EpicHistoryTV

Belisarius Part 4 preview...

Dear Patrons, 

Firstly, a belated Happy New Year to you all! I hope you had a very merry holiday season, and wish you all a happy and successful 2022. 

I had hoped to have Belisarius Part 4 ready for you today, but some last minute finessing means it won't be ready until early next week. (I've had a last minute rethink on how best to explain the literally Byzantine negotiations between generals, eunuchs and Goths.. )

However, here are the first two minutes...

'Belisarius - The Battle of Rome' Early Access

YouTube link here.

Dear Patrons, 

I am very pleased to share the new Belisarius episode, in which the Roman Empire recaptures Rome... but then has to hold it. The siege of Rome lasted one year and nine days, and was truly one of the epic sieges of history. I hope you enjoy this account!

Merch for Typos is in effect - we had a 'perfect' video last time I think? I'm sure there'll be a typo hiding in this...

Belisarius Part 3 update & new Napoleonic merch

Dear Patrons, 

A  quick production update to let you know that Belisarius Part 3 - The Battle of Rome is nearing completion, and should be ready for its world premiere here on Patreon next Monday! It's a dramatic tale of the struggle for the Eternal City, fought between an outnumbered Belisarius and the Ostrogoth kingdom of Italy. We've got Ostrogothic family trees, fantastic moustaches and a 372 day siege to look forward to.

For Napoleonic fans, I've just relea...

HMS Victory teaser

Dear Patrons, 

A few months ago we voted for HMS Victory as the next 3D project, working with Simon from 3DArtvision who created the brilliant animations for our 'Perfect Castle' video. 

Due to the complexity of all things that float on water, this has been slow but steady progress, but we can now share this little preview to get you in ...

Belisarius Part 2 Patreon early access

YouTube link to Belisarius Part 2 

Dear Patrons, 

Here is the premiere of Belisarius Part 2 - The Empire Strikes Back! In this episode we see Belisarius given command of the expedition against the Vandals of North Africa, but he's not even left the Hellespont before his Hun mercenaries have started murdering each other, leading to swift justice... In fact it's Belisarius's ability to (mostly) maintain d...

Pick a title for Belisarius Part 2!

Dear Patrons, 

A quick Belisarius update - Part 2 will be ready for its Patreon premiere at the end of the week. But first -  help me pick a title! There are two options, one of which is much more likely to get me sued by George Lucas, but I'm prepared to run the risk. You have 24 hours to vote.

And here are a few exclusive sneak peeks at Part 2, in which Belisarius takes on the Vandal kingdom of North Africa...

2021-10-26 16:27:02 +0000 UTC View Post

Belisarius Part 1 - Patreon early access

Dear Patrons, 

YOUTUBE LINK: https://youtu.be/QOBH7hMh2Xs 

I am very pleased to present the world premiere of 'Belisarius Part 1: The Emperor's Sword', ad-free and exclusive for Patreon supporters. This episode features some great artwork from Milek (you may remember his work from 5 Great Viking Deaths) as well as Total War gameplay fo...

Belisarius Update

Dear Patrons, 

In my last update, I foolishly suggested that Belisarius Part 1 might be ready for its Patreon release on Thursday! Unfortunately it's going to take a few more days to finalise music and artwork. In the meantime, here's a work-in-progress teaser of the series opener (apologies for the  rough audio levels). I hope you enjoy!

Toby

Sneak peek at Belisarius

Dear Patrons,

Quick production update and a first look at Belisarius, Rome's Last ... (haven't quite nailed  the title yet!)

Episode 1 is coming together, I hope to have it ready for a world premiere on Patreon next Thursday. The first part will set the scene for the 6th Century AD,  discuss the reformed Roman army, then get into the action with the Roman-Sassanid war of 528 - 531, and Belisarius's remarkable victory at Dara . Our hero then comes to the rescue of Emperor...

Salamis 480 BC - Patreon Early Access

YouTube link: https://youtu.be/Hwz56hBW9KI

Dear Patrons, 

I am pleased to share with you 'Salamis 480 BC - The Battle for Greece'. This is the story of how the ancient Greek city-states came together to defeat the world's greatest empire, in a dramatic naval battle fought near Athens. It's one of history's great turning points, and thanks to Herodotus, it's also one of the earliest surviving tales of a strug...

Battle of Salamis release date (and preview)

Dear Patrons, 

I can finally share a  release date for The Battle of Salamis with you, which is Tuesday 24 August. Just in time for the 2,500th anniversary! 

It's a project that has faced more than its fair share of challenges (beware naval combat, video-makers), but I hope the end result will prove entertaining and informative. I attach a world exclusive sneak peek at the first minute! I hope you enjoy. 

I am now off to take an actual week of ho...

Patron Production Update

Dear Patrons, 

A quick update on forthcoming videos. In the pipeline, we have HMS Victory, Belisarius and 1848. But focus now is on the Battle of Salamis, which will be out in late August, just in time for its 2500th anniversary. 

(Interesting sidenote - many organisations, including the Greek postal service, celebrated this anniversary in 2020, apparently forgetting there is no year 0 between 1 BC and AD 1!)

I attach a few exclusive preview shots to get you in the...

Poll Winners & Compilations Update

Dear Patrons, 

Thank you to everyone who got involved with our two recent polls, which delivered two emphatic winners - 1848: Year of Revolutions, and Belisarius. I'm looking forward to getting stuck into both, alongside ongoing production of our HMS Victory and Salamis videos. 

(NB many of the poll losers will appear again as future options, and a couple will be subject to executive 'green light' decisions!) 

In other news, I've put together some compilation ...

New Votes Announced - Polling Begins Next Week!

Dear Patrons, 

First a quick production update - work is underway on our two big naval projects, HMS Victory and the Battle of Salamis. These are both large and complex videos, and  are still a few months away. 

