The first batch of Shell Bluff DVDs arrived today, which means that they are now officially available!

The Shell Bluff project started in March 2008, when my uncle David asked me if I wanted to make a video with him during a visit to his house. And of course, I thought it was a great idea. Thankfully, my original action movie idea was quickly trashed in favor of a documentary idea Uncle David had.

And thus, Shell Bluff was born as an idea, about a week or so before we shot it. Production took place in the space of 24 hours over two days, as we shot three locations the first afternoon, and finished the ending video and some cutaways the next morning.

So what’s Shell Bluff? Well, it’s a location in southeastern Georgia on the Savannah river. Care to guess what’s at that location? Yep, exactly what the name implies: shells. Basically, it’s a deposit of fossilized giant oyster shells, a deposit that has been subject to much interest from scientists on both sides of the Creation/Evolution debate (even one Sir Charles Lyell visited the site).

While the evidence found at the site is most often interpreted as a very old fossil deposit, the evidence actually points to the opposite. Not only were these salt-water animal fossils found about 100 miles from any salt water (pointing to a major catastrophic event which laid them down in a deposit), but during the same century when these fossils were found, the same kind of giant oysters were found in the Chesapeake Bay—alive.

And that’s not even the half of the story. Our aim in making this documentary was to tell the story of Shell Bluff, its scientific and historical significance, why it’s an important site in the origins debate, and the evidence for both the Creator and the great flood.

Post-production on the documentary lasted too long, mostly because I forgot about it for a while. The first rough cut was almost thirty minutes long (and that didn’t include the end scenes and credits), dragged horrible, and didn’t flow very well. I guess it just needed time to rest.

After getting some practice in cutting out, shortening, and making video flow (I was editing the bonus materials for the short film Precious Treasure at the time), I came back to Shell Bluff. Before long, it was under twenty minutes and nearly completed.

So a lot changed from the first rough cut to the final cut that’s now available: the length, the storytelling, the music (I decided to do all the music scoring myself instead of using creative commons licensed music), even the overall feel of it.

And now, it’s done. The DVD is available for purchase in the Store, and the download will soon be available as well. EDIT: The Download is now available. The DVD is $12.50 (+$2.50 shipping), and the download is $1.65. Included on the DVD are four short films, two by Uncle David’s production company, Green Peas Productions, and two by my own.

Shell Bluff is a fun adventure the whole family can enjoy, while learning about the evidence for our Creator and the magnificence of His creation!

View the trailer below: