Scripting is the Key to a Tom Scott Video

Tom Scott reveals how he scripts and reads from a teleprompter for his videos!
Links:
Tom Scott: / tomscottgo
Tom Scott plus: / @tomscottplus
Twitters:
/ wvfrm
/ mkbhd
/ andymanganelli
/ adamlukas17
Instagram:
/ wvfrmpodcast
Shop the merch:
shop.mkbhd.com
Join the Discord:
/ discord
Music by 20syl:
bit.ly/2S53xlC
Waveform is part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.

[@mvrrko]

Tom‘s conversational voice being the same as his story-telling voice is just so perfect.

[@KirkWagner147]

I love Tom Scott. Been watching him for years since his computerphile days

[@Soren0]

What a great interview, likewise.

[@rhoharane]

you were there for xnopyt

[@myrealusername2193]

I’ve actually used some of his coding experiences to avoid mistakes myself! But yeah it’s really interesting!

[@venkideshk2413]

same

[@tjsr]

This is not remotely a criticism - but I have no idea how Tom Scott rose to fame, his presence on KZbin to me seemed like "okay, so this is a guy who was famous for ... something(?) in the UK and has carried that on to be a big KZbin personality?" - but as best as I can tell he seems to have just created what he has as an organic process. I honestly agree everything he does is top-notch - I'm just completely miffed where that talent came from.

[@iAmTheSquidThing]

I don't think writing concisely is Tom's only skill. He's also just generally good at presenting. And smart enough to understand a broad range of topics and make them accessible.

[@theonlyron]

Agreed. A true mark of intelligence is being able to learn a complicated thing, then teach it in a simple way

[@sevret313]

Smart enough as long as it doens't involve Finland.

[@bjoe385]

You can definitely tell if someone doesn’t know much about the thing they’re talking about.

[@phoeniciandiaspora4584]

I think he was just being modest lol

[@huntno]

NO WAY. Didn't think I would see Tom on a this podcast. W collab

[@Zveebo]

Oh wow, Tom comparing himself to a Blue Peter presenter is so accurate - can't believe I never thought of that before. The Tom Scott Plus channel is basically exactly what they would do back in the 90s/00s, only for KZbin.

[@limpfishyes]

Ah! Yes! This is why I don't like him. I've always wondered just what it was about him. He's a Tomorrow's World crossed with a Blue Peter presenter. There's something of the institutional presenter of old about him, think Alan Partridge / Noel Edmonds. I mean it's KZbin not 70s BBC1. I still watch his stuff, but can't stand him at all

[@dylanboyd6147]

@@limpfishyes Genuine question, what is it that motivates you to watch his videos. Is it that you dislike the way the content is presented? Or him himself?

[@eti-iniER]

I'm a huge fan of Tom Scott; his research and presentation literally blow me away! I'd like to write like Tom speaks one day

[@ohmydinosare]

My big thought when I discovered Tom's channel was that his content felt like the sort of little articles you get on Blue Peter, which I think is what drew me in, because I loved Blue Peter, so it's interesting to see him kind of recognise that.

[@timg2727]

Tom Scott is one of those rare people who is doing EXACTLY what he should be doing in life.

[@Dark-hr3rs]

Hahaha tom mentioned blue peter, that really takes me back

[@breakoutbusinessenglish]

I did not expect this collaboration! Definitely a treat!

[@gerardhughes]

It's still unclear to me how much he actually uses a teleprompter. He does so many walk and talk videos where that would seem to be impossible, yet I've always marveled at his ability to speak what seem to be memorized text. There's another method used by narrators on camera that isn't as common now as it used to be, which is playing back a tape recording of you reading your own script into an earpiece and then mimicking that at the same time you're listening. It's a skill I don't have, but that could be used for things like walking and talking where it would be difficult to read a teleprompter, and difficult for someone to hold a teleprompter, which is why it doesn't seem all that likely that the videos that I've seen involve the teleprompter because he was filming himself with a selfie stick.

[@loscni]

There's plenty of free teleprompter software that runs inside of a web browser on laptops, tablets, phones. I think you might just be underestimating the versality of teleprompters.

[@gerardhughes]

@@loscni Possible. When I think of teleprompters I'm generally thinking of beam splitter teleprompters rather than just a phone or tablet scrolling text, which I think of as being more akin to cue cards rather than a beam splitter teleprompter, because they involve looking off axis. He wasn't really clear in the interview about when and how he used to teleprompters, or whether they necessarily were beam splitter teleprompters, or a phone or tablet being used next to the lens instead. I have never seen anyone doing a walk and talk using any kind of teleprompter whether we're talking about beam splitter, or a queuing device near the camera lens. But that doesn't mean it's impossible. But it does seem hazardous.