Second, I'll be holding TWO polls next week, in which all Epic History TV Citizens and higher tiers will get a vote. 

(Just to remind you, these are both Napoleon-free polls - but I have promised the Emperor will be back with his...

Apollo Program Part 3 Early Access

YouTube link here 

Dear Patrons,

I am pleased to present ad-free, early access to the final part in our Apollo Program series! What happens when lightning knocks out your guidance system a few seconds after launch? How did an astronaut's sock save the lives of the Apollo 13 crew? And who was the first person to play golf on the Moon?! All these questions and more are answered in this video, brilliantly writt...

1,000,000 YouTube subscribers!

As many of you spotted - Epic History TV just passed a million subscribers on YouTube. It's a big milestone, and gives me the suspicion that I may now technically be a 'YouTuber'?!

There's a lot of people I owe this good fortune to, including Charles Nove, who had no idea what he was getting involved with back in 2015!

Also very high on the list is every single Patreon supporter - the financial support is crucial, but so too is the enthusiasm with which you support the channel and...

Wellington's Triumph: Vitoria 1813 early access

YouTube link 

Dear Patrons, 

I am pleased to present 'Wellington's Triumph: Vitoria 1813' ad-free early access! 

I hope you enjoy the video, and look forward to your feedback. Thank you to HistoryMarche for the lavish battlefield map. 

Merch for typos is in effect, usual rules apply. This is our last rendezvous with Napoleon for a while. It's been quite a trip,  and there will...

Napoleonic update...

Dear Patrons, 

I've created a compilation video of all 6 episodes of Napoleon's Marshals - 3 hours of video, 23,000 words of script! You can watch it now on YouTube - it goes live later this afternoon. (Obviously there's no Patreon charge for compilation videos).

I also thought I'd share a few sneak peeks at the new Vitoria video (very much still work-in-progress, though you can admire the lovely battlefield map courtesy of HistoryMarche channel):

2021-04-23 11:42:48 +0000 UTC View Post

'Behind the Scenes' of the Apollo Program

Dear Patrons, 

As you know, the Apollo Program series is being created by a talented motion graphics artist named James Malcolm, who has a lifelong interest in the history of space exploration. James has put together a 'behind the scenes' post about the research, editing and graphics of our Apollo Program series. It's a great insight into the creative and workflow process by a video professional, and I hope many o...

The Apollo Program Part 2 Early Access

Dear Patrons,

Here is your exclusive ad-free early access to The Apollo Program Part 2: One Giant Leap.

YouTube link here. 

(If you have problems with the Patreon player try this Vimeo link). 

This is the dramatic story of the preparation for and execution of the first moon landing, with ...

Epic History TV AMA (Ask Me Anything)

Dear Patrons, 

As promised, here's a new Patreon thread exclusively for patrons, where you can ask me anything - about my background, how the videos are made, or whatever you're curious to know about myself or Epic History TV.

A bit of background - I am Toby, I am not Charles Nove! (People often think we are the same person.) I make the videos, and Charles is the voice of Epic History TV.

Toby left, Charles right:

2021-04-03 14:54:04 +0000 UTC View Post

Epic History TV Production Update

Dear Patrons, 

I hope you are all having a good Friday and looking forward to the weekend, wherever you may be. Here's a quick update on what I'm working on and what's coming next...

Early next week, I'll be able to share exclusive early access to The Apollo Program Part 2. For those who've seen Part 1, you'll know that James Malcolm has done an amazing job on the VFX for this series, as well as explaining complex technical stuff in an accessible way - genuinely as good as an...

Napoleon's Marshals Part 6 Early Access

Youtube link here 

Dear Patrons,

Here is your early access to the final part of Napoleon's Marshals! I hope you enjoy. It's been a long journey and we've met some interesting characters along the way, but perhaps none as impressive as these final three.

I can now reveal the Marshal's baton competition winners - there were six correct guesses, and Google Random Number Generator has decreed that the 2 wi...

Napoleon's Marshals update & sneak peeks

Dear Patrons, 

A quick update on the Napoleon's Marshals series: the final episode will be available here on Patreon on Friday 19 March. I've attached a few sneak peeks - I don't need to keep the identities hidden this time as we all know the last episode will cover Berthier, Davout and Lannes - but in which order?! The video will be accompanied by news on which lucky Patrons guessed our final ranking, and will be receiving their very own Marshal's batons!

We also have Apollo...

Napoleon's Marshals Part 5 Early Access

YouTube link here 

Dear Patrons, 

Here it is, the next installment in the Napoleon's Marshals series! I hope you enjoy, it's the longest episode yet with heaps of detail about the lives and careers of three great Marshals. 

I won't say too much about the content or rankings here (#nospoilers), but I look forward to your feedback, and as ever I'm happy to discuss any part of the video with you...

Competition Time - Win a Marshal's Baton!

** COMPETITION NOW CLOSED! NO MORE ANSWERS PLEASE ** 

Dear Patrons, 

The long-awaited Napoleon's Marshals Part 5 will be out on Patreon this weekend, and Part 6 follows a few weeks later. Finally we'll reveal our top 6 Marshals of the Empire.

To mark the conclusion of this epic series, I've organised a competition with some great Napoleonic prizes thanks to 2021-02-10 14:44:49 +0000 UTC View Post

Apollo Program Part 1 Early Access

YouTube link: https://youtu.be/YWhMCXo4lkQ

Dear Patrons,

It's a new topic for Epic History TV, but I hope you're going to enjoy 'Tragedy to Triumph: The Apollo Program Part 1'. It's a story that's familiar to most of us, but it never hurts to revisit these topics, especially when they're packed with such astonishing drama, sacrifice and achievement.

You'll also notice that the animations and CGI are out...