The Production Process

Overview

Podcasts often follow a similar production arc but can vary greatly based on the audience and genre of their narrative. In all likelihood, this is a podcast you are putting together for the first time. However, you have already started to build a strong foundation to develop your podcast. You have created a plan that includes a Big Idea that you want to explore, identified an audience that you want to reach, envisioned some outcomes for your production and how you want to connect with your audience, and reflected on the work that you intend to develop.

By clarifying all of these steps, you have started to make considerations for your work that will hopefully meet your desired intent and impact. Now it’s time to identify the stages of a podcast production and how it impacts various genres of the narrative form.

Please note that these stages are meant to be iterative and non-linear. You may flow freely from stage to stage, skip a stage, return to a previous stage, and so on.

Stage 1: Where do I begin?

At this point, you have done some brainstorming and probably have a good idea of what you want to make. You are envisioning a plan that will realize your podcast. Now is the time to get deeper into your planning. As you begin, consider questions such as:

• Who do you want to interview?
• Why do you want to interview them?
• What do you want to talk about?
• Will this be a peaceful interview? Or a heated one?
• What equipment or software do I need?
• How can I get good sound in the spaces available to me?
• Do I even need to interview anyone?
• Do I need consent and release forms for my interviewees?
• Do I need to tell them they are on the record?
• What questions will I have for my interviewees?
• Do I give them the questions beforehand?
• What do I do when we get off script?
• How will I connect with my interviews?
• Do they need time and preparation to settle in before the interview?
• How will I make sure that I’m getting good sound when I do my interviews?

Stage 2: Conducting the recording.

Now you’re ready to record. You might be recording only yourself, or perhaps you’ll be on a panel or conducting interviews in Zoom. No matter what or how you’re recording, here are some things to consider:

• Consider using UW Zoom to record audio interviews.
• Always have back-up equipment and batteries if you are using a standalone audio recording device.
• If you’re using your computer microphone, conduct a test recording and adapt your environment for sound.
• If you’re interviewing people, make sure they consent to the interview. This could be done with consent forms, release forms, or the journalistic practice of being clear about what’s on the record and what’s not. Zoom also has a consent to record option that can be used.
• Test your sound and monitor it. Before recording, make sure your equipment is working and getting sound that will sound good in people’s ears or on speakers. As an example, you could do a sound check with an interviewee by asking them what they ate for breakfast. And as you’re recording, ensure that your levels are strong and good and in the green.
• If you’re interviewing people, work from a “Q Line.” Your “Q Line” is your list of questions, and it can help you stay on track as you’re recording. If you feel that you have to depart from your Q Line, don’t be afraid to do so.
• If you’re recording yourself, try to use the best equipment available to you. Are you not getting good sound on your computer? Try your phone. Record in your closet or under a heavy blanket. Use towels and sound dampeners.

Stage 3: Selecting podcast assets.

In the radio and podcast world, your “Tape” is the raw material that you recorded for your podcast. The hope is that your Tape sounds good–it’s strong, clear, and ready to be in people’s ears and on their speakers. If you have superlative Tape, these are things you’ll do with it:

• You will transcribe your Tape. This can be a long, labor intensive step, but it will help you with constructing your podcast later. There are apps that can provide an AI-generated transcript but they don’t always work so great. There are services that you can pay for to have people transcribe your Tape, but they can become pricey if you have hundreds of hours of Tape. They also pay horrible wages. Check the Resources page for ideas.
• You will select “Acts” (short for “Actuals”) from your Tape. Your Acts are the fantastic things–the amazing bits–that you select from your Tape. It is far, far easier to select your Acts and place them in a composition if you’ve transcribed your Tape.
• You will script and record “Tracks” to set up, explain, and explicate your Acts. “Tracks” are things that you write and record after you’ve gotten your Tape and selected your Acts. For example, a Track could be your podcast intro or outro.
• Consider storyboarding your content once you have your Tape, Tracks and Acts. Label each piece you want to include and write them out on post-it notes or on paper. Visually arrange the content into a storyboard and move things around.

Aside from your Tape, Acts, and Tracks, there are other assets that you’ll need to create or find in order to make your podcast. You can always record your own music and sound effects, but if you need to find Creative Commons materials, you can go to places like these:

• FreeMusicArchive
• Dig CC Mixter
• BBC Sound Effects
• Archive.org

Stage 4: Edit in Audacity.

Put everything together with Audacity–your Acts, Tracks, music, and sounds. Share the draft of your podcast with any collaborators to get feedback. Share it with workshop members in Discord. Consider, reject, or incorporate feedback. Reflect on your process and the meaning of your podcast. Repeat previous steps.

Stage 5: Finish the transcription, metadata and audio deliverables.

Using the metadata spreadsheet in our workshop materials (participants-only), enter the metadata for all files and assets you created or used. Your complete transcript is the one you will provide for you audience. It will be a combination of your Acts, Tracks, and descriptions of any of the music and sounds you used.

Step 6: Determine your license and consider your digital safety.

Decide whether or not your podcast should have a Creative Commons designation. If so, are you providing attribution for other collaborators including crediting any CC-licensed work in your production? Also consider that you and other recordees may be vulnerable to hacking or doxing and your online safety and security could potentially be at risk.

Consider securing your passwords using the “diceware” method and using a password manager like LastPass.

If you Google yourself, what information do data brokers have about you? We strongly consider you to contact data brokers and request they remove your publicly identifiable information.

But is this the only way to make a podcast?

No! The stages above are a guide–not the rule. You might do things in a different order. For example, you might write some of your Acts before conducting your interview and writing your transcript. Or, early on, you might find music that you want to use before you even decide who you want to interview. You might find that some of these steps don’t even apply. For instance, journalists don’t always have interview subjects sign release forms because they operate under the assumption that their subjects have agreed to be on the record.