[@TheBanana93]

@@gerardhughes A quick google search will show you just how many hand held telepromters there are!

[@lifthras11r]

@@cmmartti My guess is that Tom started without teleprompters and probably will be fine without them even today, but as his (main) channel grew and its tone is now set in stone, his reponsibility for being factually correct grew as well and he is probably using teleprompters whenever possible in order to reduce the risk.

[@0LoneTech]

The earpiece method was brought up at 4:50.

[@jacquolen1952]

Tom- your scripting is of course fantastic. But the quality and clarity of your voice, your always appropriately animated facial expressions, and of course your command of the subject matter make your videos a cut above. I am 70 and have watched almost exclusively KZbin for the past 5 years. You have consistently the best presentations every time. Keep up the great work young man! - Rich

[@BrettDalton]

As a ex editor 100% record just ambient noise when on location so you can ADR later and mix that in and sound like you were still there. Saves a mountain of pain.

[@MichaelChin1994]

It's really interesting how much Tom Scott is enthusiastic about splicing audio for natural sounding corrections. I do this for Shesez when I edit and I don't even mention it. I just chalk it up as "part of the job." I wonder if *he's* ever noticed the splicing? I shall ask next time.

[@lewismassie]

Interesting. When I've had to read scripted stuff I've found myself going between 'notes that I string together live so it flows well' or 'write the whole script like it was spoken and read it exactly'. The former is great for presentations but I think the second is better but takes so much more time

[@AbhinavKulshreshtha]

This is a pleasant surprise. As a fan of Tom Scott, I clicked video because Tom Scott was on thumbnail.

[@Jimmy_Moon]

He’s so humble.

[@freestyleskater]

Quite the surprise to see Tom on the podcast! Love his content, great collaboration.

[@valentingavran4704]

NO WAY! This is the interview we were not waiting for but the one we needed

[@anthonygladman6558]

Type A: can read a script and sound like you're talking naturally. Type B: will annoy the shit out of everyone with their local-newscaster intonation. Thankfully Tom and Marques are both Type A here, and honestly I suspect it's a big part of how they managed to do so well.

[@JonasHamill]

I find part B to be particularly evident in some American presenters who seem to squeal in a high pitched voice, as though they're next to a jet engine and attempting to get their voice to sound through. I find it unwatchable and have to turn away. Why are you yelling at me? just talk

[@anthonygladman6558]

@@JonasHamill You've been watching Mark Rober?

[@01banksjon]

Literal double-take to see Tom Scott on here!! What a top guy 😁

[@deltadom33]

It is a good crossover . I would love to see a Linus crossover He is a computer programmer as I know from computerphile and learning Akkadian with the British museum

[@ahmed4363]

oh yeah, that guy literally cooled his gaming pc server room with his pool. Mega brain moment

[@IroAppe]

@@ahmed4363 I don‘t think Dominic talks about Linus Sebastian, since as far as I know he has not been on computerphile yet, and I definitely don‘t know anything about him learning Akkadian with the British Museum. It‘s gotta be another Linus, since there are many on this world. Unless this other Linus also has his own pool and cools his PC with the pool. Then that‘s pure coincidence.

[@abijo5052]

@@IroAppe I thinkkk the second sentance is relating to Tom Scott

[@mcswordfish]

I'd never thought of it before, but Tom Scott IS a Blue Peter Presenter. That's hilarious

[@Toma-621]

Tom could make a video about a rock and I’d watch it going “oooo interesting”

[@memediatek]

He already has

[@kepagu]

I was so unprepared for the outro, I couldn't figure out what was off. I felt his eyes stare deep into my soul

[@THILAA]

Shall we take a moment to appreciate mkbhd's audio recording system in place. Crisp audio

[@AlanStryman]

I just open the description first time today, I saw "Music by 20syl" me shocked 20syl is one of my favorite French producer and he's a fuckin legend

[@horaciogirod5684]

Awesome, 2 of my favourite youtubers collabing, great day

[@deepdesigners]

A link to the full podcast video on every clips video description will be very useful.

