A talk that takes you through the fundamentals of concepting, producing, deploying, and distributing a killer podcast. Talk originally given as part of The Firehose Project Lightning Talks, where I am currently a developer apprentice. Video of the talk can be found here: http://community.thefirehoseproject.com/2015/08/20/eric-andrade-creating-a-killer-podcast.html
3. The Hardware
• Zoom H4n Digital Recorder
Amazing.
• Lavalier Mics (2) -
Countryman Isomax
• Sony Dynamic Stereo
Headphones (Studio
Headphones)
4. The Hardware
• Samson Handheld,
uni-directional
super-cardioid mics
• XLR cables sold separately
• Both mic options are great
with the hand-held digital
recorder, because it’s all very
portable, and you can record
anywhere.
5. The Software
• Audacity Your main project file
and editor. Free!
• The Levelator Compressor,
normalizer, and limiter all in one.
Cleans up the clip. Free!
• Podclear Remote guest records.
Better audio quality than Skype.
Starts at $8 for four sessions.
• ID3 Editor (Mac) & EasyTag
(PC/Linux) for meta data for your
podcast files (Name, artist, etc. ).
Free!
6. Capturing the Audio
• Get a quiet or relatively quiet
spot to talk
• In person is always better,
because the conversation is
more dynamic. You can hear the
personal connections.
• Prep lots of questions, but don’t
be too rigid.
• Record more material than you
need.
• Take notes if you can while
recording.
7. Building the Show
• Dealing with Raw files
• Writing Intros/outros
• Think about transitions
• Writing show notes
• Licensing (theme music)
• Give yourself time
to get the edit right
• Show length:
30 - 45 minutes feels about right
• If you get big, you will get
sponsors; may get picked up by a
“network” (e.g., 5by5 Studios)
8. Distributing the Content
Hosting Distribution
Hosting & Distribution
82% of all
podcast downloads
Streaming. Radio format.
App on iOS and Android.
Embeddable and social.
9. Links & Questions
Close On Episodes
• Ep. 3 - Dan Chichester - Comic book writer (Marvel
Comics): https://soundcloud.com/buddhaplex/
episode-3-dan-chichester
• recorded at On The Rocks: http://
www.yelp.com/biz/on-the-rocks-new-york-2
• Ep 4 - Bruce Henderson - Musician (live show
included in episode): https://soundcloud.com/
buddhaplex/close-on-episode-4-bruce-henderson
Recording & Editing Software
• Audacity: http://audacityteam.org/
• Levelator: http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/
23594/the-levelator
• ID3 Editor: http://www.pa-software.com/id3editor/
• Easy Tag: https://wiki.gnome.org/Apps/EasyTAG
• Podclear: https://podclear.com/#/
Hosting & Distribution
• Libsyn: https://www.libsyn.com/
• Simplecast: https://simplecast.fm/
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/