Meet Clint Schwabedissen | Celebrity Video Director: Working With Dave Chappelle, Khalid, and More

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

Hi Clint, what do you attribute your success to?
One the most important factors to my success is not being afraid to fail or take risks. Ultimately, that factor allowed me to be able to work with clients like Dave Chappelle.

It was years ago, and I was part of a group called Black with No Cream (BWNC). In this group, they posted that a well-known video producer needed a videographer. This video producer worked exclusively with major brands like Usher, Justin Bieber, and more. The problem was, I knew everyone wanted this project, and at that time, I only had family videos to showcase.

Knowing full well, I didn’t have the most ideal portfolio at that time, I sent it in to them for consideration. I knew I could deliver upon what they were wanting. Then after a day of hearing no feedback, they got back with me, and ended up hiring me.

I took full advantage of the opportunity, and delivered exactly what the client wanted. From that project, I met talented artists like @Vid.Ken. We ended up working together on that project, and on future projects. Ultimately, a couple years have past, and I get a call from Ken. He stated, “if you’re available for work, one of my friends needs a video produced.” I asked him who the video was for and he stated, “Dave Chappelle”.

Not being afraid to fail has been one of my most important factors to my success.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Absolutely, I appreciate this opportunity. At the moment, I direct and produce video content for celebrities and businesses. I’ve been blessed to have worked with talent like Dave Chappelle, Khalid, Kevin Hart, AT&T, Harper’s Bazaar, KRS-One, Sienna Mae Gomez, Svedka Vodka, Deorro, Sarunas Jackson, Gizzle, and more.

I take pride in my work and treat every project like it’s my own. It’s kind of like that golden rule of, you should treat others the same way you would want to be treated. I have extremely high standards and so do my clients. Every project and detail within is thoroughly thought out.

One factor that sets me apart is I know exactly what I want and how things should look. If I need to hire someone to do a job, I will. In some cases, multiple.

One of the greatest lessons I’ve learned over the years is you need to be continually selling. Everyday, you should be reaching out to new or past clients. I did this research on Twitter where I started blocking every single promoted ad that popped up. If billion dollar companies like Coca-Cola, Microsoft, and Apple are still trying to promote themselves 24/7… that should tell you something.

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?
We would go and do anything and everything. To be honest, when it comes to vacations or trips, I’m not much of a planner. It’ll be that morning I would decide to go scuba diving with sharks in the afternoon or take a trip to Disneyland. I love spontaneous activities.

While they were here though, I would have to take them to the Morning Cars and Coffee @morningcarclub. The community there is extremely friendly, and a great way to get out and network with good people.

I would also have to take them to a Lakers game. Take them surfing, and go for a hike up the Hollywood sign or Runyon Canyon.

I would also have to take them to all the great taco and food spots like Tacos El Gordo, Arroz & Fun, and more.

As for the rest of the itinerary, I guess you’ll have to contact me and find out first hand.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
It’s only right to acknowledge and recognize my success due to the example of my parents.

Working in entertainment, I can see how easy it can be to be caught up, vain, and self-absorbed. There’s a lot of people pretending to be someone they’re not. However, I was raised by two Idaho parents. They don’t care for flashy cars, telling people how great they are, and most importantly they’re confident in themselves.

Their example has allowed me to be confident in myself, and treat everyone like a regular human being, as they are.

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/directedbyclint

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiybruCbdB95zUddZZ9-FBg

Image Credits
All photos were taken by myself