My short bio: We have taken on the goliath task of animating short cartoons on historical events every week. Sure there are other people doing history videos but they lightly animate characters here and there or mainly have library images.

I write the scripts, direct the narrator, animate and produce these videos on top of a full time job. I also write and illustrate books in the same style.

My Proof: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC510QYlOlKNyhy_zdQxnGYw

Comments: 232 • Responses: 75  • Date: 

CrackerSentry86 karma

Hey! I love your YouTube videos, I'm just wandering how long do these type of videos takes you to produce? And what type of work goes into it?

lunchtimereader75 karma

The first step is writing up the scripts, this is hard since the information has to be accurate as its educational. This can take a good half of a day depending on how complex the subject is. The animating part takes a few days as I'm mainly doing it after work, (and a illustrator and a volunteer animator is helping on the odd scene in their spare time).

wchung843 karma

I really would like to learn more about your animating process. Do you think you could site some resources?

lunchtimereader4 karma

What resources do you mean? I use flash and after fx. In fact im animating as we speak :)

MathematicDimensions1 karma

I've just read this and I love shows like drunk history where they portray historical events, I'll be sure to watch!

lunchtimereader2 karma

Seen some of those :)

sosnazzy36 karma

What's your favorite time period/moment in history?

Also I'd like a video on the English Civil wars, they make a great story :)

lunchtimereader35 karma

That would be the World Wars :)

lunchtimereader31 karma

English Civil War would be a good one, did you study this? I aim to have a catalogue of history subjects on the channel

MonsieurA5 karma

Around the same period: The Thirty Years War makes for a good story. Starts off with a guy being thrown out of a window and devolves into all-out religious civil war involving all the main powers. It's also traditionally seen as the origin of our modern conception of a state.

lunchtimereader6 karma

New word learnt 'Defenestration'

cereblown4224 karma

Will you please do the Haitian Revolution?

lunchtimereader25 karma

Haitian Revolution At first I'm doing alot of subjects I studied at university and have a familiarity with, but I plan on covering almost everything in history. I also want to represent the lesser known parts of history. The main thing the further you back with is the costume accuracy. As I am drawing everything I have to research the costumes from reenactors and online illustrations like osprey books. The further you go back the harder it is.

bosstone4216 karma

Almost everything in history? What do you mean by that? That's such an impossible amount of stuff that I'm curious what your intent is there. (Also put two line breaks in between paragraphs to avoid the whole of your comment being a quote.)

lunchtimereader22 karma

I have a book called 'History of the world in 1000 objects' inspired by that I want to depict all the topics that people struggle to learn about and cover stuff from the prehistory to modern. I wrote a bit ambitiously earlier :P

bosstone426 karma

Gotcha. Well I enjoyed the WWII video and look forward to your continued work and development as a channel. Good luck!

lunchtimereader11 karma

Thanks :) Subscribe and comment. Enjoy and learn about history.

mumra712943 karma

Theres a BBC podcast called the history of the world in a 100 objects. It's quite interesting. Have you listened to it?

lunchtimereader3 karma

Have you read / got the Dorling Kingsley books I have one called 'History of the World in 1000 objects' you might like it

Trynottobeacunt12 karma

Your work looks amazing and I'll have a gander as soon as I can, but would you ever want to do a 'History of psuedoscience'? If you could get Spirit Science in there then I think that'd be great.

lunchtimereader13 karma

Spirit Science

Its a possibility, although it would take a lot of research on my part as I am not familiar with this topic. I would like to do videos celebrating Scientists in history like Einstein

Trynottobeacunt4 karma

In my opinion there is no better way to do that than to debunk what is arguably one fo the biggest threats to scientific endeavour that exists in modern times. Not to sound like a clickbait article or anything, but this will absolutely blow your mind.

If I was to give another example that's similar it would be 'Ancient Alien theory' (Which is something that spirit science actually use a lot themselves), the rejection of established anthropolgical explainations in favour of claiming aliens built civilization and all this sort of thing.

lunchtimereader10 karma

Didn't South Park make fun out of this theory with the first thanksgiving back in colonial times? XD And the fact that the History Channel was playing episodes as if this was a reputable fact.

Heres something to whet your appetite that we just released about the Salem Witch Trials. As you know, many innocent people were hanged being accused of witchcraft.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJJLy5_DlqY

BunburyGrousset4 karma

This is my first time arriving to an AMA before it closes :D okay, my questions are:

  1. Any chance of a video highlighting the first woman to ever run for president of the U.S.? Victoria Woodhull is a very fascinating person.

