MICHAEL IVEY

Partial Client List

Goldman Sachs, United States Department of Homeland Security, FIVE GUYS, Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Hunt Brothers Pizza, WV Division of Tourism, Miami Valley Hospital, Cooper Tire, College for Creative Studies Detroit, NBCUniversal, Ohio Lottery, Wendy's International, Ford Motor Company, Smithfield Foods, The Omni Nashville Hotel, HelpCureHD, Big O Tires, Jewish Hospital Louisville, Jet's Pizza, The Jim Thorpe Rehabilitation Network, Toledo Hospital, Mercy Healthcare, The Ohio State University, S-E-A, Franklin University, Big Lots, CincinnatiUSA.com, Alabama Power, Corning Gorilla Glass, The Southern Company, JBS Swift, KrazyGlue, Wilson Memorial Hospital, P&G, AARP, MKSK Studios, Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, United Way, OhioHealth, Columbus Bluejackets, Disney/ABC, Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio, Donatos, Longaberger Company, Safe Auto, Journeys, Nationwide Insurance, Integris Baptist Medical Center, Solution Tree, Stonewall Columbus, Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, The Oneida Group, UpJohn and AlsoUS - Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma America, Inc.

Recommendations

“Michael is a smart guy - very smart - but more importantly he’s a very good guy. Plus, he will have more ideas in the next hour than the rest of us will have all day. He can’t help it. It’s like jazz, it’s fast and you just have to hang on for the ride.
He understands storytelling in a profound and useful way. He cares about the work like few people you’ll ever meet. The fact that he has a lot of ideas does not mean he does not like mine. Once I figured that out, I loved him. You will too.”

— John Stertz, creative director at stertz group

“Michael is unlike any director I have ever worked with. It must be his NPR journalist background or something, because he explores every nook and cranny of a project before, during, and after a shoot. Instead of hiring one guy, you get 10. He has a marketer’s DNA and brings to the job some wicked observations, insights and ideas. Carry a pad when you work with him. He’s collaborative. He’s versatile. We used to joke in the agency how at least once a day someone would throw out an idea that began with “What if we got Michael Ivey to...” That’s how much a part of our team he became. Best of all, he is a great guy and I consider him a great friend.”

— Rich Paschall, marketing creative director & strategist

Bio

Michael is an award-winning broadcast director, DP, editor, photographer, writer and storyteller.

He is committed to making work that makes a difference.

Michael brings a very unique set of skills to every project. He is a former commentator/reporter for NPR’s ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. He has also been a professional whitewater guide, an Associated Press photojournalist and a Los Angeles based production designer.

His directing niches include kids, tabletop, in-depth interviews, real people, dialogue, lifestyle and documentary.

Michael is DGA/Financial Core and available for freelance projects.

“There are some people you work with who make work seem like play. There are some people you work with who make you feel like you are the most important person in the room. And there are some people you work with who make you feel like your project is the best, most important thing he or she has ever worked on. Michael is all of those people. He is so far beyond an insane director. He is a visionary, a poet, a storyteller, world traveller and photojournalist - he is the quintessential renaissance man. And he is genuine to the core. His passion, vision, collaborative nature, and his tireless commitment to doing whatever it takes to make each and every production the very best, make Michael my very first choice to work with. Always. I owe a lot to Michael. He has made me a much better broadcast creative than I ever hoped to be. Borrowing a sentiment from one of my favorite creative directors, I have a very small list of people I hope to work with again in my career... Michael is at the top of that list.”

— Sherri Anderson, branding consultant, copywriter, idea houndess

“After four years of shooting on little budget, I was an exhausted documentary filmmaker who felt like she was drowning as an editor, shaping a vast story for PBS Independent Lens. That’s when Michael Ivey and his storytelling chops swooped in and pulled me above water, not only seeing the vision, but showing me the creative path to get there. As my Consulting Director (and frequent interviewer and cameraman) for “On A Roll: Family, Disability and the American Dream,” there were moments when I despised Michael’s perseverance and unwillingness to let me flounder, but persist we did. The film won the Independent Lens Audience Award and recommendations from The New York Times, Anti-Defamation League, and others, followed by ten years of international broadcast by ITVS True Stories: Life in the USA. I believe none of that would have happened without Michael Ivey.”

— Joanne Caputo, independent filmmaker