Crafting the Narrative: A Deep Dive with Chris Zimmerman

Summary

I Witness: Silent Night

Episode: Crafting the Narrative: A Deep Dive with Chris Zimmerman
Release Date: May 20, 2024
Host/Author: Northwest Christian School, Red Five Media

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1. Introduction to the Episode

In the episode titled “Crafting the Narrative: A Deep Dive with Chris Zimmerman,” hosts Chris and Jeff delve into the intricate process behind creating the audio drama series Eyewitness. This episode offers listeners an insider’s perspective on the development, challenges, and creative decisions that shaped the series, emphasizing its foundation in a biblical worldview.

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2. Future Seasons of Eyewitness

Discussion on Continuation: The conversation begins with speculation about the future of Eyewitness. Chris inquires about the possibility of additional seasons, particularly concerning beloved characters like Miles, Quinn, and Genoa.

• Chris: “Will there be future seasons of Eyewitness?” [00:07]
• Jeff: “I think there's an incredibly high chance.” [00:21]

Both hosts express optimism about potential new seasons, contingent upon the series receiving further support (“If we get green lit.” [01:33]). They acknowledge the positive reception of the current season and the enjoyment of recurring characters, leaving the door open for their return in future installments.

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3. The Creative Process Behind Eyewitness

a. Concept and Inspiration

Jeff shares the initial inspiration for Eyewitness, drawing parallels to his personal projects and the influence of classic series like Adventures in Odyssey.

• Jeff: “It was heavy inspiration from Adventures in Odyssey.” [03:36]

The idea was to create a podcast that blends investigative journalism with biblical narratives, making it relatable and shareable for a diverse audience, including those unfamiliar with the Bible.

b. Writing and Script Development

The scriptwriting process was meticulous, aiming to maintain authenticity while incorporating scriptural elements. Jeff highlights the challenge of balancing biblical accuracy with engaging storytelling.

• Jeff: “The biggest part was the construction of the episodes themselves.” [07:01]

He emphasizes the importance of making the content evergreen and accessible, ensuring that the biblical worldview remains central without alienating listeners.

c. Recording and Voice Acting

Recording involved significant coordination, with each voice actor working individually to perfect their dialogue delivery.

• Jeff: “Everybody had the opportunity to do it about three times.” [07:01]

Jeff discusses the collaborative nature of the project, allowing actors creative freedom while guiding them to align with the script’s intent. Sean Connor, who voiced Jesus, is humorously noted for producing the most bloopers, reflecting the friendly dynamics during production.

• Chris: “Sean Connor was the one producing the most bloopers.” [08:40]

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4. Integrating Biblical Worldview and Scriptural Elements

The foundation of Eyewitness is its commitment to a biblical worldview. Jeff explains the intention to present biblical messages subtly, allowing listeners to absorb the teachings without overt preaching.

• Jeff: “It's something that could be shared to those not familiar with the story... and have it be consumed in an entertaining way.” [03:35]

This approach aims to expand the kingdom by engaging listeners from various backgrounds through compelling narratives grounded in scripture.

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5. Character Development and Inspirations

a. Parable of the Sower

Characters in Eyewitness are inspired by the Parable of the Sower, each representing different types of soil, symbolizing varying receptiveness to faith.

• Jeff: “Quinn and Miles are both that fresh, fertile soil.” [17:14]

b. Character Specifics

• Miles (Luke McGuire): Represents rocky soil—skeptical and unresponsive initially.

  • Jeff: “He leaves. He's that rocky soil that has no growth and no opportunity for the seed to actually Grow.” [17:14]

• Charlie: Embodies dry soil—ambivalent and uncertain.

  • Jeff: “Charlie is the character... without pouring into this newly discovered faith, he's not going to produce anything.” [17:14]

• Quinn and another friend: Symbolize fertile soil—open and receptive to faith.

  These character archetypes facilitate a nuanced exploration of faith and doubt, mirroring real-life spiritual journeys.

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6. Memorable Scenes and Performances

a. Jesus' Prayer

A pivotal scene involves Jesus praying outside Janoah's house, portrayed by Sean Connor, making Jesus relatable and compassionate.

• Chris: “Sean did an amazing job of making Jesus sound so relatable and so caring.” [13:23]

This scene underscores the humanity of Jesus, enhancing the emotional depth of the narrative.

b. Mary and Jesus Dialogue

Mary's emotional performance, voiced by Kate Lewis, complements Jesus' character, creating a powerful interplay.

• Jeff: “Kate... played Mary... she was just so in it.” [14:04]

This interaction adds authenticity and emotional resonance to the story, reflecting the profound relationships depicted in scripture.

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7. The Abrupt Ending and Future Directions

The series concludes with an abrupt ending to the Elysium experience, mirroring the sudden crisis of faith experienced by Miles.

• Jeff: “I wanted the ending to be as abrupt of a crisis as it was abrupt of an ending.” [32:38]

This choice leaves listeners contemplating Miles' next steps, hinting at unresolved challenges and potential future developments.

• Chris: “Will Miles and Quinn make a reappearance? Time will tell.” [34:28]

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8. Reflections and Conclusions

The episode wraps up with reflections on the collaborative effort behind Eyewitness and the gratitude towards all contributors, particularly Northwest Christian School for their partnership.

• Chris: “I can't tell you how grateful I am to you for just your perspective...” [34:39]
• Jeff: “I'm grateful for the partnership with Northwest.” [35:18]

Both hosts express enthusiasm for the project’s impact and anticipation for future seasons, highlighting the series' role in blending faith with creative storytelling.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Chris: “Will there be future seasons of Eyewitness?” [00:07]
• Jeff: “I think there's an incredibly high chance.” [00:21]
• Jeff: “It's something that could be shared to those not familiar with the story...” [03:35]
• Jeff: “Quinn and Miles are both that fresh, fertile soil.” [17:14]
• Jeff: “I wanted the ending to be as abrupt of a crisis as it was abrupt of an ending.” [32:38]

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Conclusion

“Crafting the Narrative: A Deep Dive with Chris Zimmerman” offers an in-depth look into the creation of Eyewitness, highlighting the dedication to intertwining faith with engaging storytelling. Through thoughtful character development, scriptwriting, and voice acting, the series endeavors to present biblical truths in a relatable and compelling manner. The episode not only celebrates the collaborative spirit behind the project but also sets the stage for future explorations, inviting listeners to witness the unfolding journey of faith and narrative excellence.

Transcript

[Chris]

All right, so, Chris, you've heard me ask the question of our voice actors, and I'm going to put it to the man himself. Will there be future seasons of Eyewitness?

[Jeff]

I think there's an incredibly high chance.

[Chris]

I do too.

[Jeff]

Of that.

[Chris]

I do too. I think that's going to be. I'm really looking forward to it. The reaction. And thank you, dude. The reaction to this season has been over the top. It's been phenomenal and it's been so, so fun. But I have to ask one follow up question. Will we see the return? These characters were so endearing. They were so delightful to spend the last four weeks with. Every Monday for 15, 20 minutes, we had the opportunity to drop into their lives. Will we spend any more time with Miles or Quinn or Genoa?

[Jeff]

I think it's safe to say yes. There will be new season. A new season of Eyewitness. As far as the characters, that has yet to be determined what kind of storyline we want to do. But it seems everybody has really enjoyed them. So if they come back, maybe it's for a season three or something like that.

[Chris]

Oh, okay.

[Jeff]

If. If we get green lit.

[Chris]

All right. You know, well, lights are all green from my perspective. What a. What a great experience. And, and that really was our intent from the very beginning. As the story goes. You and I had gone to lunch and where. Where had we gone to lunch?

[Jeff]

Chino banditos.

