Ross Fleming, a Marvel Studios employee by day/UNW alumnus (’12) by degree, Zoomed into Professor Seignious’ media business class today to discuss his role as a costume production assistant at Marvel Studios. Although he couldn’t reveal the exact project he’s currently working on, he shared many of his insights gained over the last nine years of working on a list of projects that include:
- Sony Pictures: Uncharted
- Paramount Pictures: Coming 2 America, Bumblebee
- Netflix: Dolomite is My Name
- Showtime: Roadies
- Disney General Entertainment Content: Agents of Shield
A highlight of his career so far has been working with Academy Award winning costumer Ruth Carter known for her work on Malcolm X, Amistad and Black Panther for the past four years.
Fleming advises students that “it’s important to do your job well and not expect everything to go perfect. Just like school, there are days you want to quit, but the real joy is working with other people who share your passion for media-making. The most important thing is to build trust. You don’t really have to do the job well. Sometimes you fail up! But, you do have to be dependable, flexible and enjoyable to work with. We often over-sweat or overthink things. The first five years are definitely the hardest, but then things begin to snowball.”
Fleming graduated from UNW’s communication department with a degree in Media Production- Film/Video Degree in 2012. As a student, Fleming won Best Comedy for “Boarded” at the Five16 Film Festival. He served as the leader of the Film Production Workshop winner of iNRB’s 36-Hour Digital Video Challenge in 2012 and he worked on the Leadership Development Program responsible for the “Who Wants to Marry Adam Rozanas” Facebook campaign.
