I was recently asked by a listener how I record and post the podcast. I am, at the moment, limited to the tools that I have in my home office that include my Dell I3 desktop computer and my USB headset. I know that at some point, I will want a better microphone, perhaps a mixer and recorder to reduce my risk of a lost recording. A mixer would also reduce the post production time where I have to equalize the audio rather than just follow the mixer at the time of recording.
So here is my process:
So here is my process:
I conduct the interview using Skype. If the guest does not have Skype, then he gets an account and installs it. Most of the time this is easy, and since Skype is a valuable tool, it is not a hard sell. Skype is my number one productivity tool. I could call the interviewee on the telephone using Skype. I have not had to do this yet, but it would work.
I record the interview using Call Graph, available here. Call Graph is free and records a stereo track with me on the left and the interviewee on the right. Call Graph starts automatically when a Skype call is connected. It leaves a MP3 file in a designated folder. There are other products such as Pamela. I weighed all of this before choosing Call Graph.
I edit the audio that Call Graph recorded using Audacity for Windows. I use Audacity to cut the show from beginning to end, to get rid of some of my babbling and "ummmms". I also use it to balance the audio before I convert the stereo track to a mono track. I add the beginning and the end to the interview by moving the interview over to the right about two minutes to allow a recording of the introduction. I append the end of the interview with the exit recording. As I use Audacity more and more, I learn some shortcuts to getting the production work done.
Once the audio track is finished, I export the audio from Audacity to an MP3 file. The file has to be tagged using the Audacity software. There are other 3rd party MP3 Tagging softwares, including iTunes. I built a template for the MP3 tag so that I can cut and paste the right information.
I upload the newly tagged MP3 interview file into Auphonic to balance, equalize, and filter the audio track for background noise, hisses, and pops. Often, the audio levels between me and my guest are not balanced or at the same audio level. Auphonic re-adjusts all of the levels so that you will not have to turn your player up and down to hear both sides of the conversation. I may be able to do this using Audacity, but Auphonic does such a nice and fast job, its worth paying for.
Once the audio is edited, cleaned up, and balanced from Auphonic, I upload it to Libsyn. Libsyn hosts the audio track and pushes it along with the MP3 tag and cover art to iTunes and Stitcher. As some point soon, I can also use Libsyn to push out announcements to Facebook, Twitter, other social networks, and my email program using the RSS feed from Libsyn.
I keep a copy of the finished podcast product both in my Google Apps drive and on my hard drives interconnected by Syncplicity. I have at least three copies of the show in various places to reduce the chances of loss by accident.
73,
Eric, 4Z1UG
I record the interview using Call Graph, available here. Call Graph is free and records a stereo track with me on the left and the interviewee on the right. Call Graph starts automatically when a Skype call is connected. It leaves a MP3 file in a designated folder. There are other products such as Pamela. I weighed all of this before choosing Call Graph.
I edit the audio that Call Graph recorded using Audacity for Windows. I use Audacity to cut the show from beginning to end, to get rid of some of my babbling and "ummmms". I also use it to balance the audio before I convert the stereo track to a mono track. I add the beginning and the end to the interview by moving the interview over to the right about two minutes to allow a recording of the introduction. I append the end of the interview with the exit recording. As I use Audacity more and more, I learn some shortcuts to getting the production work done.
Once the audio track is finished, I export the audio from Audacity to an MP3 file. The file has to be tagged using the Audacity software. There are other 3rd party MP3 Tagging softwares, including iTunes. I built a template for the MP3 tag so that I can cut and paste the right information.
I upload the newly tagged MP3 interview file into Auphonic to balance, equalize, and filter the audio track for background noise, hisses, and pops. Often, the audio levels between me and my guest are not balanced or at the same audio level. Auphonic re-adjusts all of the levels so that you will not have to turn your player up and down to hear both sides of the conversation. I may be able to do this using Audacity, but Auphonic does such a nice and fast job, its worth paying for.
Once the audio is edited, cleaned up, and balanced from Auphonic, I upload it to Libsyn. Libsyn hosts the audio track and pushes it along with the MP3 tag and cover art to iTunes and Stitcher. As some point soon, I can also use Libsyn to push out announcements to Facebook, Twitter, other social networks, and my email program using the RSS feed from Libsyn.
I keep a copy of the finished podcast product both in my Google Apps drive and on my hard drives interconnected by Syncplicity. I have at least three copies of the show in various places to reduce the chances of loss by accident.
73,
Eric, 4Z1UG
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