Podcasting: Radio-Free Radio

© 2009 IBM Corporation

Podcasting: Radio-Free Radio

Derek Schraner

2 © 2009 IBM Corporation

Agenda

1. Introduction

2. Pre-Production

3. Production

4. Post-Production

5. Summary

6. Q&A



Introduction


Introduction: Overview

1. Background Information

2. Assumptions

3. Disclaimers

4. What Is "Radio-Free Radio"?

5. Why Emulate Radio?

6. What You (Don't) Need


Introduction: Background Information

• Tellingly, I spent my entire third grade year creating an audio production.

• Composed, performed, and produced with several Toronto-area bands

• Studied Radio and Television Arts at Ryerson University

• Taught English in Japan; English and Computer Literacy at Frontier College; Post-Production at Ryerson

• Over the last eight years, I've narrowed my focus from general multimedia work to my specific passion, audio.

• Currently working on several ongoing series of podcasts, including BI Radio, Navigating IBM, and What's Your Service Product IQ?


Introduction: Assumptions

• You know what a podcast can be…

• …and accept its value;

• you have a message to convey;

• you understand your audience…

• …and their expectations.


Introduction: Disclaimers

My interpretation of "podcast":

• audio only, not video

• pre-recorded, not distributed live

• fully produced, not just recorded live-to-drive.


Introduction: What Is "Radio-Free Radio"?

• "Radio Free" describes broadcasts which deliver democratic content internationally.

• "Radio-Free Radio" describes an approach to podcasting, incorporating traditional radio conventions without its infrastructure and delivery mechanisms.

"Resign yourself

Radio's gonna stay.

Reason:

It could polish up the grey."

- REM


Introduction: Why Emulate Radio?

Combine the strengths of radio and podcasting.

• Retain podcasting's Do-It-Yourself heritage and syndication.

• Adopt radio's structure, production, and consistency.

"Professional" podcasts I have heard:

• live, at inconvenient times

• music issues

• noisy, with inappropriate sound quality

• jarring transitions, inconsistent volume

• "transparent" ads

• lack of structure, overlong and boring


Introduction: What You (Don't) Need

• The gap between "done" and "done well" is small.

• Bridging that gap requires time, effort, and experience.

• You don't need a Hollywood budget. Use existing, free, and open source tools.

• If you do it at all, why not do it as well as possible?

"All I ever wanted,

All I ever needed,

Is here…"

- Depeche Mode



Pre-Production


Pre-Production: Overview

1. What Is Pre-Production?

2. DIY or Assemble a Team?

3. Plan

4. Structure

5. Outline


Pre-Production: What Is It and Why Does It Matter?

• In general, Pre-Production refers to the work done before recording begins.

• I'll include Development here.

• Our Pre-Production begins after the decision to podcast.

• Pre-Production ends when you are ready to record (or edit).

• You may be lucky. Don't count on it.

• What is luck?

• It's easier to prepare than to repair.

• * Alfred Hitchcock's favorite phase of filmmaking.


Pre-Production: DIY or Assemble a Team?

• Control, fewer moving parts

• Singular focus, voice

• Quicker turn-around

• Few have the ability to do it all well.

• Multiple strengths cover many areas.

• Cross-promote with other channels.


Pre-Production: Plan

• Gather content, cast, and resources.

• Reuse existing materials and "low-hanging fruit"…

• …but re-craft the message for the medium.

• Single serving, one-off? Pilot? Series episode?

• If a series, how will you sustain content and execution?

• What's the time frame? Milestones? Due dates?

• ** The Wall of Ideas


Pre-Production: Structure

• Plan ahead; editing won't add what was missing in the first place.

• How is a podcast like poetry? Create within a (flexible) structure.

• Structure lends polish: Imperfection + Consistency = Style!

• Structure simplifies subsequent episodes in a series.

• What's your hook? Front-load the gold.

• Deliver key points as stories and examples.

• Balance variety/pacing with limited take-aways.

• Commercials have merit, but back-load hard sales, ads.


Pre-Production: Outline

• Write a script, or improvise within the outline?

• Avoid yes or no questions. Elicit a story; find out the whys and hows.

• Keep sentences as short as possible.

• Avoid URLs.

• Read script aloud and revise.

• Share with participants as a guide, not gospel.

• Learn the script and then "forget" it.

Outline suggestions:

1. introduction

2. name of show, series, episode, date

3. participant names, titles, company names

4. greetings

5. questions, talking points

6. thanks, call to action

7. conclusion, contacts, credits



Production


Production: Overview

1. What Is Production?

2. Equipment

3. The Studio

4. The Talent

5. Recording


Production: What Is It and Why Does It Matter?

• Performing, gathering the material you'll use to create the final podcast.

