Marcel Patillo, Creative Videographer at Church of the City, Nashville, Tennessee and Host of “The Modern Filmmaker,” a YouTube Channel.
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When Marcel Patillo decides to do something, he dives headfirst in the deep end.
As creative videographer at Church of the City (COTC) he is a part of a global creative team that handles all creative initiatives for three Nashville, Tennessee-area COTC locations, from filming and editing daily video devotionals to new lyric videos that support new song releases. He says, “This is my first job in ministry and through this opportunity God has shown me just how much life is ministry and ministry is life. I have been here for one year now and have loved every minute.”
For the last several years Patillo has also been hosting a YouTube channel "The Modern Filmmaker," where he teaches coloring, editing, animating and audio mixing in Davinci Resolve. He says, “It has been great to see the Davinci Resolve community grow and to be able to help people along the way in their own videography journey.”
We learn more about Marcel Patillo’s background and filmmaking in this 5 Minutes.
CPM: Take us back to when Marcel first caught the video/filmmaking bug. How did your love of technical arts happen?
Patillo: Growing up my family was in the music industry and naturally I followed that path. After producing music for most of my life, I found myself looking for new ways to create and to grow as a creative. A close friend of mine turned me onto video and soon after I bought my first camera. It was a Panasonic GH5. I quickly jumped into the deep end, started making videos for local businesses primarily in the fitness space and before I knew it, I was making videos for Lululemon, Optimum Nutrition and Steel Fit. The first few years were a whirlwind and I knew I was in love.
During Covid the church became Patillo’s second home, helping them record sermons, kids programming and together figuring out how to do church in a quarantine.
CPM: When did your filmmaking intersect with the Church?
Patillo: I started going to Church of the City in 2019 and in an attempt to get connected I asked one of the pastors if I could get into a community group. That pastor asked what I did for a living and I briefly mentioned video. Within the week I got a call from the only videographer on staff at the time saying he has seen my YouTube channel and the church had just switched all their production gear to Blackmagic Design. I came in the next Sunday to see the workflow and the gear they had and from there became a volunteer every Sunday. Through Covid the church became my second home, helping them record sermons, kids programming and together figuring out what quarantine meant for the church. We would go back and forth about if I wanted to work there and in February of 2022, I accepted a full-time roll.
CPM: What modern technology do you think has had the most impact on the visual arts overall and your filmmaking?
Patillo: I think DSLRs, their size, price and capability has widely expanded the level of entry for new filmmakers. Davinci Resolve as a whole and especially the free version have had a similar effect. Now you have people that may have never thought they would try to edit, learning on one of the most advanced platforms out there.
Patillo, shown here speaking at ResolvCon 2022, teaches coloring, editing, animating and audio mixing in Davinci Resolve on his YouTube channel "The Modern Filmmaker."
CPM: What made you decide to launch your YouTube channel “The Modern Filmmaker”?
Patillo: I had been in Adobe Premiere for years and when I found Davinci Resolve, I became the biggest fan. I instantly felt the need to spread the word and the techniques I was stumbling upon, but I didn't know many other video people at the time. So, it was a bit out of a desire for community. To have a space where I could interact with other videographers, editors and colorists. At this point it's grown into something much bigger and there is more interaction than I can really keep up with.
CPM: What advice would you give a young filmmaker who wants to work in church technical arts?
Patillo: Go find a church you love and lean in. Be the go-to volunteer, find what parts of production you love the most and volunteer and volunteer and volunteer and volunteer. It changed my life.
