The process of television commercial production gives me the opportunity to apply all aspects of my training to the job at hand – often in the same day. First in acting, and later in design, I attended college on a four-year drama scholarship.  Along the way, I took film classes (my true love) whenever I could. With my Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, I spent a little time designing professionally for the theatre, which, as it turned out, made for a simple segue into television. I started as a production designer (props, costumes, sets, graphics, animation, etc.) on a children’s series for PBS.  I followed this as an art director and later producer on the same series, Carrascolendas.  In between funding for the children's series, I went to New York and worked for Time, Inc. as a suit (formally, the Director of Operations -- Northeast) in the broadcast division. At twenty-three years old they put me in charge of a staff of twenty-seven hard working people -- go figure -- however, we were responsible for creating the "pay-per-view" entertainment industry.

   I moved to the Washington, D.C. area to work on television projects funded by the Office of Education for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. There, I ended up working on over eighty thirty-minute shows for PBS. While I was there, I met a director who persuaded me to come to Denver, CO and work with his new company shooting commercials.

   So, I helped build one of the first regional teleproduction/post-production facilities in the country, Telemation Productions. We shot film and tape and had the newest cameras, a great stage, a location truck, grip and electric, a scenery shop and several edit rooms. My overwhelming desire to take over every aspect of production led me to beg them to let me start directing spots. They gave in and made me a Producer/Director -- so, I eventually figured out how to put it all together as I not only produced and directed but supervised the edits as well. It was a crazy place -- Telemation billed production by the hour and sometimes we would walk around with folders in our hands containing scripts for several different shoots we would do in one day. Looking back, it gave me a great chance to work on every kind of shoot imaginable -- valuable experience I still use to this day. I worked there six years, and seriously, I must have directed three or four hundred spots a year -- and I may be under estimating!

   After getting a chance to direct, I felt I had to shoot them myself, also, and eventually, when I thought I was ready, proclaimed myself a Director of Photography. To facilitate that transition I quit Telemation and started my own production company, Brent Ramsey Productions (which had no trouble in hiring a beginner DP with so much promise), which I ran for fourteen years. 

   Now, independent, I work as a Director or Director of Photography or as a Director/DP combination. I am a proud member of IATSE Local 600 -- the Eastern region guild of cinematography professionals. I am  based in the New York city area residing in Stamford, Connecticut.   

   My proudest moment was winning a Clio and an IBA on a five thousand-dollar budget ("Waterworld/Jake") -- check it out. I shot it in my house on just 800' of 35mm film -- then edited it myself using tape-to-tape 3/4" decks that were in the ad agency's screening room. I think we gave Jake like only 150 dollars. Hey, Jake, thanks! I owe you, man.