Before coming to VFS, Dieter attended the Vancouver School of Art for three years, after which he started his career as a freelance animator at International Rocketship (1976). He continued to work at IR for the next 20-plus years, directing numerous commercials and winning a few awards (as well as freelancing for a number of other studios). In 1982, he made a short film The Butterfly, which won an award at the 1983 Canada Council Short Film Showcase and participated at the Cannes Film Festival.