Director Robert Schober on Creativity, Commerce, and Technology

Robert Schober (left) and Professor Peter Sarram

On September 30, John Cabot University had the pleasure of welcoming music video director Robert Schober for a special public lecture.

Schober has worked with both best-selling and mainstream rock acts (Metallica, Alice in Chains, The Killers, Deftones, My Chemical Romance) and more independent and cutting-edge acts (Mastodon, Devo, The Meat Puppets).

Drawing from his past experiences, Schober illustrated the craftsmanship behind music video production, highlighting the tension between creativity and commercial consideration. He explained the challenge of having to meet the industry’s constant demand for new content with a very limited budget.

Schober left the audience with a better understanding of both the financial and creative struggles involved in the making of music videos and the pride and enjoyment of a finished product that reaches a big audience.

Student Tara Walluck had this to say about the lecture:
“The visual examples, the music videos that Robert Schober created, were my favorite part of the presentation. It was fascinating to see the finished product and his descriptions of the creative process that led him there. Having Communications Professor Peter Sarram there to mediate was very helpful since he knew what questions to ask and what information students would want to know. It was an informative and interesting lecture and every person in that room walked away with new knowledge of what goes into making a music video.“