Meet the Team: Ross Frame

As Senior Project Manager Ross celebrates his four year anniversary with us, he talks about the benefits of trying out different roles in the industry, how producers play a role in creativity, and the importance of perspective when it comes to work.

Friday 17 March 2023
By Ross Frame
Team

What do you do at Jelly?

I look after the illustration projects that come through the London and Europe studios. So that means talking through the brief from the agency / client along with the artist, managing the schedule and sending work / feedback back and forth between artist and agency / client. My role is generally to make things run as smoothly as possible. Once we're done and everyone is happy I'll sort out the finance at the end of the project and deliver final files etc.

I also liaise between the team in London, New York and Hamburg to ensure the department as a whole is running smoothly and everyone is up to date with any jobs that are coming in or currently going on across the company.

What was your pathway to production and what have you learned along the way?

I’ve worked lots of different jobs as when I first started out I didn’t really know what I wanted to do. So I worked as an illustrator and graphic designer for a bit, then an art technician hanging art in different galleries, and then interned as a project manager before starting a role as a junior creative producer. By working in different types of places you get to know who is good at what they do (and more importantly who isn't), and from that how to be better at your own job. Project Management involves knowing what you’re doing and understanding how to do it which comes from experience and just doing things over and over again. But a huge part of the role is being able to work with other people well and recognise their strengths to get the best out of them which is just as important.

What’s the most exciting thing you’re working on right now?

I can never really talk about what's currently going on, but something I’ve wanted to talk about for a long time is Eva Cremers’ collaboration with H&M but haven’t been able to until it was live. That’s a project which we’ve worked on for nearly a year now and I'm really excited to see it out in the shops (and pick up some bits for my own kids to wear!).

A few images below!

What role does production play in creating effective content that connects with audiences?

It's all about things being very seamless,I think. The best projects are where the artist, client and creative all work harmoniously and nothing jars or jumps out as not fitting. That way the audience can really engage with the idea and it flows right through from the brand down to the work and all makes sense. This comes from ensuring the brief is right, the talent is right and how the project is executed is right. Production is key in bringing all of those elements together successfully.

 

Tell us the best thing about being part of the Jelly team!

Jelly's size and expertise is a huge strength. The breadth of knowledge across the team is excellent and you always have people to bounce ideas off of or run through problems with. But our size means we're small enough that everyone across Jelly can come up with ideas and contribute to how the company operates, but also big enough that we can make those ideas happen effectively.

Above ^ images from one of Ross's recent projects: Jordan Roberson's Eurostar rebrand

What does craft mean to you?

I think craft really shines through when an artist has really honed what they want to do with their work. Eg the curve to a line, the colour palette that's been used or how certain letters sit next to each other in a headline. Or from a production point of view when a project has really been scrutinised from all angles to make sure it really is the best it can be. A lot of the time it's what you don't see, but that comes from the hours and hours of experience that have gone into a piece of work or project that means it just works and everything fits naturally.

If you could fix one thing about the industry, what would it be and why?

Can it be two things? First is unnecessary meetings and zoom calls. One thing I don’t miss from working in an agency is the amount of meetings that people put in for no reason and how much time you spend as a producer trying to book a meeting room and herding people around like sheep! The second would be crediting project managers and producers on projects. A lot of the time they are the ones putting in the hours to pull everything together and make a project run smoothly.I'm biased obviously but I think they should get more credit for the role they play. 

Your top 3 favourite Podcasts/Books/Films?

  • Off Menu
  • Parenting Hell
  • Not a podcast really but Tim Key’s Late Night Poetry Show

Above ^ images from the Amazon Music Murals project Ross worked on with Justin Poulter, Eva Cremers, Genie Espinosa & James Dawe.

What’s the best advice you were ever given? Who was it from?

We're not packing parachutes - I was told this by a resource manager in one of my first advertising jobs. She was essentially saying if something goes wrong it's not the end of the world, we're not saving lives or anything. I think it's important to remember that sometimes, we can often get really wrapped up or stressed out by our work but it's good to pop your head up every now and then and realise we're just a small part of something a lot bigger.

And what advice would you give to aspiring producers?

Get to know the people you work with and understand what they do. You don't have to know things inside out, but knowing how they work will help inform how you deal with client requests and how much work things are going to be for the people you're working with.

Any artists and/ or exhibitions worth looking up at the moment?

I really like the work of Jonas Wood. He's got an exhibition of his work at the moment alongside Matisse which would be amazing to see, but it's in Switzerland. But would love to see his work in real life if it came to the UK at some point.

What do you enjoy doing when you are not working?

My wife and I like to get up to Scotland when we can and go camping. We’ve spent the last few years visiting different islands each summer and seeing all the incredible wildlife, highlight being eating oysters by the beach watching otters fishing in front of us onArran.

Above ^ Image from Ross's most recent Scottish adventure

Ross Frame

Global Head of Integrated Production

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