Back to the Start depicts the life of a farmer as he slowly turns his family farm into an industrial animal factory before seeing the error of his ways and opting for a more sustainable future.  The soundtrack of the short film is Coldplay's haunting classic 'The Scientist' as performed by country music legend Willie Nelson. Both the film and the soundtrack were commissioned by Chipotle to emphasize the importance of developing a sustainable food system. The film was launched on YouTube and on over 10,000 theatrical screens across the country. Additionally, Back to the Start was broadcast at the 2012 Grammy Awards.

To mirror the care that Chipotle and its partners have in creating responsibly raised food, this animation is an audacious work of craft. 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.