Amanda Sapio
When Melanie Duke ’17 stepped onto Chapman’s campus for the first time, she never envisioned working on the set of a Spider-Man film only a few years later.
After declaring an animation and visual effects major and film and media studies minor her freshman year, she landed an internship at the Cannes Film Festival through Chapman’s study abroad program. This experience not only exposed her to the global film festival circuit but also offered early insights into real-world applications within the industry.
“There are a lot of animation specializations to choose from,” Duke explained. “Production, rigging, character design, story lighting—it can be overwhelming. Chapman gave me the foundation I needed to really learn the pipeline.”
Duke emphasized how critical her internship experience was in jumpstarting her animation career.
“When speaking to students, I always encourage them to focus on finding internships while in school,” Duke said. “When you’re applying to full-time jobs after graduation, production companies want to see the level of real-world experience you have.”
Shortly after graduation, Duke landed a role as script and story coordinator at Sony Pictures Animation. Her current role as an associate production manager has expanded her responsibilities to managing the visual development department for “Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse.”
“I run the art department alongside the production designer,” Duke explained. “We manage everything from character designs, props, color script, and the environments. Our day to day involves checking with artists, managing milestones, and assessing if there are any reference materials or assets they need for their work. We’re building the visual look of the film, which is really exciting.”
Not only has she had the opportunity to flex her skills as an APM, she has also provided “scratch” dialogue for the previous film she worked on—“Spider Man: Across the Spider-Verse.” Her dialogue not only made it into the film, but into the soundtrack album by Metro Boomin and Daniel Pemberton as well.
“The movie was filmed during the pandemic, so I ended up recording the lines in a closet at my parents’ house,” Duke laughed. “I had lines for Gwen’s Watch, the Go Home Machine (featured on the soundtrack), the Collider in Alchemax, and the Space Train. It was such an insane experience.”
Duke attributes much of her success to the mentors she had while in school, such as Jim Schlenker, a professor in film and media arts at Dodge.
“He is still working in the industry, and so it was really valuable to hear about his career experiences and the challenges he faced day to day,” Duke said.
She also spoke fondly of Essraa Nawar, Assistant Dean for Library Development.
“I worked at Leatherby Libraries throughout my timeat Chapman,” Duke said. “Essraa taught me how to be an assistant and how to work in admin/production. That gave me the experience I needed for my career down the line as I merged both my passion for animation and those admin skills for a career in production.”
In addition to working on major productions, Duke is deeply passionate about mentoring the next generation of filmmakers. She regularly shares her expertise through panel talks and workshops at Chapman, helping aspiring filmmakers navigate the world of animation.
