Ramsay previously worked as assistant or associate film editor on MGM's That's Entertainment! (1974), Paramount Pictures' Lipstick (1976, starring Robin Gammell, Chris Sarandon, Meg Wyllie, and Bill Zuckert), and The Car (1977, featuring Ronny Cox, Roy Jenson, Don Keefer, John Rubinstein, and music by Leonard Rosenman). After Star Trek, he edited the John Carpenter films Escape from New York (1981, starring Adrienne Barbeau), The Thing (featuring David Clennon, Joel Polis, and set decoration by John M. Dwyer), and Black Moon Rising (1986, featuring Dan Shor).