  2. Any chance of videos about historical events in Eastern or Middle Eastern countries? Like, maybe about the Chinese interacting with the Romans for example.

lunchtimereader8 karma

1) This would make an interesting video. Women's history is definetly something I want to make videos about. I think this video is a good start (although it was criticised for being anglo centric, lesson learned)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBTq-cPGJeI

2) I actually did my dissertation on the crusades, I found it a fascinating topic. We have made a video on the Great wall of China built during the Ming Dynasty, and I also wrote a whole book on the history of China from the first emperor to the Qing Dynasty. It was very difficult to get reference images for the costumes of soldiers ie during the warring states periods!

Cruentum4 karma

You said you like the world wars history the most, but what part do you like out of them most? I have friends who can name every division in some battles and others who can name seemingly every flying ace and their history. Do you focus on the political or geopolitical side? Or the 'people' side. Either the psychology how people performed in battle and the homefront?

WWs is so fascinating because you can be very generalist and be very indepth.

lunchtimereader7 karma

I dont go that focused in like battle strategies and maps etc. I am into the battles broadly, the technology, weapons, factions, campaigns.

PotatoFang3 karma

On average how many hours does it take you to animate 1 video, o and what is your full time job?

lunchtimereader4 karma

To be honest I haven't timed the amount of hours yet. But it is taking me about 3-4 days to finish the videos, and add all those layers of sound on top. I am a video editor for a e-learning project, so similar to this.

multiple_iterations3 karma

Any chance of getting a Julie D'Aubigny video?

lunchtimereader2 karma

I have an idea for a playlist: Icons of History

multiple_iterations2 karma

Uh...was that a yes? I suppose she is an icon in history.

lunchtimereader2 karma

Anyone who is interesting will certainly be considered for a video :)

bokavitch3 karma

Have you done anything on the Ottoman front of WWI?

lunchtimereader3 karma

No but I've written up a script on the Gallipoli Campaign 1915, so expect to see this soon, in a week or two :)

theinquierer2 karma

What's your current setup? What programs do you use? What would be your "dream" setup such as what programs and computer would you like? Great animations and history telling I subscribed!

lunchtimereader1 karma

After fx and flash fir animation and to edit the video premiere. Illustrator to do the drawings. I would like my pc to be able to real time render faster

Corpsek92 karma

What are your thoughts on italian organised crime more specifically The Mafia. Will you ever do a video about them?

lunchtimereader3 karma

I have written a book on the roaring twenties and dirty thirties looking at Alcapone and others during prohibition, i think this needs the video treatment

Corpsek92 karma

Can we have the name of the book please?

lunchtimereader3 karma

Simple History: a guide to the Roaring Twenties and Dirty Thirties

RangerTrev2 karma

How far back in history do you intend to go? And what sort of history do you intend to teach? As in; will you stick strictly to orthodox teachings, or include alternative theories and leave things up the viewers? Do you think that it's important for everyone to think about our history in the same way, and accept the same model? What about historical bias? Will you depict people, events and civilisations as being good or bad or be neutral and objective? Is there anywhere in particular you will focus on or will all countries and cultures be covered? And lastly, how accurate and in-depth will you be? Will you avoid making generalisations and assumptions, or try to simplify things so it's easier for the average person to understand?

lunchtimereader3 karma

Perhaps the further you go back the less sources have survived and the more interpretation there is. I would therefore have to show this in videos. Ie the crusades I think its impossible for people to think of history exactly the same way as everyones experiences and upbringings are different and therefore their interpretations are different. Although you could argue that the way nations view their role in history are often very bias. I will try not to show icons of history in too much of a black and white way, their mistakes should be known as much as their victories. The idea is to have the videos short and snappy and cover one specific topic / event without too much waffle. Some people won't like this style as it may appear too simplistic, but learning history can often have so much information overload you don't know where to start and it can certainly put you off learning if you are a pupil or student, so I hope that I can help with that :)

MamaDre2 karma

How would I find the books you mentioned you make? I would be interested in these for when my son grows up. I'm a history buff, but have always had a hard time capturing my attention without illustrations. I think what you do is amazing and I can't wait to watch more of your videos.

Side note: I don't agree with the comments on the videos being boring, of course they aren't action packed exiting videos, they are simplified facts and fulfill they're purpose :))

lunchtimereader1 karma

If you PM me your email I'll send you one of them as an ebook so you can see:) Thank you for your kind words.

das69922 karma

How do you you ensure as much historical neutrality as possible? Obviously history is written by the victor and a lot of modern western history is incredibly embellished

lunchtimereader2 karma

The sources im using are as impartial and factual as possible

notanotherhour2 karma

What do you have planned for the immediate future of your channel? In other words, for those who subscribe today... what will change? New art style? More bells and whistles? Better audio?

lunchtimereader4 karma

When there is a n established community around the channel, I will make videos on what the audience want to see the most.

notanotherhour2 karma

Well... that's content. I was more referring to the actual technical side of the channel! I'm sorry if I didn't make that clear.

