Filming Historic Places in UK for YouTube

Hello, my name is Alex!

 

I have a YouTube channel called Alex the Historian, where I bring untold stories of historic people, places, and artifacts to your screen for free! My channel is about the Age of Steam which includes trains, ocean liners, historic places, and people. I like to take unknown facts and anecdotes and weave them into a storyline that not only educates but also entertains. For instance, in my video about San Francisco's cable cars, I discovered the story of the outspoken activist, Friedel Klussmann, who saved the cable cars from certain doom. I like this little-known history, and the sheer amount of detail I put into my videos has surprised and delighted tens of thousands.

 

I want to expand my reach beyond just American stories or classic liners, and there are plenty of little nooks and crannies in the UK and the city of Paris that are filled with these kinds of fascinating stories and details. And what is a video, without the video footage? I need to capture walk-throughs or B-roll footage of these historic locations so that when I discuss the details, I actually have something to show. And capturing footage myself, allows people to see the subject as it exists today, and in 4k high-definition!

 

I plan to get to the UK via transatlantic crossing aboard Cunard's Queen Mary 2 in their cheapest stateroom cabin. This will allow me to film the ship in detail to create video walk-throughs, vlogs, reviews, and to capture B-roll for future video endeavors. When I arrive in Southampton the plan is to spend time in London, Bristol, and Edinburgh. On the way, every minute of my time is an opportunity to film historic subject matter, both big and small. Various locations have already been selected: HMS Belfast, Tower of London, Tower Bridge, Kempton Park Steam Engine, SS Great Britain, Mauretania Bar, Avon Valley Heritage Railway, and Royal Yacht Britannia. These are just the larger subjects I plan to film and cover, not to mention dozens more lesser-known subjects along the way!

 

I plan to visit Paris, France, and do the same kind of filming, stopping at Notre Dame, Eiffel Tower, the Latin Quarter, and Saint Germain des Pres -to name a few places. This includes a visit to Disneyland Paris, filming various attractions and locations for future Disney-themed history content and vlogs (particularly their authentic miniature steam railroad).

 

A basic breakdown of expenses (in USD) is as follows:

 

-Portland-N.Y. roundtrip airfare: maximum $800

-Both Transatlantic crossings on Queen Mary 2: $2600 total

-12 days of lodging in UK and France: $3000 maximum estimated cost

-12 days of food, budgeting $800

-Disneyland Paris admission $82 per day x 3 days: $260 (rounding up to $300)

-Budget for public transit between UK cities and Paris public transit: $500

-Misc Budget for unexpected expenses, traveler's insurance, various fees, and emergency cash: $1000

 

Grand total: $9,000.00 USD

I have also been trying to reach this goal with money I have saved from the little YouTube ad revenue I received. So far I've been able to match my donations dollar for dollar, which means I can close the fundraiser earlier than the full donation goal.

 

This entire filming trip could provide upwards of 50+ new videos for the channel due to the multi-purpose use of the footage being captured. To put it another way, before RMS Queen Mary closed in 2020 due to the pandemic, I captured just 1.5 hours of B-roll footage of it to be used in a single vlog. That B-roll is still being used today in various new videos for an assortment of purposes, I estimate that footage has been used in over 30 videos so far, despite its original purpose to be used in only 1 video! This UK trip could become a gold mine of footage that can be used in new content, beyond the intended 50+ videos, and used for years to come.

 

Thank you in advance for your support! Below I have included a link to a popular video of mine, which shows the kind of content I create: