My podcast creating secret

[vodkatonic]

mp3 Audio Mixer by Acoustica

http://acoustica.com/mp3-audio-mixer/


My steps
1. Choose the mp3s that I want to play.
2. Map them in my software
3. Pre-record my voiceovers and song intros...converts those to mp3s.
4. Re-map wioth voice overs. Create segues, fade ins, etc. Place that voice-over just perfect.
5. Save and export as a wave or mp3 file ( i do wave so I can normalize thru mp3 cpnversion)

http://vodkatonicmedia.com/podcast.htm

[Patrick]

This doesn't sound like an advertisement at all! I'll take 6 copies please - one for me and all my favorite podcasting friends.

:roll:

[indiekid]

I'll take my mixer any day over mixing software...

[Patrick]

Exactly. If you have like $200 in equipment, you won't need to do any of that editing at all - do all your intros and music live and in sequence and then just run your post-production effects.

If I had to piece together my show every week, I'd kill someone. Probably a baby turtle.

[indiekid]

Probably a baby turtle.

You could pre-maturely kill the next Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles....What are you thinking!??!!?!

Anyways...doing a show live is SO MUCH better and just FEELS a ton better because you're ACTUALLY recording it lol...not piecing it together, which is what I did for WAY too long!

[vodkatonic]

Not an advertisement at all. and I don't understand the accusation. It does say I can post "what I use to make podcasts" doesn't it?


Unfortnatley, I pass alot of info in my podcasts between songs (band history, website of band, what they are doing next, etc) and I really dont talk well on the fly, nor do I like myself reading scripts. So pre-recording my voice overs helps me to my get thru my bloopers before I even start and keep the mp3 of the perfect speech, without sacrificing the "live" nature of it.

Since I have only done a few live DJ jobs, my segue skills are lacking. (fading in/out, choosing the right follow up songs, dealing with abnormalization of different volume etc).

This software helps me make mistakes first and change things before things are done, including song swapping. Since I deal with the direct licensing with unsigned bands, I usually adhere to which particular songs they want me to play. In one case a band emailed me right when I thought I was about finished with a podcast with a question of what song I was using. When I told them (one of the newer ones), they informed me that the song was unmixed and was really only for their fams who visited their website, and asked that I choose an older song. SO, I deleted the unwanted track, inserted the new one...and since it was a different length and it was the 3rd track from the last one, I just unlocked the files in the interface, chained them, and move them over with one slide of the mouth...(and then replayed that portion of the podcast to see if it sounded smooth. I then quicky re-recorded the voiceover to change the info concerning the band/song.

I dont produce daily or even weekly podcasts. I dont have set intrevals either. I work on these in my leisure. If I am in the middle of one, I can easily drop it and continue later.

I am sure you all have arguments, but I am sure they are like all arguments when it comes to LIVE vs. Time Suspended Recording

and yes, I agree that a live show does "feel" better, however alot of my spare time doesn't see that window of oppourtunity. For me to finish something on my "to-do" list, I usually have to start it out knowing that I won't be able to finish that night. Sometimes it starts out with me drag-dropping 15 mp3 files of songs I want and then saying "Cool..I will sort it all out when I have more energy tomorrow.


But as you can see this software has been the solution to many of my problems and personal needs. If you have solutions from the devices you use for the examples I gave above, I would be happy to hear.

[Big Mike]

Looks like cool software.
I find myself doing a lot of pickups when doing my show. Things like "oh crud, I need to go back and change that line as it now no longer pertains to anything"....stuff like that. One of the reasons I record in ProTools [note: not intended as an advertisement].

Here's the thing: I also use a mixer. I need it. I was just talking to Mark from Tartan Podcast about computer noise. I get a load of it, and I have an outboard compressor lying around from my old setup. I think I'm gonna put it in the chain.
This is the first time since I've had my mBox setup that I've had the capability to add the compressor the way I wanted, and that's as an insert in the mixer. I'll be able to fine tune that computer hum right out of the audio BEFORE it even gets recorded.

And as you can see, I am excited by that prospect. That makes me a geek.

[roadrageradio]

Not an advertisement at all. and I don't understand the accusation.

Don't worry about it. Patrick just likes to flame people he doesn't agree with -- or understand.

I don't get the concept "live podcast." Until my mp3 player sprouts an antenna, there's no such thing. And if there were, we would have to call it "radio."

So, if you're going to produce a pre-recorded program, why not do it the best way you can? Which (to me) means pre-producing segments, editing out flubs, adding music beds, effects, audio drops -- whatever sound you want to achieve.

Little secret: this is exactly how the pros do it, when they can. With the exception of sports or breaking news, nothing is "live"

[Patrick]

It really sounded like it was an advertisement. My bad if it wasn't.

Anyway, live isn't the right word. In-sequence is a better term.

Saying "this is how the pros do it" is stupid. There sre pros that do it each way.

Look at talk shows. When recording, they don't add in pre-produced segments later. When Letterman or Leno have a guest on and they are going to watch a movie clip, they show the clip in real time while recording the show - they don't add it in later.

[roadrageradio]

Letterman is taped at 6:30 each evening for broadcast at 11:30. I suspect that someone in the booth puts those hours to good use.

I don't think they get it perfect in one take and that it times out just right, every night.

The secret is making it seem like it was live -- spontaneous and unrehearsed -- when it isn't.


Anyway, audio production isn't like TV. Theater of the Mind, and all that. You can do more in post-production with audio.

You can do your show any way you want, and you obviously think your show is great. All I would ask is that you accept the fact that there are other ways to do it that work equally well for other people.

[Patrick]

Don't ask me to do ****. I just said pros do it both ways. You're the one perpetrating the idea "pros do it this way".

Yeah, live radio pros always go back in and add stuff later.

You run your mouth about things you don't know.

Letterman is never taped as late as 6:30. Maybe 5:00 at the latest, and sometimes they tape 2 shows and start around 2:00.

And no, the guy in the booth is not adding in anything to the show. They do film everything in one take. They sometimes edit 3 minutes or so out, but never add anything. Everything from the announcements to pre-recorded segments to actor clips to bands and comedians is done in order, in one take, and synced to a clock with commercial breaks in real time.

No, it's not live because it's recorded, but they don't do takes and they don't "cut" in the middle of filming.

I never said audio production is like TV - but the same theory of doing everything in real time applies.

Don't put words in my mouth.

[roadrageradio]

Patrick,

Okay, that's three times I've tried to have a civil conversation with you, and you have resorted to name calling and insults.

You don't know anything about me and my background, and you don't know how to behave around adults.

I wish you all the best in your life. Goodbye.

[Patrick]

You don't know anything about me and my background, and you don't know how to behave around adults.
.

Have you seen me around adults? Last time I checked we were on a message board. I talk to adults like adults. I talk to *** clowns like *** clowns. You were stating things as fact that you had no idea about, and got caught. Cry me a river.

I don't know about your background, but I never claimed to. You don't know about professionally producing Letterman but came in here spouting like an expert.

I didn't incite you at all - you came out swinging at me.

I thought it was an ad, it's not, and I apologized to vodkatonic - seems like a good guy and we are having a nice discussion. But then in you come mouthing off like you know me.

Take your own advice.

[tominbkk]

I spend about 20 minutes in post production...I use Sonar for my show, slap things up and then mix it down...so easy. A mixer might be easy to use too, but my software set up makes producing simple, once you know how to do it.

[soccershow]

Offtopic as it concerns the Late show.. but..

According to this Obsessed Fan at http://members.aol.com/bhsu21/dave.htm

The show tapes 5:30-6:30 M-Th and Friday's show tapes on thursday at 8:00 to 9:00.

Considering the show is listed at sixty minutes, I'd wager it's done in sequence.

(Edited)

[Patrick]

I know for a fact it's done in sequence, and it looks like they've changed the times.

On Thursdays they record 2 shows (Thursday's and Friday's) and they used to do it earlier in the afternoon. Thanks for the update.

[vox_monitor]

Probably a baby turtle.

You could pre-maturely kill the next Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles....What are you thinking!??!!?!

Anyways...doing a show live is SO MUCH better and just FEELS a ton better because you're ACTUALLY recording it lol...not piecing it together, which is what I did for WAY too long!

