The Camera that Changed Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends

[@Calebtrain]

Series 1 is so special. Really enjoyed this deep dive into the camera and how it changed production!

[@thomasthetankman111]

Thank you Caleb

[@najibosman6497]

What made Thomas so special in those seasons produced by David and his team were the cinematography work with all the environments and how the team used far shots to create the illusion of the engines to be bigger than they actually were specifically series 5 was a great study to showcase that camera trick

[@thomasthetankman111]

Yes season 5 does do that best!

[@TankEngine97]

For it's time, the Periscope lens was a very innovative piece of filming equipment. It really helped give off some very smooth camera movements without coming off as shakey. By today I think most cameras have settings for smoothness on them. I was quite surprised to learn that a huge chunk of season 1 didn't use the lens and was filmed pretty like how other productions are usually filmed with the camera either on or off the tripod. (A method that content creators who use models very likely use. Myself included).

[@thomasthetankman111]

Yes your totally right. Bascially all of us film in the style of series 1!

[@MainlandStudios]

Woah I never though of series 1 like that. With the camera being slightly higher than the engines. That's going to be a big help with filming future projects. Great video as always, James!

[@thomasthetankman111]

Thanks Cam. Glad you enjoyed!

[@thesudriana016]

It really is fascinating that this 35mm camera system can do many wizardry tricks that other shows probably don't have. And that's what made Classic Thomas so wonderful to watch in childhood through many aspects of the scenes they play out throughout the episodes and movies during its time on the model era. And I agree with Season 1 of TTTE. While there are some other S1s that are not exactly memorable by many people (like Theodore Tugboat for example), but with Thomas, it manages to capture the charming aspect despite its budget in its time and still ages well to this very day. BTW, what are your thoughts on Theodore Tugboat as a show in general?

[@thomasthetankman111]

I have never really watched Theodore Tugboat. I am a TUGS fan but Theodore never appealed to me!

[@SonicJrandSarah]

According to The Unlucky Tug, most of the still shots in Season 1 were based on making the show seem like still pictures that moved. Like a painting, but has life within it.

[@thomasthetankman111]

Great piece of trivia

[@TheBlueE2]

Interesting insight. I knew Season 1 was notably lower budget but didn't know the camera limitations. Didn't know it was a specific specically built camera either, no wonder the models looked as heavy and realistic as they did

[@thomasthetankman111]

Indeed. Glad you enjoyed my friend!

[@harrisonallen651]

Thanks to David and his camera crew which made the model trains come to life like never before

[@thomasthetankman111]

Indeed!

[@EthanTheIdioticTankengine]

I thought the camera that Mattel had was destroyed causing one of the ex crew members to sue

[@thomasthetankman111]

No I don't think that's true

[@JohnsonandNoddy]

Thank you for acknowledging me as the source. So many people use clips I post and don’t acknowledge me despite all the work that went into digitising etc, so I appreciate it. nice video as well!

[@thomasthetankman111]

No problem my dude! Just trying to make sure credit goes where due!

[@JohnsonandNoddy]

@@thomasthetankman111 you did an excellent job with this. Very informative and so much stuff I’m sure a lot of people didn’t know!! I know I learned a lot!

[@thomasthetankman111]

@@JohnsonandNoddy Cheers my dude!

[@Blue65Tank]

Jimmy I'm really digging these new videos your cranking out man

[@thomasthetankman111]

Lots of love. Thank you my dude!

[@colorforce5530]

If altering the show occurred, they will have to use the old equipment, cameras and props and train scale gauges for each one. I won't mind that because I want the show to be different from the books; it will still be based on them by most parts.

[@missmanxee]

Seeing this brilliant behind the scenes video makes me love and appreciate the hard work and dedication that David Mittion and all the camera 🎥 crew and staff put into making the original Thomas and Friends the greatest kids show of all time and that it still brings joy and happiness to many fans who grew up watching the classic model series including myself thanks for sharing this amazing video of my favorite childhood steam engine🚂👍❤️

[@thomasthetankman111]

Thanks glad you enjoyed

[@BigLightning4360]

Using moving camera shots from Series 2 to Series 12, I might have gotten this feeling that either David Mitton and/or Terence Permane were attempting to capture the filmmaking style of Steven Spielberg. Want to see my point? I recommend you look into the films made by the defunct London-based animation studio Amblimation, along with the making of them.

[@thomasthetankman111]

They just wanted to make it as cinematic as possible!

[@BigLightning4360]

@@thomasthetankman111 Even before Series 5?

[@thomasthetankman111]

@@BigLightning4360 I'd say season 4 looks way better than it needed to!

[@sagittariusneptune9330]

To me season 1-2 are told similar to Mr.Starr telling about the events of Tugs, kinda imagine my headcannon thats Sir Toppim hat is telling us from his perspective thats why all the engines sound similar.

[@thomasthetankman111]

Nice one!

[@damianhendriks6162]

2:09 i like it when Edward and Duck, my two favorite characters, appear on screen together.

