We recently connected with Zach Irving and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Zach thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you tell us about a time where you or your team really helped a customer get an amazing result?

Our company supports so many organizations from National Geographic to Meta, but our local clients are some of our favorite. From Insurance Agencies getting a 10fold ROI from our in house produced commercials to making fundraising videos for our community Boys and Girls Club that raised over 500k to new facilities. Every job is so unique and rewarding.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I started making films in High School, first for passion projects with friends and then for fellow students and projects for school. After working at the local tv station and interning at a radio station i left to study Cinematography in Chicago. After school I returned to my hometown of Alpena, MI and started to freelance as a videographer and editor. I worked on countless non-prophit projects and got two grants funding a 8 part series on micro adventures you could have in the outdoors of Northeastern Michigan. In 2018 I started my own company in Downtown Alpena called Irving Entertainment Studios. We cater to the area and all of Michigan and parts of the US. From shooting for Fed Ex, US Army, Air Force, Meta, PBS, Nat Geo, Sea Doo, etc. We also shoot live events, weddings, commercials, and teach a film class at the local community art center. We are in the process of starting a Northern Michigan Film Society to help fill the gap of industry and cinema in our area. The passion for creating has never dwindled its only grown. No project is to big or small for us and we look forward to collaboration and challenges to overcome and become more creative.

Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.

At first my business was my side hustle. I moved back home in 2013 and worked as a server manager for a restaurant about 2 1/2 years and then a Bartender and Barista. It wasn’t till 2018 when I founded Irving Entertainment Studios. The more I worked and kept going I got more notice and people started to reach out to me. They saw my dedication and started to understand the skill it takes to capture video. I started to understand the skill it takes to do this as I developed. I had an opportunity to work with a large contract and I quit my day job to do what I loved.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

Ive read the fundamentals in filmmaking books like “In the Blink of an Eye” “The Heroes Journey” “Cinematography Theory and Practice” “The Pocket Lawyer for Filmmakers” and more. But I do learn a-lot from youtube. Andyax, PotatoJet, Kevin Reys and Valentina from Aputure, Corridor Crew are all great starts for keeping up to date on gear, your craft, seeing how other businesses collaborate around the world and learning something completely new.

Contact Info:

• Website: Irvingentertainment.net
• Instagram: @irvingentertainment
• Facebook: @IEVideo
• Linkedin: Zachary Irving
• Youtube: Irving Entertainment
• Other: Leave us a google review!

Image Credits
Irving Entertainment Studios