Meet c. Craig Patterson | TV and Film Writer & Director

We had the good fortune of connecting with c. Craig Patterson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi c. Craig, what makes you happy? Why?
I’ve had the amazing fortune of doing something I love for a living – that’s not as common as it should be, so I’m grateful for it. It makes me quite happy to make things that I think are cool. It makes me exponentially happier to make those things with people I love, admire, and respect. There is something sacred, to me, about a team working together to build what might be difficult or impossible to others, but together it becomes attainable. The happiness and joy are in the collaboration. And luckily for me in my line of work that joy is replicable with the right people.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
There’s traditional writing and directing, which I love, and then there is what I am doing now, which is utilizing the newest tools to tell familiar stories in yet untested ways. I do my best to be willing to stand at the forefront and try out these new tools for filmmaking whether it’s a new camera, tablets, LED-wall Volume tech, generative AI, new methods in Unreal Engine, etc. Working with filmmakers who don’t bat an eye at jumping into the unknown to see what we can create is something that I think immediately sets us apart. We recognize that failure is a part of growth and that getting lost is a part of exploration.

Of course, trying new methods in workflow and storytelling isn’t always necessarily smooth and it’s rarely easy, but we’re not after easy, we’re after something special. Something that when you’re watching it/experiencing it, you’re immersed because every detail was considered.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Okay, so this is my personally curated list of itinerary decisions in LA: shop at Collector’s Paradise NoHo, Reparations Club, and The Last Bookstore for some amazing reading. Catch a screening at The Academy Museum. Eat at Cassell’s Hamburger’s DTLA and at Mardi Gras Tuesday in Sherman Oaks then go to Thousand Steps Beach and then make time to get a New Orleans-style snowball from SnoCorner in Long Beach. Other essential stops during your trip are Randy’s Donuts, catching a Lakers game (preferably when they’re playing the Knicks) or the Dodgers (when they’re playing the Mets), or Rams (when they’re playing the Saints). Peterson Automotive Museum 10/10. Porsche Experience Center 10/10. Disneyland After Dark 10/10. Doing every single thing on this list while you’re in LA, 10/10.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My ancestors, my Mother, Godmother, and family, my incredible wife, the professors at CU, NYU, and USC, who answered every crazy question that I asked, my USC family (The Trojan 20), John Watson, Carolyn Manetti, Erik Weaver, my brother Roy Wood Jr… my tribe is vast and too large to name them all, but I am nothing without them. This shoutout is for everyone who said a kind word or did a kind act that helped me move forward in any way. I have never accomplished anything in this journey alone. It’s always we.

Website: seat6films.com

Instagram: @c.craig___

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ccraigpatterson/

Image Credits
Yurika Foster, Melissa Patterson, Pier 59, Ben Baker