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Producing your podcast By Jonathan Halls Producing a podcast is relatively simple. In this very brief overview we will only look at the editorial process as there are many different production techniques you can follow to capture and then place it on the Web. You can divide any task into a series of steps. For podcasting production, we've divided it into five steps.
Planning your podcast The first stage in creating an interesting podcast is planning. There are three elements of planning. First, you need to determine your editorial strategy. Second, you need to decide content for your podcast. Third, you need to plan your production. Macro & structural planning Planning your podcast starts at the macro level. If you plan to podcast a series of episodes, this stage of planning will ensure each episode is consistent and ties into your overall theme. To ensure consistency, you first need an editorial strategy. This is a mantra that you can refer to when making editorial decisions. For example, when thinking about what topics to podcast on, interview people for, what language to use and length of your podcast or an element of it. Having this will focus your energy as you produce your podcast. It will also speed up production because you won't need to stop constantly to think through issues. We go into this more in our article, Planning your podcast. Content planning The second element of planning is your content. You've got a format and know that you want your series of pods to be 8 minutes long, with one interview and a 30 second comedy drama. But who do you interview and about what do you interview them? I had the privilege of working with some of the world's best television trainers when I ran the BBC's production training department. A lot of delegates would fly into London from around the world to do our renown multi-camera television (studio) directing course. They were often perplexed and anxious that so much time at the beginning was spent outside the studio and in rooms planning their exercises. You see, success comes from planning properly. "Winging it" with content ultimately will let you down. Content planning also involves researching information for your commentary and finding interesting guests. Before you pick up your microphone, interview recorder, download sound effects, or record creative jingles, make sure you have planned your podcast. Production planning The third element of planning your podcast is planning your production. This is the sort of thing experienced professionals often do on the back of a cigarette packet. It's not rocket science but you do need to do it. I always suggest you plan a production timetable that includes when you'll be interviewing someone, when you will write your script, when you will record it and when you'll package it. In many ways, it's basic project management skills. But if you plan to be big with your podcasts, you should plan your production carefully. Script your podcast Before you write a script, research your material and make sure you get all your facts right. Be very clear about what you want to say. Once you have your material, you need to write the script. A saying often taught to radio broadcasters is, “the best adlibs are scripted.” This applies to podcasts. Have you ever found yourself re-recording a telephone voicemail message because you forget something or end up adding a silly phrase you later regret? This can happen when you open the microphone and start presenting the podcast. Avoid this by being prepared with the script. Your script should be easy to read with plenty of white space so you can underline words you may want to emphasize. It will also include your sound effects and any music you choose to use. We talk more about this in our article, Scripting your podcast. Present your podcast The next stage is to actually deliver it onto disc or tape. When you do this, take a break and speak slowly and clearly. If you have difficult words, practice them very slowly, syllable by syllable, before speaking them at regular pace. Complex words do take practice. For example meteorology. The three areas we suggest you concentrate on to improve your vocal presence is your breathing, diction and expression. Breathing and projecting from your diaphragm gives your voice more authority. Clear diction will improve your credibility. And improving your expression will make you more dynamic to listen to. Of course, no matter how good you are, you can't do much with a lousy script so make sure you write good scripts. We cover this in more detail in our article, Presenting your script. Edit your presentation You will probably record your piece onto a PC and edit it. Perhaps you are using Adobe Audition or Pro Tools. We recommend you use freeware software such as audacity which has everything you need for podcasting. It only costs you your time and bandwidth to download off the net. When you have recorded your piece, you will edit in any sound effects and music. Be careful to monitor the levels so your voice is not clipped. And look out for the balance between music and voice. Music that drowns out your speech takes away from your story. The same applies for sound effects. Summary You may notice that the area of production we talked about most is planning. One of the regular experiences I used to have teaching broadcasting was having a new student say to me, "just teach me how to use the studio because I already know how to talk." It was usually these people that sounded awful. The technical side of production takes some time to get used to it, but the really difficult stage of production happens inside your head as you plan. The better disciplined you are at thinking through your editorial purpose and developing content that works for your audience, the better your podcast will be.
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