John Mason's Goodbye

[granitemouse]

Hello, my name is John Mason and I helped create InDigital. I wanted to thank everyone for their support while we were making the show, not everyone knew this but we were actually the second most watched show on Revision3. I also wanted to thank everyone for what I have read since our last Revision3 show was released. I have really enjoyed working with Hahn, Jessica, Wil, and Stephen, as well as our first incarnation with Diane produced by Tony, Mike, and myself. We had a good time making the show for you, and I am really glad you enjoyed watching it.

I am a little bit confused by the moderator post about how it was increasingly difficult for them to make the show in Los Angeles, as we weren't having any problems with what we were doing and they didn't really have any input in the making of the show. The show was created by us, the products were obtained by Hahn (sometimes with him buying them himself), and the show was shot, edited, and uploaded to Rev3. I suppose this comment could come from the fact that they wished to incorporate Patrick after his move to the network. When we launched our second iteration with Wil and Jessica, Hahn actually moved to a bigger space that he could turn into a studio as well, and this was all out of his own pocket with no impact on the show budget whatsoever. Quite honestly, I will say that I think the demand to move came from desire for Rev3 to feel more like a professional network by having their shows done in house.

A similar Rev3 demand was made with the Post Production around episode 13 of the show. This was the biggest slap in the face to me, as I had worked on the show since day one. I edited every episode of the show except 13, when they declared that the Post Production must be moved to San Francisco because that was the way that they wished it to be. Episode 13 ended up being six weeks late, and Hahn demanded that they give the post production back to me.

I began watching Revision3 as a fan. I was a huge fan of TechTv. It was an honor for me when we started InDigital and really exciting to be part of the network. I hope that they tread carefully down the road they are taking. I worry that the corporate system is entirely swallowing the Grass Roots spirit. This isn't the only way to be successful. Please remember what made this network special. It's funny that someone said "not to get all G4" on them. I worked at G4, and they might hate to hear it but I see the similarities.

The final thing I want to say is a great big thank you to Hahn Choi. I don't think they ever really showed him the level of appreciation that he deserved for what he did for the network. I have a strong feeling that this isn't the end, just the end in this particular place.

Thank you all so much,

John Mason

[scienceking]

Sounds like people on both sides of this relationship had to make tough choices about their futures here. I can understand Rev3's desire to want to take more control of its production. As a viewer, I must admit Rev3 felt sorta like it was falling apart and disorganized a few months ago with releases of some of the other shows becoming irregular and whatnot. The new regular schedule move is much appreciated as a viewer. However, I can also understand your concerns, and feel really bad about losing one of the best podcasts on the net IMO.

Anyway, I wish you guys the best of luck. You seem like one of the behind the scenes types who put more into the show than we could every really appreciate without seeing it, so a special thanks to you in particular. Good luck to you guys in the future, I'm sure that even if your future isn't at Rev3, you can still have a successful one.

[mannapc]

Thank you for all the entertainment, the blood, sweat and tears along with the message just posted that I know was hard to write.

Thank you!

[nextgenxbox]

2nd most watched and they cancel it. - What's up with that Mr. Louderback? Seriously.

[rayjay1999]

Kevin, Dan and Jay Have Little to no Envolvement with the network now. alex's Has to shop some where else for his Sitcom. I heard Louderback Want's Rev 3 To be a techtv Clone. Infected Is even Hanging By a Thread. :'(

[davesecx]

Man, there seems to be some drama building in the behind the sceenes stuff at Rev3. How long til people quite Rev3 to start their own company to do things how they want to? Its like a weird circle of life.

TechTV is gone. Its dead. As much as I loved it, there is no reason to be a clone of it. Rev3 should be unique, not a copy of something that died years ago.

[mic]

Originally Posted by nextgenxbox

2nd most watched and they cancel it. - What's up with that Mr. Louderback? Seriously.

Why couldn't InDigital and Tekzilla (not the baseball bat of same silly sounding name) have co-existed at Rev3? And, if InDigital is going to become Tekzilla, why not just keep the better and more recognizable show name?

And what happens to all the other Rev3 personnel that do not live in Frisco? Is the 'Totally Rad Show' shooting their last episode? Or is Alex, Dan and Jeff also moving to Frisco?

I cringed watching the ending of InDigital's last episode when the lights went out and Hahn said, "And, that is it." Years of pouring sweat and tears into a project all ending at that very moment. It was sad. Having never missed an episode of InDigital (it was my second favorite show on Rev3), I feel it deserved better and now it will be gutted and "phased out".

To all those who worked on making InDigital (both originally and over the various iterations), I wish you all my best.

Mentioned elsewhere, Tekzilla "will be your standard variety show, with how-to segments, call in questions, product reviews, and interviews."

Hmmm, also "phased out" could be three-quarters of the existing shows available at Rev3 with the same amount of duplication seen in the others.

Imagine distilling several hours of duplicate programming into one 45 minute show. Diggnation, out. Systm, out. Infected, out. GigaOm, out. NotMTV, out. XLR8R TV, out and so on.

Sometimes duplication is not a bad thing, particularly when the original is the second most watched show.

[lindqvist]

First of all, thank you John Mason for sharing this insight into what happened... And thank you (and all of the InDigital guys) for all the great work!

Originally Posted by mic

Why couldn't InDigital and Tekzilla (not the baseball bat of same silly sounding name) have co-existed at Rev3? And, if InDigital is going to become Tekzilla, why not just keep the better and more recognizable show name?

I think they couldn't keep the name because it was Hahn's show and they booted Hahn.

Now, why they couldn't let InDigital (including Hahn) coexist with Tekzilla is a different matter.

Originally Posted by mic

And what happens to all the other Rev3 personnel that do not live in Frisco? Is the 'Totally Rad Show' shooting their last episode? Or is Alex, Dan and Jeff also moving to Frisco?

My guess is that they will be left alone...


As Hahn commented in another thread there was more to it than just him not moving to SF:

Originally Posted by haanzz

There was a lot more to the story than just moving to San Francisco. The way the offer was presented left me no other choice, but decline. If moving was it, I would have considered it for more than the 15 seconds.

I'm only guessing, but my guess is that Rev3 wanted to fully own the show or something along those lines.

Originally Posted by mic

I cringed watching the ending of InDigital's last episode when the lights went out and Hahn said, "And, that is it." Years of pouring sweat and tears into a project all ending at that very moment. It was sad. Having never missed an episode of InDigital (it was my second favorite show on Rev3), I feel it deserved better and now it will be gutted and "phased out".

I completely agree!

[mic]

Originally Posted by lindqvist

I think they couldn't keep the name because it was Hahn's show and they booted Hahn.
Now, why they couldn't let InDigital (including Hahn) coexist with Tekzilla is a different matter.
As Hahn commented in another thread there was more to it than just him not moving to SF:
I'm only guessing, but my guess is that Rev3 wanted to fully own the show or something along those lines.

I didn't get to read Hahn's post until after making my own, I found it very interesting. Particularly the part you quoted.

I also read the damage control posts which, unfortunately, don't even acknowledge or dispute the issue of throwing uncompromising demands at Hahn, given the posters multiple opportunities to do so.

Tread lightly and carry a big bag of sugar to sprinkle in a feeble attempt to hide underlining bitterness. Much like a drunk clown thinking that putting on more makeup and a wider smile hides their intoxication.

Wouldn't it be nice, just for once, that NDAs were thrown out the window and the parties could actually talk about it openly and freely. Perhaps a new Revolution in business. It makes me wonder how well did the negotiations work, if they can't even agree on the public's morsel of spin.