Do You Wanna Build a Podcast?

Part 2 - Recording a perfect show

Once you've decided to launch a podcast, it's tempting to just dive right in - and to an extent, that's a strategy I'd recommend - it certainly gets you past the procrastination!

But there's a drawback here - so many clients I speak to who have failed to produce good quality outputs for their podcast come to me with stories of woe - Zoom died half way through the meeting, Teams decided to stop their mic working in the 45th minute of the interview... etc etc.

These platforms WEREN'T built for podcasting.

In fact, I struggle to use half of them for video conferencing, never mind anything else!

So today's newsletter focuses very much on using the right equipment, and technology to generate high quality audio and video outputs from your recording episodes.

Recording Equipment

Whilst everyone thinks it's expensive to buy podcast quality kit, the opposite is often true for most who want to give this a try.

Here's a top tip.... and it's going to surprise you.

The BEST microphone in your house is likely to be your mobile phone!

Manufacturers spend a lot of money creating amazing mics that will filter background noise and are fine tuned for voice.? So if you can use a studio that lets you connect via multiple sources, you can use your phone as your microphone, and we find that can deliver some surprisingly good results.

Not to mention most phones these days have really good cameras too - meaning a good tripod for your phone might be all you need!?

If you're planning to use the footage on anything other than TikTok and YouTube shorts, though, please make sure you opt for landscape format recording! (HOLD IT SIDEWAYS!).

Audio quality is HUGE for podcasting, especially if you're going to be releasing your episodes on audio-only hosting, regardless of the video.? When someone is listening to your podcast with good quality headphones on, every little noise can be enough to put them off.

Our genuine advice with the equipment, is to buy as good as you can afford, and upgrade when you can.? Nothing is more important than capturing good quality inputs the way they were meant to be enjoyed.

I'd also point out that often, your laptop camera is a very poor option, and I'd highly recommend a plugin USB external camera that can be moved around to get it just right.

I'm not going to sit here and compare all the options - this isn't a hardware blog, and so I'll keep it short.??

What I use is the setup below, and it works for me, but you should ALWAYS experiment and try new setups.? Always try things out BEFORE you record, and thoroughly test it.? Send your test outputs to a friend, and get them to tell you what they see/hear.

Camera - The Eye of the Beholder

I use an Obsbot Meet 4k.? It's around ￡149 when on normal sale price, and I've seen it go as low as ￡99.? It's got a privacy lens, a nice holder to make sure you get the angle right, it's magnetic base means you can be sure it's not going to fall off, and it has AI powered tracking - so you'll always be in focus.??

That being said, I'd love the Obsbot Tiny 4k which retails around ￡229 but was just out of my initial budget - it's on it's own stand, and rotates to keep you in frame, if you move about.?

Warning - turn off the auto tracking if you are on video calls, or moving about a lot - I've had lots of folks tell me it made them feel travel sick!

There's a few things to consider here, and as above, you MAY find that your mobile phone is the best option here.

Audio - Crystal Clarity

For those of you podcasting from your desk, I'd suggest two options.? A good desk based mic is essential - my preference is a R0DE NT-USB, which retails around ￡120, but I've used a Blue Yeti X before, and it was solid.? I also know folks who won't touch a mic that doesn't plug into a 'sound card' (ie they aren't USB, and need a mixing station in between your mic and the computer).? I've no doubt these offer superior sound options, but they're often out of budget for most.

If you're ever doing podcasts out and about, I'd highly recommend getting yourself a wireless lavalier mic - I recently bought a R0DE Smartlav+, which is awesome, but it's wired and can be a pain.? I know others who have bought ￡20 wireless kits from Amazon, and swear by them.

What's a Lavalier mic?? It's one of those tiny little microphones they use on TV.? The wireless ones transmit via a small pack that goes in your pocket, or even direct to the computer.? The outdoors suitable ones come with a wooly cover on (a pop filter) that is enough to block out background noise, wind, and much more.? I've even recorded on mine walking beside a busy road, and I'm clearly audible over the cars.

Recording Studio - The Most Important Piece of the Puzzle

When I mention 'recording studios' many people think they're going to be sat in a sound-proofed box with headphones on.

What I ACTUALLY mean, is that the likes of Zoom and co just aren't cut out for this, and here's why:

• They record in the cloud - so any internet issues directly impact on recording
• They generally only record in sub-par quality because they're not set up for high quality outputs - they prioritise streaming quality
• Lastly, they rarely do anything other than record.? There's no editing capabilities at all.

So what's the alternative?

I've got two main options for you:

1) If you follow me, you know I PREACH about Descript for video editing - it's next generation tech, and with their recent AI enhancements, it's only getting better and better.? The reason I mention this, is because Descript recently acquired Squadcast for recording high quality video and audio inputs, meaning you get access for free as part of your Descript License.? They also provide the facility for easy transfer from there into Descript for editing, without having to download and upload outputs.

Squadcast ALSO allows you to set up as many studios as you want, and give different people the ability to manage recordings, sessions and the studios - ideal if you're an agency or work with multiple clients.? This is a huge advantage over their big competitor, Riverside - who charge $500 a month for the enterprise edition which allows the same, plus $50 per user license for that!

2) Riverside is 100% best in class at what it does, and comes with a plethora of growing tools on the back end that allow you to semi-automate creating clips, transcript and more.? It too allows you to directly import straight into descript, but it'll cost you a separate license, and in my opinion, it's less value for money.

Both these platforms allow you to record your episodes LOCALLY, on the computer of the host/guest.? This means that even if you suffer internet bandwidth issues, you're likely to be fine, and still have recorded in full 4k on your own computer.? During the session and afterwards, the system uploads your stream, and if it's not fully uploaded by the time you finish, you just leave the window open, and it'll finish off the upload.

This is the main, and most significant benefit of using these tools.? The other being the level of customisation you can perform as the host - from having control over guests camera/mic options and settings for the technophobes out there, to adjusting audio/video output options to fine tune for the type of recordings you are going to do.

Clearly, there's a helluva lot more to be said here, but I hope this helps you get started!? Check back in next week, when I'll be discussing strategy, planning, and brainstorming your podcast, with both tips of my own, plus prompts you can use on chatGPT to make sure you're always well prepared!

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