Ralf Ott studied media design with a focus on film/television at the Institute for Media Design (IMG) in Mainz, Germany, and communication design at the University of Applied Sciences in Mainz, Germany. From 1994 to 2002 he worked as operations manager at the Frankfurt post-production company Das Werk. In 2003, together with Frank Ott and Ralf Drechsler, he founded Acht in Frankfurt, a company specializing in visual effects, 3D and computer animation for commercials, TV productions, exhibitions and industrial films (e.g. for o2, Aldi, Tesla, yfood).

At the same time, Ralf Ott was a visiting professor at the Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design in Halle from 2008 to 2009 and has taught at the Frankfurt Academy of Communication and Design (2010-11) and the FH Mainz (2018-19).

Together with Harald Pulch, his former professor at IMG, Ott began work in 2021 on the documentary feature "Oskar Fischinger – Musik für die Augen," about the work of animation pioneer Oskar Fischinger, based on interviews Pulch conducted with Fischinger's widow and collaborator Elfriede Fischinger in Los Angeles in 1993. Ott was responsible for the realization of the motion graphics based on Oskar Fischinger's work. The film opened in cinemas September 2023.