If you are watching TV or on the internet and see video coverage from a car show or big electronics trade show, chances are High Impact TV is the production company behind it.
High Impact Television (HIT), founded in 1995, is the country’s largest producer of video news content from the nation’s most renowned trade shows and special events including Detroit, New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago Auto Shows; Consumer Electronics Show; Toy Fair; Electronic Entertainment Expo; Wireless; and Intel Developers Forum. HIT is a trusted news source for broadcast outlets around the country and has produced video seen around the world for major new product launches, including the introduction of DVDs; PlayStation; HDTV, Plasma, and LCD TVs; the first smartphone, camera phone, and consumer digital camera; and virtually every significant new car introduction during the last 16 years. HIT’s video, sound-bites, news packages, and live shots have appeared on Fox News, CNN, ABC’S Good Morning America, CBS’s Morning Show, MSNBC, CNBC, BBC, Telemundo, Univision, and hundreds of affiliates countrywide. To date, more than 1.5 billion television viewers have seen HIT event video. HIT’s production studio and editing facilities are located in Aliso Viejo, CA.
HIT created official trade show video services to help the shows and their exhibitors generate broadcast and internet coverage of major new product announcements from these events. Services include official event satellite media tours, as well as providing onsite support with crews, editing, event video and reporter live shots. HIT has pushed its content onto the Web producing both live and archived video webcasts. PlayStation, Hyundai, VW, Nissan, Honda, and Land Rover are among the many clients for whom HIT has produced live webcasts.
High Impact Television is a charter content provider for the ProDIGIQ Airport TV Network. This unique TV Network airs exclusive flight information and destination-based content on big screen televisions at airport departure gates, in real-time and in HD. Currently, the ProDIGIQ Airport TV Network has exposure to more than 2.5 million travelers in 11 airports.
In addition, HIT produces the Telly Award winning show DRIVE to the Auto Shows, featuring new car highlights from the major auto show events. Now in its 9th season, the show airs on Discovery Networks.
Editor’s Note: In addition to founding and running High Impact TV as its CEO, Tore Dietrich is a Producer, Director, Writer, and on screen Host. He conceives a concept, sells it to sponsors, and then executes the production of the production. He’s about as pure an entrepreneurial spirit as you’ll ever meet and an absolutely nice guy.
SOCAL: Where were you born and raised?
Tore: I was raised in Pacific Palisades (the coast of L.A.), and ended up at UCLA, where I majored in Business Economics. Hopefully, I picked up some creativity from my father, who earned a living as a fine artist. Immediately after graduating UCLA, I traveled with Club Med around the world. A good friend from school moved to Orange County, where he worked on the advertising side of the OC Register. I followed him there.
SOCAL: So how did you become a producer?
Tore: The OC Register started OCN, the Orange County NewsChannel, which gave me the opportunity to learn about electronic media, while staying with a good company. After a couple years at OCN, I was ready to move on. I literally stumbled upon a couple of producers, who worked with companies to get them on the news with video news releases. One of the first productions I sold was for the grand opening of the MGM Hotel, Casino & Theme Park, in Las Vegas, at the time the world’s largest hotel.
I was thrown into the lion’s pit as a new producer, including production of satellite feeds to the TV networks and helping on live shots for visiting TV news talent.
SOCAL: Was there an aha! moment when you knew that this is what you wanted to do with your life?
Tore: Right after the MGM event, I was at the Consumer Electronics Show. I stopped dead in my tracks, as I realized that trade shows and their exhibitors would benefit from organized TV news production services. I marched directly to the head of public relations for the show and made my pitch.
After a good eight months, I was able to convince the North American International Auto Show (aka Detroit Auto Show) to back us. At the time, I literally had to sell to eat.
SOCAL: How did your on-screen, hosting activities come about?
Tore: Well, the host for our TV show retired. And after coaching the many talent we have worked with over the years, I thought I’d give it a shot. Its just tape, right? So long as I didn’t hear from ESPN or our sponsor, I figured we were OK.
SOCAL: Please describe one or more of your most challenging productions and how you solved (or didn’t solve) it.
Tore: Wow, so many… production is all about anticipating problems. One year at the Detroit Auto Show, we were live on-air, when the producer of the Mercedes press event came over to tell us that we had to shut our production down. He said that we were interrupting his event, which was below us (we were overlooking the show floor). I’m a pretty big guy and got between him and my talent. He was a hot-head in my grill, but I was able to convince him to settle down before a fight broke out. I wasn’t going to miss a live shot.
SOCAL: Please describe some of the most enjoyable or satisfying productions you’ve been involved with.
Tore: We’ve literally produced hundreds of live shots. It’s always a challenge to find a great location for that special look. Live production from the Frankfurt Motor Show, in Germany, as well as the ESPN show from the Tokyo Motor Show, were both very memorable… and so expensive to produce!
SOCAL: Do you have any special projects that are underway that you can tell us about?
Tore: This February, we live-webcast all of the automaker press events for the Chicago Auto Show. Live webcasting will become a more significant part of our work.
SOCAL: How would you rate the current and near term prospects for independent production companies like HIT.
Tore: While I can’t comment on production in general, we have our niche at the auto shows, CES and some other events. If they remain significant, I believe we will as well.
SOCAL: What advice would you give young people coming into the business? What are the most important traits you look for in prospective employees?
Tore: Find your niche. Find an area of work not being exploited. I was fortunate to literally stumble into production and found a niche that works for me. As for prospective employees, we have a very lean staff. I look for self-starters who get it
To see sample video of High Impact's auto show series go to http://www.hittv.com/DRIVE/home.html
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