Nicholas Peterson is a graduate of the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) where he developed skills in stop-motion animation. In 1998 Peterson crewed on the first ever stop-motion IMAX film More, later nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. Soon after, he made his own stop-motion short film MuM receiving critical acclaim at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival and winning a College Emmy Award.In 2001 Peterson made the live action short film Cookies for Harry, before setting sights on directing a low budget feature film. In spring 2006 Peterson completed his first independent feature film Intellectual Property starring Christopher Masterson of Malcolm in the Middle. Peterson continues to live and work in Los Angeles.