What the @#%$! Does THAT Mean? #002


What the @#%$! Does THAT Mean? Plain English About New Media #002: “7 Steps to Your First Podcast” copyright 2006 -all rights reserved- by Roberto Mighty, Founder and Creative Director, Celestial Media First of all, thanks for the positive feedback on the most recent (and first) column. Looks like we're off to a good start. Last time I listed several different types of New Media, and their uses. This time, let's zero in on just one type of new media: Podcasting. In particular, the subject of this piece is how to make your first podcast. Subscribe to this column here. Read our Current newsletter here. Audio Mp3 (8 minutes, fun to listen to) version of the first column. Let's review: What is a podcast? A Podcast is (generally) a spoken word audio recording (but it can also include video, flash, and other types of media) that has been converted (compressed) into a download-friendly format (MP3 or AAC file), along with a brief text file (show notes) that describes the recording. I've reduced producing a podcast down to 7 key steps. Due to space restrictions, today's column will list all seven but only define the first three steps. Upcoming columns will complete the information. SEVEN STEPS TO YOUR FIRST PODCAST 1. Determine your content What's your topic? This month's new product releases? Employee Training? Shopping along the Champs Elysees? So, figure out what your topic is, and like any good program writer, stick to it, perhaps with minor digressions. Another approach might be to try to figure out what your intended audience is interested in hearing about -- and tailoring your content to match. Content determination also implies decisions as to Talent (One voice or two? Studio narration vs. Natural sound), script style (humorous? Serious? Hard Sell? Soft Sell?), music, etc. Remember -- you're making a 5 to 20-minute (many podcasts fall in this duration range) "radio" program. Plan your content accordingly. 2. Produce your recording a) Script. b) Voice. c) Microphone. d) Recording Device. e) Editing Software. f) Beer. Which of these items is NOT required to produce a good recording? The answer is obvious.(a) Script. Read on... 2a) Script: Producing a good audio recording requires a well-written script. Be sure to pre-edit your script by reading it out loud to hear how it sounds to the ear, then making adjustments for run-on sentences, dangling participles, proper punctuation and relevance to your subject matter. A well written script is easier to read and more easily understood than a poorly written script. Duh. 2b) Voice: Who will be the voice of your magnum opus? You? Your Boss? The Sales Manager? Your dog? Be sure that your script fits the tone, syntax and perspective of the person or quadruped who will be reading it. And try, discreetly, to find out if this person is actually a good reader/speaker. This may be too much of a challenge for Fido. If your dog can read, call me immediately and don't tell anyone else. 2c) Microphone: You want a "unidirectional cardioid" microphone, the type that you can position on a little desk stand or floor stand directly in front of the person speaking. This kind of microphone minimizes noises that are further away (like street traffic, air conditioners, people talking in nearby cubicles, etc.,) and emphasizes the sound of your Speaker's voice -- as long as that person is talking between 6 inches and 12 inches away, directly facing the business end of the mic. Note: Try to make your recording in the quietest room possible. And yes, the telephone will always ring right in the middle of the very best take. This has been scientifically proven. So be prepared and unplug the phone, beeper, or any other device that generates insidiously random noises. 2d) Recording Device: Your home digital video camera is an excellent recording device. Be sure to ask the Geek at the camera store for a mic interface that will allow you to hook up your unidirectional cardioid microphone to your camera. And while you're at it, buy the microphone there, too. If you don't own a home digital video camera, your desktop or laptop computer also makes a good recording device. Again, you'll need the proper interface (USB is an inexpensive way to go here) to connect your mic to the computer; digital audio recording software (such as Garage Band for Macs or Audacity for PC's); and a 13-year old kid to operate all of this junk for you. 2e) Editing Software: To be honest, this part is geeky. But the aforementioned digital audio recording software packages also provide all of the audio editing horsepower you need to take out the bad takes, eliminate your exasperated sighs, and remove the "um's and ah's." 2f) Beer: Personally, I don't drink beer. But I have observed that when beer is applied to a frustrating situation, people tend to worry less about the outcome. This can be useful after take #137 of your script entitled: "Understanding Our Company's Health Care Co-Pay Policies." It has been scientifically proven that no one in America understands any company's health care co-pay policies, so why not apply six-pack therapy in this case? 3. Compress your recording to MP3: This part's easy. Import your completed, edited audio recording into something like Garage Band (Apple) or Audacity (PC/Linux/Mac) and convert it from an AIFF or Quicktime or a WAV file into an Mp3 file. Again, please note that you could also use your computer as a recording device and do everything via Garage Band or Audacity. 3a. Call in an expert multimedia producer: You don't REALLY want to do all this yourself, do you? This is a shameless plug for my company's services. For a list of our competitors, please go to wvw.keepdreaming.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Upcoming columns will explain the next four steps.... 4. Encode your metadata 5. Upload to a web server 6. Test it yourself 7. Announce that it is available Subscribe to this column here. Read our Current newsletter here. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The above should be enough to get you started thinking about this process. If you have any questions, feel free to email me anytime. SFX: Exasperated Sighs Here are some web resources to get more information... To hear podcasts: http://www.apple.com/itunes/podcasts/ http://www.ipodder.org/ To Subscribe to Podcasts: http://juicereceiver.sourceforge.net/index.php To Make Podcasts: http://www.engadget.com/2004/10/05/engadget-podcast-001-10-05-2004-how-to-podcasting-get/ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- So, until the next column, live long and prosper - Roberto *LAST COLUMN'S BONUS TRIVIA QUESTION What was the New Oxford American Dictionary’s Word of the Year in 2005? Alert Reader Karen Commins, a voice actor (nice demo at www.karencommins.com), came up with the correct answer: "Podcasting" Congratulations, Karen! THIS COLUMN'S BONUS TRIVIA QUESTION "Al Gore notwithstanding, what government agency is commonly credited with "inventing" the internet? A randomly-chosen person who emails me with the correct answer gets his/her name mentioned in my next column. Whoopee! - RM ### ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Roberto Mighty is Founder and Head Geek/Creative Director of Celestial Media, a multimedia production company. Email. Celestial Media’s multimedia studio creates, develops and produces original television, video, audio and new media for diverse organizations and institutions. Our webcast, consulting and multimedia projects include MIT, Zone Laboratories, HarperCollins Publishers, The U.S. Centers for Disease Control, Novartis Pharmaceuticals and The Argosy Foundation. Copyright 2006, Celestial Media. All rights reserved. This article is protected by United States copyright and other intellectual property laws and may not be reproduced, rewritten, distributed, re-disseminated, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast, directly or indirectly, in any medium without the prior written permission of Celestial Media.