Well, first off, I think the distinction between the two is not so black and white as "recording live" and "piecing together."

And second, no way of doing things implicitly "feels better." People can create successful podcasts in any number of different ways, from whole-ly scripted to completely freestyled, from live with sampler, to pieced together.

The only "universal" I can think of really is that at least a bit of editing is going to make it better.

I record my show like this: Record the whole thing - all the talking -in one swoop. Edit the talking down - get rid of all the slow stuff. Add clips in the appropriate places. Add the bumpers and intro and outro music last.

e

[Bob Kingsley]

Hi all, first-time post.

I was a radio DJ for years here in the UK, doing live shows on local commercial stations. I started in 1979, when vinyl records, or taped music, or live artists in the studio or elsewhere, were the only options available to us! Shows were usually around 3 hours long (which was, frankly, quite long enough considering the mental concentration involved), performed six days a week. Each show usually required about four hours' preparation. We picked our own choice of songs, but always within certain parameters (e.g. must be Top 40 or at least an artist known for chart success). Then digital stuff like CDs came in, and then computers with everything - including automatically generated playlists based on audience/demographic profiles - stored on hard drive. Everything changed.

Some shows (especially non-primetime) could now be four, five or even six hours long, because presenters could pre-record a week's worth of links in an hour or so and have them scheduled between songs by the computer that also played the music. The workaday DJs' pay scales began to reflect the change in actual hours worked rather than reflecting the importance of the DJs' personalities to audience retention. A number of experienced, talented people drifted (or, by a lack of decent remuneration, were forced) away while DJ "wannabees", many actually lacking that special "something" that's needed to really appeal to listeners, filled the gaps. But hey - they were willing to work cheap so, as far as the managers were concerned, that was all right then.

I migrated to commercial voice-over work and built a small studio at home with a decent microphone, a basic mixer, some ISDN lines and a codec that enabled me to link to any studio in the world with the same codec. My desktop PC's tied into it all as well - but, ironically, in its current configuration I can't properly use the mic with the PC on because the PC's fan is so loud! It's not been a problem with the V/O work because I don't need to record myself, so the PC can be switched off, but having "discovered" podcasting in the last month and being desperate to start one of my own (voice work having been fragmented by the plethora of non-union, "pile 'em high, sell 'em cheap" brand of voice artists now seemingly happy to sell themselves for pennies where we "professionals" used to earn pounds for the same job - I hope one day to find a sponsor for the show, as I see it as a new and exciting way to earn a living), I now record all my links onto DAT, then play them back with the PC switched on, recording them into Cool Edit Pro, then mixing the voice tracks with the music tracks I've selected and downloaded from GarageBand and making the show that way.

Recording the voice tracks in this way is not unlike what I used to do at Spire FM in Salisbury around ten years ago - I was a weekend "live" show presenter, and I pre-recorded a week's worth of links after that show for a one-hour daily show called InSpired By Love. Someone would sit in the studio every weekday from 1 till 2, playing the CDs in by hand and drop me in from reel-to-reel tape in between the songs. I could never be topical in case something changed - so no mention of weather, local places or events or people (in case they died in the meantime); this being the case, I HAD to script the links because after the first week I ran out of things to say! However, I found, after a couple of months of tearing my hair out writing six or seven of the **** things for every day, I could actually recycle these scripted links, changing the song titles and artists ... and the listeners never noticed!

I now create pre-recorded podcasts, but I don't script the links; I do pre-record them separately from playing the songs because of the noisy PC fan and because my equipment's not configured to record onto the computer live-mixed voice while playing music tracks from the same computer.

I work from my own scribbles in little notebooks and printed pages of artist and song notes from the GarageBand site (I find I have to have some kind of loose structure to follow, or else I end up with what I call "a #03 event", which was my third podcast, a kind of stream-of-consciousness experiment that was, in the end, only partly successful). I think the more recent results have been pretty good.

