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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 quality WW2 content to be available to anyone with an internet connection. History belongs to everyone.
How will you fund the channel if the content is free?
Paul has given up his previous job as a battlefield guide to commence this project. It might have been possible to build this service very slowly in his spare time, but after lots of thought, Paul eventually decided to leap in fully to bringing exciting new WW2 content to the many battlefield fans around the World. Essentially this TV / Video service will require his complete attention and commitment and that means working without an income. In order to fund the channel we will be inviting and encouraging support via the Patreon system. Contributions are voluntary, no-one is obligated to pay. We do hope however that people will understand our situation and offer something towards meeting our running costs.
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?
This is something we cannot say with 100% certainty right now. We will work as hard as we can in the time we have and with the funds available. The films we create will vary in length from a few minutes to around 60 minutes. We are confident that by the time the service goes live there will be enough content to keep people entertained for a while, and then we will add more and more films week by week.
What type of films are you going to make?
Our main focus will be on bringing the WW2 battlefields directly to you wherever you are in the World. Conventional documentaries are often wonderful but are typically filmed at just a few locations. Our aim is to shoot each location from multiple angles. So, for example when we make a film about someone who landed on Omaha beach on June 6th 1944: We will film in the surf, from prone on the sand, ducked behind the shingle, across the bluffs, through the hedgerows and around the Normandy farms. We will film from where the German weapons were situated and then edit these together with a commentary to tell a story. The films will quite literally take you step by step across the battlefields. The footage will be in HD and mostly taken with a camera on a stabilizing gimbal. Of course we will add titles and some commentary in the edit, but we don't see these films as being heavily tweaked. We are not attempting to compete with expensive documentaries with symphonic scores, green-screen sequences and computer graphics. We won't be using much stock WW2 footage either, mainly because you just end up seeing the same old sequence you have seen a million times before. There will some WW2 still images used to add authenticity but mainly it will be the battlefields themselves that provide most of the content. We don't think this has been done before and everyone we speak to expresses the same excitement we do.
In addition to the battlefield films we also want 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 we intend 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, we will focus on Normandy 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. Then further down the line: Arnhem, Bastogne, Dieppe? Then who knows? In the future, Iwo Jima and Stalingrad. 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 quality WW2 content to be available to anyone with an internet connection. History belongs to everyone.
How will you fund the channel if the content is free?
Paul has given up his previous job as a battlefield guide to commence this project. It might have been possible to build this service very slowly in his spare time, but after lots of thought, Paul eventually decided to leap in fully to bringing exciting new WW2 content to the many battlefield fans around the World. Essentially this TV / Video service will require his complete attention and commitment and that means working without an income. In order to fund the channel we will be inviting and encouraging support via the Patreon system. Contributions are voluntary, no-one is obligated to pay. We do hope however that people will understand our situation and offer something towards meeting our running costs.
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 resources is finite, soon the Greatest Generation will be gone. Filmmakers will have to use alternatives to interviews with participants.
- WW2 Footage - of course we will use some 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 wartime maps and 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?
This is something we cannot say with 100% certainty right now. We will work as hard as we can in the time we have and with the funds available. The films we create will vary in length from a few minutes to around 60 minutes. We are confident that by the time the service goes live there will be enough content to keep people entertained for a while, and then we will add more and more films week by week.
What type of films are you going to make?
Our main focus will be on bringing the WW2 battlefields directly to you wherever you are in the World. Conventional documentaries are often wonderful but are typically filmed at just a few locations. Our aim is to shoot each location from multiple angles. So, for example when we make a film about someone who landed on Omaha beach on June 6th 1944: We will film in the surf, from prone on the sand, ducked behind the shingle, across the bluffs, through the hedgerows and around the Normandy farms. We will film from where the German weapons were situated and then edit these together with a commentary to tell a story. The films will quite literally take you step by step across the battlefields. The footage will be in HD and mostly taken with a camera on a stabilizing gimbal. Of course we will add titles and some commentary in the edit, but we don't see these films as being heavily tweaked. We are not attempting to compete with expensive documentaries with symphonic scores, green-screen sequences and computer graphics. We won't be using much stock WW2 footage either, mainly because you just end up seeing the same old sequence you have seen a million times before. There will some WW2 still images used to add authenticity but mainly it will be the battlefields themselves that provide most of the content. We don't think this has been done before and everyone we speak to expresses the same excitement we do.
In addition to the battlefield films we also want 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 we intend 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, we will focus on Normandy 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. Then further down the line: Arnhem, Bastogne, Dieppe? Then who knows? In the future, Iwo Jima and Stalingrad. Our ambitions are to film as many battlefields as we can before they change forever.