Eric S. Anderson | Director and Editor

Anderson is a two-time Emmy winning director and editor for the title sequences of Dexter and Six Feet Under. He joined Digital Kitchen in its infancy. His work and leadership over the years helped Digital Kitchen become the internationally recognized company it is today. In 2009 Anderson was elected to the executive committee for the Emmy awards at the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. He has been a guest speaker for the Academy as well as numerous design conferences throughout North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. New York magazine profiled Anderson’s work for Dexter placing him alongside Betty White and Tracy Morgan as a “Televisionary” for 2010.

Why did you choose Minneapolis College of Art and Design?
Compared to a number of other colleges, MCAD had much better equipment, 24-hour access to the gear, plus an excellent student to faculty ratio. The studios were incredibly impressive.

What experience at MCAD helped you find the career or place you are in today?
The emphasis on verbalizing your ideas is incredibly helpful, that’s a main part of my job as a director/creative director. I’m in the business of having people give me money for something I haven’t made yet, all they have to go on is the trust I can gain during my pitch and how well I can bring my proposal to life verbally. MCAD had such a strong emphasis on talking about your ideas instead of being a tech school where they merely teach you how to use gear.

Is there a message, story, or idea that you would like to share with prospective MCAD students?
Becoming an artist or a successful creative is a very long process. Learning how to use a piece of equipment or technique is merely the cost of entry. You will learn all that the more you do it anyway, but the most important thing is to develop a point of view and know how to keep your point of view relevant. To be successful, you need to be able to verbalize your ideas and work at becoming a strong conceptual thinker. Technical ability is not as important as the ability to think up new ideas, but conveying your ideas is more important than anything.