[@thomasthetankman111]

A great duo

[@PeachLover94]

Wow! On the Discovery Channel documentary series _Movie Magic_ episode "Motion Control", there was another periscope or snorkel lens system developed at the University of California - Berkeley's Institute of Urban and Regional Development where a camera mounted above with a downward lens moved across a miniature of Marin County guided by computer. It was developed in the early 1970s by John Dykstra himself after working with Douglas Trumbull on _Silent Running_ for Universal - but this experience with computer-controlled cameras led Dykstra to working on films like _Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope,_ _Firefox_ and _Star Trek: The Motion Picture._

[@thomasthetankman111]

Glad you enjoyed! Yes there are actually quite a few but none work on the same scale as this one did!

[@Americantruck43]

Thanks for teaching us about how the camera changed over the years thanks and the models look really great 😅

[@thomasthetankman111]

Thank you!

[@abbeyroadfan94-J.P]

awesome video on the famous camera with periscope lens

[@thomasthetankman111]

Thank you!

[@alexis_ian]

I wonder if its possible for fans to make their own periscope lens? I also wonder if Mattel will display the persicope lens used on the show or have the patten rights to it?

[@thomasthetankman111]

Periscope lens' are very popular now. You guy buy ones for most DSLR cameras. They're just a bit expensive. As for the whole system that's a bit more difficult!

[@jimmymccartney2049]

Thomas and Friends(1984-2003) and Shining Time Station(1989-1995)

[@zakthemrconductor5920]

Outstanding work 😃👍

[@thomasthetankman111]

Thank you!

[@hamishcameron1082]

I have ever since my whole life and I still love it ever since and always shall always. Always shall and forever ❤

[@thomasthetankman111]

Great stuff

[@hamishcameron1082]

@@thomasthetankman111 great stuff or what 👍🏻

[@JohnnyJohnstonÖ]

Where did you get this crystal clear show clips from?

[@skarloeythomas5172]

Super informative video and I appreciate your due reference to Thomas as series over seasons.

[@thomasthetankman111]

Cheers for watching!

[@parkerproductions4546]

Very nice analysis! Enjoyed that. :) the other thing I noticed with S1 is the zooming shots seem very reminiscent of camerawork used in 70s British television shows, which I'm sure would have had some influences over Mitton's stylistic choices when they started production in 1983.

[@thomasthetankman111]

Thanks for watching. I agree proabably would have been the case!

[@markaous1212]

Need

[@thomasthetankman111]

Agreed

[@TrainsCatsOtherStories]

I'll be honest I was under the impression they just used a whole new camera system entirely when the hit era began. Guess I was wrong. But they did switch from film to digital, correct?

[@thomasthetankman111]

Your spot on and it's a point I wanted to make but forgot to. The camera was switched to digital during the HIT era!

[@TrainsCatsOtherStories]

@@thomasthetankman111 Cool! Thanks man!

[@TrainsCatsOtherStories]

@@thomasthetankman111 By the way was Project Tiger Moth shot on film? Just curious.

[@thomasthetankman111]

@@TrainsCatsOtherStories Project Tiger Moth was shot on a black magic 4k camera. They didn't use any fancy lenses. Thetrainmodeller also shoots on this camera but he has a periscope lens attached to the camera.

[@TrainsCatsOtherStories]

@@thomasthetankman111 I thought so! Man now I want a periscope lense lol

[@isaacbowen2672]

this is so cool, thank you for posting

[@ReallyUsefulPinkEngine29]

Nice!

[@thomasthetankman111]

Thank you!

[@ReallyUsefulPinkEngine29]

@@thomasthetankman111 np

[@matthewgersch1901]

Nice One

[@TheTrainboard]

Great video! Really interesting to see the behind the scenes footage. - Ryan

[@andrewchapman2024]

What would be the best camera for filming miniatures at low angles today?

[@thomasthetankman111]

There are many cameras up for the job and many lenses you can buy as well. I currently shoot with a DJI Osmo Pocket as you can get low angle shots. But many DSLR's will be designed for being up close with small subjects!

[@andrewchapman2024]

@@thomasthetankman111 Oh, thank you for the info!

[@thomasthetankman111]

@@andrewchapman2024 No problem!

[@thomas2themaximus913]

If nobody minds me asking, how many pixels were in the footage of the episodes of the show from Series 1-10? Also, were the episodes filmed in 576 interlaces or is it just the highest resolution?

[@thomasthetankman111]

Well they would have be filmed with Film. So pixels wouldn't exist as that's digital. The camera only became degital in the hit era and I'm not too sure on that whole factor!

[@thomas2themaximus913]

@@thomasthetankman111 Thanks for telling me, James!

[@Cartycinema]

Series 1-7 were filmed on 35mm, which is likely to be 4K res. Series 8-10 were shot in 576i, and 11-12 were shot in 1080i.

[@thomas2themaximus913]

@@Cartycinema Thanks for your information, Carty! I've been trying to find out the amount of lines of resolution in the footage, would you happen to know were I can find the information?

[@pastpresentsoapspast5083]

Thanks for this. Still a fan of Thomas but the original. I wish there was behind the scenes footage from season 1. What's the name of the music in the background

[@thomasthetankman111]

Having more season 1 footage would be great. The music is credited in the description!

[@deadaccountpleasedonttagme]

Yay! Now we don't have to blame Thomas and the Magic Railroad for dragging the franchise into Mattel's hands! (joke comment but still)