Julian Ramirez

Film and Media Arts BFA – Class of 2025

Even before I had first decided that picture making was the path for me, movies and TV were already so ingrained into my life. My parents say that anytime we watched a movie together, I would immediately want to grab some copy paper and start drawing the scenes playing out on the screen. From Transformers to Kung Fu Panda, I would have stacks of drawings of the movies and TV shows me and my family had seen together. Since I didn’t know what I was trying to create, I simply assumed that drawing would be the career path for me. That was the future I had set for myself for many years, leading to a lot of uncertainty as I was not attracted to graphic design or comic book artistry. All I knew was that watching those movies and TV shows made me want to express myself, in one way or another.

It wasn’t until middle school, when my big sister decided to influence my movie watching, that everything started to align. I first started with her favorites, Kill Bill and Goodfellas, movies that made me notice that this was someone’s artistic vision. This inspiration planted a story in my mind, a story that began to grow and grow until I finally decided I had to write it down. A year later that story became my first feature length script, The Honorless. A few years later I would finish another feature length script, and in my senior year of high school, I would produce my first short films. Behind all these accomplishments was mi familia and friends, their willingness to help me in my work and support me with my crippling self doubt was an invaluable asset.

I now attend the University of Tampa, studying for my BFA in Film and Media Arts, concentrating in film directing, screenwriting, and editing. I take every project assigned to me as an opportunity to go beyond the bare requirements and create something that I can personally be proud of. I am committed to fulfilling my intended vision, while still willing to ‘kill my darlings’ if it means making a production far more practical. I carry this dedication onto other sets, where I will be one of the first to arrive and the very last to leave, making sure I satisfy my responsibilities till the very end. Unfortunately, this sense of responsibility can lead to a lot of self doubt and anxiety, with my OCD making me feel that I could be doing more. To make up for this, I aim to balance my commitment in productions by learning to delegate work to others, and making sure I collaborate with individuals who I know I can trust.

After I graduate, I plan to continue to apply for more positions as an editor for video production companies. At the same time, I hope to work as a music video director for smaller indie artists by offering myself as a free service in hopes to establish a working relationship with them. What I expect to get out of my major is pure experience on various sets, and making connections with fellow UT students that I hope to continue working with even after I graduate. Most of all, I plan to continue developing my skill and craft in order to one day direct my own feature films, representing my Latin roots and accurately portraying OCD on the silver screen. Even if these films have to be independently produced, I am more than willing to put in the effort.