Staff Spotlight – Richard, Head of Department

We are very pleased to have Richard Eno as our head of Creative, Digital and Business Innovation here at EKC Ashford College. 

Proud to be leading Media courses at Ashford, Richard says that “All I really want to do is help people make films and be creative – that’s it. Life is too short to be boring so I do all I can to inspire students to embrace their creativity.” 

We sat down with Richard and asked him some questions about our new Media pathway, as well as some fun facts about himself. 

What is your background in Media?

I am originally from Folkestone, and was educated at King Alfred’s College, Winchester. In terms of my media education, I studied film producing under Dov Simens, the same man who taught Quentin Tarantino as well as many others in Hollywood. I also trained at The Script Factory where I focused on helping writers fix their screenplays. I have worked in the post-16 sector for 24 years and I bring my huge amount of experience in creative media education to EKC Ashford College.

What will I get out of studying Media with you?

If you come and study media with me at Ashford you’re going to get a really amazing experience.

We will help you with industry standard ways of working and you will be able to use some fantastic resources. On my media course, it is focused on film-making and story-making. Each week however there are classes in screenwriting for a range of mediums such as film and games.

You will not only leave college with a huge portfolio of film and TV work but also screenwriting work as well. I will also be able to teach you how to make music videos, short films and how to use social media in an effective way.

Once you finish your course, you have lots of options, you can go straight to employment in a wide range of starter roles in the industry, but you can also go down the university route if you would like to specialise.

How important is my portfolio when I go into the industry?

You have to be working on your portfolio throughout College. It is your larger portfolio, that is going to make it happen when you go out into the wider industry. Your portfolio will show that you can achieve media aims and goals and show off to employers that you have the skillsets that they require.

What do you love about working at EKC Ashford College?

I love that the College is made up of really remarkable staff, who have lots of experience working in education. Our creative team also have lots of experience in thei respective fields, so that you get the best opportunity’s possible. 

Tell us some fun facts about yourself!

• Nearly every year of my teaching career, I have taken students to either Los Angeles or New York City for a week to learn about Media in the wider world.
• My favourites films include those from David Lynch, Akira Kurosawa, and David Cronenberg.
• I collects vinyl record, and find it really difficult to walk past a record shop and not purchase something.
• My favourite video game is Half Life 2, which I like to call, ‘the Hamlet of video games’.
• I love literature, especially the work of Haruki Murakami and Iris Murdoch.  
• I have published articles in places such as Innovate My Classroom, Taste Of Cinema and Screen Rant.