Why Don't I Do Video?

Intro

Hi and welcome to this Productivity Matters podcast.

I've been asked why I do a podcast, rather than a video, which is obviously visual and shows what I'm talking about.

I'm Julian, and in this episode, I'll be explaining exactly that; the tools I use and how I go about preparing for my podcasts.

Coming up on Productivity Matters

Apps

It's a fair question.  We interact with our devices and computers, mostly in a visual way.  The apps on our phones are designed to be looked at.  I know there are accessibility apps for the visually impaired; and I've seen a blind person use their iPhone to send messages.

However, this podcast is not designed to be a tutorial, or even a review, of specific apps and software.  The purpose is to inform about various options and to discuss various merits of using certain apps. 

Of course, this inevitably leads to comparisons which could be regarded as a review; but as I’m not discussing the “how to use” aspects of an app, then this works quite well just with the spoken word. 

Hospital Radio

In my younger days, I was involved with presenting programmes on hospital radio.  Hospital radio gave me the freedom to express myself and use my creativity to bring interesting and fun elements to the shows I produced and presented.

I loved doing it and in doing a podcast it is almost a return to that.

I have also found that having edited videos for my sons YouTube channel, it takes up an awful lot of time.  It's much harder to do something quickly; matching sound to pictures, multiple takes to get it right and it's not as flexible.

Lastly, I don’t need to look my best! I can wear my pyjamas if I so desired. I’m sure that’s not a picture your relish; so to be clear, I’m not wearing my pyjamas now!!

Producing the Podcast

So, how do I put this podcast together?

When I first began podcasting, I was using a lavalier, tie-clip style, microphone.  

It did the job, but it wasn't as clear as I wanted; and picked up some unwanted noise.

So, I did some research, and decided to buy a Blue Yeti microphone.  

It's a great piece of equipment; although sound travels up the base from the desk, so I need to take care when recording.  I am looking to get a stand, that will free the desk, and reduce any unwanted noise.

One of the major advantages of the Blue Yeti is that it has a number of settings; firstly for capturing the direction of the sound.  For this podcast, I use Uni-Directional; in other words, only the sound from one point.  

However, for interviews, you can change this to capture from two sides; or even an omni-directional setting, which just captures everything.

The gain settings means I can control the volume of sound going into the mic; reducing any noise or distortion.

The mic also has a headphone socket, so my voice is passed through directly and I can hear myself as I record, without any lag (or latency).

For recording the episodes, I have the mic plugged into a USB socket on my MacBook Pro and I use GarageBand to record the episode and mix in the music.

I run a couple of tests each time, just to make sure the sound is level, and isn't distorted by being too loud; and I rehearse each segment before recording.

Once I have recorded, edited and added the music, I export the file to an MP3 and then upload this to Anchor; the platform I use to host and publish my podcast.

Publishing

Anchor makes it easy to create an account, add specific episode details and then publish to multiple podcast apps; like Apple Podcasts, Pocketcasts, Overcast, Spotify to name but a few.

Thank You

So, there you have it.  Why I podcast instead of produce videos.  Hopefully, you’ve found this episode interesting. 

If you have any questions about recording podcasts, or would like to suggest other subjects for me to talk about then please get in touch via Twitter @prodmatters

Don’t forget to subscribe where you normally listen to podcasts.

Thank you very much for listening and until next time, remember, Productivity Matters.

The Tools I Use

Blue Yeti Microphone - https://amzn.to/2R2am1N
Pop Filter - https://amzn.to/2OVMbQP
Professional Microphone Boom Arm - https://amzn.to/2P4EIio

If you purchase from these links then I may receive a commission.  This does not affect the price you will pay.  Thank you.