Biologos Insights Series | Epipheo
10 videos with topics ranging from evolution to environmentalism, testimonies to ethics — this Biologos series explores the idea that faith and science do not have to be at odds with each other. The series is also uniquely suited for my favorite type of art direction that combines rich and nuanced explanation with captivating visuals.
Recently a line has been drawn between faith and science. But must people choose between one or the other?
These 10 videos featured extremely complex topics that necessitated a deep level of thoughtfulness and curiosity about both science and faith. As I developed the series, I wanted to create an evocative style that could be maintained across the series and resonate with the audience’s emotions. I chose to focus on beautiful, diverse illustrations with simple scenes that highlighted humanity and nature, strong metaphors, and minimal animation to engage and captivate our audience.
My Art Direction Process
-
![]()
Script & Beats
Together with Biologos, Steven McClure (Creative Director) and I worked through the script and visually planned for each video’s topic. Because of the nuance and detail around both faith and science, this often took many rounds to get correct and clear, but it was important to work out the messaging and story early to lay a good foundation.
-
![]()
Animatic
After the beats and script were approved, I made a rough animatic so we could see the flow of the visuals with a scratch voiceover. Here I played with and adjusted the timing of the scenes, while blocking in the design, layout and animation.
-
![]()
Assets & Animation
A final voiceover would be recorded and I would hand-off the animatic to the animator. They created assets and I reviewed them, providing draw-overs and notes on motion along the way. Together we finessed the design, color, and animation at this stage.
-
![]()
Music & Sound
Once we had a full draft, I outlined the musical flow of the video with the composer — identifying where the emotional high and low points were and any points of tension. I also discussed mood and instrumentation, as well as any specific sound effects. Talking to the composer and sound designer together helped us plan which moments needed to leave space for the other.
Problem Solving in Beats
Throughout the process of making these videos, I would often run into issues where something I thought I knew about science would be tested as I developed the visuals. For example, in this video about evolution, we needed a way to show that God could be behind the scientific process of evolution.
Initially, I pitched the first idea below where we would see an early version of the horse evolve through a zoetrope, or flipbook, into the horse we know today. Then we would shine the “light” that was being used to describe God and it would show all of the different stages of evolution.
Round 1 of this idea for evolution would show a prehistoric horse…
… evolving into a horse we know today through a flipbook-esque animation.
Then we’d illuminate the frame to see all the different stages using the “God-light” effect, implying God created evolution.
While it’s a cool idea visually, through review rounds with Biologos I learned that evolution is not as linear of a process as we think (i.e. the common ape evolving to man visual). In reality, evolution is a process that has a lot of branching out as different adaptations are made slowly over time. These were important clarifications in this beat stage because it was imperative that science was always represented correctly, and we would experience many other instances of this throughout making the series (Newton’s apple falling from the tree myth was another example).
To refine this idea, I decided to use an evolutionary tree of the Darwin finches and bring them to “life” with the God-light to demonstrate the belief that God could be behind evolution. Like this we could maintain scientific accuracy and still create the link between the two concepts.
Round 2 of this idea uses an accurate evolutionary tree.
The God-light is then used to bring it to life, creating a bridge between the two ideas.
Scene in final video
Science, Medicine and Ethics
Final Video and Animatic Side-by-Side
Testimonies
As we developed the topics for the 10 videos, we wanted to showcase real, tangible testimonies of individuals grappling with faith and science.
The following testimonies were carefully brought to life as we interviewed and worked with real people’s stories, highlighting sincere struggles and triumphs to reckon with their beliefs.
Francis Collins: A Testimony
Francis Collins, renown physician-geneticist, tells the story of his conversion from atheism to faith as a young doctor.
Below is an early story plan — the stage of production that includes beats that I did paired with the script — as we pitched, outlined, and worked through his story visually.
Choosing Science & God: A Testimony
Just as April Cordero was falling in love with biology, she was told that she would have to choose between religion and the science she was studying.
Digging Deeper: A Testimony
Instead of rejecting his faith or turning away from science, Garrett kept digging into science and the Word.
Explore More Videos
More Than Your Genes
Science can help us understand how humans came to be, but it cannot define our purpose for being.
For Us, Not To Us
The Bible was written for us, to speak to us in our modern context, but it was not originally written to us.
Why Should Christians Care for Creation?
Christians should care for creation because of their love for others, their love for God, and their hope for the future.
Why Trust Science?
For centuries, science has increased our understanding of the world around us, yet for some, science feels untrustworthy. Biologos offers two ways to discern what science is credible: expertise and peer review.
Credits
“Why Trust Science?”
Client: Biologos
Directed by: Epipheo
Creative Direction: Steven McClure
Art Direction: Katie Sung Lee
Producer: Erin McIntire
Assets & Animation: Holly Hillman
Music: Alex McKenzie
SFX: Nick Jones
“Digging Deeper: A Testimony”
Client: Biologos
Directed by: Epipheo
Creative Direction: Steven McClure
Art Direction: Katie Sung Lee
Producer: Erin McIntire
Animation: Gregory Janista
Assets: Dimitris Leivadiotis
Music: Sam Beiting
SFX: Nick Jones
All Other Videos:
Client: Biologos
Directed by: Epipheo
Creative Direction: Steven McClure
Art Direction: Katie Sung Lee
Producer: Erin McIntire
Assets & Animation: Holly Hillman
Music: Sam Beiting
SFX: Nick Jones
