here yeah i i want to cover the stuff i shoot on cam because there's another couple of questions where people like you shouldn't feel guilty about building stuff off camera because i do say i often feel guilty about building stuff off camera um i prepare myself for a one-day build i'm looking for a specific kind of building experience in which i can hit familiar snags and move past them in ways that are useful for my audience that's the goal it never is quite perfectly achieved but that's the goal there are one of the reasons i build stuff off camera is because there are certain kinds of problem solving that i need a little more mental space to do and having the camera set up takes away some of that mental space because i'm thinking about the storytelling and not to say and it might be very different if i had a full-time crew in here covering everything that i was doing but again frankly even having a crew in the in the room can be the wrong kind of energy when i'm trying to just sort of figure out how to make something it's so the the uh oxy acetylene cart that i built last week is a terrific example i knew the basic structure but i also knew i kind of really wanted to figure this out organically and my body just knew i didn't want to film it so i didn't um but you asked how i prepare for a one-day build not how i reject one so i look for a set of tasks that are going to be fun to execute i don't mind hitting snags when i'm doing those it used to be that i'd send these guys out of the room when i hit a snag i stopped doing that a while ago um because you know that's like sometimes you hit a snag you're like ah i need to reset okay everyone can everyone just give me the room for half an hour and sit and you think about it and sometimes you're like i wish i wasn't stupid and then you kind of figure it out and okay everyone come on back and you sort of delve back into it um actually frankly filming myself alone is so great for that because i feel like i can have genuine moments with the audience through the camera because i'm alone and i can't quite replicate that same thing when someone's filming me even like you know someone i'm as familiar with as joey or my old cameron saw cameraman saws from mythbusters i mean like both of those guys have been filming with them for years and i'm so comfortable around them and yet still there's like this there's like a difference of being alone in this space and and filming with another person so um it's different for every build except that as i embark on a one-day build i have a certain bird's-eye view of it that i understand and i can't go into a build until i have that specific bird's-eye view so i like right around the corner here i've got like three things in boxes set up for potentially soon one day builds but they haven't quite hit that sweet spot of my mental frame yet and until they do i i i can't do it um and you know someone else where's the person that forgives me for building stuff off camera i want to thank them because it's very sweet um uh look one of the reasons i feel guilty when i build stuff off camera is because i'd love all of my surmounting of problems to end up on camera i think that's always useful i think it's great to watch people screw up i think it's delightful to watch people actually solve problems to watch the i look i watch my own videos to see how we're doing and i there are times i'm like huh i laugh at my own jokes or i'm thrilled at my own enthusiasm over something because it's so real ooh packages um and you know i some frequently i finish a build off camera and i think oh that would be so good that would be so good to show there's another reason i shoot stuff off camera and sometimes it's just that i want the pleasure so there are often machining projects i'm working on one right now which i think i will cover pieces of as built but the overall aspect of it uh it's just a chance for me to kind of like get into that headspace of the mill that's really like the mill and the lathe are two tools in which sometimes i just do builds on them because it's so pleasurable to spend like two whole days just diving into the zeros and making stuff work really well thank you so much for watching if you'd like to support us even further you can by becoming a tested member uh details are of course below but it includes all sorts of perks and we're building them all the time you get advanced word and behind the scenes photos of some of our projects questions you get to ask direct questions during my live streams and we have some members only videos including the adam real time series of unbroken unedited shots of me working here in the shop they are weirdly meditative thank you guys so much i'll see you on the next one\n"