We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ken Ramos a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Ken, thanks for joining us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

Growing up I loved watching behind the scenes extras from movies like Lord Of The Rings, Star Wars and any old horror movies. I got really into seeing how they would create practical effects and gore makeup in those films, and for a while I wanted to get in to that part of the process. I also love playing music, and I made a video for my band Black Lullabies, which let me see what it was like to direct and edit a project. After that I got focused on editing and directing, landed my first job as an Assistant Editor on American Horror Story, and I’ve been down that path ever since.

Ken, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I filmed a music video for a band I was playing in, and while making it I realized I was enjoying making the video more than being in a band. After that I started exploring directing and editing, which led to my first job on American Horror Story. Now I work as an editor on various series, including Twin Peaks: The Return, Chucky, Black Cake, Feud, and others. In between shows, I like to edit or direct short films and music videos for myself and others. There are so many people with great ideas who aren’t coming from the big studios, I love being a part of that from the ground up. Horror is my favorite genre, but I also love comedies, fantasy, and anything with great characters.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Art connects us all with each other. Playing with a band on stage, you can feel the energy in the room shifting with the music; it comes back to you in a circular kind of way that lifts you up. It’s a great feeling! With movies and television, you’re making something that people can come back to years down the line over and over again if they want. It lets people laugh, scream, cry or escape to another world when they need to.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

Growing up I was told that what I wanted to do was going to be really difficult and that being an artist wasn’t a “good” path to choose. This led to a lot of self doubt and questioning as to whether what I felt drawn to mattered or not. I would find myself inspired with an idea, but then the voices of others would knock me off balance and I would get stuck. Ultimately, I had to learn to trust this instinct and just go with it. Everything in my life changed when I started listening to what inspired me and going in whatever direction I was pulled. The other voices in our heads just cloud our judgment — they don’t know where our passion is taking us, so they can’t be trusted.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1023658/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rkenramos/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrrjdflb2Kl2ZwwG0Vm1Dmw

Image Credits
Melissa Pleckham