Meet Patrick Phillips | Producer / Director Business Development

We had the good fortune of connecting with Patrick Phillips and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Patrick, as a parent, what do you feel is the most meaningful thing you’ve done for them?
I don’t think I can narrow down to one specific thing that I’ve done as a parent that has had the biggest impact on my son. What I do hope is that I am setting a good example in the simple things when I know he is watching. Teaching him that the little things go a long way is important to us, so opening a door for a stranger, showing respect to people, giving compliments, stopping to help someone, sharing a word of encouragement, and paying it forward when we can. All these things are what I think can help shape the man he sees in me and the man he will one day become.

My wife and I also believe in being our son’s biggest cheerleader, we encourage him to do his best whether that is in sports, in school, learning an instrument, or teaching him how to cook or earn money. I think this has stuck with him, he is in middle school now and gets amazing grades (much better than I ever did), he excels in sports (baseball being his favorite, he also is a talented soccer player, he has wrestled the past two years and has improved this year, and he wants to try out for football). I never had the opportunity to play sports growing up, it wasn’t until my 8th grade year that I ran track, then I played soccer throughout high school.

Sports are a great opportunity for him to build self-confidence, and learn team building, discipline, and respect. Besides being a good athlete we want him to be well-rounded so we signed him up for his school band and some extracurricular activities. It sometimes presents as a challenge, there have been times that we leave the house and forget which activity we are taking him to, but I know it is all worth the scheduling conflicts because he will have so many more opportunities and a head start that I wish I would have taken advantage of when I was younger.

One thing I want to leave him with is that we were his biggest cheerleaders. There will be one day when sports are over and he is on his own. One day he will be faced with a challenge, or a time where he doubts himself and I can only hope that in those moments he can hear his mom and dad from the stands cheering him on and giving him that encouragement to push through it. Most importantly I hope that these opportunities help to break the cycle in our family so that he doesn’t have to go through the struggles we had to go through and he becomes even more successful than I can imagine.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My journey has been very different from what many others in my industry experience. I think the challenges of my past, my upbringing, letdowns, and losses have built a tenacity and drive to be where I am striving to go in life. I moved out of my house when I was just 17 years old, having to find work to support myself going to a university was not in the cards. I attended Columbus State Community College on and off for a couple of years part-time after high school, but it wasn’t until I enrolled in the Multimedia program that I found my passion. I have always been interested in the television and film industry, but growing up in North Linden and then moving to the West Side of Columbus I never had anyone to look up to or mentor me, especially no one that was making a living in that industry.

I worked many jobs unrelated to what I do now, and although they were not directly related I learned a lot from each position and opportunity I was given. Even when I was earning my degree I still had no true path into the industry I desired to work in, I applied to every open position I could find, from PA to Editor and each and every time I was either ignored to turned down. In my final two semesters of classes before earning my Associate’s degree I was working full-time, I also had an internship at a media company and a part-time job with Qfm in their promotions department.

I remember before my internship was going to end I went to one of the camera operators and asked them what I needed to do to get a job or to freelance in the industry, I asked if he could give me some contacts at the news stations he had relationships with and before I could finish he asked what degree I was getting and where I was going to school. I told him I was attending CSCC and getting an Associate’s of Multimedia, he looked me straight in the eye and told me to get a real degree, no one was going to hire me without it. I was devastated, I thought I was heading in the right direction, and I knew that this was going to be my only opportunity to earn a degree of any sort since I had no family to rely on.

I found that in those days it was extremely difficult to make the right connections or to even be in the same room with people I could learn from. It seemed as if the industry was very closed off, it was not welcoming to newcomers or outsiders and I could not find a way to break in. I earned my A.A.S. in 2008 and a couple of years later I took a job opportunity in Los Angeles to work in banking. Although it was not the industry I wanted to be in long term, it provided me with the chance to move to the entertainment capital of the world. During my years in California, I was able to find work in production from time to time, at this time I was living with my now wife, her son, and we had a child together. I was responsible for providing for my family and bringing in a majority of our income though my wonderful wife is very hard working and certainly helped to provide. I never had the courage to go full-time as a freelancer or build enough rapport and connections to get hired at a studio or agency out there. In 2018 we moved back to Columbus after being in L.A for almost 8 years.

