ABOUT THE SPEAKER
David Hoffman - Filmmaker
In David Hoffman's long film career, he's made documentaries on everything from Amelia Earhardt to B.B. King, from double-dutch jump-roping to F-15 fighter pilots. Lately he's been fascinated with the early space program and our mania for all things Sputnik.

Why you should listen

Documentary filmmaker David Hoffman has been capturing reality for almost 4 decades, following his wide-ranging interests and turning them into films for PBS, The Discovery Channel, A&E, National Geographic. Highlights from his career include the groundbreaking experimental doc King, Murray, which blurred boundaries between truth and fiction as it tracks its subject through a debauched weekend in Las Vegas; A Day With Filmmaker Timmy Page, about a 12-year-old auteur; and his series of films on American indigenous music.

Lately, he has become fascinated with the Atomic-era Space Race, turning out a feature-length documentary about the Sputnik era. Sputnik Mania was scored by Thomas Dolby and has played at festivals and theaters around the country.

Hoffman suffered a devastating setback in early 2008 when, nine days before TED2008, his home, containing a vast archive from his long and fascinating career, burnt to the ground. His next project: to reframe his life and rebuild.

More profile about the speaker
David Hoffman | Speaker | TED.com
TED2008

David Hoffman: What happens when you lose everything

David Hoffman o tome kako je izgubiti sve

Filmed:
1,155,400 views

Devet dana prije TED2008, redatelj David Hoffman izgubio je skoro sve što je posjedovao u požaru koji mu je uništio kuću, ured i 30 godina strastvenog kolekcionarstva. Gleda unatrag na život koji je u trenutku uništen – i s optimizmom gleda u budućnost.
- Filmmaker
In David Hoffman's long film career, he's made documentaries on everything from Amelia Earhardt to B.B. King, from double-dutch jump-roping to F-15 fighter pilots. Lately he's been fascinated with the early space program and our mania for all things Sputnik. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:19
I had a firevatra ninedevet daysdana agoprije.
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Zadesio me požar prije devet dana.
00:23
My archiveArhiva:
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Moja arhiva...
00:25
175 filmsfilmovi, my 16-millimeter-mm negativenegativan,
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175 filmova, moji 16-mm negativi,
00:28
all my booksknjige, my dad'stata booksknjige, my photographsfotografije.
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sve moje knjige, knjige moga oca,
00:31
I'd collectedprikupljeni --
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moje fotografije... Ja sam sakupljao...
00:33
I was a collectorkolektor, majorglavni, big-timeveliki.
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bio sam veliki sakupljač...
00:35
It's goneotišao.
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sada toga više nema.
00:38
I just lookedgledao at it,
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Gledao sam u to
00:40
and I didn't know what to do.
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i nisam znao što učiniti.
00:43
I mean, this was --
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Mislim, to je bilo...
00:45
was I my things?
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jesam li ja bio moje stvari?
00:48
I always liveživjeti in the presentpredstaviti -- I love the presentpredstaviti.
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Uvijek živim u sadašnjosti – volim sadašnjost.
00:51
I cherishnjegovati the futurebudućnost.
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Radujem se budućnosti.
00:54
And I was taughtučio some strangečudan thing as a kiddijete,
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I kao dijete učili su me neke čudne stvari, poput:
00:57
like, you've got to make something good out of something badloše.
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moraš napraviti nešto dobro iz nečega lošeg.
00:59
You've got to make something good out of something badloše.
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Moraš napraviti nešto dobro iz nečega lošeg.
01:01
This was badloše! Man, I was --
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Ovo je bilo loše, čovječe!
01:03
I coughkašalj. I was sickbolestan.
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Kašljao sam. Bio sam bolestan.
01:05
That's my camerafotoaparat lensleće. The first one --
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To su leće moje kamere. Moja prva –
01:07
the one I shotšut my BobBob DylanDylan filmfilm with 35 yearsgodina agoprije.
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ona s kojom sam snimao film o Bob Dylanu prije 35 godina.
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That's my featuresvojstvo filmfilm. "KingKralj, MurrayMurray"
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Ovo je moj cjelovečernji film "Kralj, Murray"
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wonwon CannesCannes FilmFilm FestivalFestivala 1970 --
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nagrađen 1970. na filmskom festivalu u Cannesu –
01:14
the only printotisak I had.
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jedina kopija koju sam imao.
01:17
That's my papersnovine.
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Ovo su moji papiri.
01:19
That was in minutesminuta -- 20 minutesminuta.
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To se dogodilo u 20 minuta.
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EpiphanySveta tri kralja hithit me. Something hithit me.