[Chris]

Chino Bandito, my favorite place. Yep. It's beautiful. Fusion of Chinese food and Mexican food. If you live outside of Arizona and you've never had chino bandito, I feel really bad for you. It's brilliant. The jade chicken in particular is touched by providence. But at any rate. So we're sitting at the Chino Bandito and we are talking about the changes that are happening in education that the world. And this is a terrible term for a Christian educator to use, but education is evolving. It looks different today than it did 20 years ago. And 20 years from now, it's going to look different than it does today as it does change. We want to be ready. We want to make sure that we're on the cutting edge as Christian educators so that biblical worldview remains a priority. That families will never have to choose between rigorous, solid education with all of its opportunities and. And biblical worldview. And we were talking about how that applied to the arts. And whose idea was the audio drama first? I think it was you.

[Jeff]

Well, you. You asked what I was working on personally and I shared. I was working on a podcast that is. Is very Similar to a true crime investigative journal journalist type premise. And I thought, wouldn't it be cool to have something that's completely written to sound like it's authentically a investigative piece, but it's all the rise and fall of King David. So that was that first point and I explained it a lot to you and you said, can you do something like that for Northwest?

[Chris]

That's right.

[Jeff]

Involving students. And I said, yeah. So we emailed back and forth and it was basically heavy inspiration from Adventures in Odyssey. That was something I grew up with as a kid and enjoyed. A lot of families have said, hey, this reminds them of Adventures in Odyssey. And we kind of. The premise too was once we decided on, hey, let's have this be a Lazarus centered idea, there was a lot of desire of let's make this so that it's easily shareable. It's evergreen, you know, it can be accessed at any time. It doesn't go. It doesn't grow old. The biblical worldview elements to it as well as is this something that could be shared to those not familiar with the story, not familiar with Jesus, not familiar with the Bible, and have it be consumed in an entertaining way that they don't fully even. I mean, they would realize, but maybe they don't fully realize they're being, they're being witnessed to. Right. And that that kingdom is expanding as a result. So, yeah, that was kind of part of the goal.

[Chris]

Well, I love that. And, and I love the fact that we have, you know, when we talk about the changing face of, of education, you know, we have students that are on campus full time, we have students that are on campus part time, we have students that are never on the Northwest Christian. And you know, so we've got all these different opportunities we've got on ground, we've got online, but the opportunity, the privilege that we have of investing in the lives of students and participating not just on a curricular level, but an extracurricular level, whether it's athletics or arts or what have you. It's so important as a school that we don't look at our students and say, okay, we've got one of three buckets you can fit in. And if you don't fit in one of these three buckets, you're going to have a long four years of high school, pal. Instead, as educators, if we believe Imago dei, if we believe that we're created in the image of our creator, if we believe that God gives us, according to the Psalms, the desires of our hearts, then we would recognize that our students have their passions, they have their abilities, their hobbies, all the things that they're interested in pursuing. We need to come alongside them and help them to understand. If placed upon the altar in the form of biblical worldview, they can find mission fulfillment using those interests and abilities. And I think this is such a neat way to engage online students on ground students. It's just been so, so cool. Loved it. Now, it's also been a lot of work. Yeah, it's been a lot of work. Now, Tanner earlier indicated that, you know, he showed up and. And did three hours worth of. Of lines. Not so with you. Can you give our listeners a little bit of a perspective how much. You know, we effectively had an hour's worth each. There were four episodes, 15 to 20 minutes a piece. A little over an hour worth of audio drama. How much time went into the creation of Eyewitness?

[Jeff]

A lot. For lack of a better term. There's the idea of just. The writing took a long time. Obviously, the biggest part was the construction of the episodes themselves. I'd say about. It's about 40 hours for the first episode is probably 40 hours. And then it went down from there as my workflow got better and what I was kind of getting used to, the. The biggest part is I know for next time how I'm going to record these to make it even easier, which will take up a lot less time for myself. But, you know, it was a lot of really enhancing the. The audio, the dialogue for the characters. And, you know, there's so much back and forth. Every person, like Tanner said, came and recorded their lines individually, so I had to be very cognizant as. As they're recording. How did Tanner say that line? How did Sean Kohner play Jesus say this line? How do I want them? Because I also had to direct them of how I want them to sound. How. How am I envisioning this? You know, while I was typing, how have I been envisioning this line to be delivered? And so there was a lot of that, you know, I. I'd give. Everybody had the opportunity to do it about three times. Do your line three times, give a different variation of each, and then after that I'll give you any pointers, if there are any. Sometimes they would nail it so good, and it would be in a completely different way than what I envisioned, and it was better. And so.

