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Podcasts

A general guide to podcasting at Butler CC.

Best Practices: Recording

Steps for Good Sound Quality

  1. Deaden Sound: If you cannot record in a podcast studio, find a space without echo. This could be a small room or even a closet that has carpet. Try to avoid rooms with windows or glass.
  2. Mic Placement: Try to keep the microphone or recorder a fist's distance from the speaker's mouth. This will help reduce any "popping" sounds from the spoken word. You can use a tool like Adobe's Mic Check (free for Butler staff/faculty and students) to test your microphone setup.
  3. Use Headphones: This will help reduce any echo or sound bleed that may be picked up.
  4. Record Room Sound: At the beginning of any recording session, try to capture a few seconds of "dead air". This will allow your recording to pick up any ambient sound in the room. This will help you in the editing process when you need to remove that sound from your recording. Even rooms that seem quiet still contain noise.

     

Attribution

Tools for Podcasting Copyright © by Jill Olmsted is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

Best Practices: Editing

Best Practices for Editing Audio

  1. Keep you audio files organized. Make sure they are clearly labeled and saved in a folder that you can easily find.
  2. Listen to your files before you begin editing. This will help you identify the areas that need to be edited.
  3. Remove background sounds. This can be done manually in an editing platform or you can use Adobe's Enhance Speech.
  4. Equalize your levels. This can make your audio sound more natural by reducing shrill or muddy frequencies. Most editing software has filters that can be applied.
  5. Do not over edit. Try to keep it as simple as possible.

     

Attribution

Tools for Podcasting Copyright © by Jill Olmsted is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

Works Cited

Byers, Rob. "The Producer's Handbook to Mixing Audio Stories." NPR, 31 Oct. 2018, training.npr.org/2018/10/31/mixing/#equalizationbringsclarity. Accessed 6 September 2023