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Frequently Asked Questions
Why are you offering your programming for free on YouTube?
Very simple, Paul Woodadge the creator and filmmaker at WW2TV wants high quality WW2 content to be available to anyone with an internet connection. History belongs to everyone. In his main career as a Tour Guide offering private tours Paul would have maybe 200 clients a year, and those people would have had the funds to both travel to Normandy and hire a guide. With WW2TV the potential audience is millions!
How will you fund the channel if the content is free?
Covid-19 has temporarily halted Paul's main career as a battlefield guide and while there have almost no English-speaking visitors to Normandy, Paul has been busy creating the livestreams on YouTube. With very little income at the moment, Paul is inviting and encouraging support via the Patreon system. Contributions are voluntary, no-one is obligated to pay. Paul hopes however that people will understand the situation and offer something towards meeting his running costs and eventually allowing the service to grow.
Why is WW2TV different, surely there are lots of documentaries available already?
Yes there are lots of films and documentaries already available, and what are these programmes like? What does a typical modern documentary have? We've all seen them, they have talking heads, veteran interviews, computer graphics, 3D cutaway footage, wartime clips, recreated battles with re-enactors and lots of explosions and dizzying effects. Our films will NOT be like that. Here are our reasons:
How many videos, films and programs will be available?
In October 2020 WW2TV for example there will be 15+ separate live streams, varying in length from around 40 minutes to 3 hours. All of this takes time and preparation.
In addition to the battlefield films WW2TV wants to reach out and interview WW2 historians and authors. Put them on camera and have them tell their favorite war stories. Let them show us battlefields too, see their collections and preserve their knowledge. For more information please visit the Authors and Historians page.
Also, down the line the intention is to film at WW2 events, festivals, re-enactments, ceremonies and conferences. Bringing WW2 to the homes of everyone, especially those that cannot travel.
Where will you be filming?
To start with, WW2TV will focus on Normandy and elsewhere in France where Paul Woodadge and many of his friends live. There are hundreds of locations here that have never been filmed and with them being on our doorstep it will be easy to film. WW2TV has also offered live streams from Warsaw, Arnhem and Koevering. In the future there are shows planned from Bastogne, Aachen and even Monte Cassino. Our ambitions are to film as many battlefields as we can before they change forever.
Very simple, Paul Woodadge the creator and filmmaker at WW2TV wants high quality WW2 content to be available to anyone with an internet connection. History belongs to everyone. In his main career as a Tour Guide offering private tours Paul would have maybe 200 clients a year, and those people would have had the funds to both travel to Normandy and hire a guide. With WW2TV the potential audience is millions!
How will you fund the channel if the content is free?
Covid-19 has temporarily halted Paul's main career as a battlefield guide and while there have almost no English-speaking visitors to Normandy, Paul has been busy creating the livestreams on YouTube. With very little income at the moment, Paul is inviting and encouraging support via the Patreon system. Contributions are voluntary, no-one is obligated to pay. Paul hopes however that people will understand the situation and offer something towards meeting his running costs and eventually allowing the service to grow.
Why is WW2TV different, surely there are lots of documentaries available already?
Yes there are lots of films and documentaries already available, and what are these programmes like? What does a typical modern documentary have? We've all seen them, they have talking heads, veteran interviews, computer graphics, 3D cutaway footage, wartime clips, recreated battles with re-enactors and lots of explosions and dizzying effects. Our films will NOT be like that. Here are our reasons:
- Veteran interviews - in terms of WW2 - this resource is finite, soon the Greatest Generation will be gone. Filmmakers will have to use alternatives to interviews with participants.
- WW2 Footage - of course WW2TV will use some period footage, but only if applicable and not as filler. There's nothing more frustrating than seeing the same old clips, used wrongly. Clips from the wrong campaign, year or battle are annoying!
- 3D graphics and maps - essentially our budget will not be able to cover this, but what did the actual men of WW2 have to guide them? Maps, their eyes and the ground. We will use some wartime maps and aerial photos overlayed with arrows, Google Earth images and primarily the real battlefields to tell our stories. You will be on the ground with the troops, seeing what they saw, as they saw it. Yes, some places have changed, but many haven't.
- Battle re-enactments - although eye-catching and exciting, knowledgeable viewers end up focusing on errors in uniform and the mistakes rather than the story.
How many videos, films and programs will be available?
In October 2020 WW2TV for example there will be 15+ separate live streams, varying in length from around 40 minutes to 3 hours. All of this takes time and preparation.
In addition to the battlefield films WW2TV wants to reach out and interview WW2 historians and authors. Put them on camera and have them tell their favorite war stories. Let them show us battlefields too, see their collections and preserve their knowledge. For more information please visit the Authors and Historians page.
Also, down the line the intention is to film at WW2 events, festivals, re-enactments, ceremonies and conferences. Bringing WW2 to the homes of everyone, especially those that cannot travel.
Where will you be filming?
To start with, WW2TV will focus on Normandy and elsewhere in France where Paul Woodadge and many of his friends live. There are hundreds of locations here that have never been filmed and with them being on our doorstep it will be easy to film. WW2TV has also offered live streams from Warsaw, Arnhem and Koevering. In the future there are shows planned from Bastogne, Aachen and even Monte Cassino. Our ambitions are to film as many battlefields as we can before they change forever.