Bill Beemer

Bill Beemer’s career originally was aimed at becoming an art teacher, he earned a degree in Art Design and a Master’s in Education from California State University, Northridge. But while pursuing education, his interest in computers started to take hold. That hobby quickly became a career path when he began working as a computer technician for schools in the Santa Monica Malibu School District. There, he set up and maintained networks across campuses, helped train teachers on new technology, and taught the before- and after-school computer programs for students.

His shift into entertainment came next. Beemer became the IT Manager at Stan Lee Media and was soon recruited to be a part of the technical team at Spectrum Studios, a motion capture vendor. At Spectrum Studios, he and the team designed a portable motion capture system that could be deployed quickly and run internationally operating on both 110V and 220V power. He traveled to locations like Culver City, Alameda, and Sydney, supporting productions for The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions, and the accompanying video game—an experience that gave him a crash course in motion capture performance film production.

Beemer then joined Sony Imageworks as a Lead Motion Capture Systems Operator, contributing to films such as The Polar Express, Monster House, Alice in Wonderland, and Beowulf. He played a key role in building the studio’s motion capture pipeline from the ground up, both in terms of technology and training. During this time, he taught himself scripting languages like Bash and JavaScript, studied computer science, and helped build and operate a multitude of motion capture camera systems for body and face capture.

From there, he transitioned to the gaming side of Sony, becoming Studio Supervisor for PlayStation’s Los Angeles Motion Capture stages. He worked directly with Triple-A  game developers like Naughty Dog, Santa Monica Studio, Insomniac, Sucker Punch, and Kojima Productions, overseeing motion capture sessions and coordinating with both internal teams and external partners.

Over the past eight years, Beemer has focused on writing and developing tools in various programming languages. Today, he serves as the Senior Motion Capture Software Engineer at Sony Interactive, where he leads the development and maintenance of all Python, Tcl, and JavaScript tools used by the mocap team. He collaborates closely with developers, the stage crews, and the animation teams and is the principal architect behind the software tools that keep production running smoothly. Throughout his 20+ years at Sony, he's remained a central force in evolving the studio's motion capture capabilities.

Beemer’s commitment to professional growth led to earning an Associate’s degree in Computer Science from West LA College and a Master’s in Software Engineering from Regis University, driven by a desire to keep learning, improve his technical leadership, and stay adaptable in a fast-changing industry.

Outside of work, Beemer is both a gamer and a musician. He’s an avid Dungeons & Dragons player and GM, volunteers at gaming conventions, and has been drumming since early childhood. He currently plays in several bands around Los Angeles, performing a mix of original music and covers.