[@anotheraggieburneraccount]

tom also has a really great voice too

[@Jajdjejwi28]

With this high quality audio he sounds like the voice in my English listening exam. If u know u know

[@Marsthe_1]

this explains so many odd little moments in his past videos that made me feel inexplicably uncomfortable lol

[@nikoheinz1213]

My brain just goes: voice wrong that's robot scott

[@jptbf]

NO WAY TOM SCOTT

[@RazzUK]

This is the clip that got me watching waveform.

[@mk810]

He even tells stories like it's a TS video

[@royz_1]

I normally just watch clips but this is the podcast I will watch in full.

[@ThePirateParrot]

Can we please get Tom Scott his blue Peter badge XD

[@YuriyNasretdinov]

As a person who likes to make videos but is terrible at video, but hopefully somewhat good at audio, I couldn't help but notice that in the Waveform podcast the audio processing is different enough from Tom Scott's videos that it's immediately noticeable, although I am not sure which words to use to describe the difference. I think Tom sounds both brighter and a bit muddy at the same time compared to his videos :).

[@raofabdullah]

Tom Scott and MKBHD? Oh my days.

[@TomReaneyy]

This may sound super lazy on my part, but after watching the clip I wanted to watch the full podcast, yet the link wasn’t in the description… just something to consider adding for next time

[@maxdon2001]

Great video!

[@lsp0]

The thumbnail to this video should have a live picture of Tom Scott -- it wasn't clear before clicking on the video that Tom Scott was actually on the podcast

[@canIhavethishandle]

i wish i could speak like tom scott

[@rejithkumarg]

The outro omg 😂

[@mikewheeler9011]

This is just like teaching. Its 'scripted' but you basically have to do a one take, in front of 30 kids. It sucks to learn, because you get caught out a lot. but after years of training it starts to become natural.

[@barx3218]

Wonder how many Blue Peter badges Tom has?

[@michaeljeacock]

I understood that reference. do I get a blue peter badge?

[@RealGrouchy]

He looks like that robot from the tom scot video a few weeks ago

[@marcel9568]

Why does Marques have the silver mike 🎤?

[@Cloud7050]

Man that mic really makes Tom sound lower

[@Macarite]

Yess Tom!!

[@chris-hayes]

Never realized Tom used a teleprompter.

[@fsodn]

Ha ha ha ha! I love the bit at the end. :-D

[@Oat512]

How on earth do you make a 7b sound so bad i couldnt even do that on purpose

[@mysiph]

Tom sounds so different on a SM7B lol

[@Robert-cu9bm]

Million Dollar Hollywood productions gets lots wrong and people don't notice. With radio experienced presenters are able to say the wrong words but continue like they didn't and people don't notice.

[@BluMacaw]

0:12 wait... I thought everyone does it like that? Now you are going to tell me being able to shift that and write in someone's else voice is difficult to.

[@kanjakan]

Nope, not everyone does that. I personally don't. My writing is usually much more concise than my speech since I can remove any inflated phrases or redundancies. I also find it challenging to accurately write like someone else but that's just me.

[@JeskidoYT]

holy crap Tom is in America????

[@colors6692]

Marquess must feel so dumb next to Tom.

[@mcgrud]

For the algorithm. ✊

[@iam_nick]

Is he Zuck’s brother?

[@iAmTheSquidThing]

No. But Zuck is his brother.

[@rosiefay7283]

kãnʔnuɪɾi Great example of how an American can comprehensively mangle a word

[@WatanabeNoTsuna.]

"The Plus channel is becoming the main one" really bothers me, because I love Tom's content on the main channel, but I really don't like the Plus' content..... 😢

[@CameronMassie]

Ha! That was a great Marques deep fake.

[@martinsolihull86]

Yeah Tom's a bluepeter presenter!!

[@yveslegh]

👍👍

[@kristinchong629]

I feel like In the movement to get everyone on the internet and doing stuff computery we definitely lost something like a big something. Like if it the internet is so good why is it so difficult to find analysis and public accountability. It all these cheap dopamine thrills and not a layered conversation about things that are being part and apart from the internet and where we go about our day. Like sure there’s internet of things and that you can’t really ever not be apart from the internet but where are discussions about how the internet effected us and where is the threshold of like this is too much. Like thresholds on like institutional internet hierarchy. Like what are they.

[@claws811]

👽

[@thomasmuller3.89-0W]

👍

[@brickviking667]

I nearly upvoted this video. At least until I saw the outro. I mean, come on, guys. Really?

[@alphabeta8284]

No idea what’s appealing about Tom Scott. 0 charm or personality.

[@thatchapthere]

?????

[@soupisfornoobs4081]

Some people like white toast, myself included