Once a script is finished, the next step in the podcast production process is to begin recording the audio. This means recording any audio used for narration or interviews, as well as collecting any other sound resources you need, whether you record them yourself or source them elsewhere.

After this is finished, the post-production process of editing all the sound elements together begins. Before you even start recording, it is essential to consider how you can achieve the best sound quality.

READING & WRITING

7 Secrets for Getting Pro-Sounding Vocals on Home Recordings

This article outlines seven tips and tricks to achieve pro-sounding audio. These tips and tricks include setting the right ambience to help you get into the right zone. If you sound uncomfortable, then your audience will feel awkward.  The next tip is to set up your bedroom for optimal sound. This is because bedrooms are typically dry rooms, with the number of pillows and curtains that deaden any echoing sound. Another tip is to position your mic and pop filter correctly, so the mic picks up your voice with as little background noise as possible. It can also help warm up your mic and adjust the levels to avoid distortion. Other tips include recording several takes of your podcast to get the best possible product. As well as being careful with vocal editing, performance is more important than pitch. Finally, know when to process your vocal sound and when not to.

Gaetani, F. (n.d.). 7 secrets for getting pro-sounding vocals on Home Recordings. Sonicbids Blog – Music Career Advice and Gigs. https://blog.sonicbids.com/7-secrets-of-getting-pro-sounding-vocals-on-home-recordings

Sound Advice: Editing Audio for Video

This article offers advice on various aspects of audio and video editing to achieve the best results. It suggests things like a-roll, the primary video that will be in the project. B-roll is supplementary footage that may or may not end up in the final project. These are filler pieces filmed to help reinforce the topic from the a-roll. The article suggests that when editing together your a-roll, edit the audio portion rather than the video. This is so you can see any issues in the a-roll narrative and fill them in with b-roll to smooth it out. Another tip it offers is to clip and snip to smooth out a video’s narrative. This is done by taking each clip and scrubbing to the beginning and end, then leaving about ½ second, about 15 frames. This is to make the transition between the clips easier. The article also suggests using compressor and equalizer plug-ins to maintain consistency between clips or achieve a smoother sound overall. Other options to smooth over inconsistencies or other issues include adding background music or using a simple fade to black.

Videomaker. (2018, April 20). Sound advice: Editing audio for video. https://www.videomaker.com/article/c4/8862-sound-advice-editing-audio-for-video

RESEARCH TO INFORM

Paranorman

This is a scene from the stop-motion movie Paranorman, about a middle school boy named Norman who can see ghosts and must save his town from a witch’s curse. While the whole film is honestly worth a watch, this particular scene stands out as a great use of sound design. It accurately conveys that both characters are outside at the beginning, and the slowly building storm sound creates suspense from the sound of the flipping pages to the cracking earth as the witch’s curse takes hold. Then, finally, the suspenseful music begins as the first zombie pilgrim hand pops out of the ground. The music then builds up to the moment when the final judge zombie pops out. That is when something interesting happens: Norman finds he can understand the zombie. This is shown by all the other music stopping to bring the focus to the words Norman hears the zombie saying.  I think this is all excellent use of sound.

Over the Garden Wall

This is the introduction to the Cartoon Network miniseries Over the Garden Wall. It follows two brothers as they try to find their way home through an enchanted forest after getting lost. As an introduction to the story, you see a montage of scenes that preview what’s coming, along with a song to set the mood, played and sung by a frog at a piano. Eventually, the singing ends, and the music becomes a background instrumental as the unseen narrator begins to set the scene for the story. Along with the sound effects in different scenes of the montage, I think this introduction is another excellent use of sound.

Fallout Series

This is a scene from the new Fallout series, based on the video games by the same name. In it, you see the moment that nuclear bombs begin hitting the United States, but your first sign of it is that the lights and all the ambient sound go away. It comes back as you hear the little one start to whimper, and her dad comes out with her cake and starts talking to her. Suspenseful music builds as she draws his attention to the cloud of the first bomb. The music continues to build up as the cloud of smoke grows, and the explosion slowly approaches them. Once it finally reaches them, you hear the blast and all the sounds you would likely hear. As everyone tries to flee and hide from the oncoming nuclear blast, you hear the music increasingly build to help demonstrate not only the people’s desperation but also emphasize the repeated bombs they show hitting the area. Honestly, this is a dark scene to watch, but it is genuinely great sound design.

Baldur’s Gate 3

This is the introduction cinematic for the video game Baldur’s Gate 3. Not only are the graphics of this very well done, but the sound design is exceptional. The music is used well to help set the scene; all the sound effects are amazing, from the sounds of the nautiloid ship made with its organic-looking build, the sound of the mind flayer’s hand plunging into the vat of tadpoles, and the screeching of the tadpole as it is taken out of the vat. All these sounds are well done to help make the scene feel as real as possible, despite the entirely fictional setting. However, my favorite part of this opening entrance is the nautiloid chase. Music, ambient sounds, and sound effects are used together to make this scene as realistic as possible. I think this is just a masterfully done introduction to the video game.  Also, the use of the Wilhelm scream honestly makes me giggle every single time.

CREATE

I had expected the production process for creating a podcast to be hard, but I did not expect the part I would get hung up on. Speaking on camera or for a recording has never been one of my favorite activities. I can do it fine, but I have Dyspraxia, a neurological disorder that causes me to stutter and stumble over my words often. As a result, I expected to have to redo my podcast several times. To my surprise, though, this is not what I got hung up on. What I got hung up on was rewriting my script.

Last week, I created a Detailed Outline for the podcast, but as I went to record, I realized I needed to flesh it out further. So, I began working on it again, kept working on it, and tried to fix the script because I felt it wasn’t doing the different points justice. At some point, I realized I was trying to cram too much into what was supposed to be a crash course. Eventually, I refined it to a point where I felt much more confident in my script, so I was able to record it. As expected, I did have to pause and re-record certain parts that didn’t sound clear or where I stuttered. But after having spent so much time fussing over my script, I did not let having to re-record frustrate me too much. What was important was having an understandable narration.

To record my podcast, I went to my room and sat on my bed, where I was comfortable. I used a microphone meant to be paired with a phone, but I was able to connect it to my laptop to record the podcast directly in Adobe Audition. From there, I was able to edit it together with all the found music and special effect sounds I used. Knowing what sounds and the type of music I wanted to use already made it easier to see what I needed online. I used almost entirely free audio elements, except for one sample of a popular song for a joke. I initially planned to include some other sound effects, but when I added them, they felt out of place or distracting, so I decided to exclude them.

When I tried to post on SoundCloud, I found an option for a cover image, which I thought would help make my podcast seem more professional. To create the cover image, I customized a template that I liked from Canva. For the description, I just copied and pasted a bit of my script from my introduction as well as made sure to cite the sound resources I used to make it. Overall, I think that I was successful in creating a podcast that effectively uses music, ambience, and sound effects to elevate the narration.