This week I am diving into an exploration and further practice of audio and video design. The first project I am undertaking is the very first episode of my brand new podcast!

Reading & Writing: Planning a Podcast

Before I began planning my podcast, I needed to explore the best practices for recording sound. For this research I explored Chapter 8 of Tom Schroeppel’s book The Bare Bones Course for Film and Video.

Some main takeaways included diving into the types of microphones and their pickup patterns. Mics are either dynamic or electret condenser, which is determined by how they translate sound waves into vibrations that can be recorded electronically. There are omnidirectional pickup patterns which picks up sound equally in all directions around the mic, and directional cardioid (heart-shaped) and shotgun (narrow forward and backwards) pickup patterns.

The types of microphones include:

• lavalier: small electret condenser mike, omnidirectional – good for getting up-close
• hand mic: most versatile – can be any pickup pattern or type
• shotgun: either type, directional pickup pattern – will pickup ALL the sounds it is pointing towards
• smartphone/tablet mics: electret, omnidirectional – not the best choice for quality

Beyond mics, the chapter also discussed sound waves and how to stop them from bouncing and producing reverberation, ambience, the voice slate, and basic audio mixing practices.

I also checked out a series of posts by The Podcast Host that went over the best practices of writing a podcast script. In one post they say that you can write a script in three different ways: word-by-word, point-by-point, and the rough bullet point podcast plan. Since I am thinking that I want to do an interview-style podcast, I will go with a rough bullet point script with some word-by-word sections in the beginning and the end. In another they discuss Hooks, Taglines, and the Power of Words. There are many ways to approach taglines, so this would be a big consideration when writing my own script.

Research to Inform: Inspiring Audio Productions

In order to get inspiration for my own podcasts, I looked to some that I listen to regularly for what makes them work so well. Note that while there are video versions, I originally listened to these on Spotify.

First is Matt D’Avella‘s podcast, Ground Up. Every episode is consistently high-quality and engaging. The main takeaway from this podcast that I would like to consider for my own is the tagline and the way he draws in the viewer. In the beginning of each episode he introduces himself, the show, the guest, and the topics they cover so you know exactly what to look forward to. He also inserts a highlight quote from the guest to increase the anticipation for what is coming next even more.

This next example differs quite a bit from the last and is much more informal, but I think there are some aspects that I could think about for my own podcast. I like their theme song (which is completely gibberish, by the way) since it sets a fun mood for the podcast. I also love their bit at the end of every episode called “Unhelpful Advice” where they listen to a listener’s problem and give advice (that they declare as unhelpful to avoid any accountability in worst-case scenarios). What I like about this is that it allows the viewer and the guest to interact and it gives new perspectives to real problems. While I probably would not have many submissions at first, this is something I would love to implement later on.

Before I talk about this podcast, I would like to say that I no longer support it or its creator due to troubling things that he had done. Still, this series is extremely well done. The music, ambiance, sound effects, and voiceover combined with the interview or archival audio combines in an amazing (and often disturbing) storytelling experience. The research and script are so well done and must have taken a long time to create. This is starkly different from the other two and is not likely to influence my own show too much, but if anything I will consider the power of well-done sound effects and ambiance.

Create: My Podcast Plan

The first step of creating my podcast was to do a creative brief, mind map, list of elements, and rough script. While the title is still pending and I am waiting to hear from my possible guests, I am so excited to begin the first episode of my podcast on my YouTube channel. I feel like there is a lot of opportunity to collaborate with other people in the niche of journaling and productivity. I am a little worried about getting a guest in time (and of course complications with doing an audio interview on the internet) but I am still very excited. Check out my plan below:

Next week I will update my blog with the finished product, so stay tuned!