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PhotoshopTV

Photoshop TV www.photoshoptv.com

Photoshop TV is a podcast produced by the National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP). Despite their acronym these guys are far from boring to anyone with a serious interest in Photoshop. Photoshop TV is a how-to show for people with intermediate to expert Photoshop skills, the kind of people who might join NAPP.

For many years NAPP has been producing major Photoshop conferences and the podcast presenters are extremely highly skilled and experienced at presenting Photoshop techniques. In addition, some of NAPPs senior staff are also senior staff in the National Association of Aftereffects Professionals so Photoshop TV brings to the table a great deal of video production knowledge. The end result is one of the most professional podcasts available.

Unusually for a podcast Photoshop TV can be as long as 40 minutes although it usually runs about 30. It is able to buck the trend of extremely short pithy podcasts because of the value of the information it presents to the professionals who watch it. The format is fairly straightforward. Three presenters sit behind a desk on a well-designed one camera set with open laptops in front of them. They joke around a fair bit and alternate presenting Photoshop techniques during which we get a full window view of Photoshop in action. The show also includes a separate segment of breaking news about Photoshop, digital photography, new products, and Adobe, with whom NAPP has a privileged relationship. This segment is shot on a separate set with a fourth presenter.

Another thing which is unusual about the show is that it usually has 4 or 5 major corporate sponsors ranging from Adobe itself to CDW and Hitachi.. At the beginning of the show sponsors are announced by the presenters and a 15 second commercial is usually run. During the show there are usually one or two breaks in which different 15 second ads are run. At the end of the show presenters give a plug for NAPP. Among the benefits for NAPP Members is the free availability of the show archive. Although the current podcast of Photoshop TV is always free, NAPP charges nonmembers a $1.99 for old episodes from its website. Given the length of the show and the value of the information it presents this price is extremely reasonable. My guess is that between the sponsors, the sale of old shows, and the recruitment of new NAPP members Photoshop TV has become a cash cow for NAPP since its inception about a year and a half ago.

Photoshop TV is an excellent example of a well-crafted niche market podcast. It is of no interest to anyone who doesn't use Photoshop but is of extreme interest to Photoshop professionals and the advertisers who want to reach them. Like the other sites and shows I have reviewed for this class, Photoshop TV is content which could not effectively exist on older media.

Dave Gordon