Meet Ivy Beam | Filmmaker

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

Hi Ivy, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
An artistic career has been a dream of mine since I was a kid. I always had a feeling a desk job wasn’t going to work for me, and that proved true as I found myself increasingly unhappy and struggling with my mental well-being in corporate roles. As soon as I felt like I had grown my side business enough to cover my living expenses, I quit my corporate job (on my 26th birthday, for the theatrics). It’s been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I fell in love with documentary filmmaking as a teenager, capturing moments of my family on video. While it was a hobby for a long time, I started a wedding videography business in college on top of being a full time student and working as a barista. After graduating, I continued growing my business while working full-time jobs, which was both rewarding and exhausting.

I studied marketing instead of film in college, so over the years I’ve had to put a lot of time into teaching myself how to film and understand the technical side of cameras in order to produce the best possible image. This has looked like tons of trial and error, YouTube videos, and watching countless movies. I still have a lot to learn, but it’s a lot of fun because of how much I love this medium.

It wasn’t until six months ago that I made the decision to go full-time with wedding videography. This has given me the flexibility to work on other documentary, commercial, and personal projects, and I am excited to say I will be directing my first documentary short film this August. It took a lot of work to get here, but the past six months have been some of the most rewarding of my career.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Columbus is a gem of a city. If my best friend was visiting, here is where we would go throughout the week:

Coffee Shops – Florin and The Roosevelt (where I worked for years)
Food – Emmett’s Cafe, Paulie Gee’s, and Domo
Bars – The Oracle and Antiques on High
Shopping – The Little Light Collective, Tiger Tree, and The Brass Hand
Movies – Gateway Film Center
Live Music – Tuesday night bluegrass and Friday night jazz at Dick’s Den
Art – Columbus Museum of Art (free on Sundays)
Parks – Schiller and Antrim
With our remaining time, we’d walk around German Village or chill at my place with my roommate’s cat, Bebo.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I wouldn’t be where I am without the creatives around me and the support of my family and friends, but I would like to shoutout a few of the female artists in my life who have been especially supportive and inspiring: Kaitlin Kemp (Director and Producer), Madeleine Jett (Photographer), Madyline Suba (Illustrator), and Elena Musser (Actress and Musician). I am honored to know them and cannot wait to see how each of their careers unfold.

Website: https://ivybeam.com/

Instagram: @ivydbeam (personal) and @weddingfilmsbyivy (business) Would love for both to be shared!

Image Credits
All photos are my work with the exception of the 3 of myself. They should be credited to Madeleine Jett.