Creating Podcasts

The Lyons New Media Centre houses 12 high-end media editing computers, fully loaded with media creation software, available to any current McMaster student, staff or faculty member. 

Audio software available: 

• Audacity 
• Adobe Audition
• Reaper 

 

Audacity	Adobe Audition	Reaper
Free and Open-Source: Audacity is free to download and use, making it accessible to podcasters on a budget.	Professional-Grade Editing Tools: Adobe Audition offers a comprehensive set of professional-grade editing tools and effects for audio post-production.	Customizable Interface: It features a highly customizable interface, allowing users to tailor the layout and workflow to their preferences.
User-Friendly Interface: Audacity has a simple and intuitive interface, making it easy for beginners to learn and use.	Multitrack Editing: It allows for multitrack editing, enabling users to work with multiple audio tracks simultaneously for more complex projects.	Powerful Editing and Automation Tools: Reaper offers a wide range of editing and automation tools, including multitrack editing, MIDI support, and extensive routing options.
Basic Editing Tools: It offers essential editing tools like cut, copy, paste, and fade, along with effects such as noise reduction and equalization.	Integration with Adobe Creative Cloud: Audition seamlessly integrates with other Adobe Creative Cloud applications, such as Premiere Pro and After Effects, facilitating a streamlined workflow for audio and video production.	Integration with Adobe Creative Cloud: Audition seamlessly integrates with other Adobe Creative Cloud applications, such as Premiere Pro and After Effects, facilitating a streamlined workflow for audio and video production.
Cross-Platform Compatibility: Audacity is available for Windows, macOS, and Linux, ensuring compatibility with a wide range of operating systems.	Advanced Noise Reduction and Restoration: Audition features advanced noise reduction and restoration tools, including spectral frequency editing, to improve audio quality.	Low Resource Usage: Despite its powerful features, Reaper is known for its efficient use of system resources, making it suitable for running on less powerful hardware.
	Extensive Format Support: It supports a wide range of audio formats, including WAV, AIFF, MP3, and more.	Active Development and Community Support: Reaper has a dedicated community of users and developers, with frequent updates and ongoing development to improve performance and add new features.

 

 

When editing a podcast, the goal is to create a polished and engaging final product while maintaining the integrity of the content. Here are some general guidelines on what to remove and what to keep during the editing process:

 

Remove:

1. Irrelevant or Off-Topic Content: Cut out any segments or discussions that are not relevant to the main topic or theme of the podcast. This helps keep the episode focused and engaging for the audience.

2. Long Pauses or Awkward Silences: Trim or remove long pauses, filler words (like "um" and "uh"), or awkward silences to improve pacing and flow. 

3. Technical Glitches or Errors: Edit out any technical glitches, audio distortions, or recording errors that detract from the overall listening experience. This includes background noise, microphone pops, or sudden volume changes.

4. Sensitive or Inappropriate Material: Delete any content that may be offensive, inappropriate, or potentially harmful to the audience. This includes offensive language, derogatory remarks, or sensitive topics discussed without proper sensitivity or context.

5. Long-Winded Explanations or Digressions: Trim down long-winded explanations or digressions that detract from the main narrative or discussion. Keep the content concise and focused to maintain listener interest.

 

Keep:

1. Key Discussion Points: Retain the main discussion points, insights, and valuable information that contribute to the overall theme or message of the podcast episode.

2. Engaging Stories or Anecdotes: Keep engaging stories, anecdotes, or examples that help illustrate key concepts or entertain the audience. These can add personality and depth to the podcast.

3. Natural Conversation Flow: Maintain the natural flow of conversation between hosts and guests, preserving the authenticity and spontaneity of the dialogue. Avoid over-editing to the point where the conversation sounds unnatural or disjointed.

4. Guest Contributions and Insights: Preserve contributions and insights from guests, allowing them ample time to share their expertise or perspectives on the topic at hand.

5. Transitions and Segues: Keep smooth transitions between segments, topics, or segments within the episode. This helps maintain coherence and structure throughout the podcast.

