PROJECTS: PODCAST PODCASTING 101

PROJECTS: PODCAST

02/podcast

PODCASTING

101

Produce and syndicate

audio interviews you

record online, on the

phone, and on the road. >>

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Chris Pirillo (left) and Jake Ludington of the Chris Pirillo show.

By Phillip Torrone

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MAKE YOUR

OWN PODCAST

Podcasting gives me the feeling that I have

the keys to NPR; that I can interview anyone

I want and then deliver it over the internet

to anyone who wants to listen in.

Podcasting involves producing your

own audio files (usually in MP3, Ogg, or

WMA formats) and then publishing them

online somewhere, indexed for subscription

and reception by an RSS (Really Simple

Syndication) reader. They're then downloaded to subscribers¡¯ iPods, cellphones,

iTunes directories, or other locations to listen to whenever they want. As you¡¯ll see,

anyone can do this, using all free tools.

The podcasting genre particularly

shines for interviews. I¡¯ve interviewed

makers from around the world via Skype or

iChat (plus in person) and made them available as podcasts. Check out MAKE: Audio

on for lots of examples.

Phillip Torrone is associate editor of MAKE and producer of MAKE: Audio, all the DIY audio you can shake an iPod at.

You can check out his blog as well as his audio work on .

Make:

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PROJECTS: PODCAST

02/podcast

¡¯CASTING CALLS

Want to become a leading cultural voice in your

spare time, and without spending any money?

Here's how.

After tagging the file with basic information

about your show (and optional extras like

artwork), upload it to your public server

directory. People who catch the podcasting bug will soon build up an impressive

collection.

HOW TO RECEIVE: To subscribe to a podcast, paste

its one-line RSS address into your podcatcher application. There's no charge. The app makes periodic

rounds and collects new broadcasts for you. If it's

good, that's great, and if not, just delete it and move to

the next one instantly.

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Your RSS file lists and timestamps

the set of podcasts that you

have available. This allows your

audience's podcatcher software to

determine which ones are new and

prime for downloading. By keeping

it fresh, frequent podcasters automatically get more downloads.

Illustration by Tim Lillis

Once you've recorded your interview, you can trim it, add

introductory material and music, and do whatever else you

want using an audio mixing application such as Audacity.

When you've finished editing your segment, export it to a

standard download format such as MP3 or Ogg Vorbis.

Interviews and other talk audio will

record well in mono, with a relatively low

sampling rate. So you can do it in person

or remotely, using non-professional

equipment, and it'll sound just fine.

Global reach, zero cost. Talk it up!

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SET UP.

Visit 02/podcast for source list.

MATERIALS:

Here are some devices

I¡¯ve used for podcasting. Pick and choose as

needed.

Headset ¡ª A good

alternative to a microphone for Skype and

iChat conversations, or

if you¡¯re just recording

your own voice. Favorite

headsets in the podcast

community are the

Plantronics DSP series,

which have noise cancellation. But before you

buy one, experiment with

what you have and see

if you¡¯re happy with the

results.

Laptop ¡ª You can use

this for both recording

and production (you can

also record onto a portable recorder, and then

produce and publish

the audio on any kind of

computer).

Microphone ¡ª This is

helpful for recording inperson. Built-in mics on

laptops (if you¡¯re recording directly onto one) will

pick up background and

fan noise. Experienced

pros swear by the Sony

ECM-MS907 and the

Shure SM-58.

Portable recorder ¡ª This

is handy for field recordings. Many journalists

love MiniDisc recorders,

but I personally prefer

devices that record onto

a hard drive or flash media. Linux on an iPod may

not capture MiniDisc¡¯s

audio quality, but I can

just drag the files into

my directory with no

conversion required.

SOFTWARE

Conveniently enough, all the applications and utilities I use to

create podcasts are free. Here¡¯s what they are and where you

can download them.

PLATFORM

Windows

Macintosh

Linux

FUNCTION

SOFTWARE

WHERE TO FIND IT

Telephony

Skype



iChat/AIM

/

VAC

vac.htm

Soundflower

products/soundflower.html

Soundflowerbed (optional)

products/soundflower.html

LineIn

freebies

AudioHijack Pro (optional)

audiohijackpro

Audacity

audacity.

GarageBand



LameLib

lame

LAME

mitiok.free.fr

iPodder

ipodder.

Audio Stream Routing

Audio Recording / Mixing

Encoding

Podcast Receiving (called

a podder or podcatcher)

Other apps at

directory/4/ipodderSoftware

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PROJECTS: PODCAST

MAKE IT.

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PODCAST

PRODUCTION

STEP-BY-STEP

>>

START

Time: An Afternoon Complexity: Low

YOUR

1. RECORD

MATERIAL

RECORDING IN PERSON

RECORDING REMOTELY OVER SKYPE OR ICHAT

On a laptop. If you¡¯re just recording yourself or

conducting an in-person interview, you can use a

laptop and a microphone. You¡¯ll need an audio

application. If you already have one you like, then

great ¡ª stick with that. Otherwise, I recommend

Audacity, a free, open source, cross-platform audio

recording and editing tool. Download Audacity and

take some time to familiarize yourself with it. Try

recording and importing WAV and MP3 files, and cutting and pasting sections around. Also, see if you like

how your microphone sounds.

Using Skype. This free internet telephony application is a great way to conduct remote interviews and

conference calls for podcasting (and I use it now for

most of my regular phone calls as well). Download,

install, and sign into Skype. If your interviewee has

done the same, the call is free; otherwise you can

pay 2 cents per minute to call their regular phone,

anywhere in the world.

Using iChat. On the Mac, you can use iChat instead

of Skype, but it only supports conference calls in

Mac OS 10.4 (Tiger) and above.

Route the output. Now we need to route Skype or

iChat¡¯s audio output into our recording application,

Audacity. Unfortunately, operating systems still

have a hard time routing audio between applications, so we¡¯ll need to chain them together with a

hodgepodge of platform-specific utilities. Given the

variety in sound setups, sound cards, input devices,

and recording applications, be prepared for a little

trial and error.

On a portable device. On the street, an iPod or

other small recording device is an even more

portable way to capture in-person interviews. I¡¯ve

recorded audio on my iPod using Podzilla (see Mod

Your Pod, page 135) and using Griffin¡¯s iTalk accessory. If you¡¯re an old pro, you¡¯re probably already

sporting a MiniDisc recorder.

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SOUND QUALITY VS. FILE SIZE

I record most things at 44 kHz, 16-bit stereo, but you

can choose lower or higher quality to reduce file size or

improve the sound. If you think you might want to save

your audio to CD or another ¡°audiophile¡± format later,

record at a higher quality; you can always compress or

convert it later.

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