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Imao sam otkrivenje. Nešto mi je došlo.
01:23
"You've got to make something good out of something badloše,"
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"Moraš napraviti nešto dobro iz nečeg lošeg,"
01:27
I startedpočeo to say to my friendsprijatelji, neighborsSusjedi, my sistersestra.
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počeo sam govoriti svojim prijateljima, susjedima, sestri...
01:29
By the way, that's "SputnikSputnik." I ranran it last yeargodina.
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Inače, ovo je "Sputnik", prikazan prošle godine.
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"SputnikSputnik" was downtownu centru grada, the negativenegativan. It wasn'tnije touchedganut.
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"Sputnik" je bio u centru, negativ. Netaknut je.
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These are some pieceskomada of things I used in my SputnikSputnik featuresvojstvo filmfilm,
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Ovo su neki dijelovi stvari koje sam koristio u filmu Sputnik,
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whichkoji opensotvara in NewNovi YorkYork in two weeksTjedni
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koji se počinje prikazivati u New Yorku
01:40
downtownu centru grada.
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...u centru.
01:44
I calledzvao my sistersestra. I calledzvao my neighborsSusjedi. I said, "Come digkopati."
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Nazvao sam sestru, nazvao sam susjede, rekao sam "Dođite kopati."
01:46
That's me at my deskstol.
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Ovo sam ja uz svoj stol.
01:50
That was a deskstol tookuzeo 40-some-Neki yearsgodina to buildizgraditi.
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Taj stol se gradio 40 godina.
01:52
You know -- all the stuffstvari.
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Znate – sve stvari.
01:54
That's my daughterkći, JeanJean.
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Ovo je moja kći, Jean.
01:56
She camedošao. She's a nursemedicinska sestra in SanSan FranciscoFrancisco.
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Došla je. Ona je medicinska sestra u San Franciscu.
01:58
"DigKopati it up," I said. "PiecesKomada.
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"Iskopajte," rekao sam. "dijelove.
02:00
I want pieceskomada. BitsBitova and pieceskomada."
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želim dijelove, komadiće i dijelove."
02:02
I camedošao up with this ideaideja: a life of bitskomadići and pieceskomada,
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Došao sam na ideju: život u komadićima i dijelovima,
02:05
whichkoji I'm just startingpolazeći to work on -- my nextSljedeći projectprojekt.
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na kojoj tek počinjem raditi – to je moj novi projekt.
02:07
That's my sistersestra. She tookuzeo carebriga of picturesSlike,
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Ovo je moja sestra. Ona se pobrinula za slike,
02:10
because I was a bigvelika collectorkolektor of snapshotsnimak photographyfotografija
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zato što sam bio veliki kolekcionar fotografija
02:13
that I believedvjerovao said a lot.
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za koje sam vjerovao da puno govore.
02:15
And those are some of the picturesSlike that --
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I ovo su neke od slika...
02:17
something was good about the burntizgorio picturesSlike.
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nešto je bilo dobro u izgorenim slikama.
02:19
I didn't know. I lookedgledao at that --
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Nisam znao. Pogledao sam to i
02:21
I said, "WowSjajna osoba, is that better than the --"
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rekao, "Wow, je li to bolje nego..."
02:23
That's my proposalprijedlog on JimmyJimmy DoolittleDoolittle. I madenapravljen that moviefilm for televisiontelevizija.
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Ovo je moj prijedlog za film Jimmy Doolittle. Napravio sam ga za televiziju.
02:25
It's the only copykopirati I had. PiecesKomada of it.
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To je bila jedina kopija koju sam imao – dijelovi toga.
02:29
IdeaIdeja about womenžene.
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Ideja o ženama.
02:31
So I startedpočeo to say, "Hey, man, you are too much!
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Počeo sam govoriti "Čovječe, previše je!
02:34
You could cryplakati about this." I really didn't.
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Mogao bih plakati zbog ovoga." Ali zbilja nisam.
02:37
I just insteadumjesto said,
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Umjesto toga sam rekao,
02:39
"I'm going to make something out of it, and maybe nextSljedeći yeargodina ... "
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"Nešto ću napraviti iz ovoga, možda sljedeće godine..."
02:41
And I appreciatecijeniti this momenttrenutak
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I cijenim ovaj trenutak
02:43
to come up on this stagefaza with so manymnogi people
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izlaska na pozornicu sa toliko ljudi
02:45
who'vekoji su alreadyveć givendan me so much solaceutjehu,
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koji su mi dali toliko utjehe,
