A self-described Spider-Man enthusiast, Ingram has spent his four years in film school re-creating his favorite movies with his own twist, often bringing Black characters into the films he didn’t see himself in while growing up.

He said when he started the Spider-Man project last year, he knew it was ambitious. While in film school, it’s common for students to create more indie-type films, character dramas that don’t require big budgets and tons of special effects. When he told people what he wanted to do, he said, they looked at him a bit like he was crazy.

“If we pull it off, it’ll be one of the coolest projects,” he said. “It’s my senior year. I wanted to make my dream movie the best way I can.”

Ingram’s film required a massive crew and a lot of money. Since the project wasn’t for a class, students weren't allowed to use any UT equipment. The team spent six months alone fundraising, acquiring $10,000 from family, friends and sponsors to finance the movie.

Ingram brought on fellow RTF students Marlon Rubio Smith and Avery Gann as co-producers and hired a cinematographer, stunt coordinator, camera operators, a sound team, a casting director and actors, among others. They spent two full weekends in November and February shooting before sending the film to their post-production team for editing, sound design, sound editing, color correction, scoring and visual effects.

"It was really exciting to watch the whole team come together to make something that we all care about and grew up with," Gann said. "There was an energy on set that was unlike any other short film I've worked on where we all knew what we wanted the end result to be, and we were going to do our best to achieve it."

The film is still being fine-tuned, Rubio Smith said, and probably will be up until the last moment before screening. That’s more common in the industry than one would think, he said. Often, the movies we see in theaters are being finalized right up until premiere day.

Rubio Smith said, at times, the process has felt exhausting, and there were many days he wanted to give up. But the work has paid off.

“Once I started looking at some of the footage, it was like a breath of fresh air,” he said. “First, I had the realization that this was actually happening, and second, that it looks really good. The work we were putting into it was showing, and for me, that was a really big motivator. It filled me with the desire to keep working on it.”

The film's trailer released last week, giving a sneak peek at the impressive visual effects and powerful character drama that is striking to watch.

“It’s very representative of the dream that is film school,” Ingram said. “You come here, you don’t know anyone, and within three years, you are going to meet people who can help you make your dream film, and that’s all anyone can hope for.”

For Ingram, releasing the film is a culmination of a wish he’s had since he was a kid watching Marvel moves on Blu-ray on road trips.

Ingram wrote his first feature length script in fifth grade and later had a popular YouTube channel in middle school. He made his first official short film in high school.

Ingram graduates in May, so he’s feeling very reflective. He said he still has his Spider-Man suit and web shooters in his backpack. He has yet to take the costume out after all his filming months ago. It’ll soon go in his closet, mixed with his regular clothes.

“It really feels like a full circle moment,” he said. “I got into filmmaking because I didn’t see myself represented in stories. I would be in middle school writing myself into a movie that already existed. I realized then, I can do this as a career. I started making videos in high school, came to film school here, and now I’m using all the knowledge I’ve learned over this decade basically healing my inner child.”

He said he’s thrilled to sit in the audience and watch the movie on the big screen with his co-creators and the Moody College faculty who have supported him through film school.

“I never want people to think I got here myself,” Ingram said. “I would not be here without the people who helped me along the way, family, friends, cast and crew who worked their butts off to make this movie with me. It’s been a blessing. And it’s good for underclassmen to see what is possible here if they really push themselves. It truly is amazing.”

Disclaimer: "The Ultimate Spider-Man" is an external student project and not associated with the Department of Radio-Television-Film, Moody College of Communication or The University of Texas at Austin.