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Regarding The Knight Rider Companion

Posted: Wed Aug 27, 2008 10:38 pm
by Victor Kros
Greetings,

I ask that you take the time to read through this entire post. I know some people have issues with the lengths of my posts but this time it really is very important you take the time to really go through this information and understand the situation accordingly.

I know many of you are looking forward to the release of our 680 page epic masterpiece. It is with great regret that due to complications beyond our control we must delay the release of the book for the time being. We do plan to have it out for a winter release at the latest but it could be released sooner depending on scheduling.. Because of the sheer demand of printing so many pages in CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black), despite being in "grayscale", the printer insists on printing the book in only 100% K or "registration" black. This makes the images equivelant to that of a photocopy or "newsprint" not unlike the images in Knight Rider Legacy.

With all due respect to the printer and KRL, I believe the Knight Rider fans deserve better then that. We have all worked hard to support the fandom and expect to be given something worthwhile in return. I assure you as both an artist and a person who has a background in printing, My partner and I will not release a book that is inferior to my standards or your own.

I'm not promising you a full glossy magazine style presentation either. I wont make promises I can't deliver on. I am giving you the best possible format we can manage within our production limits.

Because of this complication and the overwhelming demand to see this book printed in full color, we are negotiating a way to divide and produce the book into two seperate volumes which would be given full color treatments, rather then one 680 page grayscale book. It is my belief that the Knight Rider fans really desire to see a book that treats the source material of Knight Rider in full color, giving the best possible presentation possible and would pay a higher reasonable price for that opportunity.

It is incredibly expensive to produce a 680 page book in full color, in one delivered form and given that we (Fredrick and I) designed the book to be printed in "grayscale" not strictly "black and white", we require all four colors of the printing process (CMYK) and this is apparently not possible. The distinction between "grayscale" and "black and white" apparently was not defined well enough to translate to both parties involved.

Because of my reliance on giving you, the fans the most impressive presentation possible, I am working very hard to find other options to meet those needs accordingly. So it is at this point in time, likely the book will be delayed and split into two 340 page color volumes. (or equivelant to half the book per volume)

You have asked for color and I am a firm believer in giving the people what they want.

This is not some sort of marketing scam to get more money out of people. This is the necessity that must be taken in order to deliver to you the best product possible within our means. I really want the fans to understand that a lot of time and energy has been spent into making this book the best it can possibly deliver.

Volume 1 will contain the foreword by Glen Larson and everything up till the Knight Gallery. Because of the number of pages in the episode guide, this will be split off and contained in "volume 2".

Volume 2 will contain the introduction by Robert Foster and the detailed Four Season Episode Guide itself which features several full page images, detailed descriptions, and quite a bit of press material and tv guide ads. All other material will be moved to volume 1 so you really will get the best value for your buck.

Between both volumes, there should be something for everyone to enjoy and an unpresidented amount of photos and content highlighting the original series we have continued to admire or be inspired by.

I ask that you have some patience and understanding while we work to make these changes and that you keep the faith. This book will come, it must been delayed so we can prepare to go back and reinsert all of our grayscale imagery into color photos which is again, what I feel people really wanted from the beginning. Keep in mind that not every image we have is in color in our collection, especially press shots which are primarily black and white but you will get the full spectrum of tones (grayscale). Graphical art that was originally in newsprint (like tv guide ads) will be reproduced in their original formats, we can't do anything to improve those types of imagery.

We're all pleased that new and exciting things are coming down the pipeline for Knight Rider fans worldwide. I believe in quality over quantity and I believe despite this setback, in the end you're all going to be extremely pleased with what develops.

The book itself (as it is in its current form) will be on display at Saugus as several prototypes for people to look through at my table where I'll be signing trading cards made specially for the event. This allows people to be able to at least look at what is coming in let's say the now "prototype" stage. These books will be in grayscale but the final product will be released in full color.

Depending on the solutions we reach the books could be released before the end of the year (winter) but I will not sign off on them until they've met my graphical standards. I will not let you, the fans down by approving an inferior product.

For those of you who preodered a copy of the book, I believe our publisher will refund your money if you paid in advance. We are working dilligently on a speedy solution and again I stress the book could be delayed anywhere from a month, to a winter release[/i]. It really depends on how quickly we can get things back up to speed.