[Chris]

So which character. That begs the question, which character produced or which voice actor produced the most audio bloopers?

[Jeff]

Sean.

[Chris]

Sean.

[Jeff]

Sean Connor. Because. Because we're just Two goofballs together. But at the same time, that's not entirely historical.

[Chris]

Are you, in effect, saying that Jesus messed up the most?

[Jeff]

Hey, I'm not saying that. You're. You're putting words.

[Chris]

Okay, okay. Just want to make sure I'm clear on that.

[Jeff]

No, Sean was great. And he asked, hey, you know, because when we did the next shot and test takers, he was in both.

[Chris]

These are movies. You're also a movie maker, and these are our movies that you've made with Northwest Christian students. The Next shot and test takers.

[Jeff]

And I've always given them freedom to explore how they deliver what they deliver. And, hey, add in what you'd like. As long as we stick to the main theme of the line and the ending or starting cue is there. Play with it. Do what you want. And when he sat down to do this, I told him earlier, don't stray away from the script because Jesus has to be intentional. Yeah, the lines of it have to be intentional. And he was very rigid with that. And so it took a little bit to get, you know, that dialed in to where. Sean, it's okay. You can say.

[Chris]

What you're in effect saying is Jesus had to loosen up a little bit.

[Jeff]

A little bit. Yeah. So, you know, he. It was difficult to write some of these characters that were portrayed in a biblical sense of, okay, would they use contractions? Would they say, you know, I will not do that versus I won't do that. You know, did that type of dialogue as well as. Then it invites. Okay, do we want accents and all this. Other parts that can really derail a production and make it sound not good. So, you know, allowing Sean the freedom to play around with contractions and. And not. Not be so stringent to the script.

[Chris]

Well, in effect, I. I think you did the same with the script, because there were kind of, as I listened particularly to, I think episode three had the most. And I may be wrong, but had the most time where Jesus was teaching.

[Jeff]

Yeah.

[Chris]

And within that, there were some Eugene Peterson moments where, you know, he has the message and it sounds so much different than the niv, the esb, or the kjv. There were some Eugene Peterson moments here where you, I think, kind of rolled with some of the dialogue. Describe that process of writing and really taking something that we consider to be sacred text and bringing it to life in audio.

[Jeff]

Well, I pulled out my Bible and I found. And I was researching and googling and trying to find all the different parts of Jesus's messages that could relate to a high Schooler. And so I thought, what are a lot of high schoolers facing? Especially someone like Tanner, who's about to graduate, and there's so much life ahead of him and our world is so dominating of, what are you going to do? What are you going to do? What are you going to do? And it's so scary, this thought of making a mistake and not being able to rectify that for your future. And there's just so much pressure. And so I thought it's no wonder that there's a lot of high anxiety amongst the younger generation. And so it was nice to be able to take moments of Jesus teaching that are legitimately in the Bible and just putting them in a different spot. So it didn't feel. And I don't think it is sacrilegious or blasphemous to do that. We were able to take those and apply it in a way that hopefully speaks to not just someone Tanner's age, but even adults, to hear in a different, different mindset than just reading it.

[Chris]

Well, I. I find that fascinating because one of the. It really brings new life and fresh appreciation in my mind to a scene that I. I already love, in which Tanner walks out of Simon's home, and as he does, he encounters Jesus outside praying. And there is a dialogue between these two that is pretty special because it's not scripture, but it speaks to exactly what you're talking about there. And that had to do with the character Miles and his thoughts about his future.

