Cotter joins a growing US team representing d3 nationwide. "Matthew is a very strong addition to the team, and we're excited to welcome him," says Hans Beijer, Vice President of Sales for d3 Americas. "Matt came highly recommended by mutual friends in the industry and I fully understand why. He's bright, quick, committed and very much hands-on. His start with our team has been both impressive and very pleasant. I'm looking forward to a strong kick off for d3 in 2016!"
Cotter's interest in lighting was sparked when he was a student in the Huntington Beach (CA) High School magnet program in theatrical production. Upon graduation he joined the technical services department at Disneyland where he began to program shows. He also worked at lighting vendor the Obie Company learning how to operate and fix lighting rigs for the touring customers. He began to tour with the likes of Creed and Metallica but decided a long-term life on the road wasn't for him.
Cotter took on more work closer to home, including lighting design for Disneyland's 50th anniversary fireworks show, Remember, Dreams Come True, handling the video on The World of Color at Disney's California Adventure, and producing the video for Fantasmic at Tokyo DisneySea. He became one of the first people to use media servers at Disneyland.
He transitioned to television and became the programmer for Dancing With the Stars series seven. The hit show is now in its 21st series (with two series per year), and Cotter is the lighting director. Off-season he acts as a freelance lighting designer and programmer and maintains his E-Ticket Studios partnership with fellow Disney alum Jason Badger.
"I'm excited to join the d3 family as part of the technical sales and special projects teams and be part of growing the d3 community here in the US," says Cotter. "I've been a d3 user myself for the past two years when I started using d3 Designer as a previsualization tool to create media and stage simulations for clients. I'll continue to work in my freelance capacity with my current clients and am excited to be introducing them to the d3 platform."
Pic: Matt Cotter (right) with Hans Beijer (left)
