Move On
Director – Gerardo Hernández
Singer – Ketsyha
Gerardo Hernández is a filmmaker based in Puerto Rico. He strives to specialise himself as a director and editor. He has worked on several award-winning short and feature films as well as commercial work. He enjoys exercising and playing video games whenever he is free.
Ketsyha is a Puerto Rico born R&B/Soul/Funk/Gospel singer-songwriter and producer. Her goal is to make music that inspires others to be good and stay positive.
Hi Ketsyha, hello Gerardo! First of all, congratulations to both of you for making the absolutely brilliant music video. It’s so powerful and positive! I enjoyed listening to the song so much! It’s very appealing to the listeners, and carries a strong message which is inspiring to many of us.
My first question would be to Ketsyha, the song is clearly born out of personal realizations. Which incident inspired you to pen the song? It’d be great if you could share that with us.
Sure! This song was inspired after hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico in 2017. One night, I was at home without electricity, without any access to the internet, and I said to myself “I need to move on, no matter how much I have lost” thinking about my current circumstances and also about other people who lost their homes or part of it. When writing the story of the music video along with Gerardo Hernández, my mother Ramonita Pellot Ortiz and my boyfriend Bill J. Ortiz Adames, we wanted to translate the message of the song to different characters and situations in life so that more people can relate.
What genre of music do you prefer, Ketsyha? Who is your favourite singer?
I was raised in a musical home. My father used to listen to so many different types of music like classical music, salsa, Puerto Rican Folk music, and many types of rock. I think that it opened my interest to music and to appreciate many music genres. Right now, my favourite genres are those with influences of R&B, Soul, Gospel, and Funk, and that’s what I enjoy singing and writing. That being said, I can mention Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, and Alicia Keys as my favourite singers.
Alright! My next question is for Gerardo. You have shot a beautiful music video. I want to know what prompted you to say yes to this project?
Thank you! Well a few years ago, Ketsyha had helped me by doing the music for one of my projects, she believed in me when I was just starting out. So when she asked me to direct her music video I immediately said yes without question. But the real moment was when I listened to the song for the first time and saw the potential of it.
Gerardo, how much fun did you all have while shooting? Share some incidents from the set with us!
Well the first day was a monumental task to get all of the shots for what would be the stories of the other three people that appeared on the video, but it made for some amazing times with the crew. The most fun I had was seeing all of us clicking and having fun as we went around the woods creating the shots for the story.
I’d say the best moment for me was shooting the letter scene inside the house, which was supposed to be a sad part of the story but between takes we were having so much fun making jokes and having a hard time stopping our laughter to continue. It was definitely a challenge to shoot but the whole crew made it super enjoyable both on camera and off.
Now coming back to Ketsyha, your music has a very personal touch in it. I am very curious to know how your music helps you to grow more as a person.
Absolutely! Usually when I write songs it is because I’ve learned something that I want to share with people, those aha moments that I have experienced. It’s refreshing that sometimes my music helps me to get back on track when I’m not feeling 100% percent. Also, my music has led me to interact with other people like musicians, co-writers, producers and friends, and in this experience with the film director Gerardo, the actors and the production team, which definitely makes this process an enriching one that helps me grow as a person.
Gerardo, what is your main aim as a director? What kinds of projects do you want to take up next?
I love films a lot, and most of all I love the process of creating. So I’m at a stage where I try as many projects as I can do that seems interesting regardless of the type. You never know what you will end up liking or what projects propel your career forward. That being said my main goal is to be an action film director, it has been my passion ever since I was younger, and hopefully these next few years allow me to finally realise the dream of directing my very own action film.
It would be great if you tell us who are your inspirations behind this directorial journey. Which work makes you want to push yourself beyond your limits?
There is a series of films called The Raid, from Indonesia. I consider both films to be my goal in terms of directing an action film as a whole. It’s always been my goal to make an action film as solid as those films. Apart from that I’d say my biggest inspiration as a filmmaker has always been Sam Raimi’s directorial style, ever since I was little his films have always stuck with me from an artistic point of view.
For the Move On Music Video I’d say I didn’t really pull from my inspirations. The idea behind the song led us to create it based on our own experiences as a whole. With the events that had transpired recently in our lives like with hurricane Maria we felt they were what we should’ve pulled from when we were deciding on the story and style to aim for the video.
Ketsyha, your music is powerful. It’d be interesting to know where you see yourself as an artist after 10 years.
Oh thank you. That makes me feel good to hear you say that. I’m constantly in learning mode, and this is what always drives me to become better at the craft of songwriting, singing and music production. Ten years from now, I see myself as an internationally known artist that has been creating and singing music and content to motivate people to be the best version of themselves living their purpose with uplifting messages and stories that can resonate with them.
It was a fun interaction, my last question is for both of you!
The song “Move On” is about breaking the shackles that bind us. In your life, which things work as your shackles?
Gerardo: I feel that in a lot of ways overthinking is my main shackle. I had to learn how to let go sometimes and just go with the flow and see where life takes you.
Ketsyha: I think that one of my shackles is that I tend to be a perfectionist, and it takes me a long time to finish my projects. But I am learning to focus more on the meaning of what I do rather than perfection.