Since that time I have focused on my career. I have joined many Facebook groups, have put in the time to build relationships within the community, and devoted my nights and weekends to work on various short film competitions. It has made such a change in my career and helped me to develop my craft and find my true calling which is as a Producer. I have a knack for building relationships and finding the right person for the job, I am organized and attentive to production needs, I am a hard worker and have great communication skills. Most importantly I know I cannot do it all and I have learned to lean on the people that know more than me to get the job done.

I have used every event in my life, good or bad to be where I am at right now. I learned great customer service through years of retail jobs, I learned how to pitch a new idea during my time working as a recruiter and presenting my candidates to a director of HR. I gained a thick skin by being told I wasn’t good enough and to go get a real degree. I learned to value myself and not allow someone else to devalue me by finding a great mentor. I learned to hustle harder because if I fail it’s what was expected, but if I succeed then it was against all odds. Right now is a great time in my career, I am working for OHD Studios where I am surrounded by an incredible team and I get to be involved in both the creative side of the industry, as well as the business and relationship side. I am still active in producing short films with very talented people, I am working alongside Cyrus Richardson on his first feature film Aimless. I am also a Producer for a comedy web-series “Puff Palace” with Jason Banks, Adam Little, Benny Lam, and Henry Allen, check us out on YouTube. I am really excited about my future and hope to continue on the path of success.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
If I had a friend visit I would love for them to experience these things.

– OSU Football game and tailgating
– Hounddogs Pizza
– The Attic Comedy Club
– North Market
– Clippers Baseball
– Studio 35
– Villa Nova
– Tora Sushi
– Carfagnas
– Otherworld
– Shadowbox

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
First off I need to acknowledge that God has provided me with much grace throughout my life, I know that where I’m at right now is because of answered prayers. I also want to shout out my wife for always believing in me, even more than I do in myself. My mom has been a rock my whole life, she is one of the strongest women I know, and she always allowed me to make mistakes without saying “I told you so”

Just as much as I want to give thanks to the few people who have believed in me I also want to thank the ones who doubted me, who told me I would not be successful, the ones that did not take me seriously or give me a chance to prove myself. Those doubts are what fueled my desire to push further. it is what drove me to do better and to one day be successful. I have faced more no’s and been written off than I can count and it is what makes each win just a little more rewarding.

So thank you to those who told me if I think I’m worth more to go get another job, thank you to the past employers and bosses who didn’t acknowledge my hard work and the value I brought to their business, thank you to all the closed doors and unanswered emails.

I do want to acknowledge the people who did give me a shot, the ones who taught me about this industry, and the value I bring to the table.

First, there is Kevin Willson, he was the first director in L.A that allowed me to work on set. That one commercial turned into several opportunities to work alongside some pretty great crew and on big production sets.

Secondly, I want to thank TJ Cooley and Philip May, they brought me on to several projects when I came back to Columbus. With them, I was able to build a portfolio of work and was even recognized as Best Cinematographer on a short film “Knock Knock” in 2019

Logan Solana was another local filmmaker who gave me an opportunity to work with him, we have made some really great work together, most recently a reality show “Top Vegan” which is a reality show filmed in Columbus, with an all-Ohio crew, as well as a short film we made for Cincinnati based film festival “Winterfilm” which we won several awards for including a Telly Award.

Lastly, I want to give a big thanks and shout-out to my mentor and friend Jackie Robles. Jackie is someone that I look up to, she has been a tremendous help in my career, she is my sounding board I go to for advice and accountability. I highly encourage everyone to have a mentor, it is not just for people early in their careers, a mentor can guide you through every stage of your professional life. In return, you should also welcome the opportunity to mentor someone else.

I am also very thankful to have been involved in a wonderful organization in Columbus. American Advertising Federation (AAF) has been a really great place to meet other professionals in the advertising and marketing industries. It is through these meetings and relationships that I’ve built that have provided me with opportunities to grow in my profession and personal life. The people that I have met have become friends, they have become clients, they have given me advice and been a cheerleader to me and it is such an amazing community to be involved in.

Website: https://www.pphillipsportfolio.com/home

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/go_for_patrick/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-phillips-0746b127/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/patrick.phillips.7777/

Image Credits
Eric Boso James Godwin