[Jeff]

Yeah. And I love the line and the way Sean delivered it of Miles says, oh, teacher, I didn't realize you were out here. It's not a problem. I was just praying and it's so nonchalant. But to me, the idea of Jesus praying, I think, is. Is powerful.

[Chris]

When I love the fact that Sean did an amazing job of making Jesus sound so relatable and so caring and so compassionate. It was just a. And he sounds like an everyman.

[Jeff]

Yeah.

[Chris]

You know, and that. I think that was such a palpably wonderful part of the. The production. It was so cool when he.

[Jeff]

When we did Kate Lewis, I think was the first. She might have been the first person I recorded. And she played Mary. And so the parts where she's really emotional, you know, towards the end when, you know, my brother would not have died had you been here, she dug deep to get those. And, you know, there was a lot of playing around. Okay, let's. Can you try it with emphasis on this word instead of that word? Can you try it like this? Try it like that. And she was just so in it that when I recorded with Sean, I was able to play him the audio that I selected from Kate's performance. So he had a direct playoff. That was the closest we had to characters interacting with each other. Recording was just that. And he was able. You know, Sean sat there, faced the other way, closed his eyes, and delivered the lines of his emotional response.

[Chris]

Wow.

[Jeff]

And it was really cool to see him.

[Chris]

And he nailed that.

[Jeff]

Oh, yeah.

[Chris]

It was wonderful.

[Jeff]

Yeah, it was great.

[Chris]

Well, and. And it was. It was done in a way that made me think about those verses in John from a slightly different perspective. Yeah, you know, it was. It was so, so rich. It was good. So talking about your reverence for scripture, and, you know, we talk about biblical worldview, and as a school, we really emphasize what we call biblical worldview immersion. I love the fact that you had four high school students and these four high school students. Each of these characters was different, and you crafted them with an eye to scripture. Can you describe that process? Where did the inspiration come from for these four characters?

[Jeff]

Well, there's two big pieces of this whole thing that were very inspired by one, very inspired by my time here at Northwest as a student, which I'll get to after I address your question. But I knew I wanted there to be some sort of internal conflict with one of the characters. One of the characters that's in the Elysium had to just go. And it wasn't a. I didn't like them or anything like that. It was a, okay, this. There needs to be somebody who's just not receptive because that's our world. And once I had that in mind, I thought, you know, the parable of the Sower is so accurate and so perfectly said that I wanted each character to be a representation of the type of soil in that parable.

[Chris]

That's fascinating to me. So you're saying that Miles and Quinn and their two friends, presumably, whom they'd never met, are different soils from the parable of the Sower? Can you equate those to each of these characters for the listeners, to the different soils?

[Jeff]

Yeah. So beautiful. Played by Luke McGuire. I believe he's a sophomore, maybe a junior. I. I apologize. Okay. He was also in Test takers. Wonderful student. Adore having him in the productions. He is. He leaves. He's the student that says this whole Jesus stuff. It's trash, you know, and. And he leaves the Elysium. He's that rocky soil that has no growth and no opportunity for the seed to actually Grow. And so he was that representation of that. Charlie was to me, you know, we get out of the Elysium tech director says, you know, Charlie, what did you think? And he goes, I don't know what to say. And so I wanted that to be so vague, where I don't know what to say because it was so amazing, or I don't know what to say because I don't know what to believe. You know, I don't know where my. My heart and my mind are. Are they at an a crossroad and they're conflicting or what's happening. So Charlie is. The character of. It will produce, and then it's going to dry up, because without watering, he's going to, you know, without pouring into this newly discovered faith, he's not going to produce anything. And then Quinn and Miles are both that fresh, fertile soil. We didn't have a representation of every, you know, soil that he talks about, but did our best. There were nuances that I wrote to give that obvious aspect to these characters. Quinn says, you may not care about this Jesus stuff, but I do. And that was a cue for Miles, okay, I've got somebody else here who does know this Jesus stuff. And so those two were able to kind of come together, you know, as well as try to help Charlie, you know, And Charlie says, I don't know about Jesus. And they said, well, do you want us to share? Do you want to learn about him? And he's apprehensive. And that goes again to that. That soil that might sprout a little bit, but it's going to wither.