6. Calls to Action and Promotions: Retain calls to action, promotions, or sponsor messages as necessary, but ensure they are seamlessly integrated into the episode without disrupting the listener experience.

 

 It's important to strike a balance between removing unnecessary elements and preserving the essence of the conversation to deliver a compelling listening experience for your audience.

Adding music and sound effects to your podcast can enhance the overall listening experience and elevate the production quality in several ways:

1. Setting the Tone and Atmosphere: Music and sound effects can set the mood and atmosphere for your podcast, creating a more immersive experience for your listeners. Whether you're aiming for a light-hearted and upbeat tone or a suspenseful and dramatic vibe, carefully selected music and sound effects can help establish the desired atmosphere from the outset.

2. Engaging the Audience: Incorporating music and sound effects can capture the listener's attention and keep them engaged throughout the episode. Well-timed music transitions or sound effects can punctuate key moments, highlight important points, or add emphasis to jokes, anecdotes, or storytelling segments, making the content more memorable and entertaining.

3. Enhancing Storytelling: Music and sound effects can enhance the storytelling aspect of your podcast by adding depth and emotion to narratives, anecdotes, or interviews. For example, using background music to underscore emotional moments or sound effects to recreate environmental ambience can draw listeners deeper into the narrative and evoke stronger emotional responses.

4. Covering Transitions and Segues: Music and sound effects can smooth transitions between segments, topics, or advertisements within your podcast, creating a seamless listening experience. By using music as a transition tool, you can maintain momentum and cohesion throughout the episode, preventing abrupt shifts that may disrupt the flow of the conversation.

5. Adding Variety and Interest: Incorporating a variety of music genres and sound effects can add diversity and interest to your podcast episodes, catering to different listener preferences and enhancing overall enjoyment. Experimenting with different music styles, instrumentations, and sound effects can keep your content fresh and dynamic, encouraging listeners to tune in regularly.

 

Where to find Music and Sound Effects

Free websites: 

• YouTube Studio- Free with account
• BBC Sound Effects Library 
• ZapSplat - Free account, limited downloads. 
• Freesound - Free with account
• Freesfx - free with account

 

When working on audio projects like a podcast, it's important to understand the difference between saving a project and saving just the final file. Here's a detailed breakdown of the differences:

Saving a Project

What it Means:

• Saving a project refers to saving all the components and settings of your work within the editing software. This includes the arrangement of audio clips, effects, edits, and any other modifications you’ve made.

File Types:

• Projects are saved in the native file format of the software you’re using. For example:
  • Audacity: .aup  (or .aup3 for newer versions) 
  • Reaper: .rrp 
  • Adobe Audition: .sesx 

Purpose:

• Flexibility: Allows you to reopen the project and make further changes, continue editing, or adjust the settings.
• Non-Destructive Editing: Keeps all individual audio tracks and edits intact, enabling you to tweak them later without losing any information.
• Collaboration: Facilitates sharing the project with others who can continue editing using the same software.

Contents:

• Audio tracks
• Effects and processing settings
• Edits and cuts

 

Saving the Final File

What it Means:

• Saving the final file involves exporting the completed project as a single file, typically in a format suitable for distribution and playback, such as MP3, WAV, or AAC.

File Types:

• Common formats include:
  • MP3: Widely used for podcasts due to its balance of quality and file size.
  • WAV: Uncompressed format, higher quality, but larger file size.

Purpose:

• Distribution: The final file is what you upload to hosting platforms, share with your audience, and distribute through podcast directories.
• Playback: Final files are ready for playback on various devices and media players.
• Archiving: Stores the final version of your work for future reference.

Contents:

• A single, mixed-down audio file that includes all the edits, effects, and audio tracks combined into one.

 

Exporting your podcast file

File Type:

Video podcast- export as an MP4 file. This will ensure that both the video and the audio file are being exported. This format is most commonly used for video podcasts. 

Audio podcast- export as an MP3 file, it's common and widely accepted as a format for podcasts. 

Exporting the file: 

Most editing software will have an Export or Share button. Click that button and select the appropiate file type.  

If you are struggling with finding the export settings in your editing software, there will most likely be a video or text tutorial online that you can follow.