This the talk I gave at the Manchester Free Software meeting on 21st July 2009. In it I discuss how I produce professional audio for podcasts and other media using Linux and Free Software. The slides on their own my not be that interesting but video is coming soon. Check out DanLynch.org
More than Just Lines on a Map: Best Practices for U.S Bike Routes
Audio Production With Free Software by D.Lynch
1. Audio Production With Free Software Freeing your ears without compromising on audio quality By Dan Lynch - http://danlynch.org Licensed Under Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike 2.0 UK:England & Wales
12. Background & Podcasting Musician, Sound Engineer & Big Geek :) Host of Linux Outlaws – linuxoutlaws.com Producer of the Software Freedom Law Show for the SFLC FLOSS advocate, web developer/host and Linux/FOSS writer Have a small production company called Half Baked Media
41. Let's put together a Software Freedom Law Show right now and look at what tips and techniques it involves....
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43. Recordings loaded to a private area on our webserver. Where I download. I combine, compress and normalise levels on both files Create a stereo file, keeping the tracks separate We edit in Audacity and export to Ogg Vorbis & Mp3
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45. Pro Tools, Reason, Ableton Live and many proprietary VST plugins standard in commercial studio production. Example: Drums I use Groove Agent a lot
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47. How do we address this as Free Software advocates?
48. Are we duplicating effort with the likes of Pulse Audio, JACK and now Phonon all trying to do the similar things?
Background as a musician and sound engineer working on tours, live shows and also in studios. I came to podcasting about 2 years ago and it's a good fit for me as I'm a total geek. I've also worked as a programmer and web developer for the NHS, these days I'm a FLOSS advocate and writer amongst other things. I produce a show called the Software Freedom Law Show for the SFLC in New York. They're kind of like the legal arm of the Free Software Foundation.
So, what is a podcast? Well I'm glad you asked me that, you'd almost think this was planned wouldn't you? I say pre-recorded because a podcast isn't live, it's produced and edited before release. A lot of people get confused with Internet radio or tv. The “pod” name has stuck but can played on any media player. It's still an emerging media but the likes of the BBC, Guardian newspaper and more are very actively podcasting. Subscribers sign up via RSS feeds. Usually they use some kind of client like iTunes, a media player or even just a news reader like Google Reader. When a new show is added to the feed they can download it automatically.
Bandwidth is always the key thing with podcast hosting, it can get expensive with large files but it doesn't have to be. You can get unlimited bandwidth from $5 per month. You can keep your own company or project website hosted where it is and just link to media files on Dreamhost or Libsyn in your feeds.