The Click 3X Group has hired Michael Porte to serve as managing director of its digital studio in New York. He becomes part of the Click 3X management team headed by CEO Peter Corbett, and including VP/national sales director Phil McIntyre, Click 3X Atlanta managing director Dave Warner, and Click 3X Los Angeles managing director Tim Rollenhagen.
Porte’s move to Click 3X marks his return to the visual effects arena. Earlier in his career he served as a producer at such now defunct, pioneering Southern California spot effects houses as CPC and Coast Special Effects.
Porte will supervise all day-to-day activities at Click 3X New York, with particular emphasis on growing the studio and reinventing its role to suit the future needs of the advertising and broadcast industries. A co-founder of WheresSpot.com—an online community for people in the advertising industry—and former director of new business ventures for the New York Media Group, Porte has a long history of creating and developing creative services companies.
"Michael and I met several years ago when we were each developing solutions for delivering video via phone lines, and we have been looking for an opportunity to work together ever since," said Corbett.
Expansion
Click 3X New York has recently expanded its artistic staff and intends further high-level additions in the near future. The studio’s objective is to fortify its position in its core area of specialization—design, visual effects and computer animation for television commercials—while aiming for a lead role in broadcast design and production, an area where demand for its services is rising fast.
Porte became aware of Click 3X’s plans recently when, at Corbett’s behest, he became an informal consultant to the company. "Ten years ago, Click 3X created the model for the digital production studio of today," stated Porte, "and our goal now is to develop a new model—one that will set the standard for the future. We intend to create a new paradigm to go forward with for the next ten years."
Porte plans to maintain his role in WheresSpot, which he co-founded last year with industry rep Perry Schaffer. That group, which allows ad industry professionals to exchange questions and comments via e-mail and the Web, boasts more than 2,800 members.
Porte held his previous position with New York Media Group for just over two years. During that time, he was responsible for forming several new companies, including Crush Digital, a full-service DVD production studio, and arc.light editorial, a commercial offline editing company. Porte sold his interest in these companies in 1999.
In ’89, Porte co-founded Mad River Post in Santa Monica. During his tenure there, through ’96, Mad River became a top spot, film and music video editing house, expanding to also include shops in San Francisco and New York.
Porte also co-founded now defunct commercial production company Calypso Films, in ’91; and a year later, the video telecommunications company Mad River Technologies that featured the VideoFax. He sold his interest in these companies in ’96, along with Mad River Post. Porte, with partner Kim Gould, continues to hold the patent to the VideoFax.
Early in his career, Porte worked as an advertising agency producer and writer. He was an executive producer and copywriter at J. Walter Thompson, Los Angeles. He also produced for Hal Riney and Partners (now Publicis & Riney), San Francisco; Foote Cone & Belding (now FCB), Los Angeles; and McCann-Erickson, Los Angeles.