(On the subject of content, though: it'd be cool to see a series on obscure but important figures in history. People who you don't learn about but were responsible for something crucial happening or being developed.)

lunchtimereader3 karma

Yeh this would be interesting. The icons of history get all the credit but people forget those around them like Paul Revere who had several other riders with him, when people think he was the sole rider

TheCrusaderKing22 karma

Would it be possible to do one on the Crusade of Varna? Also, do you play games like eu4 and ck2?

lunchtimereader3 karma

Possibly would take alot of visual research! Is this featured in those games? I am a big gamer and love games with a historical setting. In regards to strategy Rise of nations and Age of empires. I also thing games are an amazing way to connect with history and feel like you were there

Dephyus2 karma

This stuff is super cool. As an aspiring upcoming history teacher, this is fun to watch. For my question, where do you get your narrators from? Is there a process?

lunchtimereader1 karma

I asked around on a forum showing them the stuff I had done before (this is very important as anyone can say what they are going to do and alot of time they never do anything). I was then flooded with emails from amazing voice actors who wanted to record narrations.

WeGottaGoFast11382 karma

My favorite part of history is the American presidents. Something about this job and the people who take it up always interest me. Do you have plans for any presidential events (JFK shooting, Watergate, etc.)? And who is your favorite president?

lunchtimereader4 karma

I've written and illustrated a book on the Cold War so JFK and Nixons characters have been drawn up for these videos. Heres a page from it, can you notice the water gate easter egg? :)

http://www.simplehistory.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Simple-History-The-Cold-War-presidents.jpg

Dr-A-cula2 karma

Will you take into the account historical accuracy, or just the story at taught in the West?

lunchtimereader7 karma

We were taught in University that with history there is always the writers bias, I try to be impartial but this can be impossible at times. The videos are more informative rather than analytical however.

Dr-A-cula1 karma

I appreciate the answer! Have an upvote!

lunchtimereader1 karma

Thanks!

Pker22 karma

Which one of your videos have you had the most trouble creating?

lunchtimereader8 karma

The World War II Overview one https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUqy-OQvVtI

Is rather complex being that we are not looking merely at one event but several on the timeline. This means that several characters have to be drawn up. Secondly I animate in both flash and after fx. Now both have offered me problems, for one Flash crashes 99% of the time doing anything and is very volatile. After FX meanwhile guarentees a safer environment for animating but is less fluid for doing in and the files sizes just for one shot are often 1gb + (for a few seconds of footage). The shot here for example is like that: https://youtu.be/6vWiJBlwcT4?t=1m6s

You have a zoom in and wiggle effects

MidEastBeast7771 karma

Will you do one on the Ottoman Empire?

lunchtimereader1 karma

A broad overview? I want to make faction episodes on WWI

MidEastBeast7771 karma

Yea, I was thinking something like the Rise and fall of the Ottomans, from when they came into power in the 13th century to their fall after WWI, but maybe that's too broad.

lunchtimereader1 karma

The sick man of Europe

lostsoul20161 karma

Do you have sentcils or library of things already produced? How do you maintain that library?

lunchtimereader3 karma

Yeh I've got a library building up from illustrating and producing the book part of the series. Here is just one set of characters drawn up in illustrator for the Stalingrad battle scene in WW2 overview: http://www.simplehistory.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/stalingradbehind.png

Kempe_to1 karma

Why do you want to do this? What motivates you to do this?

lunchtimereader1 karma

Being a history buff and an artist I wanted to combine these two things.

dudehotrod1 karma

Do you plan on do any videos about the Hun empire and the Mongols or Golden Horde?

lunchtimereader2 karma

Yes in the future, as these will take more research

crayzeedude1 karma

Are you planning on covering specific subjects, such as the history of aircraft, as well as general history?

lunchtimereader2 karma

Yes I love world war technology, in particular weapons and tanks. And well military history in general. Changes in technology can dramatically change the outcome of war, like the invention of the radar

TheClash151 karma

What encouraged you to start making these shorts? (BTW I am a huge history buff aswell and I love your short films)

lunchtimereader2 karma

I have been writing the books and illustrating them for two years, and originally saw youtube as a way to market, but instead of making annoying adverts I thought that I could make something worthwhile thats fun and people could learn from. I am obsessed with history and studied it at a world class university. My family also love history. What I noticed on Youtube is that there arent any animated cartoon history channels, they either have a presenter most of the time which I personally find a bit boring or they have power point style animation with little care for costume accuracy etc so basically in short wanted to make something I wanted to see and what others might like as well.

olseadog1 karma

Great idea. Ive sent to my middle school history teaching colleagues.

lunchtimereader2 karma

Awesome!

