Enchiridion

“We Keep Getting Spinosaurus Wrong,” a 68-minute documentary with more than 36 million views on YouTube.

Enchiridion is the science and paleontology channel I built and produced on YouTube. Each episode turns current research on an extinct animal or fossil discovery into a narrated documentary with motion graphics.

Its flagship documentary on Spinosaurus has passed 36 million views on its own. Across 139+ videos, the channel has reached 127K+ subscribers and 38M+ views, and earned YouTube’s 100K Creator Award.

Enchiridion on YouTube(opens in a new tab)

Role: Writer, director, editor, and producer
Dates: August 2020 – October 2026
Format: Independent YouTube channel (solo)
Tools: Premiere Pro, After Effects, Photoshop, YouTube Analytics
Recognition: YouTube 100K Creator Award
Reach: 127K+ subscribers · 38M+ views · 139+ videos

What I contributed

I owned the whole process for six years: researched and wrote the scripts from scientific sources, directed and edited the videos, built the motion graphics, designed and tested thumbnails and titles, and used retention analytics to plan each next episode.

views on one documentary: 36M+; views on one documentary
channel views: 38M+; channel views
subscribers: 127K+; subscribers
YouTube Creator Award: 100K; YouTube Creator Award

Key production decisions

Decision 1
Start each episode from the source material
Scripts were built from papers and other scientific sources. The graphics then had one job: show a single idea from the source clearly enough that a general viewer could follow it.
Source: a physiology paper on screen.
Result: one concept per frame.
Decision 2
Treat the thumbnail as the first frame
The thumbnail and title are the first thing a viewer sees, so I designed them with the same care as the video and tested alternatives against each other. The rule was that the video had to deliver what the thumbnail promised.
Decision 3
Use audience-retention graphs to plan the next edit
After each upload I read where viewers dropped off and used that to adjust pacing and structure in the next script.
YouTube Studio analytics for a single episode.