[Note: the perils of topicality still persist, however - in KC #01 I mentioned London winning the 2012 Olympics, which was big news on the day I recorded the show. It seemed to me to make a nice, innocent link. The next day, less than 12 hours after I'd published the show after much technical difficulty (it was a steep learning curve), the terrorist bombs exploded around London and I was really torn about whether to remove the London reference. In the end I decided not to - I'd mentioned it because: a) I was proud of my home town's achievement, and b) I felt that censoring myself in this way would be allowing the terrorists to achieve some of their aims, i.e. the restriction, in part at least, of free speech.]

Considering I was, for a long time, in a frame of mind where I thought I'd never ever get the chance to be back on the air again, I'm so delighted to be able to take advantage of all this digital technology, however I can get it to work for me. At the age of 50, and after being unable to communicate in this intimate way for ten years, it's a privilege I thought I'd never experience again.

Sorry for such a long ramble. Another reason why I need to pre-record everything these days - to cut myself down to size!

[Hittman]

this is exactly how the pros do it, when they can.

The pros I've talked to are forced to do it this way, and hate it.

They come in and the program manager has already selected all their songs for them, as well as having dropped in the ads. They just add their voice in the approrpate spots, hit "play," and their whole show runs. How exciting.

[list=1]When I did radio, we did it on the fly, live. You segued songs by deft handling of the turntable, and a smooth segue was a cool accomplishment. The shows had some personality, and didn't all sound exactly like each other.</old fart mode>

There are almost as many ways to do a podcast as there are podcasters. From a curiosity standpoint, I'm always interested in how someone else is doing it, and I might be able to learn a new trick or two from them. But when I'm listening to the show, my only criteria is "Do I like it?" How they made it has no bearing on that at all.

[jimk]

[list=1]When I did radio, we did it on the fly, live. You segued songs by deft handling of the turntable, and a smooth segue was a cool accomplishment. The shows had some personality, and didn't all sound exactly like each other.</old fart mode>

I had the joy of watching a classic rock station go from two turntableplus two CD players and a microphone, along with 4 cart machines and a reel-to-reel...down to two CD players and two carts and the "digital delivery system" for spots...then down to two CD players and one cart and the computer...then...modern rock and the computer.

Just a touchscreen with two buttons. Stop and Play. A whole big 24-channel board with three pots being used most of the time: live mic, phones, computer.

It killed the joy. It killed our spirit. We HATED that job after that.

There are almost as many ways to do a podcast as there are podcasters. From a curiosity standpoint, I'm always interested in how someone else is doing it, and I might be able to learn a new trick or two from them. But when I'm listening to the show, my only criteria is "Do I like it?" How they made it has no bearing on that at all.

Word.

As an aside, I would love for someone to try to figure out the sequence in which I did my last show (#10). No mater what they guessed, I bet they'd be wrong. ;)

[cdoelle]

I do it like Vox... I sit down and freestyle the whole thing with just a couple notes to keep me on target. If I am playing songs, I will introduce the song, pause for a moment and then do my voiceover coming out of the song.

I take the show into my editing software, insert the songs with enough overlap to sound cool - add in the promos, intro and outtro... whiz, bang, boom - I ouput the sucker, put in the tags and away I go.

[Hittman]

Just a touchscreen with two buttons. Stop and Play. A whole big 24-channel board with three pots being used most of the time: live mic, phones, computer.

It killed the joy. It killed our spirit. We HATED that job after that.

It was cool to have to gather up the records ahead of time, clean them carefully, run one turntable in the headphones while the other was playing on air to find the exact beginning of the song, back it up ¼ turn, and then hit every button and pot perfectly to get the perfect segue. You developed a little rhythm, and it was like playing a complicated guitar riff perfectly. It was fun.

You could train a chimp to press start and stop.

(Side note/pet peeve: I have never seen a TV show or a movie that accurately depicted how DJ's ran turntables. Every time they show them starting a song by dropping the needle on the record, then the song starts playing perfectly with no noise from the needle drop.)

OTOH, I don't miss tape at all. I remember a complicated fake promo we did for The American Disco Society ("We want to wipe out disco in your lifetime.) It had quite a few sound effects and three different songs fading in and out for the music bed. It took us four hours to get it perfect, being very careful not to copy any track more than once, otherwise the sound got muddy. A few nights ago I did a bit for the Microcasting Alliance that took six tracks. It took me 45 minutes, and if I had been in a hurry, I could have cut that down by a third. If I were limited to tape, it wouldn't have been worth the work it would have taken.