NuclearWarlordGandhi1 karma

Can you do siege of vienna?

lunchtimereader1 karma

Is this the battle that is connected to the discovery of coffee beans in the Ottoman camp?

Thesubredarmy1 karma

Hi! I'm considering majoring in history, specifically European war history, and i'm not getting muvh support from my family and friends about my decision. They think i'll grow poor and be stuck with teaching. How has studying history shaped your life and where has it brought you?

lunchtimereader2 karma

I have to say everyones journey was unique from where they went after uni. Personally I took on an entrepreneurial angle and I don't teach history in my job now. Perhaps with any humanities i would say its good to self teach yourself skills on the side for when it comes to the 'real world' because employers wanted to see these more ie my ability in after fx. But this channel and its books are where I continue my love of history. In short most people I know have gone onto to do well after studying history and didnt just go into teaching.

Sakurako011 karma

You mentioned that you studied history in university, then did you learn animation by yourself ? if so was it difficult to learn ?

by the way, I love your videos.

lunchtimereader2 karma

Yeh I am self taught. Of course were are not going for the best animation in the world with these videos, but enough that it gives an interesting history learning experience.

Thanks :D

Enviromente1 karma

Wow. Thanks for doing this. What a great educational tool.

How do you address issues/context that is embarrassing? Such as, The Opium Wars. Whose perspective would this be told from?

Request: History of Kemet, & Propaganda/ Information Wars.

lunchtimereader1 karma

History of Kemet

I would try to be impartial but while I don't know much about the opium wars its generally seen as a very bad thing that Britain has done in its past (I'm British). Good request. I was fascinated with Ancient Egypt as a kid, no obsessed, I will have to make some videos on the subject asap.

Ophelia_Of_The_Abyss1 karma

What program do you use to animate? Any good tutorials on it?

lunchtimereader1 karma

Flash (which is quicker but crashes alot) and After fx. I just learnt using youtube tutorials and trial and error

OliverBlanco1 karma

How do you plan to expand and improve your channel? The artwork is near and I know you have another job, but the videos seem a bit dull.

lunchtimereader2 karma

I'm sorry that you didn't find the videos entertaining.

that1communist1 karma

Is there any chance of you covering the USSR? If so, can you guarantee you'll check American claims of what it was like for accuracy? There was a lot of propaganda in the 60's and on from both sides that is still pervasive.

lunchtimereader1 karma

Yes I've already written a book on the Russian Revolution, Cold War and one on the Space Race, and I studied Soviet history for 3 years at University. Very interesting topic. I've also written up a script for the Russian Revolution so keep tuned

that1communist1 karma

Oh, cool, link to the book?

lunchtimereader1 karma

TJBPhoto1 karma

I teach 7th Grade history and I love people like you. I am very animated about my content and am always trying to find new resources to reach students who don't like my approach or simply need a different angle. The rise of educational YouTube channels has been incredibly helpful!

Have you ever considered looking over bigger state's educational standards and creating items tailored to common themes? If you could pitch it to teachers/districts in this way you may be able to leverage this into a major business opportunity.

lunchtimereader1 karma

That's good to hear. I remember as a pupil how difficult it was to learn dates and remember facts and figures because there was no anchor to it. Then our teachers tried this thing where we would draw cartoon strips of every event, this without doubt helped me get A grades on my modules in history. And it inspired my history books and these videos. Basically I think getting the information overload (like you get in the boring black and white textbooks) reduced is key. Visualizing these events too helps kids to remember the facts :)

I've looked at KS3 /KS4 and the american educational syllabuses as a bit of a guide.

jhenry9221 karma

Agincourt is on the list I hope?

lunchtimereader1 karma

Thats a good one, I actually have some footage of reenactors doing the battle of Agincourt without any crowd in the background so could mix in some of that with the animation

NotAsSmartAsYou1 karma

Those who control the past, control the future.

So exactly which ideology are ya selling?

lunchtimereader2 karma

Not sure, who would you say?

castleTERR1 karma

how long would it take to create an animated cartoon depicting real life events (eg celebrities) just alone? (if it was your only job)

lunchtimereader1 karma

2-3 days to make a video if I could purely focus on what I love doing. That's just a dream at the moment.