All is not lost. I assure you as an artist and a fan seeking to make a difference, these books will come and they will change the landscape of Knight Rider fandom forever. I will be working very hard to do whatever I can to get things back on track and when things are in order, you will hear more about the book once more. No long leadup marketing campaign, I will just tell you point blank.

In the meantime I will still move forward with putting snippets from the book up on the official website that I am still constructing (knightridercompanion.com), so you will have an idea of what the progress is. It is our desire to work on both volumes simultanously and release them either as a set or individually. Again this depends on time, scheduling, and so on.

Volume 1 is assured to be released. If need be, Volume 2 will follow shortly thereafter.

I apologize if any of you feel you've been misled in any way. All I can tell you is I have done everything in my power to rectify the situation and these are the options we're left with at this point in time. I wanted my video to excite people and really get them hyped up to purchase this book and I belive I've achieved that effect.

You've seen what I can do and what potential I can give a project like this. When I did the video it was with the understanding that everyone was on the same page. Despite expressing concerns early on, at some point you go on faith and see what happens. Obviously if I was aware of this issue I wouldn't have released the video. The fact our publisher posted the book release on their website and sent out a newsletter ahead of my timing with Summer of Secrets, really forced my hand. I'm not passing blame whatsoever, I just want you to understand the circumstances in which I've been placed surrounding this project and it's development phases.

The video will return in a newer format when these issues have been resolved and everything is back on track. I'm still leaving it online so that people will still have a chance to know that these books are coming. They're just going to take longer then originally expected.

The bottom line here is that the book IS NOT CANCELLED, it's only been delayed for revisions. Whatever form it takes, I trust it will meet your approval and be worth the wait.

You fans have asked for color imagery and given the opportunity we now have, my partner and I have listened.

The best is yet to come.

Thank you for understanding and if you have further questions (keep them respectful please), feel free to PM me.

=VK=
:dash:

Re: Regarding The Knight Rider Companion

Posted: Wed Aug 27, 2008 11:20 pm
by JJSoCrazy
Can't wait to see it Nick! Thanks for all your hard work my friend!

Joe

Re: Regarding The Knight Rider Companion

Posted: Wed Aug 27, 2008 11:27 pm
by nee716
I can't wait either Nick!! Keep up the awesome work!

Anthony
:kitt:

Re: Regarding The Knight Rider Companion

Posted: Thu Aug 28, 2008 2:53 am
by 1982
How about putting the pictures on disc to accompany the book?

Re: Regarding The Knight Rider Companion

Posted: Thu Aug 28, 2008 6:43 am
by Victor Kros
1982,

That's an interesting suggestion but we will have to first see about getting the book itself in order before we can consider digital additions. Because we cannot properly present the book in strictly "K", we still have to go back and adjust for CMYK color regardless. Providing an extra DVD with every book released would be a considerably high increase in cost to the consumer to meet our publisher's needs. I'm trying to keep these books cost efficient while delivering the best possible presentation I can within our production needs. This might sound like a broken record response but there really is no other way to put it at this point.

For the time being, we're investing all of our energy into revising the book and getting back to speed on its intial release. In addition to the colorization process, I am looking into ways to make things like vehicle art which was originally designed in strictly black and white into a colorized presentation. Additionally we have decided to rework our book logo a bit to find a better solution with respects to readability. The book will still be called "The Knight Rider Companion" when released with "Volume 1" or "Volume 2" added.

All these revisions take time and creative energy to accomplish properly.

=VK=
:dash:

Re: Regarding The Knight Rider Companion

Posted: Thu Aug 28, 2008 8:55 am
by RafaelLOJ
A DVD with Full Color / High Res pics would be Great... & Cheaper to make than a book... I would gladly pay the $39 I paid for the book to have on DVD instead... I'm sure there are people that would prefer the book, but from the pics / collection I've seen, I'd love to have it on disc & to show it in my Kitt :)

So keep it in mind, not to sell a disc with each book, but offer the disc as an option (less cost / more profit)...

Rafael

Re: Regarding The Knight Rider Companion

Posted: Thu Aug 28, 2008 10:29 am
by kitt_rulz
Trust me don't worry about it. The fans will wait with much anticaption!!