SEVEN in 11: Ken Sanborn

WHY HE MATTERS
In September 2010, Longboat Key resident Ken Sanborn formally unveiled plans for Miami 24/7 — a movie-studio project intended for Lakewood Ranch. In mid-May, Sanborn Studios LLC will begin filming the first 13 episodes of its first TV series, “Miami 24/7,” across Bradenton and Sarasota.

Ken Sanborn learned the value of creativity at an early age.

Growing up, the Longboat Key resident watched his father, Dan Sanborn, direct and produce films for communities across the state while also capturing breaking news footage for WFLA-TV in Tampa.

It was while he was out on assignment with his father that Sanborn also learned the importance of precision.

“He had the recipe down,” Sanborn says. “The older cameras taught me to be very precise. He was never off. He always (said), ‘If you have action, you need to film it, and you need to know (how to do) it.’
“My father passed the business on to me to a certain extent,” he says.

With more than 40 years of experience in the film and TV production industry, Sanborn now is focusing his attention on his newest venture — the Lakewood Ranch-based Sanborn Studios LLC. Through his production company, Sanborn is hoping to create a facility that will allow other young people to follow their dreams.

In September 2010, Sanborn formally unveiled plans for the studio’s first TV series, “Miami 24/7,” which will bring more than 100 jobs to the East County.

“Our goal is to create a facility where young people can follow their passion,” Sanborn says. “There are so many young creative people who (want to go into) entertainment. Our (goal is) to make them believe it’s reasonable to do it. We need to create venues where people can follow their dreams.”

PRODUCING DREAMS
In mid-May, Sanborn Studios will begin shooting “Miami 24/7.” The series, based partly on Sanborn’s life in New York, will be filmed predominately in Sarasota and Bradenton with about 90% of the footage shot locally. In addition, two or three scenes will be shot in Miami.

In its first year, Sanborn Studios is planning to shoot 13 episodes or one-half of a season of “Miami 24/7.” Next year, Sanborn is hoping to shoot 22 episodes. Sanborn says it takes about five to six days to shoot an episode, but with a complete second unit of actors and actresses in place to shoot the majority of the action scenes, Sanborn is optimistic that filming won’t take quite that long.

“We’re bringing in people with a lot of experience,” Sanborn says.

A newsroom studio and an apartment, among other scenes, were constructed at the studio’s 80,000-square-foot facility in Lakewood Ranch. In addition, lighting and grip trucks, a green screen and light grids were added to the former warehouse space.

“I think Sarasota-Bradenton is one of the few communities in the area that embraces and supports the arts, theater and film,” Sanborn says. “This area is more arts friendly than anywhere in Florida.

“We have college students here from Ringling and the South College of Florida and high school students who are interns,” he says. “There are a great number of people here who are well versed in this type of industry; and it’s great to see so (much) interest in it.”

CREATIVITY
A native of Lakeland, Sanborn learned about film production from his father. At the time, there weren’t any TV news stations in Lakeland or Polk Counties, so with a background in production, Dan Sanborn would string for WFLA-TV or Channel 9 in Tampa. And whenever Dan Sanborn went out to shoot a major breaking news story, he would bring his son along.

“I shot breaking news as a little boy,” Ken Sanborn says. “He would drag me along to help out and learn the business. I was 10 years old and shooting Channel 9’s film — they just didn’t know it.”

Over the years, Sanborn and his father worked on production projects together; and as his father got older, Dan Sanborn turned the TV news production side over to his son. Sanborn began shooting film while his father continued to do the voiceover.

“One day he (Dan Sanborn) says ‘I’m done. You’ve got to do it,’” Sanborn says. “Channel 8 didn’t know it was me. They still had my dad’s super up.”

In 1974, Sanborn began working for WFLA-TV, where he spent four years covering Polk County. He then continued at NGN 13 in New Jersey, but at the time, Sanborn had his sights set on working for ABC.

A year later, Sanborn’s dream became a reality when he accepted a position with ABC. He worked for ABC for the next 12 years, spending the last five years working as a cameraman for “20/20” before leaving ABC in 1990 to focus on his aerial photography business.

In 1991, Sanborn decided to start manufacturing cameras of his own. Within two years, he began producing gyrocams. In 2003, Sanborn started his own Sarasota-based company known as Gyrocam Systems. Three years later, Sanborn was awarded a $43 million contract from the Pentagon to build and install stabilized camera systems for U.S. Marine vehicles. But over time, Sanborn realized he missed filmmaking; and in 2009, Sanborn decided to sell Gyrocam to Lockheed Martin.

BUILDING A LEGACY
Today, Sanborn’s focus has returned to his passion and he’s eager to begin filming his studio’s first TV series.

“I like the creativity of the film business,” Sanborn says. “Every day is different. I love growing the business and making something grow and foster. It’s great to have a vision and actually be able to see it.

“I treat all of my projects like children,” he says. “You nurture them along and some need a little bit of a personal (touch). Some days, I think I’ve been doing this too long.”

When he’s not hard at work, Sanborn enjoys spending time with his wife and two children, boating and traveling. Sanborn also planned to take up golf after selling Gyrocam, but he has yet to actually tee off.

“I bought a set of clubs,” Sanborn says. “I think they’re still at the Longboat Key Club, but I haven’t picked them up yet.”

But with a new business venture and plans for more TV and film productions in the future, Sanborn admits it’s hard to think about taking time off.

“It’s really important to me to leave a legacy for my kids,” Sanborn says. “I want to (build) a facility that creates entertainment programming for TV. That’s my primary purpose. This business is all based on contacts and relationships.”

Contact Jen Blanco at [email protected].