• Only rarely will a podcast have no production phase: rebroadcasting, for example.

• Our definition of Production includes the technical preparation, which is sometimes considered part of Pre-Production.

"Sing your life.

Walk right up to the microphone

And name

All the things you love,

All the things that you loathe."

- Morrissey



Production: Equipment: Basic Gear

Basic, portable recording options (or backup plan):

• cell phone

• MP3 player

• microcassette recorder

• * digital recorder (USB or removable memory)

• Zoom H4, etc.

Advanced, room kit (in a box), necessary for editing:

• computer

• audio recording software

• microphones (cardioid/uni- or omni-directional)

• mic stands

• * Dynametric phone patch

• mixer (if necessary)

• Always test your gear. It will fail!

• Do you have a backup? Use a basic kit or phone.


Production: Equipment: Telephones

Pros:

• familiar operation to users

• global reach, allows for time-shifting

• reasonably gated (reduce noise)

• easily differentiated from "live" voices

• acceptable quality, especially if output is lo-fi

• can add "realism"

Cons:

• reduces both sides (including noise) to mono

• reduced frequency range

• can not be made to sound more "present"

• can add sibilance (a "lisping" effect)

Try using conferencing services as your backup:

• often toll-free for participants

• can usually record calls

• some include transcription


Production: Equipment: Laptops & Windows

Will a laptop microphone suffice?

• For higher quality, you'll need an external microphone.

• For multiple participants, you may need a mixer.

If your ThinkPad cannot record stereo:

• Work in mono.

• Work step-wise, faking stereo later.

• * Use an external sound card/adapter.

Tweaking Windows:

• Keep at least 15% of your hard drive free and defrag it by running: [Drive], Properties, Tools, Defragmentation.

• Keep the hard drive error free by running: [Drive], Properties, Tools, Error-checking.

• Streamline your system for performance: Start, My Computer, Properties, Advanced, Performance/Settings, Adjust for best performance.

• Turn off sound schemes: Start, Control Panel, Sounds & Audio Devices, Sounds, Sound scheme, No Sounds.

• Turn off notifications: close instant messaging, calendar and email applications.


Production: The Studio

Avoid:

• open rooms without a door

• hard/parallel surfaces, bare tabletops

• rolling, adjustable swivel chairs

• uncontrollable airflow

• fluorescent lighting

• Pro gear can mean well-recorded noise.

• Whatever equipment used, find the best, or most consistent-sounding, room.

• Arrange tables to face guests if possible.

• ** Soundproofing choice: whole room or just microphones?

• Record well rather than remove noise later.


Production: The Talent

• Vocal cords are mucous membranes and need moisture and protection.

• Avoid clearing your throat.

• Use only herbal throat drops; menthol is an irritant.

• If stuffed up, avoid decongestants.

• Drink water or (decaf) herbal tea.

• Beware the Latte! Caffeine dehydrates, and dairy produces excess mucous.

• * Michael Caine suggests learning – and then forgetting – the script.

• Never sound like you're reciting or reading aloud.


Production: Recording: Technicalities

Microphone placement:

• Avoid holding mics. Handling noises are transient: irregular and usually difficult to remove.

• Position about six to twelve inches away from the speaker's mouth.

• Position about 45 degrees off to the side to avoid plosives (a "popping" effect).

Sound quality:

• Record in WAV format, as high quality as storage allows.

• Never drop the bit rate below 16.

• Record (voices) in stereo only if you need basic multi-tracking.

Levels:

• Err on the side of lower levels. Distortion can't be fixed easily, if at all.

• Avoid many/sudden level changes. They make later editing more difficult.

• Let the recording run as you set levels and practice. It eliminates "fear of a red light", and You may catch something useful.


Production: Recording: Housekeeping

• * Remote participants should observe similar practices to local ones: occupy a quiet room, turn off audible devices.

• * Post a "Do Not Disturb" sign outside the room(s). Hopefully it will work!

• Do you need to keep an eye on the time? When do participants need to stop?

• Get comfortable. Don't deliver statistics. Have a conversation, tell stories.

• Try to include the questions in the answers for editing flexibility later.

• Remind participants the recording is not truly "live". Stop and restart as needed.

• If a serious mistake is made, note it and restart from the last logical break.

• Changes (cuts) are possible later, but don't assume all things can be "fixed in the mix".

• Pause before the start and after the end.


Production: Recording: Performance

• Non-professional speakers can make a good impression with conviction and enthusiasm.

• Believe in yourself! If you don't have confidence, the audience will sense it.

• Smile when speaking. If you sound bored, you will bore your audience.

• Mind your papers. Shuffling is transient, and reading can move you through the microphone's pickup range.

