Podcast Reflection Log - 04/12/2020

This week I listened to and analysed two episodes from two different podcasts called Grounded with Louis Theroux and Fake Doctors, Real Friends. I chose to analyse these podcasts because they will both influence my future work as they both use a format that I am interested in using: discussion and interview. A challenge I faced was figuring out what I want my podcast to be about so I can begin planning its structure. This week I learned about the different formats that podcasts have which helped me decide what type of podcast I might be interested in doing. My next steps will be planning my podcast, deciding on the format, genre and what guests I may want to join me on my podcast.

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Podcast Reflection Log - 11/12/2020

This week I decided on the genre and podcast format I wanted to do. I chose to do a fictional narrative podcast about a character living in the wilderness, looking for a way to forget her past. A challenge I faced was creating a story for my podcast. Initially I wanted to do a discussion podcast about either video games or music, however I found it difficult to organise as I couldn’t find a co-host/guest who knew about and liked the topics I would’ve wanted to talk about. This week I learnt how to set up and record in the podcast room and I learnt what a bumper is and what it should include. My next steps will be finishing off and recording my bumper. I also must begin writing a 15-20 minute script for my narrative to figure out what help I need such as actors or other narrators.

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Podcast Reflection Log - 17/12/2020

This week, I finished writing, recording and editing my bumper for my podcast. A challenge I faced this week was making the bumper sound like a recording through a radio. To face this, I found and watched tutorials on how to edit audio to make it sound like a radio/telephone on premiere pro. Another thing I learnt was how to make noise sound as if it is coming from the outside. I needed to learn this so I could have a snow blizzard in the background of my bumper to add to the realism. My next steps are to finish my script for my podcast and to find the sound effects that I need to make it sound as realistic as possible.

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Podcast Reflection Log - 06/01/2021

For the past two weeks, I have worked on my podcast script and gathered the sound effects and/or music I plan on using in my podcast. A challenge I faced was writing a monologue that lasts 15 minutes that is interesting and flows well. Another challenge I faced was finding sound effects and music that are copyright free. However, I have found websites that provide copyright free music and sound effects. Next I will be finishing and improving my script. I will also sort out the story I want to tell so that I have an idea of where it is headed by running it by a friend to see if they understand it and find it interesting.

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Podcast Reflection Log - 15/01/2021

This week, I completed and polished my script so that it was ready to record during the weekend. I was also able to find someone who was willing to narrate a part of the story for me because I needed someone who sounded different from me since I was going to be doing the reading for Sam. A challenge I faced was organising a time that we could both record together - especially since they live in a different time zone - and finding recording software that would record our audio. I solved that problem by deciding to record a zoom call between us using the recording software OBS. My next steps are to finalise the recording of my podcast and then working towards editing it down, adding music and sound effects.

 

Podcast Reflection Log - 22/01/2021

This week I began recording some sections of my podcast. I was meant to hold a call between me and the narrator and record the audio using OBS however, my actor wasn’t available on the day we had planned due to an emergency so they agreed to recording their part on their own and sending it to me in their own time as they wouldn’t be available throughout the week. I have begun editing in sound effects and music to their recorded part. This week I have also begun recording my parts with the narrator's dialogue in mind. My next steps will be to finish recording Sam’s monologue and editing my podcast with all the sound effects and music that I need. I have organised the sound effects and music that I would like to use in a playlist so that I can easily find them and source them when needed.

 

Podcast Reflection Log - 29/01/2021

This week I have begun my editing process. I finished recording each part and have begun to organise the audio into my desired structure and have thought about what the music and sound effects I will use. I am using premiere pro to edit my audio to sound like cassette tapes to immerse the audience. A challenge I faced this week was the fact that one of my audio files was corrupted and did not allow me to use and edit it so I had to ask my narrator to re-record a part so I could finish editing my podcast. My next step is to finish editing the audio and putting the episode together so that my podcast is complete. I have found that some of the audio isn’t easy to hear, if increasing the audio does not make it clearer, then I will have to record some parts again so that the audience doesn't miss important parts of the story.

 

Podcast Reflection Log - 05/02/2021

This week I finished my editing process, have begun uploading my work to my blog and have begun my evaluation. I used premiere pro to edit my audio and add the sound effects, then made the audio sound like a tape. To do this I followed a tutorial on YouTube that taught me how to make audio sound like it’s coming from a radio. To make it sound more realistic I added the ‘distortion’ effect to the audio to add slight cracks in the audio. I then used Sony Vegas to splice the bumper, podcast and background music together and uploaded it to soundcloud. A challenge I faced this week was the quality of the first draft of my podcast. I found the dialogue to be too quiet especially after adding the radio effects. This meant that it wasn’t convenient for all listeners so I decided to record the tape again until I was happy with the quality and the volume. Some parts were still quiet even after re-recording so during editing I would adjust the levels so that it was audible. My next steps will be to finish my research on similar podcasts and to ask someone to listen to my podcast for the evaluation.