Young businessman keeps dreams alive thanks to Dorset Community Foundation grant

Aspiring Dorset videographer and filmmaker Richard Koburn has been aided in his business aims by a SWEF Enterprise Fund grant from Dorset Community Foundation.

The £800 grant has allowed the 28-year-old to improve his film equipment and scale up his videography work.

He has now been hired to film food promotions for Rick Stein’s restaurants and shoot bike racing action at the MotoGP among a host of other work.

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The achievement follows an already remarkable journey for Koburn, from Swanage, who left school at 15 and worked on building sites for four years, and whose dream started when watching the Stanley Kubrick classic: "2001: A Space Odyssey".

He went back and studied an Access to University course at Bournemouth and Poole College before gaining a BA (Hons) in Film Production at Bournemouth University, as well as studying a 16mm and 35mm camera course at the National Film and Television School.

But Koburn noted: "Around one per cent of people studying film production go into the industry and that led me to realise there was a world away from this largely middle and upper class existence of filmmaking, which is based on nepotism and being able to go six months without being paid.

"I started filming weddings, doing small brand adverts and music videos. I was 27 when I finished my degree and I didn't really want to go and sleep on couches in London so videography was a nicer route."

So he began picking up freelance work and shooting corporate videos for independent production companies but found himself limited because he had no budget for hiring expensive equipment to stabilise his camera.

When he discovered a relatively low cost but effective new gimbal, which allows for steady, free flowing shots, he found the answer but didn't have the £800 needed to buy it.

A conversation with another cameraman led him to finding out about the SWEF grants.

"I applied I and got an email back almost immediately from Dorset Community Foundation. I was absolutely amazed. It really gave me a sense of hope to get a response that quickly."

Koburn said he aimed to continue building his business and portfolio but the directing dream was "still very much a part" of the plan.

"I knew that videography would always be my beginning and it's starting to roll on. So the question is do I stick in this or do I keep pushing it? he said.

"It's always worked for me to keep pushing it so I think that once I have some stable ground beneath me in terms of finances and reputation, my goal is to work as a director for advertisement agencies in London, going back to working with teams of teams of filmmakers.

"It goes to show that if you are determined, there are many other routes to get you to where you want to be and there is no doubt that this SWEF grant has really helped."

Richard's work can be seen HERE and to find out more about SWEF grants, click HERE.