We were lucky to catch up with Alex Ramos recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Alex, thank you so much for opening up with us about some important, but sometimes personal topics. One that really matters to us is overcoming Imposter Syndrome because we’ve seen how so many people are held back in life because of this and so we’d really appreciate hearing about how you overcame Imposter Syndrome.
I’m not sure if you ever do. I think we are surrounded by other professionals who are always trying to covertly sell their expertise and often we think they are being sincere. The reality is we are in the same boat as them. Keeping your humility and getting the job done can be a fine line to walk.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I’m a director and director of photography from Florida. I graduated from Florida State University and founded Batting 1000 Productions earlier this year with three of my close friends. We managed to produce two feature-length projects this year and plan to keep the momentum going in the coming year! Outside of Batting 1000, a lot of my creative pursuits have been under the pseudonym “144p.jpeg”. It has become my brand and an amalgamation of all my creative interests from film photography and video production to design and illustration.
Depending on the project, I spend a lot of my time manipulating light. As a cinematographer by trade, I am very fascinated with light and glass letting you end up with so many distinct perspectives about the world. The interesting thing about all photos and films is that they are never 1:1 copies of reality. They are always interpreting what is being shown to an audience. That is the beautiful and dangerous part. In a world driven by so much media consumption, you sometimes feel on the front line of a crazy battle.
I believe intentional direction and cinematography are some of the only ways we can combat the out-of-control problem of the passive consumption of media.
That may be the main theme of most of my work and something I will continue to explore in a project with the rest of the crew at Batting 1000. I don’t know if I can easily put it into a genre, however, it will likely be equal parts 90’s coming-of-age, horror, and fantasy.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
I believe one quality, or word, that has kept rearing its head recently is “wholesome”. Even as a young high schooler the most attractive films were the dark and gritty ones and everyone (myself included) wanted to be the next Nolan or Tarantino. Over the years, however, the movies that resonated with me way longer were always the most wholesome ones (Ford, Capra, Miyazaki, Chaplin, Hughes, etc.). It is easier to make a movie with darker subject matter, especially when most of them end ambiguously. I think it is a whole other task to make something “wholesome” without making it cheesy. I think holding onto that when working on any project may make it more difficult but it won’t lead you astray.
Today there are so many tutorials and video essays describing a director’s or cinematographer’s process, techniques, ideas. I am super grateful that I grew up in an era where I had access to that, but I also think it has created a new problem I have personally had to work through and notice all the time in other creatives’ work. One of my favorite interviews is of Orson Welles where he gets upset at self-described “cinephiles”. His point is that in a creative world obsessed with homage and references we end losing a lot of our originality as artists. Everything becomes homogenous and it is very difficult to stand out or make something that hasn’t already been done in some sense. Inspiration is awesome and I would be lying if I were to say I was immune to Welle’s criticism, however, I do think he brings up a super valuable lesson: creativity always does its best work in a box. Limiting yourself and problem solving without the aids we have super easy access to nowadays may help you make the next “Citizen Kane”.
Lastly, I think what has helped most me is expanding my knowledge of other mediums. I was a philosophy major and have always enjoyed novels. There is such a wealth of stories out there that it may actually be damaging to us as artists to only watch newer movies or only read newer books or only read one genre of books. Akira Kurosawa says, I’m paraphrasing, that a lot of his success as a Japanese filmmaker came in the form of reading western classical literature like Shakespeare. Although I am not (and may not ever be) as successful as Kurosawa, I can say that the same is true for me in the opposite direction; reading, learning, and watching pieces by artists who are not primarily American or Western has really helped me grow as a creative. C.S. Lewis also has a good rule of thumb that can be applied in a ton of different ways: for every one new book you read you should probably read one old book.
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
I am always looking for collaborators. I think having like-minded individuals is always refreshing and helpful, however, I think what I look most for are those people who will help you see your vision come to life. Likewise, when I am not heading a project my goal as a collaborator is always to ensure their vision comes to life.
Contact Info:
- Website: 144pjpeg.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/144p.jpeg/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/144pjpeg/
Image Credits
Gary Niblack, Brandon Williams, Lucas Riahi, Nick Clark, Joseph Torres, Jean-Piere (Hacienda Nativo Puerto Rico).
