A Closer Look at the Nativity

Christmas is right around the corner, and in the midst of the shopping, decorating and gathering, it can be easy to miss out on the true heart of the holiday. This year, Doug Rogers, BFA '82, was closer to the Nativity story than most.

Rogers was the Production Designer/Concept Designer for Turning Point Ministries' Why the Nativity?, which released in late November. The docudrama features the Nativity story and the events leading up to it, based on Dr. David Jeramiah's book, Why the Nativity?.

Rogers became involved in the project through Design/Build, a creative group full of fellow Disney alums. (Rogers' impactful career at Disney was profiled in a 2018 Baylor Magazine article)

"We are a group of former Disney Imagineers who all have our specialties in entertainment design. That means theme parks, movies, museum displays, the Olympics," Rogers said. "The sets we designed for this film were the largest that had been built in San Diego County since the Titanic was filmed."

A total of 46 structures were built for the project along with a 150-foot wall and 40-foot gate. The entire project took about a year and a half.

"It was the first time I had done a Judean architecture, particularly a live action" Rogers said. "I've done several sets, but never a first century Judean town, which has both Judean architecture and Roman architecture."

Rogers dug into every resource available to him when it came to research. He even referred to his days as an undergrad at Baylor in his religion classes. And it all paid off.

"People would show up to the set and would be stunned," Rogers said. "These are things you've dreamed about, but you've never actually physically walked around in. You walked down that street and it was being like a time traveler."

The set brought the entire production to life. Of course, for Rogers, the project felt even closer to home as he believed in the story itself.

"Everybody took great pride in, at least historically recreating something that was fairly accurate," Rogers said. "But for me, it was an added plus because I actually believe in the story."

The hope is that anyone who watches the film would be brought into the full story of the Nativity, especially in the midst of this Christmas season.

"If you're a believer, this might be help give a level of understanding you've not had before," Rogers said. "And for people that maybe have been curious about the Nativity and what's it all about, it's an opportunity for them to perhaps be exposed to the thought of what it is," Rogers said.

Why the Nativity? can be viewed at davidjeremiah.org/whythenativity/about.