J. Todd Anderson is a

storyboard A storyboard is a graphic organizer that consists of simple illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualizing a motion picture, animation, motion graphic or interactive media sequence. The storyboarding proce ...

artist who has worked with a number of filmmakers, including the

Coen brothers Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, together known as the Coen brothers (), are an American filmmaking duo. Their films span many genres and styles, which they frequently subvert or parody. Among their most acclaimed works are '' Blood Simple'' (198 ...

. He also, along with film archivist and friend George Willeman and

WYSO WYSO (91.3 FM) is a radio station in Yellow Springs, Ohio, near Dayton, community owned and operated; formerly licensed and operated by Antioch College. It is the flagship NPR member station for the Miami Valley, including the cities of Dayton ...

D.J. Niki Dakota, produces ''Filmically Perfect''. He made his directorial debut in 1998 with the film '' The Naked Man''. A few years later, he served as

second unit director A second unit is a discrete team of filmmakers tasked with filming shots or sequences of a production, separate from the main or "first" unit. The second unit will often shoot simultaneously with the other unit or units, allowing the filming s ...

on the Coen brothers' ''

Intolerable Cruelty ''Intolerable Cruelty'' is a 2003 American romantic comedy film directed, co-written and edited by Joel and Ethan Coen, and produced by Brian Grazer and the Coens. The script was written by Robert Ramsey and Matthew Stone and Ethan and Joel Co ...

'', which earned him membership in the

Directors Guild of America The Directors Guild of America (DGA) is an entertainment guild that represents the interests of Film director, film and Television director, television directors in the United States motion picture industry and abroad. Founded as the Screen Dir ...

. Anderson received credit for appearing in '' Fargo'' as "Victim in Field". Instead of his name being used, he was credited with the symbol for the artist formerly known as Prince, which was turned on its side and a smiley face drawn in the circle. In addition, his name was used in the 2010 film '' True Grit'' as one of the many aliases for the outlaw Tom Chaney.

Storyboard

Anderson has stated that his role as storyboard artist is "less creative than interpretive". When working with Ethan and Joel Coen, the Coens go through the movie shot by shot, and Anderson works to "establish the scale, trap the angle, ID the character, get the action". Afterwards he sits and does a more polished drawing from the sketches drawn with the directors. After getting feedback from the filmmakers and adding several details, such as facial expressions, necessary props and arrows depicting actor and camera movement, the drawings are photocopied and given to everyone on the set. Thus, the storyboards Anderson creates are vital to the smooth process and good communication on the film set. Anderson has contributed to and been credited for the storyboards of the following films:

Pop opera

Anderson has written the words and music for a pop opera entitled ''Nativity''. It tells the story of the birth of Jesus through the eyes of angels. First performed in Dayton, Ohio in 1995, the show was not performed again until 2008. Anderson cites his influences on the piece being rock operas such as ''

Tommy Tommy may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tommy (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Tommy Atkins, or just Tommy, a slang term for a common soldier in the British Army * Tommy Giacomelli (born 1974), Brazilian fo ...

'' and ''

Jesus Christ Superstar ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' is a sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Loosely based on the Life of Jesus in the New Testament, Gospels' accounts of Passion of Jesus, the Passion, the work interprets ...

'' as well as

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

musicals.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, J. Todd Living people American storyboard artists Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) Pseudonymous artists