Born into a family of artists, Olivier Cotte studied piano, classical dance and fine arts in parallel with his philosophy degree. Passionate about animation, he made his first film at the age of 14. Fascinated by the aesthetics of John Cage and Merce Cunningham, he first wanted to become a contemporary dancer, but then enrolled in the fine arts and the Sorbonne in cinema and literature.
Since 2002, he has devoted himself to writing fiction and working as a historian of animation cinema. He teacher at Gobelins, l'école de l'image from 2002 to 2014. He is the artistic and technical director of the opening shorts of the Annecy festival from 2002 to 2012. He also teaches at ESAG Penninghen, Esra, and abroad (Germany, China, Taiwan...). He collaborates with the reading committee of the Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée and for many film festivals and cinematheques. From 2002 to 2012, he wrote the tributes to the missing of the year for the Annecy festival. He wrote many articles for different magazines dedicated to cinema, image and computer science, then several books dedicated to animation film including an encyclopedia 100 ans de cinéma d'animation and Le grand livre des techniques d’animation, monographs dedicated to filmmakers (David Ehrlich, Georges Schwizgebel and Walt Disney), a book of study and interviews with directors awarded an Oscar. He has also translated the animator's bible The Animator's Survival KitbyRichard Williams and several technical books.
In 2012, he received an Award for outstanding contribution to animation studies at the World Festival of Animated Film - Animafest Zagreb.
Olivier Cotte had been the scriptwriter of a TV series Mr. TiVi in 1985, and had published some short stories, but it is from 2008 that he wrote several comics. With Jules Stromboni at the drawing, he published Le futuriste, mixing science fiction and fantasy, followed by two adaptations for the Casterman-Rivage collection: L'ultime défi de Sherlock Holmes and L'épouvantail. The post-apocalyptic universe will be developed with Xavier Coste for Le lendemain du monde. In a more humorous register, ; he releases with Martin Viot Memento Maurice at Editions du Long Bec in 2019. Olivier Cotte develops in his scenarios a predilection for imaginary universes, in particular science fiction and fantasy. This interest also leads him to collaborate with the Festival of Utopiales through evening classes and round tables. His passion for storytelling led him to write a screenwriting method, Writing for Film and Television, followed by Adapting a Book for Film and Television and Creating Characters for Films and Series, and to teach this subject in several schools such as Ispra. He has also translated Robert McKee's Dialogue: the Art of Verbal Action for Stage, Page and Screen, Character: The Art of Role and Cast Design for Page, Stage, and Screen, Action: The Art of Excitement for Screen, Page, and Game, and edited Story: Substance, Structure, Style and the Principles of Screenwriting by the same author. He's also a playwright and novelist.
Il était une fois le dessin animé, an encyclopedia about worldwide animation. Foreword by Jean-Claude Carrière. Dreamland, 2001, (out of print).
Utiliser After Effects pour émuler une multiplane traditionnelleinLes cahiers du designer; les cahiers de Gobelins, l'école de l'image, collective work. Éditions Eyrolles, 2003.
Réaliser un film sur After EffectsinLes cahiers du designer; After-Effects, collective work. Éditions Eyrolles, 2004. Translated in espagnol: Conseguir animaciones y efectos especiales. Éditions CEAC tiempoLibre, 2005.
Secrets of Oscar-winning Animation: Behind the scenes of 13 classic short animations. Focal Press, 2007. ISBN978-0-240-52070-4. In French: Les Oscars du film d'animation. Eyrolles, 2006. In Japanese: コマ撮りアニメーションの秘密―オスカー獲得13作品の制作現場と舞台裏. Editions Graphic-Sha, 2008. In corean: 오스카 애니메이션 올리비에 코트 | 역자: 나호원 | 다빈치. In Spanish: Los Oscars de dibujos animados, Ediciones Omega 2009.
Chapters Le cinéma d’animation andt La typographieinDictionnaire mondial des images, collective work. Nouveau Monde éditions, 2006.
