RICK PORTIN, takes entertainment to the next level bringing the traditional and integrating the new, designed to enhance and wow the digital and broadcast, feature and episodic experience. Rick’s vision and experience for creating and delivering engaging content blends the use of AI, AR, XR, Mixed Reality, Motion Capture and LED Volume technologies across entertainment, gaming, streaming, and sports genres.
Rick’s experience demonstrates his unique blend of creativity and production leadership for clients such as: Fox Television Studios, Viacom, E! Entertainment Television, Bungie, Ubisoft, Vin Di Bona Productions, WME/IMG, Google, Starbucks, Microsoft, Xbox, Starbucks, Valve, ITV Studio, Blizzard, Halo, and NBC Sports, as an Executive in Charge of Production, Director, Executive Producer, Futurist and Creator.
It’s celebrity esports championships infused with glimpses into pop culture, food, fashion and fun making the show real for gamers around the world.
It’s mixing Augmented Reality (AR) into the production with digital humans (Digital Domain) and LED Volume digital environments transporting the audience to travel to a different time and space, providing an extraordinary new dynamic entertainment experience on any content platform and device.
It’s creating an audience community by gamifying the content, to connect the storytelling experience of the episodic streaming show extended to mobile and social channels.
And it’s now all about taking traditional forms of entertainment and storytelling reinvented – infused with endless magic in ways never imagined before, integrated with opportunities for e-commerce, advertising and merchandising.
Rick is also a consultant and Executive Producer/Director for Xbox Studios where he has directed interactive, live, entertainment shows with transmedia social experiences including the Halo 4 Global esports Championships, Gears of War and HaloFest with 343 Industries. He worked with Xbox BigPark Studios Vancouver on the development of the Xbox Production Infrastructure for digital sports and click to interact LIVE digital television.
Rick helped shape future visions of entertainment at Microsoft for MSN and Microsoft Advanced Consumer Technology Research Group. His expertise as Executive Producer at Microsoft has been integral in the development and management of MSN Interactive Television and he also drove digital, broadcast, interactive television shows, production facilities, AI Production and digital interactive television teams and studios. The Microsoft ITV/Digital Studio integrated with Hollywood studios such as Rysher Entertainment, Fremantle, Warner, NBC, Paramount Television, Universal, MSNBC, Food Network, PBS, USA Networks, Tribune, Turner and many production companies where Rick Executive Produced enhanced episodic network television shows. Rick was a part of the Microsoft ACT Research and Development teams designing, developing Future Home Entertainment technology and content. At Microsoft he also consulted with the AI (Artificial intelligence) team.
As Director of 105 live arena interactive esports Dota2 Championship games for Valve on Steam, he created a high energy entertainment/sports experience combining professional gaming with digital television.
Rick was a member of the original management team and Vice President Production of E! Entertainment Television Hollywood, where he created programming and production to build a global entertainment cable network. As Head of Production he ran development teams, production and strategy to create 20 hours of studio production per day. He also co-created and directed “Live from the Red Carpet”. Rick built the production studios, network operations, production teams and developed entertainment programming for the achievement of a worldwide entertainment cable network.
Rick served as Vice President Production, Metan Development and The Hollywood Reporter Television where he was Executive Producer developing original Chinese episodic television programming. Rick built studios and production teams in LA and Beijing to produce multi platform shows with a seamless server/cloud technology to provide a coordinated production process between multiple studios and countries. Rick is Executive in Charge of hundreds of hours of television, digital, mobile programming in the LA and Beijing studios and Executive Producer of over 100 “Hello Hollywood” shows and digital branded entertainment airing in China to 400 million homes. “Hollywood Oscars”, Rick Executive Produced and Directed, was watched by over 10 million viewers across China. He also created branded programming for brands such as Coach, Tory Burch, LOreal, AVON, MAC, Coke, Ford
As Vice President Production for Reality 24-7, Rick designed innovative television production, programming integration and studio facilities and was Head of Production, Executive Producer The Real Deal, Reality Central News.
Rick is a live multi-camera director for music concerts which include Maroon5, Lady Gaga, Macklemore, Pitbull, Kelly Clarkson, U2, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston.
As Executive Vice President of television.com, Rick developed and launched television.com’s original digital and mobile entertainment service. He managed television, software development, code production, content creation and studio where he produced over 500 hours of Interactive Television (Judge Judy, Baywatch, Health E Styles) and short form shows. In addition, he created TV and digital portals and program guides for Paul Allen’s Digeo and Charter OTT.
Rick was Director of Production for Viacom creating local programming, cable network startups and managing cable production studios. As Director, he developed production and programming for Showtime and MTV Networks.
In addition, Rick is the winner of Emmy and CableAce Awards, the Broadcast Design Association Silver Award, New York Film Festival Award and is commissioned by The American Film Institute as an “Interactive Television Pioneer”. Rick is a member of the Television Academy and The Producers Guild of America.