Podcasting Masterclass

31/10/2018, It's Halloween, but we'll get to that later. I've had my first masterclass of the year and I'm learning the basics of how to use the recording equipment at the studio in college.

Here is the recording equipment, the board in front of the screen is the mixer. There you have full control of every piece of audio that will be recorded, as well as a screen to see the microphone levels. In front of that is the monitor where you select tracks to be played as well as being able to edit your audio post recording.

Surrounding the monitor is a pair of monitor speakers so you can hear what audio is playing, alternatively there's a pair of headphones to be used. Also on the desk is another board that seems to have quick select buttons, but I never found out what that was for. A separate computer is also to the side to be able to find specific songs online and play them via the mix board. There is also three microphones in the room for you and up to two guests to use, also a sign that lights up to signify when the mics are live. As well as a clock to keep time.

Some bullet point things I learnt besides the process of recording (which I'll write about next) is that:

You should be close to the mic

If you were to imagine a football shape around the mic and to be within that.

Remember the cart number you're recording into

When picking a space for your podcast to be recorded into on the software, be mindful of the cart number yours is on as there is thousands of different places it could save.

Be quiet!

Don't have any background noise happening while mics are live, like tapping or people talking.

Have a script, don't wing it! *

You don't want to go into an interview all excited then you realise you have nothing to talk about, be prepared!

*But follow it loosely

Basically follow the script to progress the interview, but make it feel like a conversation. Add in the questions naturally like you would talking to a friend.

*Also save room on the script for notes!

Simple enough, just save room between the questions so you have room to change things up

Pay attention to detail

This is also another simple thing to overlook, also it is important to keep an eye out for key points.

Keep the topics in 3-4 minute chunks

Because of the average length of songs as a population we're kind of conditioned to having the attention span for that amount of time. It is best to keep the topics within that length before moving onto the next topic, feel free to return to the topics later on though.

Take it at your own pace, but be conscious of the clock

Just enjoy the conversations you're having, just be mindful of the clock. In terms of radio, let's say you have 5 minutes left till you're off air, you should start winding the conversation to a close.

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Recording a podcast

Here's a list of things to do in order when making a podcast,

Select music tracks on the monitor and start them playing. (This is an example for radio, but for podcast you could use your show intro?)

When finished with the track fade down the track on the mixer while bringing up your's and the guest's mics.

Introduce your guest and start speaking on the topic of choice.

Continue with the interview until you want to wind it down.

End the interview thanking your guests.

Fade out the guests mic and fade in a different song or the show outro.

Then end the recording and you can rather edit or just save it.

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Mixing board

I've drawn an example of the mixing board to remember what sliders are for fading what.

The first three sliders are for the microphones, the first being the presenter then the next two being guest one and two. The fourth and middle slider in for the separate computer. The last four are for the tracks on the monitor and they correspond to it in order.

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To conclude I found this class really helpful because I've always been intrigued by recording studios, as somebody that plays guitar and loves the technical side of it. Unfortunately the other side of me that hates presenting and talking in front of others absolutely hated it while the entire class was in this small room including two teachers.

I felt a lot better once I actually had a go at being a guest. Once everyone left the room besides me and a few other friends I feel comfortable with I was a lot more confident (I even had a go at presenting!). I think I'd be okay with doing podcasts if it was just me and somebody else in the room, it's just in front of everyone where I lack the confidence. This is something I want to improve throughout the course, this is why I appreciate doing presentations in class weekly, although I hate doing it at the time!

I definitely would like to include doing podcast work more into my course, perhaps do a side piece where me and another classmate talk about how the course is going and what we've been doing would be beneficial for my blog.

Also regarding the Halloween part at the top of the post.. That's how my tutor started the script he made up for us to practise with. Throwback!