Today we’d like to introduce you to Rob Knauf and Andrew Rowley.
Rowlbertos Media originated as a general partnership back in 2012. Andrew Rowley and Roberto Knauf were roommates doing freelance gigs and video projects for various companies. We were always talking video ideas and we came up with A Red Trolley Show to combine our love for music and run-and-gun style of shooting. Rob came up from documentary filmmaking and catching real moments was always fascinating. Rowley came from the music world working at 91X and hosting the local show Loudspeaker.
So we had access to a lot of cool local talent. We came up with a name for our production crew over a few craft beers at Livewire and decided to pay tribute to our San Diego roots and taco shops by combining our names, Rowlberto Productions was born. As time and more gigs came rolling in, we deiced we could cut the middle man and start pursuing gigs for ourselves. It worked and we became an LLC filing under Rowlbertos Media in 2015. Even with all the “Berto’s” in San Diego, we knew this would help us stand out in the video production world, plus we’re self-proclaimed taco experts.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Besides the BIG leap of faith in pursuing and creating your own business from scratch. The biggest struggle has been competing with the saturation of video technology and the evolution of video, commercials and branding for companies. With everyone having an HD camera, video creation has become a lot easier and the very thing that allowed us to turn our passion into a career was now too easy for everyone to do. Luckily a lot more goes into creating quality and effective content than just an HD camera.
We are story tellers at the heart of what we do and there are many techniques we’ve learned along the way to help better tell our client’s stories. Some things can be taught and others are learned along the journey. While we still think there is a place for IG stories, Facebook live and other video components to create a well-told story involves collaboration, planning, and good execution. And we understand these to a tee. We pride ourselves on paying attention to the details that make for an effective, eye catching and engaging piece of content.
Please tell us about Rowlbertos Media.
We create hot fresh media to beef up your brand! We focus on music, travel and lifestyle content to help businesses with their branding and promotion. Commercials, ad campaigns or mini-documentaries but we also do social campaigns, luxury real estate and corporate brand videos. We work with clients to tell their story they want it to be told, as delicious a possible! We really dive into our client’s company culture, goals and marketing to create the video they envision. We learn something new with every client and is one of our favorite parts of what we do. Learning the inner working of various industries helps us to implement latest trends and technologies with every project we take on. 360 videos and Virtual reality is next!
We are also creators of A Red Trolley Show, an award-winning web series where we take acoustic performances on the red trolley to surprise riders with an impromptu show. We are currently sponsored by Karl Strauss, MTS and Taylor Guitars. those videos can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/aredtrolleyshow.
We are a very San Diego centric company and the name and our logo proudly state that. Our company was born and bred in America’s Finest City, where California burritos were created, coincidence? I think not! We too are the best of both worlds; professional yet run-n-gun, creative but collaborative, we shoot for the big screen but know the small. If there are three things we know it’s San Diego, video production and beefy content.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
Not a specific memory but I remember growing up in I was always embarrassed that my full name was Roberto. The “O” was always a sensitive subject. First day of school was always a fear hearing my new teacher call me Roberto. I always had them call me Robert and later just Rob. I know it was childish.
Now I am very happy our company is proudly repping the O! It took a while but owning it and proudly showcasing it has been beneficial for us. Our name is always a conversation starter, and people instantly get it. We are lucky to have the freedom to create a company by our own rules and I’m sure the 10-year-old “Robert” would agree.
Contact Info:
- Address: 600 B St. Suite 300 SD CA 92101
- Website: rowlbertos.com
- Phone: 619-781-2029
- Email: info@rowlbertos.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Rowlbertos
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Rowlbertos
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/RowlbertosMedia
- Other: https://vimeo.com/rowlbertos
Image Credit:
Ryan Kuratomi, Rebecca Joelson, Gary Allard
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