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Podcasting Coach

May 2, 2005 › Sandy McMurray | comment

Interested in doing your own podcast? Sure you are. Here are a few tips I learned from doing my first one a couple of weeks ago:

1) Put your money where your mouth is,
Get a good vocal microphone. An inexpensive recorder will sound better with a good mike. A great recorder can sound terrible with a cheap mike. Plan on spending about $100 on a decent mike (that's relatively inexpensive, good ones can run $800+).
2) Plan on buying more than one mike
Not all mikes do all things well. Most interviews are recorded in mono, but most "soundseeing" tours are done in stereo.
The rule of three

Give Good Sound
3) Estimate your production time, then multiply by three
Any podcast that includes multiple interviews, music bed tracks, intros and extros, etc. will take far longer than you imagine to assemble. Especially the first time.
4) Learn your equipment
Get used to how to place and hold your mikes. Learn what your recorder buttons do, when. It's easy to pause a recording accidently because you hit the wrong button. Trust me.
5) Be prepared to edit - yourself and others
Suppose you're making a twenty minute podcast. That time flies by when you have multiple interviews or features in a show. Get ready to cut surgically, with an ear to what the audience needs to hear and know
6) Get good sound
You can't do much to save really poor sound (and what you can do, takes time). An interview in a room next to a running vacuum cleaner and a barking spaniel is beyond repair. Record with headphones on and listen carefully. You'll save yourself hours of post-production work

Some of these tips only apply if you're doing a podcast that isn't a "midnight confessional" - where it's just you, your computer and your thoughts and notes. Even with those simplier podcasts, a good mike is important. But, if you can't afford it, use a cheap one and get started. As you gain experience, improve your equipment. Let me know if I can be helpful.

May 2, 2005 › Sandy McMurray | comment on this item