[Chris]

One of the things that I find so interesting, too, in that fourth and final episode when Azariah is at the resurrection, it almost seems as though he appreciates, not just appreciates what Jesus is doing, but it's almost like he has foreknowledge of what is about to happen. Is that an accurate reading? If so, where did that come from?

[Jeff]

Yeah, so I wanted it to be. There's concern that he says, I'm fearful the threat we left may return. And as they step closer and he's watching, witnessing, you know, the interaction between Martha and Jesus and then Mary and Jesus, everything that they're saying, he's starting to realize something about to happen. Everything Jesus has said is not literal. I'm going there to. It's not metaphorical. I mean, I'm going there to wake him up. It's. It's starting to be literal. And so he's picking up on these, and that's why, When Charlie says, why is Jesus crying? Referencing my favorite verse of the Bible, John 11:35, Jesus wept. Azariah says, because he knows. He knows what he's taking Lazarus away from. So when I attended northwest, I had Mr. Morin as my, I believe it was sophomore Bible. And I respected Mr. Morin. I probably didn't show him as a bratty little sophomore, the respect that he deserved, but I know he recently passed, which is unfortunate because I wish he could have heard this, the final product, because it was heavily inspired because of him and his class.

[Chris]

Wow.

[Jeff]

So we had to do, every quarter, we had to do a verse test. Not a verse test, a verse analysis, analysis, study, and study. So, you know, it was always one of the gospels. And so when it was John, I first jokingly put John 11:35 because it's the shortest verse. But it was a three page paper that we'd have to write out and really explore. And he told me, no, you're not doing that. And I'm like, Mr. Morin, come on, let me do it. Just give me a chance. And so after some strong convincing, he ended up saying, okay, but you will get the grade you deserve. I'm like, okay, I'm down for the challenge. And so I initially was just trying to write a report that would just get me a C or a B. And the more I dove into it, the more I started coming up with this idea that Jesus was not crying because everybody else was crying. He wasn't crying because Lazarus was dead. He knew what he was about to do. And so, which begs the question, where was Lazarus, you know, in this moment? And I believe he was in heaven and he was. Jesus was taking Lazarus away and bringing him back into the world, and that's why he was crying. He knows, he knew what he was taking Lazarus away from.

[Chris]

Wow.

[Jeff]

And, you know, even, even Jim, Jim bowl, wonderful preacher, pastor said, you know. Correct. Yeah, he said, I hadn't thought of it that way because I wanted to put that into perspective for him who delivers those lines. And that was important for me. So I, I wish Mr. Morin could have been able to hear this.

[Chris]

Yeah, well, let's, let's be confident that he has. He's just got a lot of heavenly interest competing for his attention.

[Jeff]

Oh, I'm sure.

[Chris]

So I love the story of Lazarus and I, I love the fact that, you know, as you just alluded, when we are presented with a new and different perspective, it can be helpful because it causes us to look at scripture. You know, we grow accustomed to Looking at it in a certain way, we, we read the same passages time and time again and we, we picture them the way that we always picture them until somebody comes along with a fresh perspective and causes you to look at. Look at it differently. And I think that's what this audio drama does so well. You know, the story of Lazarus is amazing. And the thing, as the professor played by Mark Young indicates, is that the story of Lazarus is only told in the Gospel of John. And so you've got Mark, which by most accounts is the earliest gospel written. And you would think, well, if you were going to write something amazing that Jesus did for your gospel, you would probably come up first with resurrection. But Mark doesn't mention it. You would think that Matthew, who is writing to the audience of the Jews, the Jews are expecting resurrection to be part of a messianic testimony. And you would think that Matthew would write, hey, by the way, our proposed Messiah did in fact raise somebody from the dead. Resurrection is part of, of his messianic testimony. But no, Matthew doesn't, doesn't reference Lazarus.

[Jeff]

Which is another reason why Matthew is one of the only disciples who has a gospel that's present in the story.

