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Podcasts
Podcasts are usually recorded on Fridays at noon central time. The topic is announced early in the week based on ideas from our Trello board*.
To participate in a podcast, you need the following:
- Skype
- Headphones
- A quiet room
Podcasts are conducted over Skype and recorded using Zencastr. At the time of the podcast, the host will call everyone over Skype, then send you a link to Zencastr. Click the link and that's it. It will automatically start recording when the host starts it and will stop when the host stops recording. Once the recording is finished, each participant's track will automatically be uploaded to DropBox and you'll get a copy of your track as a backup.
After clicking the Zencastr link, test that it's using the correct mike by saying something and making sure the audio is being picked up by Zencastr. If you have more than one mike, Zencastr might use the wrong one.
During the call, pay attention to the Skype chat. We use this to keep things moving and avoid spending too much time on any one topic.
If you leave early, DO NOT close the Zencastr tab in your browser or you risk losing your audio. Instead, leave the tab open until the podcast is finished and the host clicks stop.
When you aren't talking, mute your microphone or Skype to minimize background noise and interruptions (e.g. someone calls you in the middle of the podcast).
Unless you are muting directly on your microphone, you're still being recorded and whatever you say will still show up during editing. Of course, this will be removed for the final podcast but keep in mind, the person editing will still hear it.
To start a new podcast, first set up an account with Zencastr which will link to your DropBox account. The process is:
- Create a new podcast in Zencastr
- Send a link to the participants
- Participants click the link to join the podcast
- The host clicks the Record button in the top left
- When the podcast is over, the host clicks Stop in the top left
At this point, each participant's individual tracks will automatically be uploaded to the host's DropBox account. Each participant will also receive a copy of their track for backup purposes.
In addition, you should record the entire Skype call locally (using Call Recorder) to use as a backup in case there are issues with someone's personal audio track.
NOTE: As of January 2016, Zencastr has a new feature that uses VOIP to record directly in the app, obviating the need for Skype. Early tests of the feature were not successful. Give it a try but be prepared to revert to the original method of calling via Skype. And even if it works, using Call Recorder with Skype is still a prudent backup plan.
If you want extra brownie points, it helps to do some pre-work on your track. This is optional but keep in mind that if you don't do it, the person editing the podcast will follow these exact same steps on your track. Once you get proficient, these steps should take about 10-15 minutes to complete.
NOTE: As a general practice, make a copy of your track before editing. If things go wrong, just upload your original track.
This helps reduce any background noise or hissing. The steps are:
- Select a few seconds of the track where you aren't talking.
- Select Noise Reduction... from the Effects menu
- Click "Get Noise Profile"
- Select Noise Reduction... from the Effects menu again
- Click OK
A lot of microphones will pick up ambient noise from your room and some even pick up the other people speaking. To minimize this, you can silence all audio between the parts where you're speaking. To do this:
- (Optional) Zoom in to the track. This helps pinpoint when to start and stop
- Select a section when you aren't speaking
- Select Silence Audio from the Edit | Remove Special menu. (Shortcut: Cmd-L on Mac, Ctrl-L on Windows)
- Repeat for all sections where you aren't speaking
* Links for the Trello board and for the topic can be found by asking on Slack.