02:48
and just say to TEDstersTEDsters:
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i rekao bih TEDstersima:
02:50
I'm proudponos of me. That I take something badloše,
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Ponosan sam na sebe. Zbog toga što sam uzeo nešto loše,
02:53
I turnskretanje it, and I'm going to make something good out of this,
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preokrenuo to, i napravit ću nešto dobro iz toga,
02:55
all these pieceskomada.
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svih ovih dijelova.
02:57
That's ArthurArthur Leipzig'sLeipzig je originalizvornik photographfotografirati I lovedvoljen.
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Ovo je originalna fotografija Arthura Leipziga koju sam volio.
03:00
I was a bigvelika recordsnimiti collectorkolektor --
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Bio sam veliki sakupljač ploča...
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the recordsploče didn't make it. BoyDječak, I tell you,
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ploče nisu preživjele. Kažem vam...
03:04
filmfilm burnsopekline. FilmFilm burnsopekline.
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film gori, film gori!
03:07
I mean, this was 16-millimeter-mm safetysigurnosni filmfilm.
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Ovo je bio 16mm sigurnosni film.
03:09
The negativesnegative are goneotišao.
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Negativi su nestali.
03:12
That's my father'soca letterpismo to me, tellingreći me to
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To je pismo mogao oca u kojem mi govori
03:14
marryoženiti the womanžena I first marriedoženjen when I was 20.
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da se oženim za svoju prvu ženu kad mi je bilo 20 godina.
03:18
That's my daughterkći and me.
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Ovo smo moja kćer i ja.
03:22
She's still there. She's there this morningjutro, actuallyzapravo.
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Ona je još uvijek tamo. Ona je i jutros tamo, zapravo.
03:24
That's my housekuća.
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Ovo je moja kuća.
03:26
My family'sobitelj livingživot in the HiltonHilton HotelHotel in ScottsScotts ValleyDolina.
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Moja obitelj živi u hotelu Hilton u Scotts Valleyu.
03:29
That's my wifežena, HeidiHeidi,
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To je moja žena, Heidi,
03:31
who didn't take it as well as I did.
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koja to nije primila tako dobro kao ja.
03:34
My childrendjeca, DaveyDavey and HenryHenry.
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Moja djeca, Davey i Henry.
03:37
My sonsin, DaveyDavey, in the hotelhotel two nightsnoću agoprije.
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Moj sin, Davey, u hotelu prije dvije noći.
03:41
So, my messageporuka to you folksljudi,
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Dakle, moja poruka vama,
03:43
from my threetri minutesminuta, is that I appreciatecijeniti the chanceprilika
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u ove moje tri minute, jest da cijenim priliku
03:46
to sharePodjeli this with you. I will be back. I love beingbiće at TEDTED.
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što mogu ovo podijeliti s vama. Vratit ću se. Volim biti na TED-u.
03:49
I camedošao to liveživjeti it, and I am livingživot it.
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Došao sam živjeti to, i živim.
03:52
That's my viewpogled from my windowprozor outsideizvan of SantaDjed Mraz CruzCruz, in BonnyAna DoonDoon,
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To je pogled s mog prozora izvan Santa Cruza, u Bonny Doon,
03:55
just 35 milesmilja from here.
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samo 56 kilometara odavde.
03:58
Thank you everybodysvi.
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Hvala svima.
04:00
(ApplausePljesak)
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(pljesak)
Translated by Romana Perković
Reviewed by Nenad Maljković

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
David Hoffman - Filmmaker
In David Hoffman's long film career, he's made documentaries on everything from Amelia Earhardt to B.B. King, from double-dutch jump-roping to F-15 fighter pilots. Lately he's been fascinated with the early space program and our mania for all things Sputnik.

Why you should listen

Documentary filmmaker David Hoffman has been capturing reality for almost 4 decades, following his wide-ranging interests and turning them into films for PBS, The Discovery Channel, A&E, National Geographic. Highlights from his career include the groundbreaking experimental doc King, Murray, which blurred boundaries between truth and fiction as it tracks its subject through a debauched weekend in Las Vegas; A Day With Filmmaker Timmy Page, about a 12-year-old auteur; and his series of films on American indigenous music.

Lately, he has become fascinated with the Atomic-era Space Race, turning out a feature-length documentary about the Sputnik era. Sputnik Mania was scored by Thomas Dolby and has played at festivals and theaters around the country.

Hoffman suffered a devastating setback in early 2008 when, nine days before TED2008, his home, containing a vast archive from his long and fascinating career, burnt to the ground. His next project: to reframe his life and rebuild.

More profile about the speaker
David Hoffman | Speaker | TED.com