The Greatest Title Sequence I've Ever Seen

Or: "Tom's Cockup Trip".

This is a story about a television title sequence, and about me, as a child, watching it. It’s also a warning about how YouTube won’t last forever, and it's the reason I'm climbing one particular hill in the Lake District. Merry Christmas, Denis Norden.

Thanks to John Hoare and the Lake District National Park Authority

(you can find contact details and social links there too)

[TomScottGo]

I know this video's a bit personal; it's not the sort of thing I normally do. But it seemed like a good story to tell for Christmas.

[droidtigger]

Here's hoping the guy who moved the compass needle sees this.

[Cooper]

Can we just appreciate the dude filming this climbing a steep hill BACKWARDS whilst holding a camera and keeping Tom steady in centre shot

[danielsjohnson]

"...right after the break"
*ad starts*
I like that. It's a little nostalgic.

[mlrkey]

“They bothered to make the compass spin” should be a phrase that’s used to describe the type of dedication someone puts in for something that arguably isn’t worth it

[z-beeblebrox]

The compass anecdote reminds me of "Bumping the Lamp", a term in the VFX/Animation industry for "Going above and beyond expectations".
It refers to the scene in Roger Rabbit where Roger and Eddie are cuffed, hiding in the Speakeasy's old smuggling room, and one of the characters bumps the overhead lamp. This causes it to swing, meaning every single frame of Roger's animation needed to have the painted shadows move to a unique position relative to the lamp's constantly changing angles, a ridiculously difficult task that technically contributes nothing to the story and most people won't even notice, but was done anyway because -Richard Williams is a madman- the animators were just that dedicated.

[GreenSnowleaf]

So the cameraman had to climb up the hill, backwards, filming Tom, deploy a drone, climb down the hill to be out of the shot, and fly the drone for that ending. I feel like thats exactly what Tom was talking about in this video

[Azeria]

The motion graphics director sure picked that hill to die on.

[wanhapatu]

The only reason this had two parts is the fact that Tom needed to BREATHE at some point!

[igadie]

Tom, we dont care if your videos are personal or not, as long as they're interesting (they always are). So feel free to make any content you like!

[strayling]

When I saw the "advert break incoming" symbol I was half way to the kitchen to make a cup of tea before I stopped myself. Old habits die hard.

[Livi]

I'm more impressed that Tom's walking up a fairly steep hill not even getting out of breath while delivering his monologue. Thanks to working from home I can't get off the sofa without breaking a sweat

[raydunakin]

Wow. I never expected to be watching an 18 minute video of some stranger walking up a hill talking about the title sequence of a show I'd never heard of, and yet here I am -- and it was worthwhile! 

I share your appreciation of creative individuals who go above and beyond to make something special. I hope that whoever created that title sequence is still around, and that they get to see this video.

[tomconneely]

I was working in CG in 1996. That title sequence was the subject of coffee break conversations. The thing about VFX is that most of the time we were trying to go unnoticed. We even had a saying, "For 99% of the time, if you can see that we did something its because we did it wrong." It was, and mainly still is, all about selling the shot, making the audience not even think to question what they see. So being able to show-off a bit is a cool gig for an effects artist.

[joeym]

I swear Tom Scott has been saying that youtube won't last forever for forever.

[billthomas]

Having just watched the "Last" video, I want to say that this is my favorite. On lots of levels. Well done and congratulations.

[Dumbs]

Unironically, one of the best videos I’ve seen this year. Thank you Tom and the team for making these high quality education videos. And of course, Merry Christmas :)

[JoshStrifeHayes]

As an actor, I noticed.

You learned your lines rather damn well.

[nagranoth_]

This brings to mind how Pixar actually rendered a blooper reel for Monster Inc.

[samtherat]

So when’s our full Tom Scott outtakes show?