[Chris]

Oh, interesting.

[Jeff]

There is no Mark, Luke or John.

[Chris]

Interesting.

[Jeff]

The only two disciples that we actually hear from are Matthew and Thomas.

[Chris]

And Thomas was such a rich character for Comic Relief. One of my. I think he is one of the most misunderstood understood disciples because as this story did present, Thomas was the very first disciple to say, hey, let us go, that we might die with him. He was the first one of all the disciples to express his interest in his conviction of being a potential martyr for Jesus. And so doubting Thomas is kind of an unfortunate. And I love the fact that he says I doubt that in his characteristic voice.

[Jeff]

So fun, fun story too with, with Mike Waipa, who played Thomas. Yeah, he's the facilities director manager for, for Northwest. And you know, he's. I just, I approached him day three of recording and said, hey, I need someone for this. Are, are you available? I know you're a dad and most dads have a lot of silly voices. Can you change your voice? And so he came in and he did, he did his, his take. And then he texted me that night and said, hey, I was thinking Thomas is probably more nerdy. Can, can I kind of give him a nasal.

[Chris]

Poor Thomas taking one on the chin.

[Jeff]

But you know, he. So we came back in and he redid his, his lines as Thomas. And he's actually also the, the two street vendors that you hear in episode two, when they're walking and you know, fish, fish, fresh fish. That's. That's him. And garments. And so, you know, he's. He did great. But for him to take so few lines so seriously. Yeah, was. Was really cool. And the, the comedic relief of. Yeah, I doubt that I enjoyed it.

[Chris]

That was fun. Well, and then you've got the Gospel of John right where. Or no, you go back to. You go back to Luke. And Luke is a physician, right? And Luke does not mention the fact that. Oh yeah, by the way, a guy raised from the dead, something that's never happened before here it's happening at least in Galilee. And so you think, wow, why did Mark, Matthew and Luke not relay this story? And that's where you get the suggestion, as is made by the professor, it's so easy to say, well, because John made it up. John had an agenda. He wanted to deify Christ, and so therefore he made up the story of Lazarus. And that's where I think the title of this podcast is so rich is because the Gospels were eyewitness testimony. They were the testimony of people that were there on hand. And had they conveyed those stories? Because we find in John that the Pharisees were seeking to kill not just Jesus, because of the potency of this moment in history, they were also looking to kill Lazarus. And so now we see, okay, had Matthew, had Luke, had Mark written these things, then it would have engendered the unwanted attention of the Pharisees to Lazarus and would have put his life at risk. Again, we see the same thing with Malchus. John is the only. In the early accounts of the Garden of Gethsemane, John is the only. The only one that says, hey, it was Malchus. And why? Because Malchus was the. The high priest servant who had his ear cut off by Peter. And he did not want. Until Peter passed away, he didn't want to convey eyewitness testimony that would have been damaged to damage to Peter.

[Jeff]

So, you know, and there was. There was a lot that. That we even. I even cut out. Is that right of dialogue. And a lot from Mark Young as the professor that that scene went on for a while back and forth and, and upon listening to it and constructing it was just too long and it bogged it down a little bit. And so I pulled little pieces here and there that, that I just didn't maybe got a little repetitive or, you know, redundant. But so could we do.

[Chris]

Is. Is it possible someday, like, you know, like the Lord of the Rings has the extended editions. Oh, gosh maybe we could have Eyewitness, the extended edition.

[Jeff]

I think if there was an extended edition, it would only have one entry that I really wanted. And it's. It's in the dialogue between Miles and Jesus when they're outside Janoah's house. And. And I've got the script up. Jesus says, placing your worldly desires behind you to be with Jehovah is not easy, but it will be worth it. And so in the script I had written, there's a beat which means nothing happens. It's just a pause. And then he actually quotes scripture from the Old Testament and he quotes the prayer from Jonah. And that's what I had in there, which is in my distress. I called to the Lord, and he answered me. From deep in the realm of the dead. I called for help, and you listened to my cry. You hurled me into the depths, into the very heart of the seas. And the currents swirled about me. All your waves and breakers swept over me. When my life was ebbing away. I remembered you, Lord, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple. Those cling. Those who cling to worthless idols turn away from God's love for them. But I, with shouts of grateful praise, will sacrifice to you. I love it. And I think, you know, I like the idea of Jesus quoting past scripture and. But, yeah, I think that's the only part I would add back in. Yeah, it just. It seemed a little confusing when it was in the final product because there's no setup for it, and we didn't record any.

