by Ray Ortega on August 5, 2011
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Learn the basics of podcasting from how to decide on a topic to choosing gear, software and hosting for your website and media.
You’ve decided you want to start your own podcast and now you need to know how to proceed. In this episode we go back to the beginning and walk you through the basic elements needed to create a podcast.
Your first step is to decide on a topic. Pick something you know well and love to talk about to no end. This will help to keep you motivated over the period of many episodes.
Are you going to produce an audio only show or a video podcast? In both cases you’ll need gear that allows you to capture, edit and compress your digital media into a podcast friendly format. The basic gear for an audio podcast is a microphone (I recommend a dynamic mic), a mixer and some headphones. I’ve made the basic assumption that you already have a computer.
For video, at a minimum, you’ll need a video camera and some editing software. However I highly recommend including an external microphone that plugs into your camera. Good audio, even in video podcasting, is as or more important than the image you are capturing.
Finally you’ll want to purchase some basic hosting for a website and your media files.
Make sure to listen to part two of the basics of podcasting (episode 52) where you’ll learn about creating a graphic identity that represent your show, creating a future proofed RSS feed for submitting across the web, and how to get your podcast listed in podcast directories such as iTunes.
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by Ray aka @podcasthelper on January 25, 2011
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On this episode, Soundcloud.com announces that they will soon be supporting RSS feeds for their audio hosting service. I discuss what I think of the service for use as a podcast audio hosting solution and how you can get into the Soundcloud beta to be a tester for this new feature.
Learn what options you have when choosing a microphone for your video podcast productions. In most cases audio is as important or even more important than the quality of your video. Find out the different types of microphones that you can use together with whatever video camera you have to get the best quality audio possible out of your video productions.
Finally I explain how itunes and various devices (ipods, ipads, iphones, etc) display your ID3 tags (metadata) both in itunes and on Apple devices. Since November of 2005, Apple has been using a combination of both the metadata that you insert into your mp3 files and the information contained in your RSS feed to come up with the information that is displayed on it’s various devices. Learn what tags control this information so that you can have more control of what information people are seeing about your podcast.
Links mentioned in this episode*
Soundcloud Podcast Beta
Beachtek XLR camera adapter
Juicelink XLR camera adapter
Audio Technica Shotgun Microphone
Dead Cat Windscreen for Shotgun Mics (buy the proper size for your mic)
Sennheiser MD46 ENG microphone
Singular Software’s Pluraleyes (for syncing audio to video in post production)
Blog post Regarding ID3 tag formatting and iTunes/Apple Devices via Rob @podcast411
*most hyperlinks listed here are affiliate links
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by Ray aka @podcasthelper on January 31, 2010
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A presentation I gave at Podcamp Philly 2009 about how to get the skills of a professional podcaster.
I talk about everything from audio to video. How to learn the skills needed to produce high quality podcasts on the level of a professional such as better audio, proper compression rates, better video, lighting and many other tools that some of the today’s best podcasters are using to produce successful shows, including the kind that make money.
Since many of the people who come to podcasting don’t have a background in audio and video production (including myself) there has to be a place to learn all of the skills without spending too much money or attending years of schooling.
This episode is an overview of all the elements needed to produce top quality podcasts without having a “studio” budget. Learn where and how I learned to podcast and why producing quality content is just as important as engaging content.
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Accompanying Powerpoint from the presentation