[roadrageradio]

There are two different technologies involved -- digital audio production and automation -- and it's not all bad. True enough, one enables the other, but there were automated radio stations that used cart decks.

The most interesting job in a modern radio station is producing local spots, and in that role, the new technology shines. There are literally no technical barriers to creating effective ads.

The other good job, field reporter/news segment producer, also benefits greatly from the new toys, but that job is disappearing in the clustered corporate radio world.

But, strangely enough, the perennial ratings leader in our small city market is an independent 3 license operation which has 3 full time news people, and live local djs from 6 am to midnight.

[cybercooler]

I'm not sure why this appears to be an argument. I agree there are tons of ways to make a podcast.

There is the "Live" version (i.e. castblater where you talk, add sounds, play music, as you voice over), and there is post proction (i.e. mixcraft, acid, etc). Then there is the alternative of BOTH.

I could care less how a podcast is created, but more what is in the podcast. While there are pros and cons of each (try using a soundbed in castblaster and play another sound oveer the soundbed). Much like a toolbelt, depending on what is going on with the show, determines what software I use to make the show. Sometimes I need a hammer, sometimes I need a screwdriver. Sometimes I need both.

I've been trying lots of software as I prepare for schoolofpodcasting.com and most of them are versions of themselves. It's either a mixcast live, or an acid spin off. Some are now starting to work in RSS feed, etc. Find a tool and use it.

[Marilynfan]

You know I never actually thought about how I record my show before. I was reading about recording all of the talk in one take and inserting the music/sounds after. Duh! That seems to be the logical way to do it and I can't believe it never occured to me. I have always recorded in sequence.

On the late-show topic....I went to a Conan O'Brien taping back in March. I can vouch that it is done in one take. However, it is much more scripted than it looks on TV. Bruce Willis was the guest and the whole interview was being shown to them on cardboard cards. But they did not do any re-takes.

[Patrick]

How do you think that's the logical way to do it? It's more work.

[Marilynfan]

How do you think that's the logical way to do it? It's more work.

Well, I guess I meant that seems to make the most sense. It's how a film is done. Totally not in sequence. It doesn't mean I am changing how I do it. I feel that I finally have the hang of it and I am not messing with my routine.

[jawbone]

The only time I do post production is if we're going on a soundseeing tour and I have to edit up the show. Otherwise, we do it old-school radio style with a cart machine (digital, of course) and songs and bits cued up. It's funny, I even say "Standby" before the mics go hot, just like I did in the studio. :D

[Bitz of Brin]

(Hey, BK! Welcome to Podcast Alley!)

My Dad says he used to juggle two turntables, a cart machine (he says they are like 8 track tapes, but that didn't help me understand! LOL), and a live mic. He'd fade it all in and out while talking. He says that if I could record "live" and play my stingers between segments and do it all in one take I'd save a lot of time, but I can't do it. I need a lot of retakes. Besides, I don't think Garageband is the best software for mixing live. But it's great for postproduction.

So I use GB to record my song for the week, lay down some background vocals, then export it as an AIFF file. Then I record my voice overs (V/O?) leaving pauses for stingers and the final song and export it as an AIFF file. Then I put it all together in GB. It takes a while.

You know, the only thing I would really change is doing more in one take. I don't have the software to mix my elements live. What do you guys use to do that, anyway?

[SkinnyWhiteBoy]

I guess having played in a googooplexillion bands I am used to doing thing "on cue". I can tell you this much, I do everything live (or in sequence, yes I know podcasts are never live) except for interviews for which I need skype. Why not? Because I can't depend on the quality that Skype can deliver (because of net congestion) and don't want to have to re-record an entire show just because Skype zoned out on me. Furthermore, it allows me to freestyle my show, I don't have to cut a track or seg short because my interviewee is standing by....

But the live vibe just kicks ***, not to mention it doesn't take as long.
For results, go to: http://skinnywhiteboy.kastpod.org