Back to the Start is a short story about a farmer’s life as he slowly turns his family farm into an industrial animal factory before seeing the errors of his ways and opting for a more sustainable future. The video has been produced by Nexus Productions for Chipotle Cultivate Foundation, a company which is committed to creating a more sustainable and healthful food supply and to raising awareness concerning food issues.
Chipotle founder Steve Ells met with Johnny Kelly, a director of this commercial, in London to talk about his passionate efforts to source food on a more sustainable and ethical basis. The film is a result of this conversation.
Music legend Willie Nelson, well known for his support of family farmers, was a perfect collaborator for the music. His cover of Coldplay’s highly evocative track The Scientist movingly underscores the animation with Nelson’s voice experience.
The production process is also very interesting. Almost all objects in a scene are real models, created with the help of 3D printing technology. The pace and timeline of the film is captured beautifully in camera using traditional stop frame model animation techniques to track the life of a farmer. Filmed in one sweeping take, the film was painstakingly animated over 4-weeks on one large all-encompassing model background.
Back to the Start – Making of
Credits for ‘Back to the Start – Making of’:
Production Company: Across The Pond Productions
Executive Producer: Rachna Suri
Executive Producer: Julie Cohen
Production Manager: Beki Gard
Offline Edit: Will Brown
Camera: James Hughes
Motion Graphics: Mike Brookes
Online Edit: Will Brown & Robert Waddilove
Production Secretary: Mikal Habteab
Credits for the original film:
Production Company: Nexus Productions
Nexus Director: Johnny Kelly
Nexus Exec Producer: Cedric Gairard, Chris O’Reilly, Charlotte Bavasso
Nexus Producer: Liz Chan
Nexus Production Managers: Claire Thompson, Alistair Pratten
Director of Photography: Matt Day
3D Previs Lead: Mark Davies
Camera Assistant: Max Halstead
Model Assistant: Joe James
Electrician: Aldo Camileri
Model Rigger: Gary Faulkner
Character Animator: Gary Cureton
Set Animator: Matthew Cooper
Compositors: Alasdair Brotherston, John Taylor
Production Designer: Graham Staughton
Art Department: Gordon Allen, Ben C?t?, Joe Kirton
Studio Manager: Elizabeth Day
Models: Bob @ Artem
Music Supervision: David Leinhart at Duotone Audio
Music Producers: Justin Stanley and Doyle Bramhall
Content Manager: Liz Graves
Artist: Willie Nelson
Sound Design: Barnaby Templer @ Fonic