MageofTime051 karma

Is theres a chance of seeing gallipoli campaign (canakkale savası) video ? That war was kinda important

lunchtimereader1 karma

I've already written the script for it, and choosing the right narrator, so you will see this one very soon.

MrCurlyMan1 karma

Teacher here. Do you use the social studies standards to create your videos? This is a gold mine for schools!

lunchtimereader2 karma

Alot of the content and sources are from academic and school resources. I hope you make good use of the videos in your class

Mr-Ultimate1 karma

Have you heard of Horrible Histories series?

lunchtimereader1 karma

Yes I have

Mr-Ultimate1 karma

Thanks for answering. They're hilarious. I just think every history buff should watch them.

lunchtimereader1 karma

I have all the magazines, they are an influence, but I feel there is a lot of joking about some horrible things like people being killed in horrid ways

Silvergate741 karma

I love these! Can you do the Romans leaving and the English (Anglo Saxons) coming from Germany please?

lunchtimereader1 karma

Yes I have done a Roman book on Hannibal - Julius casear so a video should be made on the Romans

thekfish1 karma

Do you need any male voice actors? I'm willing to offer my services

lunchtimereader1 karma

You can send a show reel or read a line to [email protected]

yuligan1 karma

What do you think of the Franco-Prussian war?

lunchtimereader1 karma

I haven't studied it although we did look at Otto von Bismarck's policies at University

Thanksbbokyes1 karma

Do you plan on doing a christmas special?

lunchtimereader1 karma

Yes I will do it on the World War I christmas truce

Praematura1 karma

I've seen historical recreations of tank battles on the AHC channel but they seem dated. Have you thought about teaming up with a someone very knowledgeable in WW2 and create something similar?

lunchtimereader1 karma

Can you show me a clip of what you refer to? I go to a lot of historical reenactments as you can see on the channel, and am thinking of mixing in this footage with the videos

Praematura1 karma

http://www.ahctv.com/tv-shows/greatest-tank-battles/videos/greatest-tank-battles-battle-of-the-hellcats/

There is also the market in the online ww2 tank gaming such as World of Tanks to sell to. Please don't make more mediocrity, we have enough if you do go forward.

lunchtimereader1 karma

They seem to do the job pretty well :)

DisgruntledPersian1 karma

Will you do any Persian or Middle Eastern videos?

lunchtimereader1 karma

Yes I will

badgeofsighs1 karma

Do you focus mostly on military history? Or would you do cartoons on economic history like the origin of the Container Ship, the rise of the ice industry, how the Dollar became dominant, or that time that Aaron Burr founded the "Manhattan Water Company" that he actually turned into a bank?

lunchtimereader1 karma

I love origin stories. Well weve made one about how LEGO started https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvggwfWoRes so i was thinking of doing more of these on companies like apple, google, nintendo,

ryrykaykay1 karma

Woo! I went to school with you. Glad you're doing so good.

Since this has to be a question so it doesn't get deleted - how's the YouTube format working out for you? Is the passion more about the history, so you don't really care what format it's on, or would you prefer to be just a YouTube or just an author?

lunchtimereader1 karma

Cool whats your name? I have the books going on, but the video format is another way people can learn and I think while you both have the visual element there (so were not just looking at a sea of text) video is perhaps a quicker, more accessible format. The videos are short and keep you engaged if you don't have a lot of time. Theres also the possibility that they could work in some kind of E-learning quiz game as cutscenes if you will. I enjoy both, in terms of creativity

ryrykaykay1 karma

It's Ryan! High school days :)

It's amazing how productive you are, pretty inspiring. Do you have a day job too or is it all about the history now?

lunchtimereader1 karma

Nice to speak to you again. Yeh got a day job as well, so this is something I jump onto after work.

IAmTheMagicMoose1 karma

Have you considered partnering with Badass of the Week? If not, you should check it out.

Note: resubmitted because first post wasn't a question and I'm dumb.

lunchtimereader1 karma

I haven't heard of this before

KazPart21 karma

how about that Nullification Crisis?

lunchtimereader1 karma

I see this is related to the War of 1812 which is something I really want to make into a book and video. How would you envision an animated style video depiction of this topic?

ramier220 karma

Wow. Subbed to your channel. Do you limit yourself to creating animation for significant world events only? Please do one of the Philippines' overthrowing of Ferdinand Marcos

lunchtimereader4 karma

Philippines' overthrowing of Ferdinand Marcos

Thanks for the sub! At the moment I appear to just be doing significant, but lesser known / niche events will be made into videos as the channel becomes more grounded because there often isnt much info on the topic on youtube (which would annoy me if I was a student studying the topic.

Fallstar0 karma

Will you do the Gold Rush?

lunchtimereader1 karma