• Don't be afraid to breathe. Doing so will:

• relax the speakers

• keep the conversation natural

• reduce speed, improve pacing, and minimize errors

• provide edit points in post-production


Production: Recording: Another Take

• Get all takes down before spending too much time on any one part.

• If participants are amenable, always get another take, even if the last one was "perfect", a keeper.

• Better more than not enough. It's easier to cut down than to pad out.

• Which take(s) were the participants most comfortable with?

• Last chance for participants to pronounce and spell their names and titles. Record their hellos, goodbyes, and thanks, for flexibility later.

• Record some room tone, noise floor.

"We're gettin' tired of hangin' around,

Waitin' around,

With our heads to the ground."

- The Doors



Post-Production


Post-Production: Overview

1. What Is Post-Production?

2. Transcription for Editing and Web

3. Editing Tools

4. General Editing Concepts

5. The Editing Process

6. What Is Sweetening?

7. Noise Reduction and the Uncanny Valley

8. The Little Things

9. Music

10. Rendering


Post-Production: What Is It and Why Does It Matter?

• Final stage, in which we craft the materials gathered into a final podcast.

• I don't include Marketing or Distribution in this presentation.

• We warned against "fixing it in the mix". Now you'll be expected to fix it in the mix.

• Most post work involves editing.

• Editing as LEGO or sculpture.

• A phase whose inherent contradictions demand an unusual personality:

• You will typically be expected to turn around quickly, despite a small window and eleventh-hour changes.

• Despite the need for speed, you must be fastidious.

• * If you do your job successfully, nobody will notice it, or you!

"The difficult I'll do right now.

The impossible will take a little while."

- Billie Holiday


Post-Production: Transcription for Editing and the Web

• Who makes the editorial decisions?

• Edit on paper? By ear? Another way?

• Working by ear can speed turn-around, but most prefer paper.

• Paper edit transcripts have added benefits: accessibility and SEO.

• When paper editing, note phrases as well as times.

• Don't edit at the word/phrase level to avoid cadence issues.

• Paper edits must allow for some flexibility. Text and audio don't often match as readers imagine they do.

• It's easy to say, "It's all good." Catch-all podcasts lose more listeners than they attract. Ruthlessness is a useful tool. "Make it a pop song."


Post-Production: Editing Tools

Because podcasts are economical, they're often underfunded. Fortunately, many audio tools are readily available, and often free:

• * Audacity (open source editor, highly moddable with plug-ins)

• Syntrillium Cool Edit 96 (noise reduction and other functions)

• * Sony ACID Xpress (free multi-track studio)

• LAME (open source MP3 encoding plug-in)


Post-Production: General Editing Concepts

• Hopefully your source takes are largely "unbroken". The more you edit, the more obvious your work will be.

• When paper editing, you may want to cut in reverse order. By cutting forwards, you change later timings.

• * I often mark such regions first and cut them out later.

• * Setting the creative pace. Mark regions by speaker/topic to find the rhythm.

• Edit longer-than-average stretches, or gradually accelerate pacing.

• Whatever your approach, try to maintain consistency.

• Audio allows for nearly seamless editing. Be careful to clarify intentions, not modify them.


Post-Production: The Editing Process: What to Cut and Where?

Depending on the podcast's function, cut out:

• participant-suggested cuts

• unnecessary asides, tangents

• mutual admiration

• repetition, redundancy

• long, or expository, questions, especially if contained in the response

• topical references

• hard selling (delay or eliminate?)

• Are you tuning out? Cut at those points!

• * Cut before wave "swells", not in trail-outs.

• * Cut at baseline crossings, maintain the wave-flow.


Post-Production: What Is Sweetening?

• Edit without changing the content. Process audio to make it sound different, "better".

• Don't expect forensic audio editing, isolating and extracting individual elements.

• You can't make the audio something it's not, but you can suggest it.

• Includes noise reduction, compression, reverberation, equalization, normalizing, etc.

• Much of sweetening is aesthetic. Different approaches are valid.

• I focus on clarifying the content, eliminating distractions.

• Some prefer to leave their recordings raw, "real".

• Merits of production value are debatable, but I suggest internal consistency is most important: stick to your rules, whatever they are.


Post-Production: Noise Reduction

• The mind is great at filtering noise, but we have grown used to clean sound, and noise can distract from the content.

• However, if you clean poorly, aggressively, the result is a crystalline, robotic sound, which can also be distracting.

• The noise print captured during recording can be used to subtract cyclical – not transient – sounds from the project.

• Reduce noise gently. Multiple light passes are better than a single aggressive one, but multiple passes will demand more time.

• Gating is another form of noise reduction, but it's halo effect ("shushing" sound) can be distracting.

• Most participants consider vocal mannerisms to be noise.

• I have found listeners accept such foibles. Removing every breath makes the audience both tired and suspicious.