B is for Bordo, bilingual (English/Croatian) monograph, collective work. SKD Prosvjeta, Zagreb, 2006.
La vidéo de A à Z: réalisez vos films comme un pro! Compétence Micro, 2007. In Spanish: Vídeo de la A à la Z: Crea peliculas como los profesionales. Know ware, PC-cuadernos, 2008.
The beginnings of the Asifain50th Asifa Anniversary, The Animation Art and The History of Asifa, collectif. Asifa Publication (in english), 2011.
Travaux pratiques avec After Effects. Editions Dunod, 2011.
Mieux comprendre After EffectsinSavoir tout faire en animation 2D et 3D, collective work. Éditions Oracom, 2011.
Michaela PavlatovainAnimating the Unconscious, Desire, Sexuality and Animation, collective work. Wallflower Press, 2012.
Les grandes fonctions d’After EffectsinSavoir tout faire en vidéo: le Motion Design, collective work. Éditions Oracom, 2012.
Écrire pour le cinéma et la télévision : Structure du scénario, outils et nouvelles techniques d'écriture créative. Editions Dunod, 2014.
100 ans de cinéma d'animation, encyclopedia about worldwide animation. Éditions Dunod, 2015. Second edition 2023, foreword by Marc Caro. Translated in Chinese: 百年世界动画电影史; 2021.
french chapter writer in Animation - A World HistorydeGiannalberto Bendazzi. Focal Press, 2015.
Le grand livre des techniques du cinéma d'animation, Foreword by Peter Lord. Éditions Dunod, 2018. Second edition, 2024.
Adapter un livre pour le cinéma et la télévision - De l'oeuvre originale au scénario : roman, théâtre, biographie, bande dessinée. Éditions Armand Colin, 2020.
Créer des personnages de films et de séries. Éditions Armand Colin, 2022.
Filmographie animéeinSciences & fictions à Peyresq, Citoyennetés spéculatives, collective work. Éditions du Somnium, 2016.
La figure de Watson dans les adaptations audiovisuellesinSherlock Holmes, un nouveau limier pour le XXIe siècle, collective work. PUR Rennes / Colloque de Cerisy, 2016.
Tim Burton and the Animated FilminTim Burton : A Cinema of Transformations, collective work (in english). Presses universitaires de la Méditerranée, 2018.
L'animation engagée dans Less is more, collectif. Festival de musiques nouvelles, Philharmonie Luxembourg, 2019.
Evolution and formal style in Portuguese animation dans Reframing Portuguese cinema in the 21th Century, collectif. Curtas Metragens, 2020.
Adapter Dune, analyse d'un scénariste dans Dune, le Mook, collectif. Éditions L'Atalante & Leha, 2020.
Repères biographiques dans Georges Schwizgebel, filmonographie, collectif. Monographie bilingue. La cinquième couche, 2020.
Penny Dreadful, Who am I? dans Saison, la revue des séries – 1, n° 1. Classiques Garnier, 2021.
Walt Disney, l'homme qui rêvait d'être un enfant. Éditions Perrin, 2024.
Créez vos propres animations en Stop Motion, translation of Melvyn Ternan's book. Dunod, 2014.
Composer ses images pour le cinéma : Structure visuelle de l'image animée, translation of Bruce Block's book. Éditions Eyrolles, 2014.
Métier : Réalisateur - Quand les maîtres du cinéma se racontent, translation of Mike Goodridge's book. Éditions Dunod, 2014.
Story - Ecrire des dialogues pour la scène et l'écran, translation of Robert McKee's book. Éditions Armand Colin, 2017.
Story - Ecrire un scénario pour le cinéma et la télévision, technical correction of the previous translation of Robert McKee's book. Éditions Armand Colin, 2017.
Story - Concevoir des personnages pour la scène et l'écran, translation of Robert McKee's book. Éditions Armand Colin, 2023.
Story - L'art de l'action pour l'écran et la scène, translation of Robert McKee's book. Éditions Armand Colin, 2024.
