- Hi, it's Matt.
And this is the behind the scenes
of Tom's lie detector video from the '20s.
If you don't know what's behind this curtain,
then you should watch his video first
because this is going to spoil the surprise,
because this is how it was made.
(fanfare)
Hello from the edit.
I thought I'd quickly mention
from the beginning that we filmed this in September 2020.
And we followed all of the industry guidelines
around safe filming for COVID-19.
From this point on,
I'm assuming you've seen Tom's video already,
because watching the behind the scenes
before you've seen the main video
probably won't make much sense.
To do the build Tom commissioned, Charles Yarnold,
a friend and creative technologist
who makes interactive art and experiences.
(upbeat music)
The box itself was built out of stage flats
and black drape, with an extra bit of drape dangling
in through the roof to create the reveal curtain.
When I went in there for the first time,
I could not believe how dark it was in there,
that black drape does an excellent job
of blocking out the light.
(upbeat music)
Okay, so this is the main man
who made most of this happen.
- So, yeah, this is all of the technical kit
that we're using for the box.
And we've got a full sound gear set up
so that Tom's voice can be projected in.
We've got all of our power,
which runs the lights that are inside
and also the LED eyes of the skeleton.
- [Matt] Great.
So Tom just showed you the patent.
You just got to work?
- Yeah, I just got the patent through
and can we build as close to this
as we can with modern tech?
And this is the result.
- [Matt] Can you show me how modern the reveal mechanism is?
- The reveal mechanism is very mandraulics,
which is you grab on the tape, and you give it a yank.
(Matt laughing)
- [Matt] And then it pulls up the curtain on the other side.
- Yeah, and you hope the rest of it doesn't come with it.
(Matt laughing)
- [Matt] Brilliant.
Where should we go next? Should we have a look inside.
- Yeah, I can show you the inside.
- [Matt] Tom, could you stand by the curtain
to do the honours please?
- [Tom] All right.
(footsteps thumping)
-[Matt] So, after you
- In here behind the big scary curtain
when you're in the back,
this lifts up and reveals a skellington friend.
- [Matt] Tom.
- [Tom] Yeah?
- [Matt] Do the honours.
- [Tom] Three, two, one.
(curtains dragging)
(Matt and Charles laughing)
- [Matt] So it's got flashing lights in its eyes.
- Yeah, so Tom on the controls on back,
we've got the eyes which flash
whenever somebody is talking inside.
Again, that's human controlled.
We've got a tiny little spy camera hidden in his nose.
That would have been a giant camera
on the actual patent version.
But here we're going miniature.
And he's on a custom bracket to make him seem
as if he's floating as an apparition.
And then of course, some lovely up and down lighting
to give him that spooky skeleton effect.
- [Matt] Great, it does look amazing.
And if I turn the lights off here,
my camera might not be able to make it out.
Oh, it can.
(Charles laughing)
I mean, I wouldn't necessarily be scared if I saw that.
But if it was in the 1920s I think I'd be a little scared.
- [Charles] But I can tell you every morning
that I've been coming into my workshop
on this build, it has spooked me out
for a little second him standing in the corner,
just menacingly.
- [Matt] I hope you left some lights on.
Just for when you come back in or any burglars.
(Matt and Charles laughing)
- [Tom] Can I stop pushing this button
for the eyes now please?
- [Matt] Yes, please stop pushing that button.
Thank you Tom.
And then at the top
is where we've rigged some cameras.
You installed a nice bit of wood
for me to clamp on there.
- [Charles] Yeah.
- [Matt] And we've got a infrared night camera thing.
And then we've got another GoPro mounted
in the back, screwed to the ceiling
so we can see both angles of it.
Here's a four way view of all of the cameras
that are inside the box.
As I said earlier, the box is pitch black
so you can't see anything.
So we had an infrared wildlife camera
that's designed to work in the dark.
And the reason I'm waving around like this
is because it starts recording based on motion.
And there's no way of telling if it's recording.
So I've done a lot of waving just to make sure.
Trying to get usable video in the dark is really hard.
So I'll show you what we're working with here.
Here's Chloe coming into the box.
When she shuts that curtain,
there is no light until the curtain goes up
and reveals the skeleton.
(Chloe laughing)
And it's still actually not that light at all.
It's good enough for your eyes
to be able to see what's going on in there
but not for cameras.
Next up is Tom.
You'll see him looking at the mark
on the floor we placed there,
so he knows where to stand.
It's the same for all of them.
(curtain dragging)
- Oh, there you are.
I knew it.
- [Matt] And as we revealed you can see the rear GoPros
got the best quality shot
because it's got the most light in it.
And the other two shots at the bottom are so grainy
because I've had to really boost the brightness
so you can actually see anything.
- [Daniel] Oh my God, I hate every second of it.
- [Matt] And finally it was Daniel's turn in the box.
I love how the anticipation
was so much scarier than the skeleton itself.
- Oh my god.
Hi.
- [Skeleton] Did you take the cookie?
- No.
- [Matt] And if you look in the infrared camera,
you'll see all of the haze coming out
when the curtain's lifted up.
And Tom.
- [Tom] Hello.
- [Matt] You've been holding the microphone
and show me what work you've been doing
to make the lights work?
- [Tom] Okay, so the light button is just,
it's literally this here.
There's nothing really automated about this.
I just have to wait until someone speaks in there
and then I just try
and push that in time to the syllable that they're saying.
(Tom laughing)
- I think that about summarises
how all of this is put together.
(upbeat music)
Yeah, I hope you enjoyed it.
(upbeat music)
A necessary faff, but a faff nonetheless.