podcast production

 Once I had an idea for my mental health podcast I then needed to put things into action. Before I started to record I wrote a list of topics and questions to ask my interviewee.

Finding my cast

I needed to find the right cast in order to get the podcast I want. I started by asking a friend of mine which has experienced  mental health problems in the past and asked if he would like to star in my podcast. He agreed and signed a document to say he would like too.

Once I had my interviewee ready I then moved onto the next step.

Booking the studio

After I had the cast ready I moved on by making arrangements for the studio. I went to see a lecturer who is in charge of the studio to see if I can get it booked for 4/1/22 .lucky enough I could get it for then which saved me time as all I needed to do now is get the equipment in order to record.

Equipment I need.

1. Microphones are very important as the right microphone gives you a good podcast but the wrong microphone gives you a bad muffled podcast with background noise. The microphone I will probley be using is a Rode NT1A which is a really good recording mic as if you have the right equipment it blocks out any vibrations which could affect the recording. The microphone just by itself is quite bad though as it is highly sensitive and picks up any background noise quite well.  If I was going to use this mic I will need a piece of equipment known as a cradle which blocks out any vibration going into the mic. I do believe if I use this microphone to record my podcast it will turn out quite well and will give me a good result. Also in further research I have found out I will need to have a pop shield which will block out any plosives which will be quite good as it will make my podcast sound good.

2. Once I have the microphone set up I will need something called a sound card  which will record what I'm saying and save it and make it easy accessible.  This will store what I'm saying through the microphone as the microphone will be plugged into the sound card  and will monitor what I say through the mic. 

3. Logic pro x is an industry standard DAW digital audio workstation which allows you to both record and edit audio. This is good as I can use this to edit and record my audio. As I record I will be able to edit my recording as I work on the next bit of my podcast. This will save me loads of time as I can edit and listen to my track before I decide to use it or not.

4. Lastly I will need a good mic stand to hold the mic which will keep the mic steady and will let me relax and sit down as a podcast is normally quite relaxed and not to serious as if it was a film it is quite serious and will require different types of stands/mics.

Getting my interviewee comfortable.

Before I started to recorded I needed to make sure the mic and the stand was the right height and pitch for my guest as I need to capture what he is saying and analyze it . A couple of minutes before we started I made sure he understood the questions and made some mild adjustments to the mic as it was quite high when it came to his pitch so that needed to be lowered which only took about a minute. Once we begun the guest started a bit quite then became more clear through out the podcast which was alright as I can adjust his audio to make it louder on logic pro.

Final say 

I can say that my podcast went as planned and recording it was smooth and only took me two days tops as the guest knew what he was doing and was very clear. The skills I have took away from this are communication as the guest had to understand me and I had to understand him, time management as I had to manage my time and book rooms and equipment, professional practice as I had to take charge and sign paper work and mange the set and lastly leadership as I had to plan and do everything from booking rooms to getting guests.