[Chris]

So now there were. There were some. There were some ironies within this production. One of the things that I found to be humorous was. And most people wouldn't know, this is the individual. His name is. Mark Young that plays the professor is probably one of the most accomplished apologists that I know. He was. For years. He was our senior Bible teacher. He's a calculus teacher. He's a very bright Bible department head for a Bible Bible department chair. Great, great biblical teacher. He's now an area pastor. Right. He's over at Desert Breeze. But he is an unbelievable apologist, and yet he's the one that's playing this professor that causes the crisis of faith for. For Miles, I. You know, I found it interesting, and I'm wondering what your motive was that the. The end of episode four and spoiler alert, folks, finds the Elysium experience ending somewhat suddenly. Yeah. And then we're left to. Well, we hear Miles say, you know, he's asked, where are you headed? He goes, well, I'M going back to talk to that professor. And that just. That's where the whole thing ends. Talk to us about that. How did, how did that come together? Why was the ending of the Elysium experience so abrupt? And what do we know about where Miles is headed next?

[Jeff]

I wanted it to be as abrupt of an ending as it was an abrupt of a crisis. So everything in this character's kind of upbringing and development had been the standard, oh, I grew up, my parents took me to church, that kind of stuff. And he's faced with a legitimate barricade. Right. An obstacle. And he's challenged heavily with some deep thoughts that I think a lot of people on the other side of the aisle would use for their destruction of the validity of the Bible. And that causes, it's so monumental, it causes some serious thoughts for him. That's why he's very subdued in the cafeteria after, in that scene post. I didn't do anything. You know, that's his kind of mindset. He's reflecting on what was just said and he's a little. Not perturbed, but maybe just challenged. And so I wanted the ending to be as abrupt as that moment was for the character, as well as it's abrupt to that character again.

[Chris]

Right.

[Jeff]

And so, right when you. We realize that Miles has that revelation of, all right, I get it now, it's over and he's able to go back into the world and face it. And so, you know, it's, it's. I like the ending for. We're, we're not gonna hear the follow up, you know, sorry to anybody that, that, that wants more. But that's it. That was the end. This was a four episode series and I wanted it to be able to be challenged.

[Chris]

It does beg the question, though, and I'm just going to leave the question hanging out there. I know you're not going to answer it today, but will Miles and Quinn make a reappearance? Time will tell.

[Jeff]

Time will tell.

[Chris]

Time will tell. Well, Chris, this has just been an amazing journey. It's been fun to listen to the whole thing. It's also been just amazing to see all of the different personalities and parts and people come together and see this thing come to fruition. And I can't tell you how grateful I am to you for just your perspective in crafting this whole thing, as well as the passion that drives this sort of artistic expression. We're so grateful, so, so thank you.

[Jeff]

And I'm grateful for the, the partnership with Northwest. It's been unbelievable and and I'm grateful for the opportunity to do these amazing projects.

[Chris]

And. So what is we in today? What? What? And when would be season two?

[Jeff]

I don't know. Maybe.

[Chris]

How soon before September is it? Are we back in the Elysium, or.

[Jeff]

I'm thinking nobody will know.

[Chris]

Oh, okay. Sorry, folks. I tried to. Tried to get some details, but. But hold on. At least. At least we got a September date out of you. I appreciate that.

[Jeff]

Yeah.

[Chris]

All right, well, folks, thank you for. For being part of the eyewitness journey, and we look forward to more to come.

[Jeff]

Thanks, Jeff.

[Chris]

Take care.