Thomas & Friends: The 80-Year Journey
(Hypothetical Documentary Trailer)
(Hypothetical Documentary Trailer)
During my time completing my undergraduate studies at UT Dallas, I was tasked with undertaking a capstone project that demonstrated the skills learned during my time in the ATEC program. I decided to take on a topic that I am heavily passionate about...the Thomas & Friends franchise.
The project itself is a trailer detailing a hypothetical documentary about the legacy of the Thomas the Tank Engine franchise. This documentary is my own response to the initial project by Tongal in collaboration with Mattel for the 70th anniversary of the franchise in 2015. The project I am completing for the Capstone project will be a hypothetical future project to commemorate the brand again for its 80th anniversary in 2025. The trailer will be an expository narrative with a voice over by myself.
The topics learned from my time at ATEC incorporated into this project include video & audio production, design research methods, and critical media studies.
Concept
The initial concept for this project was developed in my "Writing for ATEC" class where I was assigned to write a grant proposal essay and create a 5-minute presentation. The main inspiration for "The 80-Year Journey" stemmed from Mattel's "Thomas & Friends 70th Anniversary Documentary" project contest hosted by Tongal in 2015, as well as the subsequent winner of the contest, "Thomas & Friends: 70 Years of Friendship" produced by Mindfruit Studios.
Pre-Production (February 2023)
During this phase, my goal was to define and refine the concept for my project and prepare for the production phase. The first step I took in developing this project was to start ideating. I knew in the beginning that creating a full-length documentary would take longer than 4 months to complete, so I needed to frame the project into a workable framework. I then thought to complete the project as a pitch video, similar to "Phase 1" of the Tongal contest. However, after further discussing the matter with my class, I finally decided to approach the documentary as a trailer featuring real interviews. Each phase of the project was divided into 3 stages over the course of 3 months: pre-production in February, production in March, and post-production in April.
I wrote a script and decided that real interviews featuring people who were involved with the Thomas franchise were to be included. A list of possible interview questions was also written. I wanted to include a wide array of people involved, whether they worked on the show itself, or with its branding, or were just a fan. However, I needed to be mindful of how many I would be able to include in a 3-5 minute video.
Throughout the month of February 2023, I sent out emails and LinkedIn messages to as many people as possible who were involved with the Thomas & Friends franchise asking if they would like to be interviewed. Out of the 11 people I reached out to, 4 responded yes, 2 responded no, and the remaining 5 did not respond. The confirmed interviews were Mike O'Donnell (TV series music composer), series modelmakers David Payne, Tim Staffell, and Jeremy King. I also conducted one in-person interview with friend, railroad worker, and train enthusiast, Jacques "James" Dolande.
I also utilized the pre-production stage to ensure I had the right equipment for filming. I used my DSLR camera, a Canon EOS Rebel T100, along with a compatible tripod. I also purchased a Philips Voice Tracer 4010 Digital Recorder to record high-quality audio recording for the in-person interview.
Philips Voice Tracer DVT4010 Digital Recorder
Canon EOS Rebel T100 DSLR Camera
Production (March 2023)
On March 1, 2023, I filmed my first interview with James at the Interurban Railway Museum in Plano, Texas.
Sample Clip
Later that month, I spent time capturing possible B-roll footage to use for the documentary trailer. This footage was shot on location at the Grapevine Vintage Railroad in Grapevine, Texas. The goal was to utilize a railroad environment that compliments the theme of the video. Another benefit to filming at this location was that at the beginning of the trailer's script, there is an analogy formed between the development of trains and its impact on history and how Thomas & Friends impacted a generation of young audiences.
March 6, 2023: Email interview with Jeremy King
During the time I conducted my email interviews, I was unsure about how to include them in the video. After consulting with my class, I eventually decided that this was to be included in the video through screenshots and read via voiceover from myself.
March 8, 2023: I recorded my second interview with special effects supervisor, David Payne, who worked on the early seasons of Thomas & Friends. Recorded via Zoom.
March 14, 2023: Email interview with Tim Staffell. A total of 8 questions were discussed in the interview.
March 22, 2023: I interviewed Mike O'Donnell, the co-composer of Thomas & Friends from 1984-2003. Recorded via Zoom.
Post-Production (April 2023)
During the post-production stage, the main focus was to gather the clips from all the interviews together into a comprehensive sequence for a trailer video. While a storyboard was discussed during pre-production, I found it difficult to apply to a documentary trailer, so I primarily based the video's layout on the script. I also originally had filmed myself at home explaining and introducing the film. Afterwards however, I was not satisfied with how the footage looked and after discussing it in class, it was agreed that the scene needed to be re-recorded.
With the help of one of my fellow classmates, we decided to head to the Grapevine Vintage Railroad where I currently work and use the location as the setting for the video. I even dressed up in my uniform to enhance the authenticity of the scene. I also had purchased a lavalier microphone in an effort to achieve a clean voice recording. However, this plan failed due to the microphone not working directly upon receiving it. The solution to this problem was solved via my professor's suggestion to re-record the audio to synchronize with the video.
April 26, 2023: I, along with fellow ATEC student Srinivas Kotha went to record on location at the Grapevine Vintage Railroad.
After filming, all the footage was imported and edited together using Adobe Premiere Pro. Also included in the video were the email interviews as screenshots, various footage from the television series, and illustrations from the Reverend W. Awdry's Railway Series books. The music in the video is titled "The Thomas the Tank Engine Concert Overture" composed by Francis S. on YouTube.
Looking back, I overall enjoyed working on this project. It was an absolute pleasure getting to know all the interviewees and hearing their insights. I never really expected the project to turn out the way it did. If I had more than one semester to work on the project, I would have created a full-length documentary that would showcase the entire interviews instead of cut-down video clips. Some of the skills I learned throughout the completion of my capstone were project management, video/audio production, and critical media studies. I hope to carry the skills learned throughout my time at ATEC into my career.