History of the Channel
Hello, this is tug97 from youtube. I have been on since Christmas of 2008, and since then, grew my channel. I started out with no videos at first, but about half a year later, I was able to get a budget digital video camera, and began to upload my Theodore Tugboat episodes. The first episode I uploaded was Hank and the Nightlight, split into two parts, on July 20th, 2009. I continued recording and uploading episodes with my camera until I uploaded my last camera recorded episode, Foduck and the Rainbow, on January 15th, 2010. Then, I went into a seven month hiatus without uploading any videos.
However, many were surprised when on October 20th, 2010, I uploaded Theodore's Big Decision with my new capture card! I had finally invested into buying a Dazzle capture card! This proved successful to my channel, as now I could record episodes anytime. When I used my camera, I usually had to do it when the house was empty usually only one Monday night, every week. But that proved as a problem, as the qubo airings were every night, 9:00 pm and 2:30 am. There were a few episodes I had to delete from my computer because of too much background noise. Theodore and the Queen was almost one, but I have decided to keep it up since no one else has uploaded that episode. Watch my Theodore the Vegetable video, you can even hear me eating cinnamon toast crunch! Luckily, i do not have to worry about that now.. The capture card made it easy to record and edit. I was even able to make a custom commercial for my channel.
The videos turned out well, but I decided that was not enough. In July 2011 purchased Pinnacle Studio HD version 15, and currently, I am working on finnishing everything I have on Studio 12. I have many episodes that I still need to upload, as well as re-uploading a few. I've promised my friends that when I'm done uploading all my episodes, I will still be around. Most likely I will be working on a project. In fact I'm already considering a series, I have talked to a few about it, but the rest of you will have to wait. I haven't confirmed it yet, but if I do, it will most likely come around mid to late 2012.
Obsession with TUGS
I found out about TUGS from the Thomas the Tank Engine wikipedia page in June of 2007. The series seemed interesting, and I soon found myself on youtube. I remember the first episode I watched was High Tide. Sure it is kind of different from the others (features more of the minor characters), but it is still great! I loved the whole bridge encounter, and unlike many children's shows, I actually didn't know what was going to happen next. Nowadays everyone is used to predictable plots, but this wasn't it. This is part of what made 80's children shows great! Plus, the show was fairly high-budget (still not as much as Thomas and Friends). According to my July 1990 Model Boats Magazine, Clearwater Features had a budget just over £2 million (about 3 and a half million US dollars). Each tug cost somewhere between £6-8 thousand! The models were great, mixed with awesome special effects (watch the episode 'Munitions' if you haven't already), great story lines, and fantastic, exciting music that fits the series so well. Since 2007, I have gathered lots of TUGS merchandise: Ten Cents and Sunshine ERTLs, 1989 Annual (seen above), July 1990 Model Boats Magazine (not officially TUGS merchandise, but still a great buy!), and 4 photo books (Up River, Unlucky Tug, Pirate, Trapped). I am still saving to get some Japanese tugs stuff. The Japanese got much more than anyone else when it comes to TUGS
.To get Japanese TUGS stuff into the US isn't hard, but you must either have to have friends in Japan, or use a proxy bidding service, which can be quite pricey. Unfortunately, I do not directly know anyone in Japan, so I have to dump money away to a proxy bidding service. Right now I'm saving up for the plastic Sunshine set, as seen in 0:33 in the video above. After I get that, I may buy some of the Japanese VHS tapes. I know that an NTSC-J tape will look a little "blacked out" on an American NTSC TV, with my capture software, I can adjust the contrast to make it look right! :)
TUGS Wallpapers
Do you want a TUGS wallpaper for your desktop? Choose from one of these! Click View Image, then click Set as Wallpaper.
More to come!