• Making things "too" perfect gets you into the audio equivalent of the Uncanny Valley…


Creep-Production: The Uncanny Valley


Post-Production: The Little Things

• Regardless of NR aesthetics, some noises are a "must" to remove:• mains loop hum (50 or 60 Hz)• phone-related whines (around 8 or 16 kHz)• sibilance (drop 3 dB in the 3-7 kHz area)

• * The (Steve) Mack Wave, based on 60/6000 rule: cut a low shelf below 60 Hz (eliminate muddiness) and linear fade from 6 kHz (minimize hiss).

• What if you want to add extra sound?• * iZotope Vinyl• Add a low reverse cymbal to suggest a

transition point.• Boost midrange EQ (500-2500 Hz) for

"phone" effect.

• Give the new mix a break time before reviewing it.

• Listen using different headphones, speakers.


Post-Production: Music

• Music and sound effects are the exception to the rule of Hollywood (invisible) editing.

• Do you need music? It can add a sense of professionalism, a familiar motif, but it can also add higher bit rate, file size, and download time.

• Any music used needs to be podsafe to avoid possible legal issues.

• Even "royalty-free" and production library music has its catches: inflexible, added paperwork, expiry.

• Do it yourself! Try generative apps like Sony Cinescore, or arrange loops and samples in ACID Xpress.

• (Dennis) McCarthy's Law: introduce something you know the project owners will hate in order to get away with something they only might hate!


Post-Production: Rendering

Convert to (usually) MP3 for various purposes:

• transcription

• review sensibility

• content approvals

• review sound quality, balance of parts

• delivery

MP3 bit rate guidelines:

• 128 kbps, CD quality, 1:00/MB

• 64 kbps, FM radio (stereo), 2:00/MB

• 32 kbps, AM radio (mono), 4:00/MB

• * Tag MP3s for both ID3 v1 and v2. Tagging is used by audio apps, but also provides metadata useful in search engine optimization efforts.



Conclusion


Conclusion: Summary

• "There are always more stories."• Think of podcasting as "Radio-Free Radio".

You already understand these media. Adopt the strengths of each.

• How is your podcast like a poem? Plan your work, and develop the best structure possible. Refine those conventions with time, experience, and feedback, but continue to create within them.

• Always get another take. Gather all the resources you can. Even noise is useful!

• Production value has less to do with the price of your gear than your level of care.

• Edit ruthlessly; better to distill than dilute.• Will you clarify or modify? If you do it right,

you will "disappear".• Psychology says, "It depends."• Podcasting says, "Play it by ear."

"Do the best you can

With what you've got!"

- James Barber

"Learn to swim.

And once you've learned:

Swim!"

- John Lennon


Conclusion: Selected Audio Tools & Resources

Audacity (open source audio editor)

http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

Creative Labs (audio hardware)

http://us.creative.com/products/

Dynametric Telephone Transmit Patches

http://www.dynametric.com/

iZotope Vinyl (freeware plug-in)

http://www.izotope.com/products/audio/vinyl/

LAME MP3 encoder (open source plug-in)

http://lame.sourceforge.net/

Nullsoft Winamp

http://www.winamp.com/

Sony ACID Xpress (freeware multi-track studio)

http://www.acidplanet.com/downloads/xpress/

Syntrillium Cool Edit 96 (freeware audio editor)

http://www.threechords.com/hammerhead/cool_edit_96.shtml

Podcasting

http://w3.ibm.com/bluepedia/display/en/Podcasting

http://w3.ibm.com/jukebox/podcasts/faq.html

Multimedia Central

http://w3.ibm.com/ibm/multimedia/index.html

Pre-Production tips on W3

http://w3.ibm.com/news/w3news/top_stories/2006/12/mmc_audio_1a.html

Vocal tips

http://prohumorist.com/?cat=14

http://speechwiki.org/out-loud/voicedosdonts.html

http://www.joniwilsonvoice.com/tips.htm

Production and Post-Production tips on W3


Podsafety

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podsafe

Delivery/hosting (web not performance) tips


http://w3.ibm.com/bluepedia/display/en/Podcasting

http://w3.ibm.com/jukebox/podcasts/faq.html


Conclusion: Contact

Derek Schraner

Associate Marketing Manager, Advanced

Audio Production & Multimedia Consultation

IBM Business Intelligence & Performance Management

• email [email protected]

• office phone 613-738-1338 x3458

• remote phone 613-249-8645

"Well I could call out

When the going gets tough,

The things that we've learnt

Are no longer enough."

- Joy Division

"If you have a problem,

if no one else can help..."

- The A-Team



Questions?



Thank You!

Date post:	12-Dec-2021
Category:	Documents
Upload:	others
View:	5 times
Download:	0 times

Podcasting: Radio-Free Radio

Documents