Over The Horizon, (2012) was completed during my MFA and was shown in a several film festivals across the US. The short animation explores the thematic relationship of the horizon to those who cross it. Corporal Kenneth Ayrshire is a veteran waiting for his final bus to take him home, and #34 is an adorably small cow trying to escape the confinement of his herd. 

To one character the horizon is a prison, trapping him from freedom and exploration; from living life the way it was meant to be lived. For the other, the horizon suggests a boundary of safety and offers a solemn reminder of the price one pays for crossing it. 

Now returning to his wife and family, Over The Horizon takes us to Corp. Ayrshire's last moments alone before he climbs, with the use of his prosthetic leg, into the bus which will bring him back to civilian life. At the same moment down the road, a lucky break means an exuberant #34 has found his way into a cattle trailer, bound for the open road (and the slaughterhouse beyond). 

In a single moment, they pass each other. 

The horizon has defined the life of our nation and it will come define the lives of these two individuals as well.

--All the modeling, texturing, animation, editing, and compositing for this film was done by Andrew Klein--