Making of a Podcast / Netcast
Earlier today, I had the pleasure of participating in a podcast with Steve Cochran for the Steve Cochran Show website, http://stevecochranshow.com.
Steve had called me earlier in the week and we discussed how to do a podcast.
I made some suggestions as to what software and hardware are necessary for the average user to create podcasts of good quality.
There are links to all the products I mention are at the bottom of this post.
The first thing to know is that a podcast is nothing more than a recording of yourself or you and other people, either in the same room with a microphone or over the phone or Internet. Once you have the recording, you can then post it on a website and allow other people to download and listen to it on demand.
You’ll find some great podcasts of shows here WGN on their website at http://www.wgnradio.com/about/podcasthelp/, as an example.
The simplest way to start a podcast is to make sure that you have a decent microphone and some recording software.
You can purchase an inexpensive microphone for about 30 bucks from Radio Shack. They have a headphone with a boom mic which I use when I am away from home with my laptop. Or, you can purchase a desktop microphone from any of the big box stores.
I don’t recommend inexpensive desktop microphones because the quality of audio from them is not always good.
The next thing you need is some software. I recommend a free piece of software called Audacity.
If you’re using a laptop, you may find that your laptop already has a microphone built into it.
If this is the case, try recording using that microphone. If the quality of the audio is not something you like, then use an external microphone like the headphone microphone and I recommended.
All you really need to do is open Audacity, click on the record button at the top, and begin speaking. When you are done you can save the file in a folder of your choice for further editing.
If you are using Audacity make sure that you download the LAME MP3 encoder and install it as well from the Audacity web page.
If you want to add other people into the conversation over the Internet I suggest that you use Skype. Having a conversation on Skype, where both parties are using Skype, produces excellent audio.
We use Skype and the radio studio when Patrick is on the air from Los Angeles or when I’m on the air when I’m out of town. It always sounds like we are sitting right there in the studio.
To record a two-sided conversation using Skype you’ll need an additional piece of software called Call Graph.
Skype normally does not allow you to record both sides of a conversation, Call Graph will run with in the background while you’re having your Skype conversation and record both sides, you on one stereo channel of the conversation and your guest on the other channel.
After you’re done editing your podcast in Audacity, you can combine the two channels into one mono channel, save the file as an MP3, and then upload it to your Web server or podcast hosting site.
This is a simple way for you to share audio that you’ve created with your friends, relatives, customers, and guests, by simply placing your podcast on your website or in your blog.
Listen to the typecast attached to this post. Steve and I threw together and recorded in just a couple of minutes.
Resources:
- Radio Shack USB Headphone/Mic, http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2486993
- Skype, http://skype.com
- Call Graph, http://callgraph.biz/
2 Responses to Making of a Podcast / Netcast
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That was very helpful. I might do my own in-house radio show. I love books from independent book writers and I’ve always thought about starting a little 30 minute show to feature the writer’s. Thx for the input.
The best instructions on netcast/ podcast most instructions are really hard to understand less alone try and follow thanks for information.